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Time, Tide & Tactics
By Andrew Schrodter
Hey team. Just wanted to touch base on tide, target species, lures, and how being time poor I am fishing when I get a chance. There’s always something to target, whether it be your favourite part of the tide or your least favourite. Let’s look at our options…
As I sit here writing this article, I think that one of the most annoying things is being time poor.
Myself, I work a lot building and can often go two to three weeks without wetting a line, depending on the workload. It drives me crazy. So, when I finally do get the chance, I want to put as many variables in my favour as possible.
A few of the topics here are fairly straightforward, however they all make sense and I reckon everyone can take a little away from another angler’s personal approaches to fishing. If you are time poor and you know you have a little opening coming up, there’s a few things to factor in. This includes the part of the tide that you'll get to fish, your main target species, and the lures that you'll be using. I'll give a few examples here of how I break things down.
Run Out Tide - Last 3 Hours
If by any luck I get this window I’m either chasing flathead, mangrove jack, barramundi, jewfish (mulloway), threadfin and bream. Pretty much everything eats on this stage of the tide. This really is my favourite part of the tide to fish, especially if I can match this with an early morning or late arvo. It also keys in with my lure presentations.
Firstly a few reasons why I like this part or the tide. More structure is exposed, with logs, weed, flats, drains, rock bars all starting to show themselves and it presents an easier target, with less water to find fish. The bait also seems to always find its way to one place which brings in the bigger fish. Presentations can include lures from all over the water column, from ZMan 2.75” Finesse FrogZ and ZMan 4” Pop FrogZ for surface fishing, to ZMan 3” MinnowZ, ZMan 4” DeiZel MinnowZ and ZMan SwimmerZ for sub-surface, just to name a few.
The next part of the tide… The first push of the run in.
This can be a very productive period and I have found that for me threadfin salmon and jewfish (mulloway) are on the target list. The push of the run in, from being a still tide, has for me always been pretty good for these species. I need to remember to take my time and fish slower with my retrieves, while really peppering an area. The areas that have proven productive include areas where I have found the bait from the last of the runout tide mentioned above. Once you really get to know your local system, you'll know where to be.
Again, using my ZMan paddle tail presentations mostly, while also throwing a ZMan 5” Scented Jerk ShadZ on lighter weighted TT HeadlockZ HD Jigheads. The time of day doesn't seem to be an issue here as the push brings cleaner water into the system that you’re fishing, and the predators come in with that.
My least favourite… Middle of the run in.
For me… and it might just be me… I've never had a great deal of success with the middle of the run-in tide. I actually avoid it and have no time or intention to fish it… lol. Sounds a bit harsh but for me that’s where it lays. If you have any recommendations, please shoot me a message.
Last of the run-in tide.
This is another good part of the tide. I reckon the last hour and half can be very productive. For me, jewfish (mulloway), giant herring, queenfish, barramundi and snapper have all been on my target list. It’s the part of the tide that starts to settle down. If you’re keyed in with your system that you fish you can now hit the structure that is out of water on the low tides, whether it be logs, snags, rock bars, large flats, mangrove edges, wrecks, or deep holes. Very similar to the last of the run out, all lures can be used to cover the water column.
A standout lure for me in some areas, like submerged wrecks and deeper holes, has been the TT Switchblade. With the water being deeper it’s very easy to get a blade down to the depth that you want and work it off the bottom. It also cuts down on time as I like to fish a bit faster at this stage of the tide. Another area to keep in mind are rock bars. They heat up during the day and can give you the one or two degrees more that you want, especially if you’re targeting barramundi and mangrove jack. Flathead also like the water to warm up on them.
Last, but not least – The start of the run out onwards.
I love run-out tides… the end. No, look the run-out tide has always been a favourite of mine. The whole run out! If being time poor has been my problem and I see it’s running out, I’ll go… unlike the
middle of the run in. If you get the time to fish the whole run-out, you get to target all areas twice, throwing the house at them. I’ll give you an example of a typical day when I get the chance to fish for the full run out tide.
Starting from top of tide.
Start of the run out I’ll spend the first two hours drifting over deeper reef and sand edges in the 5-6m range, throwing the 1/2oz TT Switchblade. Long casts in front of the drift, with short lifts off the bottom. I’ve done so well on snapper on this part of the tide.
Mid run-out tide, 2nd to 4th hour. This is where I like to run hardbodies and annoy jacks and barra, targeting fallen trees and rock bars. Be sure to be persistent. Either cover one spot that you know the fish hold on or drift long stretches of bank, with accurate casts in the shadows, under mangroves and over rock bars. If you have bends in your river system that lead to rock bars, settle in, and start casting.
The last three hours of the run out. Here we are back at my favourite period of the tide. Copy and paste the first part of this article, add some of the lures mentioned to your arsenal and enjoy.
All the best with your fishing, Andrew