It's About Time

Many fisherman have a box full of tackle, more rod and reels than they could possibly use, and every lure needed for catching a particular type of fish. After all, these are the essentials for catching fish right?. What can be more important than the right gear? Well, that just may be timing. Timing is everything when it comes to putting more fish in the box. It's not just the time of day, it is the time of month, and year. Having all that gear and special tackle does nothing if you are out on the wrong day or at the wrong time. So what is the best way to get it right. Sometimes it may be impossible with work, school, family, etc. which may not allow you to be out on the perfect day or at the perfect time. But there are ways to increase your chances. Weather, tidal flow, moon phases, and time of day, month, and year, as well as river levels can all affect when you should be on the water. Adjusting when and where to go is determined by the all of the above. Prime examples are if you are fishing lakes or canals affected by river levels that may be too high, it would not be the right time for that particular spot. It would better to choose a spot that is not affected. Sounds simple, but a lot of folks are determined to fish an area regardless of conditions and usually come back with little to show for it. Watching river levels and tidal flow are important. Water movement can determine if you catch a few or load the boat. Timing your trip to the movement of the tide is essential. The great debate will always be what's best tide, incoming or out going. Typically an out going tide produces best for certain species such as redfish, black drum, bass, and crappie. Speckled trout seem to be indifferent and sometimes bite better on an incoming tide. Although this does not hold true all the time. What happens on out going tides here in the southern marshes is that it pulls the feed out of the grass and creates a feeding frenzy. But incoming tides can also move schools of bait creating the same effect. The same holds true for river levels. Falling rivers are typically better than rising ones. Planning your day to fish on days with greater tidal flow may increase your chances. Time of day is also an important factor especially in the hotter months of summer. The daylight bite at this time of year can be fantastic and you can avoid the numerous thunderstorms that pop up in the afternoon. That being said, if you are not an early fisher, late afternoon can also produce. Usually an hour or two before dark will be the best times. The problem with the late afternoon trips in the summer are that those pesky storms may still be around to ruin the day. Winter time may be just the opposite. The early and late bite can be good ,but sometimes if its cold, mid-day may be best time to fish when the water heats up. Just a few degrees rise in water temperature can make the fish bite. Spring and fall may just depend on weather, tides, moon phases, etc for best times. Planning out of town fishing trips can be even more difficult in predicting the best dates to go. Sometimes simply looking up fishing records on a body of water may help determine the best time to go. This can indicate when a certain species may be spawning or on an annual run. For instance if you were looking to catch striped bass and the place you were looking at had lake records or even state records in the month of May, it may be that month you would want to schedule. That goes for any type of fish you wish to catch. The fall and spring are excellent times for freshwater, and inside saltwater, but summer may be best for offshore when the winds are usually less than in the other months. Timing for trips according to the weather is also important. Wind direction and speed should always be taken into consideration when choosing your location. Heading to the surf side of the islands with strong south winds would not be the right choice for that day. Always knowing which side of a lake that will be affected by wind direction is important. This will save you fishing time. There are a lot of factors that determine if you will have a successful day on the water but timing may be the most important. Although there is really no bad day to fish, conditions allowing, putting all those factors together may help you be more successful. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.