Best tide?

[Mark K]

Which do you prefer incoming or outgoing? We're thinking of fishing the falling tide this weekend at Icky. High tide is 0330, low tide about 10ish. Always wanted to fish on the big pond with a full moon. So what do y'all think???

[Eerman]

Moving water is good.

[MudDucker]

Depends on the targeted fish and the time of the year. In my experience, trout usually seem to hit better on the flats on a rising tide.

[Charles]

Moving is good, rippin' is not. If it's moving too fast, the fish are not going to stay there. Too much like work.

I seem to do better when it's falling.

[birddog]

I hear the last 2 hours of the rise and the 1st 2 hours of the fall are best, but in my experience the best fishing tide varies with location and targeted species. However, I'll take moving water over slack water any day.

[AJ]

What Charles said . I say, go when you can

[Chalk]

I hear the last 2 hours of the rise and the 1st 2 hours of the fall are best, but in my experience the best fishing tide varies with location and targeted species. However, I'll take moving water over slack water any day.

and don't forget the moon - bright nights fish later or at night, dark nights fish around the tides or when you can

[Ty one on]

I like an incoming, Go to a productive area during the low tide, Maybe a foot of water and sticking it out while the water is rising.

[Charles]

Ty reminds me of something else.

Don't overlook shallow water. Sometimes the trout and reds are up a whole lot shallower than most folks look for 'em. By shallow I mean less than knee deep. It may look too shallow to float a flounder, but if there's something there the reds and trout want, they'll be there.

Keys here are proximity to deeper water (not deep water just deeper, say hip deep as opposed to 1'), and good structure, particularly broken grassy/sandy bottom for inshore.