I think a lot of surfcasters can accept this, but just as many cannot. If you can’t, ask why that is. Is it because the days are still too long? Is it because you perceive the water as still being too warm? Is it because you’re still in summer mode because the kids are still home? Is it because you still haven’t gone on vacation? Or is it because you’re still burnt out from the spring and early summer fishing? Those reasons- which I boil down to a single reason, denial – have no bearing on whether it’s fall or fall-adjacent fishing.

What is the most overrated fish that anglers target in your local surf?

Pay attention. That two-foot chop may look very similar to a two-foot breathing wave, but if you’re in the water you’ll feel the difference. And if you track surf reports and weather apps, and log like hell, you can predict when the perfect size breathers will be in your spots, too. That alone can unlock a pattern you may not have noticed before.

And as I opened my mouth to say we should stop and fish, my partner beat me to it. “We should stop here,” he said, and with no explanation or discussion of what I had just felt, I said “Without questions.” He had felt it, too. No explanation was necessary.

They’re seemingly everywhere right now. Surfcasters, boat anglers—just about everyone is running into sharks, whether they’re the target species or an unexpected bycatch. And I’ll admit, they’re on my mind every time I step into the surf.

I’m going to make a bold statement today—one I never would have considered making 20 years ago.