Early Morning Fishing vs. Moving Tide

[UnkleRob2020]

Another area where my knowledge is lacking:

Is it more important to get out early in the morning (or dusk) or to plan your fishing based on the tides?

Growing up, I was schooled to believe that fishing was best in the early morning or in the evening. Based on what I am reading from some of the members of this forum, it appears that the tide may be more important than the time of day. It seems that a moving tide may be more important than whether it is "incoming" or "outgoing?" I never even considered tide or wind until the last two years.

I strongly prefer early morning fishing. I am an early riser and I prefer to fish before the jet skis and power boats come out to play....but am I doing myself a disservice if the tide will be slack during my planned outing?

Also, approximately how long is the tide slack before and after low or high tide?

I realize that there are a lot more factors to consider and that many things are not black and white, but I am just trying to understand a little better. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you,

UnkleRob

[Mark]

Low light at dawn and dusk is indeed conducive to good fishing -- at certain times of year and in certain waters.

It's especially good for topwater fishing in tidal waters and freshwaters given water temperatures are correct for that kind of bite. It won't work well in winter for example.

However, in tidal water, the tide still rules the bite in my opinion. The movement of water is very important. Moving water dislodges food sources and encourages feeding by predatory fish. Moving water is also generally more oxygenated which attracts fish. I believe a slack tide early in the morning is cause to hit the snooze button on your alarm clock. Wait until the water is moving before getting up -- unless of course you have far to travel to be on the water at the ideal time.

The great thing about tidal fishing is that the movement of the water is predictable. In our area we have two high and two low tides on most days, roughly 11 hours apart. There's a rule of thumb that says to fish 2 hours before and after peak tides because the water moves more then. Then the movement slows down until eventually it reverses course. Of course high winds can disrupt that movement. And depending on the relative positions of the moon and the sun, tides will change in height and how fast the water flows. As a result, there's no clear cut answer to how long a tide is slack. It changes throughout the solar and lunar cycles. Tidal readings available online and on printed charts can predict each of the tidal parameters but they are estimates, impacted by weather such as high winds or rain.

Even a freshwater pond or impoundment has intensified moving water near its source and at its dam. The entrance of feeder stream in a pond is usually a good place to visit to fish. It's a conveyor belt of food for predatory fish.

Back to time of day, early mornings and evenings as good fishing times are seasonal. In winter, when I fish for pickerels in tidal waters or ponds, I've learned that it's best to sleep in late. Let the sun rise to warm the water. Even an increase of a degree or two in water temperature can enhance the bite. At this time of year, the reverse is true in freshwater ponds. The water cools at night beginning when the sun sets which brings fish into the shallows until the sun rises high the next morning. It's good to fish ponds early in the morning and again in the evening at this time of year for that reason. It's also good to fish the shady shorelines of freshwaters at this time of year. And you already know from reading posts here that finding perch in shade is tidal waters is a good approach.

[dsaavedra]

Good question, I look forward to the answers here. This is something I find myself wondering frequently as well and I'm still figuring it out. I'm not sure anyone has it totally figured out... fish are good for always breaking "the rules" haha. At any rate, it seems that the answer is not cut and dry as you suggest.

I think fish are generally more willing to come up to shallow water and feed during early morning or late evening low-light conditions. A moving tide seems to encourage feeding too. Fish probably feed throughout the day since they're not going to just pass up a meal, but in the middle of the day when the sun is blazing the fish might not be hanging out where we usually look for them in our kayaks.

Another consideration is your comfort as an angler... like you said once the jet skis and pleasure boaters come out it can turn not-so-fun to be on the water pretty quickly. Combine that with mid-day heat and it's no wonder a lot of fishermen prefer to go out early morning or late evening, regardless of tide. Sometimes you gotta just fish when you can, not when conditions look best on paper.

Regarding slack tide, that will vary depending on a number of conditions like lunar cycle, wind, and characteristics unique a particular river or body of water. For my own personal planning purposes, I generally consider a 1 hour window on either side of high or low tide to be likely slack tide; this is probably a pretty generous estimate. So I try to plan accordingly so that my trips are not centered around a low or high tide, but instead I like to arrive at low or high tide and fish for the duration of the cycle. Again, this doesn't always work out because sometimes I only have a certain window to go fishing and I am going to go regardless of what the tide is doing, and other times I find that the tide tables (or my interpretation of them) were completely off and the actual tide when I get to the water is not what was predicted.

Hope this is helpful, I'm still figuring it out as I go and I'm really looking forward to hear others' knowledge and experience on the topic.

[Big Mike]

Early Morning Fishing vs. Moving Tide

I fish at dawn in the summers (I don’t fish in my kayak in winter). While I prefer a moving tide I don’t let dead low or high stop me from going. In the last week we’ve had low tide and virtually no current when I caught the red drum and the nice trout. Fish feed in low light. Last year when we were catching trout at PLO if you weren’t there at dawn the bite was gone by 6:30, regardless of tide.
In summer you’ve got cooler temps, generally empty parking lots (I’m looking at you trot liners), and some days nature throws a 10 bell sunrise at you. So enjoy your early morning preference, if you can get a good tide, great, if not, still go.

Finally, there is generally good light for photography, here’s Ron this morning with a trout.

[J.A. Veil]

Rob - You have gotten good advice so far, but not all the same advice. Getting on the water early seems to have advantages, particularly in the hot summer days. Moving tide is always a plus. If you can find both on the same day, you increase your chances.

Here are some real-world data from my fishing on the past three days.

Wed I launched at 6:00 (2 hrs after high). I posted previously about trolling around an area with oyster mounds. The bite at the mounds was good from 6:30 to 7:30. I went off to do something else for a while. I stopped back again at the mounds about 8:30 and did not get a bite.

Thurs I launched at 6:30 (1 hr after high) at the same spot. I had a decent bite at the mounds from 6:30 to 7:30. Just like the day before, when I returned there a bit later, the bite was gone.

Fri I launched at a different spot at 6:30 (very close to high tide). I caught 17 stripers in the first 45 minutes while casting over shallow submerged rocks. I left to go exploring and returned about 10:00. I caught a few more stripers over those rocks, but the bite was definitely slower. Trolling was unproductive today, unlike the previous days. I attribute that to the different characteristics of the two different spots.

I have not tried to do an in-depth analysis of these observations. On all three days, the high tide was early, and the tidal exchange between that high and the next low was quite good. That means that the tidal current should have been strong. The times of my launches allowed for fishing under cool and low-angled sun (both of which were advantageous).

[Mark]

The problem, or perhaps the challenge that makes the hobby interesting, is that fishing conditions are never static. Trying to understand what triggers fish to bite would be a nightmare for scientists who seek the truth in controlled experiments. There is no such thing in our hobby. It's not just tides or time that matter.

If you fish by the clock, sunrises and sunsets change daily creating different times for the water to warm or cool, not to mention the impact of different air temperatures daily. Fish are photosensitive meaning that their key life behaviors, especially reproduction and feeding are impacted by the length of days and water temperatures. If you fish by the tides, high and low watermarks and rates of flow differ daily. One high tide is not the same as the next one or the prior one. And I haven’t even mentioned the barometer which differs throughout the day and from day to day even though we humans may not be able to detect it. Fish can, especially those in the shallow waters we kayak anglers generally patrol.

Predicting the absolute ideal time to fish is impossible given so many changing variables. There are generalities we can follow that my help to put us on fish. But we cannot rely on only one factor. That means the best time to fish is to go when we can and hope the fish honor our presence with a good bite. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. That certainly has been true for me. At this point I don’t care if they bite or not. Getting out is the joy of fishing for me.

[MD Dore]

Getting out is the joy of fishing for me.

I couldn't agree more with this. For years, I generally chose my fishing times based on the tides because I thought that would give me the best chance to catch fish. Then I began only fishing at dawn because I thought that would give me the best chance to catch fish. In both cases, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Now, I fish when it's most convenient to do so given my schedule and other commitments. Do I pay attention to the tidal cycle? You betcha, but typically the cycle doesn't materially change when I launch. I'm normally on the water for more than a few hours anyway, so if I hit a slcak tide, I use that as an opportunity to pedal to a new location so I am ready to go once the current starts flowing again. But the tides may impact where I fish. If I have an outgoing tide, for example, I may choose a location that has a number of feeder creeks for me to cast into.

With respect to the time of day, I generally prefer launching at dawn, but that has more to do with the cooler temps and with avoiding crowds than with having a greater chance of catching fish. I have had some days where I only caught fish in the early morning and just as many where the fish did not start biting until later in the day.

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[bignose]

All good answers!

I used to tell my students: "No dumb questions" (ahem, cough, cough, with tongue firmly in cheek). Keep asking, it is the fastest way to smooth out the learning curve.

To further complicate the tide vs. time question: some of the species we fish for, Striped Bass, for instance, in open water, are very current oriented, as well as photo sensitive. They will orient to structure if it is available, but are definitely more active during periods of flow. They are also a schooling fish that will pursue the baitfish.

Add into that barometric pressure, and a host of other details: temperature, salt levels, water clarity and you get the idea why this sport can be as challenging as you wish to make it.

Perch, on the other hand, seem to be more structure oriented, less influenced by current, more likely not to roam. You don't see "schools" of perch chasing baitfish like Stripers do. But find a good dock or bridge piling, and you can catch a number of them in one place.
Pickerel are very structure and cover oriented. Current doesn't seem to affect them much. They tend to be loners.

Around here the mid summer, fishing is certainly more pleasant early in the day.
Less heat, lower winds, fewer fishermen, boaters and crabbers competing for the same water, and a lower chance of thunderstorms make this time more attractive.

Me, I'm a lazy old s*** who prefers to fish bankers hours. I fish when I fish.
I am aware of tides and weather, but this is not gonna discourage me if it is the "wrong" tide.
Sometimes I catch fish, sometimes I don't.
To me, the fish is the least important part (at least that is what I tell myself when the fishing is poor.)

[rugbyfish]

Lots of good responses so far. I try to plan my trips so I have low light and moving tide together. My time is very limited now with a two month old at home, so I try to make the most of each outing. I’m with many of you, I like being in the water when most other boaters are not, and I don’t mind getting up early. At the end of the day though, the best time to go fishing is whenever you are able. My biggest striper last year came at slack low tide at 4:00 in the afternoon.

[ronaultmtd]

Lots of variables discussed...but I fish with Big Mike and Gary..and sometimes Doug...we normally launch into the first lights of dawn..5:00 or 5:15 am...various stages of tide...rarely totally slack...but the proof of the pudding is the eating...skunks do happen but usually one or more of our crew scores a "trophy size" fish- our trip Wednesday, Mike scores two beautiful redfish within fifteen minutes of catching the first in 3-4 feet of water...and as old men, we have physical limitations of three to four hours of duration...being retired allows us to pick and choose our trips...I fish twice a week...need a day of rest between trips...Mike sometimes fishes four times a week...summertime fishing for me is strictly a early morning outing regardless of tides...a bonus is a great afternoon nap at home...