Im looking for some information from you guys, knowing i can trust it.  my new found stomping grounds are part of a tidal river system, and needless to say i have little experience of these rivers.  When is the best time to fish, low or high tide?  i have heard from local anglers that low tide concentrates the baitfish and it is easier to find them at this time, but i havent had any success.  high tide has been the unanimous best time, but for what reason, is there just more water for the fish to spread out, and allow them to easily relate to cover or structure?  i do have a very basic knowledge of currents and how bass relate cover and structure in current, but how does this "pattern" change by the fluctuation of water levels?  in the past month i have seen the water drop as little as 3 inches to a vast drop of over 4 feet. so far all i have done is graphed in detail bottom compostion at low tide.  i would greatly appreciate any help that you guys can offer that wil help me atleast get a bite.  thank you.  

Kana

Try to purchase a copy of Woo Daves' "River Fishing Techniques: Tidal Rivers with Woo Daves" from Bass Pro Shops.

This video discusses tide charts, maps, feeder creeks, weeds, trees and has lots of graphs. It is an excellent production with a lot of valuable information.

You have to be up to date on the incoming and outgoing tide times when you fish tidal rivers.  Especially the outgoing tide and its strength.

Some outgoing tides rush out like water down a sink drain and you can be left high and dry.

High water hides the stumps, mud flats and rocks so be careful on your first visit to a tidal river.  It is always a good move to scout the river first and ask the locals at your bait shop or boat launch where the hazards are that you should avoid.

As for fishing tidal rivers, look for wood along the shore and the mouths of creeks.  Grasses are good, too as are boat docks and bridges.

Baits? Anything works from spinner baits to your favorite plastics.  Buzzbaits and topwaters can do well, too.  Crankbaits are also a choice.

Good luck and let us know how you did.

And one more thing...

Guys, can you give us the formula for fishing tides.

I thought it is two hours after high tide and one hour before low tide.

Thanks.

Woo's video is perfect for learning about fishing tidal water.

Most tidal fisherman prefer to fish the outgoing tide within a couple hours of the low tide, through the slack water of the low tide to about an hour after the low tide.

The low water = less water volume and therefore concentrates the fish.  

The best time to be there is during an outgoing tide. Bass are pulled back toward deeper water. Be in the right places in the last few hours (back half) of an outgoing tide. In that case it's any holes in river bends that pool up animals being flushed back out. Many hang up in those pools. The idea is to be on a pool close to the time of lowest level but not after, so you keep moving, running the tide from hole to hole. You just motor up or down river a few miles to stay with a productive pool pattern. It pays to run the river and mark all the holes so you can plan ahead which pools will be just right when you arrive. If there are docks, bass will be moving out to the ends rather than feeding at the bank ends. Instead of in the creeks and ditches, they will be where those enter the river. They follow the baitfish which are flused into deeper.

Fish the river edges on an incoming tide, but at that time bass are terribly scattered out feeding in places not as accessible during low pool.

At its lowest level with no current at all scout for holes or go home. I think there's a big difference between bass in tidal rivers and those in constantly flowing non-tidal rivers. Even though a tidal river has a constant downstream flow, bass don't behave the same as in inland rivers. Tidal bass seem to depend on the tide current each way. Anyway, that's the way it was anywhere around Norfolk, VA.

Jim