How do you fish a low tide at the coast wading?

[Kingfisher789]

I’m going to SPI in February and just wondering how y’all attac a low tide wading? I’m hoping the water is good but a few weeks ago a low tide at Aransas Pass/Rock Port left me baffled. Thanks in advance for any tips. I’d like to put fish my girl this trip.

[Double C]

In bays - fish the marsh drains. Fish will wait in ambush for the scrimps and stuff coming out.

Surf? Just wade out further with PFD

[glen]

I prefer an outgoing. If your taking your kid just find some pillars or structure and let yhem catch sheephead and mangrove

[speck1]

With the water down the fish have moved to deeper grass beds over soft bottom. If you can find grass and mud in waist deep water with some bait present you will catch fish. Good luck.

[GARY]

I hate low tide (don't like high either)...prefer outgoing always. Saying that, if I am fishing, I generally follow speck1's advice.

[Muddy Bud]

If it’s late February it may not be so low. Bull tides start in March so you may be good. Really doesn’t matter if it’s high tide or low tide, as long as it’s moving your good.

[Capt Glenn]

If you fish the same areas you fish in June you may be disappointed. The fish will move with the drop in tides. Yeah, on days the water is dropping they may be stacked in drains but they also don't just stay in the drains until the tide comes back one day.

I think the question is what do you do with the overall low winter tide situation? Well, look at where you would have found them a couple months ago on a regular tide. Now look for where they would go that is close by when the water level drops. What channels and deeper structure is nearby? Go try that. Water that was 6' deep a couple months ago may only be 4' deep now. Look for reefs in deeper water, deeper channels, etc that are in somewhat close proximity to shallower flats. Those areas are good bets because when it is warm and sunny and the water comes up a little they will slide right back up on the flats to feed. When you get a front that drops the temps and the water level they will slide right back off to deeper structure. Look at rivers running into the bay, if they are salty and deeper they will stack up with fish in the winter. So long as they stay salty they will hold fish. Look at harbors and deep channels especially that are in somewhat close proximity to shallower flats.

Also keep in mind in the winter fish don't have to feed nearly as much. They may not feed every day even and when they do feed it may be for a shorter period of time. But not always, some days they still feed hard. You can literally be standing in a pile of fish and not get eaten for hours and hours and then in the same spot when they decide to eat it may be lights out. When they shut down they shut down and you may not be able to get 'em to eat at all. That is part of winter fishing.

[RifleBowPistol]

In bays - fish the marsh drains. Fish will wait in ambush for the scrimps and stuff coming out.

Surf? Just wade out further with PFD

I call those tidal flats. Yes, if you can find one or more. They can produce fishing that is insane for hours. I know of one, won't give it's location. I have fished it multiple times. Twice we fished it when the tide was going out, the fishing was absolutely crazy. Then I have fished it two or three three times, when the tide was either coming in or at low tide or at high tide, but basically the water was not flowing out. We did not catch a single fish. The two times we fished there when the tide was going out, I had my oldest nephew with me. He caught fish like he never had in his life. It was some of the best fishing I have ever experienced. The thing I had never experienced was the fact we were catching all types of fish and large stuff. We caught a lot of big reds, good sized to big black drum, sheepshead, nice sized trout and flounder. We just stayed right there at the mouth of that opening and kept casting out into the channel. That tidal flat would dump off into a channel. The fish were packed thick where the bottom dropped off fast.