Let's talk tides...

[DullBoyJack]

I'm new to the forum (first post!) so forgive me if this is the wrong spot. I also used the search function and couldn't find a specific topic dedicated to this, so without further ado...

This will be my first season doing any form of bank fishing for salmon or steelhead, and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about optimal conditions. One piece of that puzzle is tides, and I can't believe how much conflicting information I've found about when fish will want to move into a river. I've seen people say that incoming tide, outgoing tide, low tide, slack tide, are all the optimal time to fish. They all seem to make sense for one reason or another, so I can't go off of intuition:

Incoming tide- water is moving into the river, more fish moving with it?
Outgoing tide- if rains bring fish into the river, wouldn't more outflow do the same?
Slack tide- less movement, easier to fish?
Low tide- less water, easier to find the fish?

So confused!

[Jakefish]

Yes, it is all true and all very confusing. Different fisheries have different times that work, and different techniques that will work at different times. If you are fishing at the mouth where there is a noticeable fluctuation in water level with the tides, fishing the hour before and after tide change can be best. For a certain chum fishery up north, it is especially hot after the peak of high tide. For a certain chinook fishery up north, it is the hour or two below low tide.

The best explanation I have heard is that fish that are in transit are less interested in feeding. Fish that are resting are in theory more interested in feeding. Of course, no salmon are actively feeding at this point, but they are opportunists.

The further upriver you go, the more time you have to add to high tides for fish coming in. At a certain point when you get far enough upstream, tides cease to matter.

[dj2loud]

Most rivers that have glacial melt will not have tidal conditions, whatcom creek. dakota creek, california creek and the nooksack 1/2 mile upstream will have tidal conditions.. However in everson the nooksack no longer has a high or low tide as it all glacial melt upstream... Hope this helps...

I've been using the tidal app " tides near me " for apple IOS and its been damn accurate....

[ONCOfisher]

From the mere standpoint of accessibility, low tide can show you more of the hidden snags that high tide often covers up. Also during low tide you will sometimes find that to get closer to the water's edge that you'll often have to stand in the mud and the muck (it can be tricky sometimes and super-slick - I lost a fish and took a little swim once because the footing was so slippery).

High tides limit where you can stand on the bank - high and dry for the most part. I don't normally fish at the mouth, so I really can't speak to that aspect.

I prefer to fish the incoming tide along with the slack tide that follows it - (about an hour to an hour and a half before absolute high tide). I figure that the fish prefer to make it upstream with the least amount of effort. So it would make sense that they "ride the wave" so to speak. And then when the tide goes slack they just hang around, take a break, and bite at anything that annoys them.

On top of all that I, for me at least, it really depends on what technique I am fishing as well. Incoming and outgoing tide is great for drifting and plunking because of the current. Slack tide is a great time to toss any retrieval lure - the lure won't be cutting across the current and could feasibly appear more natural?