Choosing the best beach to fish can be difficult because they can all look too similar to know which one is more likely to produce a feed of fish. A popular screening process involves starting at the bottom of the food chain.

Beaches subject to constant high-energy waves usually have coarser sand compared to protected beaches, which have finer sand. Along these protected beaches, any area that sees enough water to keep the sand moist makes a good home site for microscopic animals and burrowers such as worms, crustaceans and molluscs. It’s easier to dig into the moist fine sand than coarse sand.

This doesn’t mean you won’t catch anything on a beach with coarse sand—they often have a steeper angle, which can be beneficial—but if you’re trying to catch fish that regularly feed on creatures that burrow, then protected beaches are a good place to start casting. And what better bait to cast than one you collected fresh from the very place you intend to fish?