Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-07-22
HOW 10 Do IT
HOW TO DO IT arH
Beech Buggy Thrills Port of Surf Fishing Sport
By CHARLES COvELL
Outdoor Editor

If you like to watch crashing
breakers on a wind-swept
beach, you'll like surf fishing.
There is a lot Of fascination to
It even If the fish aren't biting.
You can park the wife and
children under q beach UNI
breIla, hike along the tideline
to q deserted area and catch
q few kings, some spot or floun-
der and perhaps a trout.
Or you can take it seriously
and beach buggy up and down
the dunes, looking for the
schools Of bait or circling gulls
that betray bluefish.
A beach buggy, if you don't
know, is a jeep or truck with
diversified tires that can go in
soft sand where automobiles
just can't. Riding one is q thrill
in itself for beach buggy driv-
ers like speed that will carry
them over the soft spots with
out stopping and grinding
along in low gear.
Jeep Ride q Thrill
When the beach is steep you
ride at a sharp angle. When
you hit a hummock, tackle
boxes, ice and assorted para
phernalia bounce high to de-
scend in q crescendo.
Sometimes, Just for kicks, q
beach buggy driver may climb
q high dune, weaving back and
forth like a mountaineer on a
switch-back road. Then he'll
skim in neutral down the other
side, pausing at the brink Just
long enough to give you all the
sensations Of q high dive.
Next to rods, sand spike, bait
and tackle, q beach buggy is q
surf fisherman's most impor-
tant tool. It carries the rods
in rubber holders belted in
front or In racks on top, tackle,
foul weather gear and sundries
inside, and in an icebox mount
ed aStern, bait and fish.
The buggy also carries the
fisherman long distances while
he reads" the ever-changing
beach.
Expert Tells How
Bob Preston and his beach
buggy are well known along all
Of North Cardinals Outer
Banks. Bob is q pro who came
to Mays Head as q grade en-
gineer on the bypass highway.
When heart trouble forced him
to give up civil engineering, he
set himself up as q guide.
Like any other form of fish
ing. surf casting has it tech
niques which can spell the diff
ference between q mediocre
caster and one who can reach
that school of blues just beyond
the last breaker.
Either with spinning or con-
ventional tackle, Bob's method
is this: Take a position facing
up the beach with your feet
well braced and pointed at
about 2 o'clock.
Allow about 8 feet of line to
dangle, then swing the rod
back, at the same time keep
ing your eye on the bait Just
as you would the ball in golf.
Use Wrist as Lever
When the rod tip is about
horizontal, begin the cast. This
should be done not with the
body, but by pulling down
sharply with your left arm and
at the same time swapping for
ward with your right wrist,
which should act as q lever.
AS the bait sails toward the
breakers, follow through; that
is. keep the rod fully extended
until the cast is completed. II
you are using conventional
tackle, thumb the flange Of the
spool gently. II spinning gear.
it may take some practice
before you can gauge just when
TO release the line, but it will
come in time. Learn also to
Z flat-cast," thus avoiding the
high arcs that cost you much
distance if you have an on
shore wind.
How to Read Beach
How to read" q beach? It's
not difficult, If you remember
that fish always like to feed in
pockets or sloughs Of deep
water, particularly just inside
q bar.
If the beach slopes sharply
then deep water should be in
side the breakers, within easy
casting range. A breaker on
one side and q breaker on the
other with green water in be-
tween shows q slough, ideal
for fish.
Sometimes sloughs will be
found extending all along 9
beach. These are no good, be-
cause fish have too much room
to cruise. If sand ridges on the
beach extend down into the
surf, fish on each side of them
because there should be good
pockets.
II there are wrecks or other