BigBendFishing.Net

Hey Guys. Rather new to the forum and I'm glad to be here. Enjoy reading all the fishing and boating stuff. Learn a more all the time so thanks for letting me partake! I'm an old guy who enjoys nothing more than watching the sun come up and go down out on the water and if I catch some fish in the middle of all that, it's a bonus!

Had a survey question I guess.... If you're like me, you go fishing when you can, but if you had your rathers, and planning on fishing the bay or flats, what would be your most preferable tide to fish? And before you answer "the one when the fish bite the best" - that's already been taken by my son.. Just curious. Maybe one day when I retire I will be able to fish the tide instead of the time.

WELCOME JOHN 3-16, I GUESS THE TIME I TRY TO GET TO THE GULF IS ABOUT 2 HOURS AFTER LOW TIDE AND FISH TILL 2 BEFORE THE NEXT LOW TIDE. SEEMS I HAVE BETTER LUCK DURING THOSE HOURS. ALSO WIND DETERMINES WHEN I GO, IF THE WIND IS OVER 15 I STAY HOME, ALSO I PREFERRE THE WIND TO BE OUT OF THE S.W. THERE ARE SO MANY FACTORS TO CONSIDER, HOW HOT THE WATER IS , HOW HOT THE AIR TEMP. ARE, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE FISHING IN THE SAME BOAT ETC, ETC.
PA THE OLD MAN

Anytime the water is moving in or out. I prefer out.

An hour before low tide and an hour before high tide are my favorite times to fish.

ReadJohn316,

Answer depends a bit on species/structure I'm targeting... but if looking for a summary answer for fishing in general, I prefer stronger water movement.

I use this tide site http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow. ... da&units=f to break down the tide into 15 minute intervals and aim to be fishing the flats during the time period with the strongest flow. And since work prevents me from going as often as I would like, I try targeting late spring/early fall trips during the time period when the moon is new.

If you're wanting to target a specific species you might want to say so as you'll likely get some folks jumping in with more specific advise. I do make minor strategy tweaks if I'm targeting inshore reds, trout on the flats, or grouper and cobia out deep.

BBG

I prefer an out going tide. But I'll take what I can get.

I like to be in a good spot( structure, spotty bottom ) right before the tide starts to to turn in or out, especially on a full or new moon. Moving water equals better fishing! Welcome, brother.

As long is there is water and I'm on it, I'm happy

It really depends on the species that you are hunting and the areas that you like to fish. I personally like nothing more than a negative tide for reds, and an extreme High tide for trout. If either of these tides happen to be at 7am, then well that is just a bonus.

In the evenings I've been catching my reds at the end of the low tide. This is at the oyster bars at the mouth of the St. Marks. One day a few weeks back I didn't catch much and was thinking of leaving because the low tide was hitting and then the reds starting biting so we stayed another half hour and caught our limit with three of us on the boat. This was around the time we had a lot of rain, and with the bigger tide and all the rain the current was really pushing during the peak of the tide. Maybe why the end of low was so good. Been about the same for the past few weeks though. Matter of fact tonight is an eight thirty low, so I'll be out there.

Jumptrout51 wrote:Anytime the water is moving in or out. I prefer out.