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Tide tactics

Minstrelblue

Minstrelblue

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If you are casting lures into flowing water such as estuaries, what are the do's and don'ts?
Do you cast across, uptide or downtide. ?
Do predators swim with or against the tide to attack the lure?.
Do you pull a lure against or with the flow?
These are just some of the questions that haunt me.
 
Any and all.
Depends where you are standing in relation to flow.
 
I don't think there are any hard and fast rules. It will depend on lots of things. The bass will both hunt with the tide or hold station against it. Everything else I think is up in the air. Obviously it is harder to get a decent action out of any lures being pushed back towards you by the tide although some surface lures fish ok with the odd twitch and wind.
 
I usually cast up stream and let the current take it down when using a slow retrieve.
 
And what about the stage of the tide?
Depends on the mark etc... 1st hour, half water, last hour of the flood have been good for me.
 
eastcoastgreg said:
And what about the stage of the tide?
Depends on the mark etc... 1st hour, half water, last hour of the flood have been good for me.
Click to expand...
If I was to pick a time in the estuary by me it would be second half of the ebb when the fish are dropping back off the surrounding banks into the channels.
 
I have managed to catch fish on all states of the tide, found it more productive 3hrs before and 3 after high.
 
My main query is when retrieving a lure is it more natural to pull it against the flow or along with the flow,
If you cast and retrieve Across the flow it causes the line to bow and I'm not sure if that's ok
 
Minstrelblue said:
My main query is when retrieving a lure is it more natural to pull it against the flow or along with the flow,
If you cast and retrieve Across the flow it causes the line to bow and I'm not sure if that's ok
Click to expand...
Works just dandy for fly fishing as when retrieving the fly speeds up and usually induces a take- fish on as they say ;) Not had a problem with lures either.
 
Minstrelblue said:
My main query is when retrieving a lure is it more natural to pull it against the flow or along with the flow,
If you cast and retrieve Across the flow it causes the line to bow and I'm not sure if that's ok
Click to expand...
Try and think how a baitfish would behave. Shallow divers thrown up current and worked back just fast enough so they break surface now and again, floaters thrown up current and floated down with the occasional twitch. Spoons like Tobys work well fished up current and fished quite fast. Down and across and let the lure work itself across the flow. If you have some structure then work it from all directions til you run out of lures.
 
Minstrelblue said:
My main query is when retrieving a lure is it more natural to pull it against the flow or along with the flow,
If you cast and retrieve Across the flow it causes the line to bow and I'm not sure if that's ok
Click to expand...
If using unweighted soft plastics, then I’d cast up and allow the lure to drift down the current and I usually find the take is on the point when you start retrieving, ie the predator is forced to either ignore and loose, or strike for its meal.
Metals are the opposite and I tend to fan out and draw against the current. Where as hard plastic lures are fanned across the current.
 
Where’s Wally said:
If using unweighted soft plastics, then I’d cast up and allow the lure to drift down the current and I usually find the take is on the point when you start retrieving, ie the predator is forced to either ignore and loose, or strike for its meal.
Metals are the opposite and I tend to fan out and draw against the current. Where as hard plastic lures are fanned across the current.
Click to expand...
Lovely. Just the sort of thing I was hoping for. Very informative. Thanks
 
Minstrelblue said:
Lovely. Just the sort of thing I was hoping for. Very informative. Thanks
Click to expand...
You’re more than welcome.
You will have to start experimenting with options and MOST importantly, states of the tides.
A predator will know instinctively where and when to feed, but like everything else, it’s mark dependent. The advantages of estuary fishing is that you know the bass will have to pass you at some point, the key to success is to predict what the predator will be expecting to find at any point of the tide.
Are they actively chasing prey, scooping up scraps, or are they sitting in a gully waiting to ambush other larger prey?
Probably my favourite form of lure angling as you’re constantly mobile and swapping and changing techniques.
One caveat; I do well on the flood, but haven’t cracked the code for the ebb yet! Plenty of practice needed.
 
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