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Let me give
you some characteristics of tidal water bassin' to start thinking
about and then we'll
discuss the subject in depth:
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With the exception of short
periods of time at both maximum high and low tide conditions,
tidal
waters are in continual motion.
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The constantly moving currents
preclude stratification of the water by temperature or oxygen
level.
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The oxygen content is nearly
always excellent.
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The shallow zones are always
cooler in Summer and warmer in Winter than a body of still
water would be.
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The fluctuating direction of
tidal flows creates structure features not found in non-tidal
rivers and
lakes.
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The resident bass are much more
heavy-bodied and stronger than their still-water cousins.
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The waters are very fertile and
normally clean.
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The bass are extremely
predictable as to location and feeding patterns.
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Tidal water bass are generally
found at the same depths year-round, though their responses
will be slower during the colder months.
No matter
what type of water you may fish, there is one `rule' which remains
constant: Moving water
draws feeding bass like a magnet. In the shallow, grass-bowl lakes
of Florida, any flowing canal, or
run-off water from sustained rains, is a sure place to locate bass.
In more Northern reservoirs, the
junctions of feeder creeks and tributaries provide excellent feeding
areas for the fish. River fishermen
know all too well that certain locations with specific
current-related characteristics continually hold
bass schools. Tidal waters, with their near-constant state of
motion, are no exception, only better!
When the
angler evaluates the topography and special features of tidal areas,
he will find the
opportunities for locating bass numerous. For discussion purposes,
we will divide tidal waters into three
zones: coastal flats and bays; confined tributaries; and, inland
marshes. Working our way in from the
source of tidal influence, the ocean, we first note the coastal
flats and bays. These may be rather large
expanses, such as Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, or smaller areas,
where a river empties directly
into the ocean. In either case, the general terrain is normally
shallow, grass-filled flats, with limited
variation of depth. The area near the entrance of the tributaries
will usually be very shallow, due to the
build-up of silt, while the depth will increase further out into the
bay.
These bays
and flats will be brackish waters, with an increasing degree of
salinity as one
approaches closer to the actual ocean. Bass have been found to be
very tolerant of a goodly amount of
salt in their water, so how close to the actual ocean they may be
found must be determined for each
specific area. A good rule of thumb is that the rear one- half of
the bay should support bass.
In addition
to the natural vegetation, certain man-made features will be found
in these locations.
Among these are sea walls, piers, boat houses, bridges and
associated rip-rap, barge and boat
mooring areas, and duck blinds. The tidal water bass of the bays and
flats will orient to water flow first,
and objects, second. Moving water brings food and bass know that
very well.
Accordingly,
groups of bass will be found where the current if flowing, yet in a
location that allows
them to remain just out of its effects. Because of this, any area of
constriction, such as the
passageway under a bridge or a open zone between heavy weed growth
can be real 'hot-spots'. No
matter which way the tidal current is moving through a constriction,
the bass will normally be on the
down-current side and holding in an area of eddy water. Look for the
back-flow of an eddy and work the
edge of it thoroughly.
This leads
to one of the important rules for fishing tidal water- `bass will
virtually never be found in
the same locations on both outgoing and incoming tides.' Similar
locations, yes; the same locations,
no. This must be fully understood so that time is not wasted fishing
yesterday's 'hot spot', when the
tidal conditions are different today. A bass loves moving water and
the food it brings, but he must have
an adjacent, protected area to hold out of the force of the flow.
Areas of
open water grass can be exceptionally good, but, again, the angler
should apply the
principles of reading current flow. In addition, attention should be
paid to depth. Moving water is `bulk'
material. As such, it tends to flow with greater force within, and
along, a channel or area of increased
depth. In the tidal bays and flats, these `channels' may be very
subtle and noted by nothing more than
a foot or so of depth variation.
Should you
locate a slightly deeper area within the vast expanse of weed
growth, note closely its
boundaries and the relationship to the weed beds. The bass will use
the weeds for cover and
concealment, as well as a shield against the current flow. Normally,
expect to find them in the
down-current edge of the weeds closest to the strongest current.
Duck blinds
and old mooring pilings are favorite fishing locations for most
tidal water anglers. They
are also favored by bass, since they are some of the few open water
objects the fish have to relate to.
Bass are nearly always found around these locations, but the best
will still be determined by reading
the adjacent current flow. Duck blinds always have an opening in the
center, accessible from one end
of the blind, or from the rear. In addition to its perimeter, be
sure to fish within the blind, itself. In warm
weather, be especially cautious of snakes sunning on the grass,
limbs and poles of duck blinds.
A `confined
tributary' is any creek, stream or river which is effected by the
tidal fluctuations. Bass
populations in these waters are usually very high and extremely
predictable as to location, again by
reading the current flow and the adjacent shielding ambush areas.
A tidal
tributary has some interesting characteristics which differ from its
non-tidal cousins. First,
the alternating direction of the changing tidal flows has a tendency
to create deep holes in areas where
the bottom composition is soft. Accordingly, the tributary may have
an average depth of 10-15 feet, but
have deep areas of up to 50 and 60 feet. Where, in a non-tidal
tributary the inside bends of a channel
turn are usually shallow and have a bar, the tidal counterpart
usually has a deep hole on the inside
bend. However, there may be a bar below and/or above that hole.
These bars,
or the bank area upstream or downstream from the hole, serve are
current breaks for
holding and feeding bass. Which ones hold fish are defined by the
direction of the tidal currents at the
time. Nearly always, the downstream current break is the one to
fish. The outside bends of the tributary
may also have a deep area, depending on the sharpness of that bend.
However, there is an oddity to
these outside turns. Most seem to have a shallow shelf which runs
out for a distance before dropping
off into the deep water. The tidal current will generally maintain
itself within the deeper confines of the
channel, and the bass hold on the shallow shelf in the slight eddy
that is created.
Another
interesting, and important, characteristic of a tidal tributary has
to do with the mouths of
feeder creeks and other major drainages into it. In non-tidal
situations, feeder creeks usually have a
defined channel which extends a distance out into the adjoining
tributary, with a bar on the downstream
side. Since `down-stream' changes four times a day in tidal waters,
the currents never allow this bar to
fully form. If one is noted, it will usually be very small.
In addition,
the protruding channel also is also absent. What is usually found is
that, at the place
where the feeder creek flow intersects the main tributary flow, a
washout will occur, resulting in a hole
with a steep drop-off. Bass will gather along the top lip of this
drop on outgoing tides and for short
periods when the maximum high and low tide conditions are reached.
The further upstream one goes in
the tributary, the less the tidal influence will be. Consequently,
these characteristic features we have
mentioned will gradually diminish.
The `inland
marsh' areas are those back-waters off the confined tributary. These
usually have a
feeder creek or main drainage channel flowing through their midst
and will have numerous small
drainage ditches and channels intersecting all along its course. At
high tide, virtually all the marsh will
be flooded, while at low tide possibly only the drainage channels
will contain water. When the marsh is
flooded, the bass will seek food out in the thick cover growth. In
most cases the marsh flats themselves
are inaccessible. However, when the waters begin to fall, the bass
instinctively move towards deeper
water and will normally return to the drainage channels. For that
reason, falling and low tide conditions
are always prime times to be in the marsh areas.
Moving
waters are being constantly mixed. Accordingly, there is very
little, if any, stratification by
temperature level or oxygen content. This fact is very much in the
favor of the angler, in that it normally
precludes bass from taking up deep water positions in tidal areas.
In fact, the year-round depth pattern
on any given body of tidal water remains generally constant. The one
major difference in cold and hot
weather fish positioning is that the bass will not be found in the
shallow cover zones during the colder
months. The cold causes the food chain to vacate the shallows and
move to open water areas. The
bass, of course, follow.
We have
already mentioned the feeder creeks and drainage channels in regards
to where they
converge with the main tributary. In addition to that drop-off and
hole at the mouth, there are a couple
of other features to be noted. As the creek or channel intersects
the tributary, its waters, and the
accompanying silt it carries, will encounter the resistance of the
tributary flow at incoming and high tide
conditions. This causes a build-up of the slit just inside the mouth
and creates a shallow area. Just
behind the shallow slit bar, the waters will start to deepen again
and this is an excellent place to find
schools of bass. First, it provides a current shield on the incoming
tide. Second, it traps limbs and
other debris drifting out on a falling water condition and creates
what tidal anglers refer to as `log jams'.
Lure
selections for tidal waters follow the same criteria as for any
other location. First, key the lure
to the depth of water to be fished. Experience has shown that the
vast majority of tidal water bass are
caught, year-round, in ten feet, or less, of water. Second, consider
the most probable retrieve speed,
based on the season and water temperature. Temper both of these
criteria with consideration of the
lure's ability to be worked in the cover (grass, logs, duck blinds,
etc.) of the area being addressed. A
third criteria is purely seasonal, and that is lure size. During the
colder months, always go with small
lures to insure maximum response.
While I am
definitely not an advocate of lure color being relevant in catching
bass, it does appear
that some color selections work better in the brackish, stained
tidal waters. The darker colored plastic
worms and jigs always appear to do better. Black and purple get the
top nods. This would seem
reasonable, in that the aquatic life usually takes on the basic
color of its surroundings. In crank plugs,
reflective chrome finishes are the top producers. White, yellow, and
chartreuse are usually chosen by
the spinner bait anglers. These brighter colors would seem to be a
bit out of line with the rationale for
the worm selection. However, fast moving lures basically trigger
`impulse' strikes and they need to be
seen and attract attention.
Actual lure
presentation in tidal areas is about the same as for any other type
of water. However, a
point to note is the direction of the retrieve in relation to the
current flow. Fish will always face into the
oncoming current. Therefore, always present the lure upstream and
retrieve with the current. Cross
current retrieves are also acceptable, if the cast is made upstream
of where the bass are most
likely to be holding. In other words, keep the lure out in front of
the bass's field of vision.
There is a
plastic worm variation which should be noted. Because the bottom of
tidal water areas is
often coated with bothersome decaying vegetation and a fine,
hair-like grass, a constantly moving,
`swimming' retrieve may be required. This can be done with a
lightly-weighted, Texas-rigged lure, with
the slip sinker securely `pegged' with a toothpick. Another
variation is rig a `ribbon-tail' worm with a
small split shot just ahead of it, and a swivel inserted into the
line above the shot. The object is to
make a very slow retrieve, while keeping the lure just off the
bottom. This is an extremely deadly lure
in the drainage channels of the marshes during a falling tide. In
fact, the swimming worm is possibly
the best tidal water lure ever devised. It's that good, believe me.
One specific
fact the angler will immediately note about tidal water bass is
their unusually high level
of stamina and strength. Undoubtedly, this muscularity comes from
living in an environment of constant
current. Lots of exercise obviously builds strong bodies. Another
physical characteristic of these bass
is their short, chunky body form. Biologists indicate that while
their bodies will be solid and quite
strong, much of their normal growth potential is consumed by
expending energy compensating for that
current flow. As a result, tidal bass over eight pounds are very
rare.
Outside of
lure color, the single most debated topic among tidal water anglers
is the tidal condition
which is most productive. The arguments cover the entire
spectrum-high, low, rising, and falling. The
fact is, they are all good times to fish. The tidal condition has
absolutely nothing to do with WHEN a
bass will feed, only with WHERE he will be found. The same fishing
`truism' applies to both tidal and
non-tidal waters: "Catching bass is easy; finding him is the
hard part." But, once the angler learns to
effectively read tidal topography and moving tidal currents, the
`finding' aspect will become reasonably
easy, too..
Selecting
tidal water lures means paying attention to the primary factors of
depth and speed, while
also matching them to the type of cover being fished to preclude
snagging and tangling. Smaller lures
are more productive in the colder months. Dark-colored soft plastic
lures, reflective-finish crank plugs,
and bright-colored spinner baits always seem to be best. Below is a
"fisherman's choice" of
recommended lures.
LURE
COLOR APPLICATION
Plastic Worm Purple
Grass, objects, points, bars, eddy water.
6 inch (Winter, use 4 inch). `Swimming worm' in creeks, marsh
drainage channels.
Plastic grub Smoke or
Pilings, rip-rap, points, bars,
Black creek-mouth and
channel drops.
Spinner bait White or
Grass, pads, visible objects. Chartreuse Stay shallow. Move to buzz
bait
early and late. Over thick grass, use a `Snagless Sally'. Crank plug
Silver and Points, bars,
channel drops. black 4-8 feet, depending on location.
Top water Gold foil
Eddy water, open areas in grass, objects, areas of bait fish
activity, pads.
Bagley Bang-O-Lure, Tiny Torpedo excellent.
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