The northeast’s beaches and shorelines are what most would consider “rocky terrain.” In fact, a large portion of the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts coastlines are dotted with boulders, rocks and gravel, creating a terrific habitat for the predator fish and their food of choice. While fishing the nearby beaches and their connected rock piles, another man-made rock structure cannot be disregarded by the angler.
Jetties
Jetties are rock structures made by human hands that were built for a host of reasons. Rational reasons include curbing beach erosion, quelling storm surges, and creating a causeway leading into a river or salt pond. They are all good reasons, but the most important fact to a fisherman is that they all will hold fish at some point.
Striped bass feel at home in fast-moving and turbulent water. This is primarily because their prey becomes confused in the froth, literally becoming an easy meal. Other predators like bluefish, weakfish and false albacore also exploit these same water conditions. Jetties generate this type of turbulent water by forcing waves to crash into the rocks too early, before reaching the beaches (where they normally lose some of their power). It is not rare to find masses of these predator fish feeding ferociously on baitfish right up against the jetties, where the water is actually the most turbulent.
These jetties are also home to whelks, mussels, periwinkles, scup and tautog to set up housekeeping. These fish nestle into the jetty for the sole purpose of finding food and shelter and having the ability to feed on each other. The jetty allows shelter from larger predators as well which is an added benefit.
High tide is the best time for fishing the jetty. The closer to high tide, the better the fishing will be since you’ll have more water and your prey will be far more focused on finding something to eat. Baitfish are plentiful in the causeways that lead to ponds and rivers – they can be found in abundance when the tide comes and again when the tide goes out.
Blackfish and porgy are normally easy to catch, as they rarely roam very far from the rock walls. They have everything they need to survive there in the rocks. You can take advantage of this by making shorter casts and not using unnecessary amounts of weight to present your baits.
Safety is essential if you are planning to fish in an area that is rich with jetties. First and foremost you must take into consideration that you want to remain safe during your fishing trip. Your number one priority should be a personal flotation device (also called PFD). Excuses are not acceptable – a fall into a jetty can easily result in a deadly accident – the risk is too great, and the cost is too great. Another required piece of gear for jetty fishing is a good pair of cleats. Consider the ground you are fishing from – these rocks stay wet all the time because of the ebb and flow of the tide and during much of fishing season these rocks are laced with algae and moss. Because they are so slippery, you can easily lose you footing and take a fall – why risk a broken ankle or leg (or worse) because you failed to take the proper safety precautions.
If you have not had the opportunity to take advantage of these great grounds for beach and jetty fishing, you are missing out on a great trip. The shores of the northeast are rich in opportunities to have a memorable fishing trip whether it is with friends, family or all alone. The entire area allows for the best of beach and jetty fishing and a trip that will almost surely guarantee you a large catch.
There are many great types of reels to use when fishing from rocky shorelines, some of them include Daiwa BG90 and Shimano Calcutta.