LB posted a squib on reading the beach re: Plum Island, but really applicable
to anywhere. See http://www.reel-time.com/bbs/bbs5-june1-98/0665.html.
The only thing I can add is that bigger bass and blues prefer moving water but are also programmed to minimize energy expenditure when feeding. You'll find the schoolies just about anywhere, but the bigger fish will lay in structure that breaks the curren
t somewhat so that they don't have to spend a lot of effort swimming against it. From this relatively comfy position, they can then ambush the hapless bait washed by in the current. That means holes, troughs, and channels. If you can find a place where cu
rrent moves over a bar and drops bait off into a hole, channel, or trough, so much the better. I'd want my fly or
jig to simulate that bait movement.
Finding these structure points is best done at low tide.
-bd