higher than average high tides twice a month, known as spring tides<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA spring tide can see an increase in water movement<\/strong>, conditions which most fish like. A high spring tide can dislodge even more worms and shellfish than normal too, adding to the food sources in the water. Therefore, this can prove a good time to catch. However, some fish species can find the stronger currents of a spring tide too hard and may move to deeper water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Neap Tides<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSeven days after a spring tide the Sun and Moon are at right angles to one another, creating the least gravitational pull on the oceans of any point during the course of a month. This means the tidal range is at its lowest point of the month<\/strong>, resulting in slightly lower high tides and slightly higher low tides than normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe lower range sees lower water movement than normal and therefore neap tides are generally a less productive time to fish<\/strong>. Once again, different locations may see different impacts from spring and neap tides, and knowing your location will help you decide how much each tide affects the quality of the fishing in your area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>How To Fish Tides Inshore<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nArmed with your tide times you can position yourself in the best place to take advantage of the local geography to improve your chance of success<\/strong> when fishing from an inshore location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Fishing An Incoming Tide<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nRising water from an incoming tide will soon cover previously dry areas, bringing worms and shellfish to the surface. Fish will be coming into the shallower water close to the shoreline to feed<\/strong> on this bait, so this provides a perfect opportunity to fish. Always be aware of the speed of the tides and know the area when fishing close to the shoreline.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen fishing on the incoming tide you want to cast your lure out and let the current drift it back in toward the shore<\/strong>. If you are fishing from the banks of a creek, start fishing at the mouth of the inlet and let your bait move up with the incoming water. Game fish like trout will prey on their bait as it swims back into the creek.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFish often head to shallow flat areas as they forage for food, so knowing the geography of the area is again a significant advantage. Underwater structures which are exposed at low tide will now be good places to target<\/strong> as fish may take refuge here once submerged. Game fish also use these structures as ambush points on passing baitfish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Fishing An Outgoing Tide<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe deeper channels and drop-off points become even more important as the waters turn and start to recede. The outgoing tide will force water though these points, flushing the insects and shellfish disturbed by the incoming tide with them. This<\/strong> deeper water with higher concentrations of bait will attract the fish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPredators will also wait for their prey to leave the shallower water<\/strong>, thereby conserving energy. As the baitfish return from the shoreline, creeks and estuaries, fish such as trout will be waiting to ambush them. Some species such as redfish will head into submerged sea grass areas as the tide starts to recede to seek out crabs and shrimp.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFish will<\/strong> use underwater structures to position themselves to ambush their prey<\/strong> on outgoing tides too. You may even notice that they use one side of a structure when the tide is coming in before switching to another side when the water starts to recede. This is because down current areas tend to reap the best rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen fishing inshore on an outgoing tide you can drop your bait in and allow it to drift with the tide into deeper water<\/strong>, placing it close to the feeding fish. Be prepared to move around to find the fish as they will happily relocate, even if it is just a few meters, if conditions change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>How To Fish Tides Offshore<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOffshore fishing is much more exposed to the elements, with the wind and weather conditions affecting the currents more when compared to sheltered inshore areas<\/strong>. Tides still matter, but the elements can overpower the influence of tidal movement in open water. The impact of the tide will also lessen the further you head out to sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, offshore fishing near inlets and channels can still depend on the tides<\/strong> as much as inshore fishing, since the ocean currents may not move the bait and fish around as much in these areas. Water movement is still important, so any conditions where the water is quite slack is unlikely to be a major attraction to the fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen you are fishing offshore you need to be aware of the direction of the current. You will normally look to let the boat drift with the current<\/strong> and reel your rigs with the current too. Larger saltwater fish will tend to swim along with the current. Ambush points are still relevant too, so look for areas and channels of water where bait such as shrimp are forced by the current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nFishing an incoming tide can be good, as fish tend to feed more in moving water than in stagnant or slack water. You will find tides have a larger impact on inshore fishing than offshore fishing, as fish prey on food sources that are disturbed by moving water, and tides have weaker effects offshore.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2200"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2626,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2200\/revisions\/2626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorhorizon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}