The best tide for fishing

The best fishing usually comes on the moving water on either side of the tide turn, not at dead high or dead low. A running tide carries bait and triggers fish to feed, and the hour before and after the turn often produces the most. The exact best tide depends on your spot, but moving water is the common thread.

Why moving water matters

A current does the work for you. It sweeps bait off flats and around structure, and predators set up to ambush it. When the tide stalls at the top or bottom, that conveyor stops and the bite often slows. As the tide starts to run again, it switches back on. This is why so many anglers fish the turn, working the last of one current and the first of the next.

Incoming or outgoing?

It depends on the place. An incoming (flood) tide pushes clean water and bait onto flats and into marshes, which can turn on fish that move up to feed. An outgoing (ebb) tide drains those same flats and concentrates bait at creek mouths and channel edges, where predators wait. Learn which your spot favors, and keep a log.

Stack the odds with solunar and light

Two more inputs raise a tide window from good to prime:

• Solunar: a major feeding period that overlaps a moving tide is a strong combination.
• Low light: dawn and dusk are classic. A moving tide at first or last light is hard to beat.

When the tide, the solunar window, and the light all line up, fish it.

How to time it with Slackwater

Slackwater marks the next high and low, so you can plan to be on the water through the turn, and it rates the solunar windows for the day. Browse tide times by location for your spot, and read what slack water is and solunar theory for the why.