The muddy and soft bottoms are often found in inlets, fjords, and brackish areas where outflow from rivers or drainage canals has transported sediment for many years. At the right times of year, these areas offer some fantastic fishing. From late fall till spring, the soft bottoms tend to be where the sea trout, for instance, can easily find food such as bristle worm, goby, and shrimp, since this type of bottom is a good heat insulator during winter.
A stretch of coast with sand bottom and scattered rocks covered in bladder wrack is often called leopard bottom, because it resembles the pattern found in the leopard’s fur. These bottom conditions are always important to fish, since the sea trout often hunts above the sand between seaweed bushes and rocks. The contrast between the sand and the food options along the bladder wrack provides the sea trout with an advantage during the hunt.
A coastal spot with varied bottom conditions is often a good place to find the fish. In different seasons of the year, the fish prefer different bottom conditions – depending on weather conditions and the presence of food options. For that reason, choosing spots with varied bottom conditions can prove effective, since you’re almost sure to find fish nearby.
When mussels fix themselves to the seabed, it often occurs in places with current and good water flow, so nutrients and food options will come to them. Mussels are good indicators of life, and it’s often near them you’ll find hunting sea trout. Besides creating banks and reefs that provide other fish with conditions of life, the mussels also clean the water, and that has a huge impact on coastal water quality and fauna.