Fishing with the Tides - Best Tides for Fishing

The movement of water affects where fish feed, how they behave, and which areas are accessible to anglers. This article explains which tides offer the best fishing conditions and how to use the app to plan around them.

When are the best Tides for fishing?

Experienced anglers know that timing your fishing with tidal movements can improve your results. Here's the best tides for fishing:

Incoming (Rising) Tide

Often considered the best time to fish because:

• Fish move from deeper waters into shallow feeding areas
• Baitfish and prey get pushed toward shorelines
• Water covers previously dry structures, creating new feeding spots
• Rising water activates dormant fish and triggers feeding

Outgoing (Falling) Tide

The outgoing tide also creates excellent fishing opportunities:

• Fish gather in channels and deeper holes as water funnels out
• Baitfish get pulled away from shorelines through predictable paths
• Predatory fish position themselves at these bottlenecks for easy feeding
• The falling water concentrates fish into smaller, more defined areas

Why water movement matters?

Strong tidal currents typically improve fishing by:

• Triggering active feeding in many fish species
• Making smaller prey fish more vulnerable
• Moving nutrients and food throughout the water
• Stirring up bottom sediment, which can attract feeding fish

When to avoid fishing?

These tidal conditions can make fishing more challenging:

• Slack Tide: When water isn't moving between high and low tides
• Dead Low Tide: When water is at its lowest level, especially in shallow areas
• Extreme Tides: Very high or very low tides that can disrupt normal fish behavior

Using Fishing Points to plan best Tide times

Fishing Points helps you identify the best tidal fishing opportunities:

1. Open Tides in your menu
2. Review the tide graph showing rising and falling patterns
3. Look for the arrows indicating incoming or outgoing tide
4. Check the tide calendar for best tide times
5. Combine tidal information with Fish Activity score for best results

Adapting to different fishing environments

Different fishing environments benefit from different tidal strategies:

Inshore and flats: Target the final phase of incoming tide and initial phase of outgoing tide

Bridges and inlets: Focus on peak current periods when water movement is strongest

Offshore areas: Tides have less impact, but still consider tidal movement when fishing near structures