Just curious if anyone has any advice for fishing tidal rivers. This is something that really gets my gears turning. It is new to me and am just looking for some general guidelines to follow. Are there certain times when you should be in certain types of places. Are there areas that are not productive and not worth fishing..... I will be focusing on the Delaware, The Potomac, and The Upper Cheasapeake.

First try fishing the brackish as you would the fresh. The Potomac is renoun for the largemouth is inhabits.

Tides will play a big role in how you should fish. I am by no means in the know on tidal water SO I really cant enlighten you anymore than that.

i fish the potomac a few miles up stream for washington   the tide is there but its not as servere as the tide down closer to the bay    well i locate structure  usally wood  at variety of depths  maybe in 2 foot 5 foot and 10 foot     when i find it i will fish the structure at 2 foot or 5 foot when the tide is up   then when its normal  i will fish the 5 or 10 foot structure and then the 10 when the water level is really low    take a half a day locating the structure with your graph before you ever throw a lure into the water  

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Tides will play a big role in how you should fish.

Tides are the big role and how they affect selected structure. Raising or falling tides and the point in the flood or falling tide all come into play.  

Begin by looking at the flow of the tide as a current and then fish those areas as you would fish a river with a similar current.

Then to complicate matters fish will react to the water level...is it raising or falling? Did it just start to fall or raise?

Some day I'll figure it out.

Tide should be moving.  Last 2 hours of outgoing,  first 2 hours of incoming.

This is one tough puzzle to figure out. I will usually just find a creek or backwater area with some grass and timber and break out the jig-rod. But at certain times when those tides are coming in or going out I will fish the main river.

Hey new guy here.  Yes I will agree with the other folks. What I would do is start out two hours before or after a tide. Fish like current and chasing bait. At least the stripped bass do.

    Keep in mind if its a full moon or a new moon you will have more water exchange.

  Hope to meet some new buds.