Beach Current

[aeb870]

Just a general question regarding currents at the beach.

Last week, I was fishing the beach and the condition was perfect, almost no current at all. Today I went to the same beach and the current was just not acceptable. I know the conditions change daily and every other hour maybe but my question is if I find current in one gutter at the beach, does this mean all the gutters on the same beach will have the same current?

Today I moved gutters, and there was a distance of around 200m from my first location yet the same current existed.

I am really curious about this, so any information would be appreciated.

[stevie g]

I have generally found that the current will be the same. But it largely depends on the direction of the swell and in what direction the beach faces. If the waves are coming from "square" then the current can go both ways depending on the shape of the beach. If the waves are coming from an angle to the right the it tends to be the same current on that beach. This is what i generally have found. Hope it makes some sense.

[aeb870]

That does sort of make sense. Like at our first spot, we noticed that the waves were crashing from the left to the right, and that was the same direction our line was going.

We moved, and it seemed like it was crashing straight towards us but on close inspection they had a slight left to right pattern again.

This condition in general made fishing very uncomfortable and not really possible.

Is there a way to be able to tell this before you plan a trip to the beach with all your gear, etc?

Sorry for the stupid questions.

[mii11x]

to find what direction the swell is coming from, swell height, wind direction and speed i use the willy weather website. i can generally type in any location and get the current and live info.

could be useful to you mate

cheers

mick

[SCOTTYB]

+1 for Willy Weather. Used to use seabreeze, but WW has a format that is much easier to follow, and as Mick said the advantage of choosing your location is great.

Scott

[stevie g]

Google coastalwatch then look at the swell forecast for sydney south coast

[aeb870]

Thanks heaps for the help guys. I also always use Willy Weather but never thought about reading much into the swell and relating it to the beach fishing conditions.

Thanks again.