In casual conversations on fishing the surf, I hear one needs to fish between the first and second breaker to catch fish.

First and second breaker...counting from the shoreline out or counting from the Gulf towards the shoreline?

I tend to catch more fish when I maximize distance from the shoreline, so my presumption is to target the first and second breakers coming into the shoreline from the Gulf.

But the more I listen, the more I think people are counting breakers from the shoreline outwards, which is a much easier cast to make, but I have serious doubt on hookup rates...for sure one needs to be capable of recognizing troughs and holes indicated by wave action.

So my question, how do you count breakers when targeting casting distance?

From the shoreline. The second (or more) gut (trough) is where you want to start fishing. The further out you get your bait, the better of a change of catching fish.

We use to wade out to the first bar (sometimes the second) and cast from there, hoping to hit the third gut with our baits.

Early morning predator fish will be in the first gut. Start there with topwaters and paddletails. Move to the second gut later. I've watched 4 ft or better sharks chase bait right up on the beach early in the morning.

I look for a thigh to chest deep 1st gut early in the morning. It depends on which beach and the water levels plus the direction the surf is rolling in. Anyway, the fish are often close in in the morning and sometimes with the right gut close in later in the day. A lot of cloud cover can keep them in close. But, lots of folks walk past fish to cast out too far when the fish are in close. Don�t let sandy water scare you off either because the fish will be in that feeding.

A lot of folks that are running baits way out or trying to cast a mile out with bait are looking to get sharks or maybe bull reds.

Corkies and topwaters are good for casting way out if you think the fish are out farther. I have waded/swam out to the last standable bar to fish out there, but it�s been more enjoyable to fish from the second gut edge where it meets the third bar on inward.

Look on YouTube for reading wanes and breakers by John Skinner. It's highly informational and was a big help to me.

Depends on what you are fishing for and the tide for that morning. Some of the best speckled trout are caught from the first gut. The first gut is the first trough from the sand beach. Then the first Bar is after it, followed by second gut or trough.

Beach
Firt gut
first Bar
second gut
second bar
third gut
third bar

for bull reds later on in the fall, and for sharks etc being beyond the third bar is helpful.. but for trout it's first, second, and sometimes on the third bar.