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Hurling my Top Dog as far as the spool allowed, I eagerly awaited the first bang of the morning. Commotion on the surface caught my eye as schools of nervous mullet began flipping and bounding to the surface. My next cast flew in that direction – slurp! The weight of a healthy, two-foot speck bent my rod as a wave rolled over my head.

Shuffling toward the raft of mullet, I got more – more than I could handle. An ill-advised step put me in the middle of a gut where a rip current was sweeping me out to sea. Suddenly, images of arm-length specks was the last thing on my mind – all I wanted was my feet to find bottom before I swallowed half of the Gulf.

I began side-stroking with my left arm and scissor-kicking with my legs. Thankfully, one of my God-given gifts is patience; and, I believe patience saved my life that day.

Relaxing my body, I allowed the left-to-right current to drift me out of the rip to deeper water. I circled around the angry water, and swam back to the beach.

The above encounter could have been avoided if I had just taken the time to “read” the surf and determine its attitude before hastily taking the plunge.

Water is a powerful animal. Waders should always take precautions before diving into the ocean. I was blessed – I got a second chance. Too many fishers and swimmers die needlessly every summer due to negligence and disrespect for the surf.

Though storms in the Gulf have kept the ocean uneasy, the surf will calm again soon. August is normally the best month to enjoy placid beachfront conditions – here are a few precautions to ponder the next time you hit the foam.

Riptides most often occur on a falling tide; and, most waders fall victim to rips on the outgoing tide because they are usually standing on the second or third bar. As the tide falls, so do the fish from the first gut, while anglers follow. This is when the percentage for a tragedy increases.

There are several comfortable aids to protect you from the angry sea. Among them are United States Coast Guard Approved Type III personal flotation devices that can be worn and inflated by a CO2 cartridge with the pull of a string. A regular life jacket works just as well.

The best advice is to use common sense. If cross currents and tidal exchanges are too strong, do not fight it. Get out of the pool. No speckled trout or bull redfish is worth a life.

Knowing your daily tides helps you catch more fish. On the incoming tide, water and baitfish are pushed to the beach. During a strong incoming tide I have caught fish from the beach in the first gut without ever getting my feet wet.

Determining which stretch of beach to fish is tough, unless you know where to look. Flipping mullet and hopping shrimp are strong indicators that fish are in the area – birds hovering over millions of schooling menhaden are a safe bet, too.

Waves breaking indicate where bars are located. The swells build in the deeper guts and crest on the shallower humps of sand, or bars. If the ocean is tranquil, lighter spots in the sea of green puts you on the bars -darker hues lead to the guts.

During an outgoing tide, I try to fish from my boat. The advantage of drifting the beach in the boat is maneuverability. If the fish are not there, move down a few miles until you see pods of mullet, shrimp or menhaden. There have been days when I have worked the entire 28-mile span of beach from the mouth of the Colorado River in Matagorda to the Port O’Connor jetty. There also are days when I fish within sight of the Matagorda jetty and never move.

Respect the limits of your vessel. When seas are too rough, turn around. An angry sea can have its way with any boat, despite the experience of the captain, and never venture past the jetty without consulting a marine forecast.

‘Surfing’ the Web

Want to check current surf conditions? Boot up your computer. Surf cams are littered up and down Texas beaches and give anglers a picture of the ocean. I use the surf cams so often during the summer that I made matagordabay.com my homepage. Pulling up the site and viewing the beachfront conditions saves me a futile 20-mile trip if waves are too high. For other surf cams along Texas ’ vast coast, do a search on google.com and type in “surf cams.”

There is nothing better than a green tide in the surf. Respect the water and read its warning signs. No fish is worth risking your life.

Bink Grimes is a freelance writer, photographer, author and licensed captain. Contact him at binkgrimes@sbcglobal.net or www.binkgrimesoutdoors.com.