Sand fleas

[phoneman]

This may be a dumb question but we stayed at a place on the beach just south of the
Surf City pier last September and I could not manage to find any sand fleas in the surf. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me why I couldn't find any last year. I usually don't have any trouble catching them. We are going back next month and was hoping someone could give me some advice on catching them. Also any surf fishing tips will be appreciated. I just want to catch some table fare for the long winter coming up.