Beach fishing for pinks is phenomenal from Campbell River to Port Hardy. My striking finger (third on the rod hand) is full of cuts and broken skin from striking so many fish on my "working" trip, perhaps as many as 1,000.
Memorize estuary structure at low tide so you can anticipate where the fish will be at any level of the tide. And learn to decipher pink behaviour. Nervous water means the pinks are just under the surface, and the disturbance gives a small different patch of surface that moves in a different direction from the prevailing, wind-or tide-based water movement.
Jumpers are not biters, but they tell you where the fish are. The best behaviour is free, happy, awake porpoising where the mouth then head then back then tail sequentially break the surface. One of the true wonders of nature is that pinks have the pre-spawning behaviour of jagging on their sides under the water so the sun flashes on them and into your eyes. It is like a light show of staccato silver into your eyes. Once seen you will never forget the sight and it means the fish are active and awake.
You want your fly to swing to the dangle - whether stripped or not. Sixty to 80 degrees is when most bites occur. Note precisely where the strike happens in 3-D space as it will tell you where your fly is swinging and where you can expect it to be, following the fly line. I mean exactly where it is, so you know the exact track of the fly and its depth. Being in the fish zone is exceptionally important, say, in some waters, the third foot of seven deep. Take, for different speeds and depths, a full sink intermediate line, a floater with a sink tip, and a full floater with a heavy nymphing tip.
Other good behaviour is dorsal fins and tails lazily touching the surface (tails alone can spell doom). On days where fish don't show, you find them based on your understanding of the underwater structure at differing levels of tide. Another behaviour, most commonly seen in the afternoon on rising water, is the mouths and eyes popping up and then down. A good sign.
Pinks typically follow the current line in, but are most commonly found beside it in slower water. Also know the gravel bars that stick up as pinks will stop on top of them at certain tidal heights, a useful thing to know because it makes the fish zone that much easier to reach, as the water column is not as deep.
On days that the tide has a dead spot, meaning it stops falling or rising for an hour or so, then continues, the fish will stop, rather than continuing going out and back in. Study the tidal charts to find these and then move to the spot - upstream where your fly will pass into the zone - before other fly anglers. This will be a "fixed" hotspot for awhile. Finally, fish the river at the absolute top of the tide. You will be presented with bitey new fish on the surface. When the tide turns, you put on a dredging tip and fish for the fish that have committed to the river and are glued to the bottom.
