Back To Basics: Fishing The Tides
Fish move with the tides constantly in search of food, but to predict where they might be, you need to know what tide phase is best for each spot.
by Alan Jones
Coastal anglers who've caught a bunch of fish at a certain spot are sometimes puzzled when they
return the next weekend to the same place at the same time and don't catch anything. They often
come home saying, "They just weren't biting today." Maybe so, but the most likely explanation is
that the fishermen weren't fishing their hot spot at the right time. Fish move with the tides
constantly in search of food, but to predict where they might be, you need to know what tide phase
is best for each spot.
1. Read It And
Reap
Typically there are four tides in a 24-hour, 50-minute cycle — two highs and two lows —
which explains why the time of each tide comes a little later every day. Tides are strongest during
full and new moons, especially when the sun is aligned with the earth and moon. To know when they
will occur, you need a tide table, which comes in two different forms — both of which can be found
online at sites like
www.tidesonline.nos.noaa.gov. The
first is the "data" type, which shows projected tide heights in numeric form, and is referenced to
Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW is the average of the low tides throughout the year). The "plot" type of
tide table — which contains a wavy line that graphically depicts the water height at any given time
— is more useful to anglers. In general, the best times to fish fall in between the peaks and
valleys on your plot table.
2. Follow The Bait
A good way to work an
incoming tide is to start at the mouth of a river or inlet, and follow the tide inshore. Predators
move with the tide to follow baitfish that get swept along with the flow of water. Look for places
where the tide is hitting a small island or peninsula at an angle, because bait will typically
funnel from the first part of the structure that the tide reaches to the last.
As the tide rises, areas that were exposed at low tide are covered with water. It's on these
flats where some good feeding opportunities arise for predators following baitfish and crustaceans
feeding in these shallow areas. Look for signs of baitfish, and you'll find those that feed on
them. Fishing the flats and sight-casting to fish that you see foraging is, without a doubt, the
most heart-pounding action available to light-tackle anglers.
3. Find The Fish Funnel
As the tide drops,
fish that were in the shallows move to deeper water, so a deepwater channel adjacent to a flat is
an especially good place to fish. On the edge of a mudflat that's sitting high and dry, look for
the place where the water last flowed off it, which will look like a small channel dug into the
mud. This is likely a place where fish will have congregated.
As the tide drops, follow its flow and cast to the outside of bends, and the mouths of
feeder creeks and rivers that dump into the main body of water. Since predators like to wait in
ambush outside the flow of the current, places like the lee of an outcropping or a deeper hole are
prime places near which to cast. Cast up-current and allow the bait to ride with the tide, because
predators will face the current.
4. Keep A Log
Good anglers make sure
to keep a record of where they caught fish, along with notations about the state of the tide. When
you have a good database of information, you'll be able to consult a tide chart and know where
you'll have the highest chances of success. Companies like Navionics, C-Map and MapTech all produce
data chips that you can put into your GPS. These will show what the tide is doing at your current
location, which will help you pinpoint when conditions are ideal. Most anglers will head out before
dawn and fish until dark using a hit-or-miss approach, trying all the spots where they've ever
caught fish. By knowing when each spot is most likely to produce fish, your efficiency will be
greatly improved. Who knows? You might even be able to sleep until 9 a.m. on your day off and not
miss the bite.