Tides and time of day

[michwolv]

I'm fairly new to saltwater fishing. I did some last summer and was able to catch a lot of fish at night under the causeway and at green lights, but have not done well at all in the daylight. I want to be able to catch fish during the day, so I don't have to spend a day recovering from sleep deprivation. I think I have a pretty good idea on locations to fish, but I don't know much about the tide. Should I fish high tide, low tide, in between? What am I looking for on a tide chart? Are dawn and dusk the best times of day?

[TxBankFisher]

IMO dawn and dusk are the best during summer. On the tide charts, I look for a steep incline or decline. I go when the decline begins, myself.

[FlyTyerT]

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[Snookfish]

Tides are important when fishing saltwater. If the tide is moving the fish are more likely to be feeding. The more water thats moving, more likelihood fish are feeding. So if high tide is at noon. Then around noon, there is going to be very little water movement. So your going to want to fish an hour or more before or after noon. It doesn't matter if its high tide or low tide for the most part, so long as water is moving. The basic idea as to WHERE to fish does matter if its high tide vs low tide. In general, if its an incoming tide, or going towards high tide, then you want to fish a shallow area that fish will be moving into to feed. And the opposite on an outgoing, or low tide. Fish the channels and drains ajacent to shallow areas because the water is pushing baitfish and other food resources out of the shallows and the big fish will be looking to feed in the deeper areas. This is real basic, and time of day, weather and temp. and of course season also make a difference as to where to fish. But in general, this is how I fish, and though I might not catch a limit every time I go, it's a very rare day when I come home empty handed.

[EZ-E]

Tides & time of day can make a difference most of the time, but most of us cant drop what we are doing & go on the "BEST" day. Most of us go on a weekend & fish either in the AM or PM ... when we have a chance to get out. I say go when you can & check the tide & moon phase but don't get to wrapped up in it. Usually as long as you have some water movement from tides, wind or barge traffic you should be o.k.

The best thing to do is keep a log on where & when you fished, what the weather was like, tide & moon phase & what fish you caught & type of structure your fishing.

[RedsOnRiot]

Fishing at dawn and dusk is better in the summer because the water is a little bit better temperature. IMO, I think the fish get really lethargic and tend to slow down on feeding when the water heats up. But fish are fish and will feed where ever you can target them. I've had better luck AM and PM. The weather will cool down eventually and the bays will be at a better temp. for bay fishing to turn on.

[hipshot]

As you learn new places you will find that some are better on an outgoing tide, some on incoming, and some either way. But tidal flow is often the key. You'll learn through experience. There are also places where the level, rather than the flow, can be the key; again only experience will show you what works where. As you gain experience you will learn what to look for and how to evaluate an area. To shorten the learning curve, book a trip (or several) with a guide; a good one can teach you volumes in one trip. If that's not financially feasible, hook up with some experienced anglers; most guys will be glad to share their knowledge with you out on the water.

[mustanger]

The tide chart I use. http://www.tides4fishing.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TroutSupport.com]

If we take a look at why fishing under the lights work, we can apply it to how to fish in the day.

At night, fish know they can find the entire food chain under the lights and know they can eat striking from the dark hidden and eating their prey.

In the day learn how to find where fish are generally in the bays seasonally and learn to read the water for fish sign or feeding activity. This will cut out tons of wasted time fishing unproductive water.

Fish follow the food seasonally... and they will search for comfort and oxygen during the heat of summer as well as the colds of winter. They're always going to be around where they can find food...which typically means oyster reefs and structure in upper coast and grass as well... so you have to combine the seasonal movement with looking for signs of fish and then know how to attack the sign you see in order to catch fish consistently.

Thats what we teach in our DVD's.

[SmithFamilyTackle]

Look at Pirate Jim's fishing on this forum and use that web sit tides4fishing
Good luck let me know if you need anymore help

[Ms addicted]

Tides are complicated.

Keep in mind also that if you are looking at the tide charts, those actual times only apply to the point where the measurements are taken. If you are looking at a jetty chart but you are fishing the causeway, there will be a delay between when high tide is at the jetties and high tide at the causeway. That delay can be many hours depending on where you are fishing and it can also change the look of the tide completely from what you see on the chart for the jetties. So dont spend energy worrying over times of high and low. Make mental notes of what time the charts say and what you actually see in the locations you are fishing so you can have some idea of the delay but pay more attention to the level the tide will rise or fall and in what time frame. A 2 foot change over half a day should yield you pretty good water movement wherever you are whereas a 4 inch change over half a day probably wont be enough.

Once you figure that out, then you can factor in wind direction and speed and how it affects the currents and tides. Wind can completely cancel out a tide or it can amplify it dramatically.

So really, it boils down to just look for water movement, look for baitfish, look for fish activity.

[K5RCD]

Actually understanding tides and current is not all that difficult.

Go here: http://gulffishing.com/fcstframe.html and read and understand the principles involved and you will be enlightened. Pay particular attention to the time differences for tides and current at various locations, and in addition, know that wind speed, direction, and duration (and to a lesser degree barometric pressure) can effect the height of tides and current speed, but not the TIMING of the tides.

The information here will help you to understand when and where to fish depending on tides and current.

Good Luck,
Randy

[Mrs Backlasher]

(Sigh....) It's been so long since I've been fishing, maybe 2 years. But now I've got the itch to catch a fish, so I have a lot of stuff to re-learn. I thought looking over this thread might help me out. And it does seem to jog my memory a bit. But I'll tell you this - learning to fish seems a lot harder than learning to kayak!

I just hope it doesn't take me 5 months to catch a fish, like it took me to catch my first ever fish back in 2004. Hmph.

Mrs. B