Beach Fishing - How To Find A Gutter

What is a gutter

It is a part of the shoreline (under water) that is lower than the sand behind it and in front of it. Essentially it is a depression that mostly runs parallel with or gradually away from the shoreline. This is the part of the beach where there is a better than average chance of finding fish lurking in its depths. The trick is catching them.

What to look for

Firstly you should be looking where the waves start forming before crashing on to the beach. If one keeps building then breaks and rumbles in (all frothy and bubbly) all the way to the shore, or it builds up into a wave that a board rider or a body surfer would ride all the way to the shore, then there is no gutter in that part of the beach.

What you need to see is a wave that is starting to form or one that has formed. Then look to see if it gets bigger and/or breaks, but then it just reduces back down in size for a period of time, then reforms to break on shore. This area where it reduces and is a lot calmer on the surface, is a part of the beach that contains a gutter. The depth and width of the gutter determines the change in the size of the waves. The gutter can be any length, however the deeper the gutter doesn't necessarily mean more fish. You may also find that these gutters have very strong under-towing currents or “rips” in them which means you will have to use larger and heavier sinkers to keep your bait in the one place to stop it from being dragged around and pushed back toward the shore in the shallower water, or you will have to walk along the shoreline with your moving bait, thus keeping it in the deeper water.

Once you know what you are looking for and you find a good gutter ,you'll soon know if fish are there. You may have to do a little work to get that fish but it's better than just throwing your line in any old place and hoping for the best.

Hope this helps.

Tight lines!