Top 3 Types Of Spots To Fish On An Incoming Tide (And Why)
- By: Richard Thomas
- on
Are there specific things to look for or advantageous spots to fish an incoming tide?
Moving water is essential to successfully catch inshore saltwater fish.
Incoming tides provide lots of opportunities.
Check it out!!
Spots To Fish On An Incoming Tide [VIDEO]
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Equipment Mentioned:
1) Flats
The first type of spot I look for on incoming tides is your basic flats.
Especially starting right at low tide.
Water moves up onto the flats and bait can explore more of that water.
As soon as you can get your vessel or craft onto the flats, the better.
You can set up on the flats before the predatory fish even get there.
The reason fish love to feed on the flats during an incoming tide is all the bait and food are being pushed toward them.
So it is advantageous to focus on areas with some structure, troughs, potholes, and cuts on the flat.
Fish will use these areas to sit and wait to ambush bait passing by.
Shallow flats are easy hunting grounds for hungry fish.
2) Points
Once we reach the mid-tide level and the water levels rise a bit, that is when I target points.
Points that specifically have structure on or near them.
This can be in the form of rocks, oysters, or shell bottom.
All of that water and bait is getting pushed and whipped around points to then split off in different directions.
So those predatory fish are sitting right on that point waiting for meals to swim right into their faces.
3) Flooded Structure
This applies to any type of flooded structure on a flat or structure tucked up against a grassline and even docks or pilings.
Flooded structure is a critical area to fish on a higher tide cycle with higher water levels.
These areas are extremely popular for bait to congregate around because they feel safe and protected.
Predators know this and naturally drift toward feeding in these areas.
If you find an oyster bar or shell mound on low tide, that will be an excellent spot when the tide comes back in.
It is also a bonus if you’re near a creek mouth or exit for bait to try and escape to.
As soon as the tide turns, most of the time, that is where those predators are going to be.
Lure Selection
On the lower part of the tide cycle, I’ll go with some type of shrimp presentation.
For me, that is the Power Prawn USA shrimp lure in either the original or junior size.
Then as we move to fish points and the tide is halfway in, you’ll want to use finfish imitations.
For example, the Slam Shady 2.0 paddletail or the Slam Shady BOMBER are great presentations.
Lastly, on high tide, I really enjoy using popping corks.
The Power Prawn USA underneath a popping cork just does an excellent job of mimicking shrimp behavior at this stage in the tide cycle.
Conclusion
The goal when fishing an incoming tide is to take advantage of moving water and knowing where the fish are staging beforehand.
Fishing around points and near flooded structure at ANY time in the tide cycle is going to get you on fish!!!
Do you have more questions or things you feel we left out?
Go ahead and share your thoughts with us in the comments section!!
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Thanks for the video very helpful.
Anytime Billy, glad you liked it!
Another jam-packed info-vid Richard.Thanks Man.
No problem Jan! Appreciate it!
Richard, once again another great informative video. I’m really learning a lot of techniques you’ve been sharing. Thank you sir.
Glad to hear Matthew! Definitely let me know how your next trip goes!
Great information
Glad it was helpful Marmion!
Clear!
I’m glad Philip!
Great tips and tricks!
Thanks Efrain!
Another information packed video! Lots of great examples on where to find fish. Thank you Richard for being so specific on how you fish the tide cycles!
Appreciate it bro! The tide is everything!
Absolutely awesome video and advice, Richard. Would LOVE to see same analysis on the stages of the outgoing tide. Awesome.
Appreciate it James! Outgoing is even easier, I’ll be happy to make one in the future on this same topic!
Thanks Richard for another great video. I love fishing the grass flats because we have a lot of them in the central coast of Texas. Would you still fish the flats on low tide even on a hot Texas day? Would the water temperature make a difference? Thanks
Good question Mark, so it depends- my last insider report just covered some of this, but I paired it up with an incoming tide.
If it was a low outgoing tide I had little success on the super hot days. If it was low and incoming however I’ve had much better results.
Thank you this is great info
Anytime Lou!