By Joe Sheaffer
Late spring into early summer is a great time to fish our Southwest Florida beaches. The weather and the water are warming and the surf is alive with life and activity. Definitely one of my favorite times to fish along the surf. I usually will walk along the beach looking for various structures or natural features that may hold fish. Points, sandbars along the surf, rocks, man-made structures in the water, rips or as I call them BLOWOUTS to name a few. Anyone of these can be a key in attracting bait and predators. When the surf is churning, I like to focus on blowouts. These rips along the surf are creases or channels in between sandbars that water gushes in and out of. It can be a challenge sometimes spotting these features but you will get the hang of it the more you fish the beaches. Many times, fish will use these channels to trap bait and feed. No two blowouts are the same and it may take a while to zero in on one holding fish. Probing each side of the blowout or right in the middle can produce a bite. Once you get a bite around one of these rips it may hold quite a few fish, keep fishing it for a while. I love using a jig and paddle tail in these areas, a slow retrieve can be very productive. Live bait rig. can be productive as well. You never know what species you might find in these areas, snook, seatrout, black drum, flounder and pelagic species as well. A couple of years ago, I was blessed to hook up with a decent tarpon on the backside of a blowout. I highly encourage you to make a few trips to the beach this time of year. It may be well worth the effort. Good luck and keep casting!