Inshore Strategy?

Saltwater Inshore Discussion
1

Fellas (and Penny:wink:),

I’ve learned that the most productive time to fish is often the two hours before and after low tide. However, my schedule often limits my ability to plan trips around this optimum timeframe, and I know many of y’all can find fish regardless of the tide.

What are main factor(s) and strategies you take into account in regard to the different stages of the tide? I’m not looking for specific spots, as I’ll find them on my own. Feel free to PM me if you want, although I think an open dialogue benefits everyone. Thanks in advance.

“I’m not a hundred percent in love with your tone right now…”

2

I subscribe to something Hoppy (remember him?) said on this forum years ago. “Go when you can” and enjoy it. Fish feed at all tidal stages. I don’t really like fishing around the tide change myself, because there is about 30+ minutes where the bite dies off. I like moving water. The one exception is when there is a 7 ft tide, then I like the tide change because its not ripping so hard. True, you may not find so many reds around high, but that is prime time for trout. The strategy is pretty much the same; cast to structure. Rips, eddies, breaks, trees, oysters, grass points and cuts, etc.

2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com | www.summervillesaltwateranglers.com
Personal Trout Slot Limit: 16"-20" Creel: 2

3

If I have to fish around high tide, I use two strategies. I am constantly looking for and marking (on my GPS) structure that I see around low tide. When that structure is under water, it will attract baitfish looking for cover and bigger fish looking to eat those baitfish. My other strategy, which I learned fishing from a kayak, is to go as far as I can safely go upstream in creeks. When the tide stops and turns around, I do too. I’ll often run into schools of baitfish and follow them around. Where there’s bait, there’s bigger fish trying to eat them.

The lower tide stages when the water is out of the grass is still my bread and butter, but I used this strategy last Sunday with some pretty decent success.

Experience is the the most important ingredient in a recipe for success.

Good luck!

Semper Fi
18’ Sterling
115 Yamaha
Big Ugly Homemade Blue Push Pole

4

Thanks, fellas. Y’all are two of the guys whose posts I always pay special attention to. Good fishermen and even better people.

“I’m not a hundred percent in love with your tone right now…”

5

For whatever reason, I have better luck at the first two hours before high tide, and two hours after. Although it’s hit or miss. This happened last fall, and this fall/same pattern.

I beat the weedline around small creek mouths at high tide. When the water sits still, we eat lunch or cut bait or whatever. When the water is moving, we beat the weedline as best we can with artificials.

“Sire, it belongs in truth to the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to inflict them. But it will also please your Majesty to remember that she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”…Theodore Beza

6

Good stuff, Matt. I always appreciate your posts and input.

Everyone else, keep ‘em comin’. Cracker, Penny, Hairball, what say you?

“I’m not a hundred percent in love with your tone right now…”

7

I have luck @ higher tide stages around structure & grasslines, but only if I keep moving til I find the fish.

8
quote:
Originally posted by Black Bart

…I’ve learned that the most productive time to fish is often the two hours before and after low tide…

What are main factor(s) and strategies you take into account in regard to the different stages of the tide? I’m not looking for specific spots, as I’ll find them on my own…

</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>There are some conflicts in your questions/assertions. :wink:

Not sure when people will finally switch their question from what are the fish doing to what are the bait doing? But… fish the bait. Don’t fish the fish.

9

Bigger, that is admittedly a great thing to keep in mind… but sometimes in our waters that seems to backfire. Some of the most difficult days of fishing I’ve had is when I found bait in the scads. I’ve been in creeks full of shrimp, larger creeks full of mullet, and small rivers full of menhaden, and not get a single bite. Often, chasing the bait will also net you a lot of difficulty in making your bait look attractive enough to hit.

“Sire, it belongs in truth to the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to inflict them. But it will also please your Majesty to remember that she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”…Theodore Beza

10
quote:
Originally posted by Redfish_matt

Bigger, that is admittedly a great thing to keep in mind… but sometimes in our waters that seems to backfire. Some of the most difficult days of fishing I’ve had is when I found bait in the scads. I’ve been in creeks full of shrimp, larger creeks full of mullet, and small rivers full of menhaden, and not get a single bite. Often, chasing the bait will also net you a lot of difficulty in making your bait look attractive enough to hit.

</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>That doesn’t discount my point. On days when fish are not biting… well… they won’t bite. So, it ain’t going to matter what tide you are fishing.

I fished two weeks ago at a spot and yanked 22 and 24 inch trout out on the first and second casts. Pulled the boat up to a sand bar, pitched the tent and swapped stories all night with my fishing buddy. Next day, we ran by the same spot and watched black drum red drum, trout and even blue crabs turn their nose up at everything we threw at them. NO fish was going to eat that day.

Back to the original question. What tide is best? Well, I change tides when the bait change their pattens. In general (for me) high tide works good in the summer and low tide works good in the winter. And that is because of where I find the bait that the fish are looking for.

Just my very general rule for a very general question.

11

Good stuff, y’all. Thanks for your input.

“I’m not a hundred percent in love with your tone right now…”