Choosing "Prime Times" for California Beaches

December 31, 2006 By: Marshall Cutchin

Mentioned yesterday by Tom Chandler at TroutUnderground, a new article by Ken Hanley on “Prime Time Beaches” on FlyFishNorCal.org has some great info on chosing tidal phases and beach locations for fly fishing west coast U.S. shorelines. As Hanley points out, there are two key “Interpretive decisions” you need to make when considering where and when to fly fish on California beaches: “profile (angle of slope) and aspect (north or south facing). Both of these concerns contribute to creating ‘prime time’ conditions for individual locations. They combine to have an impact on tidal affects, swell presence, food distribution and so forth.”