Q.Tides & Fishing
What tide is best for fishing?
A.
Moving water — the middle two hours of either an outgoing or incoming tide — fishes best for most inshore species. Slack high and slack low produce the slowest fishing. The first two hours of an outgoing tide is widely the most productive single window for redfish, speckled trout, and flounder around inlet mouths and creek systems.
Moving water concentrates bait against current breaks, oyster bars, and structure edges. Predators stack downstream of those breaks and feed efficiently. As tides slack, bait disperses and predators stop hunting. Most experienced inshore guides plan trips around the moving-water window in their primary tide cycle. See state tide guide pages for stage-by-stage timing in your region.