Fishing on the surface can be challenging for any angler, especially when you fish where it’s shallow. When you add in the difficulty of seeing your lure clearly and getting that lure to pop up quickly, it can seem downright impossible. That is unless you know some helpful tips to surface fish like a pro. These tricky waters require an arsenal of surface fishing techniques to help you catch more trout than usual on your next trip. Don’t worry; we’ll keep it simple and leave the science out of this article. You need to know that there are plenty of effective ways to catch more trout feeding at or near the surface. Here are a few tidal patterns that will give you better results with less frustration.
What Causes the Tidal Patterns for Surface Fishing?
Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon & sun. The strength of these two bodies’ gravitational pull varies depending on the alignment of the sun, moon, and earth. The gravitational pull is the strongest when the alignment is just right, causing higher tides. The gravitational pull is weaker when the alignment is not ideal, causing lower tides. The moon’s gravitational pull is stronger than the sun’s, so its effect on tides is more pronounced. That means the moon’s gravitational pull is responsible for producing fortnightly tidal cycles. The sun’s gravitational pull produces diurnal tidal patterns that have a more subtle impact on tides. Diurnal tides are smaller tides that occur 12 hours after a new or full moon.
Find out where the sun rises and sets before you go fishing.
It might seem obvious, but it’s a crucial step that’s easy to overlook. You need to know if the sun will come from the east or west. All you need is a simple compass to pinpoint exactly where the sun will rise and set concerning where you’ll be fishing. If you’re fishing from a boat, you’ll want to account for tides in both directions. That is because tides moving towards or away from the shore are often stronger than tides moving parallel to the beach. Tidal currents can alter how fish behave, how deep they’re holding, and how easily you can reach them. If you don’t know where the sun will rise, you won’t know how tides will impact the fishing.
Learn to recognize the high-tide line and how it can help you catch more trout.
The high-tide line is the line that separates where the water is covering land and where it is covering sand, gravel, or another terrain. If you’ve ever been to the beach, you’ve stepped on the high-tide line. This is the area where the tide has covered the shore and is creeping up onto the beach but has not yet reached the dunes. The high-tide line is a transition zone between the river and the dry land. It’s also a transition zone between sunlight and shade. Trout feed in both areas, but they prefer to feed in the shadows, especially when the water temperature is high. When you find the high-tide line, you’ll see where the water ends, and the dry land begins. You’ll also see where sunlight ends, and shade begins. This is an excellent starting point for feeding fish.
The high tide drift is another effective way to surface fish.
If you’re fishing a tidal river and don’t want to venture off the bank, you can still catch more trout using the tide when the tide is at its peak, fish near the high-tide line, and move your boat or kayak to a new area near the high-tide line when the tide starts to fall. When you fish with the tide, you’ll come across more hungry trout since the fish will be there when the tide is at its peak. When the tide starts to fall, it pulls the fish back towards the bank, making them more accessible. Keep in mind that the trout will be in slightly different areas at different times of the day. You’ll want to fish with the tide for a few hours and then switch to fishing against the tide for a few hours.
Other helpful techniques when you’re fishing on or near the surface.
Use a tidal current graph to determine where you should be fishing. This will give you a visual representation to show where the water is moving at different times of the day. You can also use your graph to help you determine when you want to switch from fishing with the tide to fishing against the tide. The sunshade is a simple device to help you read the water better. You’ll use it to shade the water at different points along the bank and at different times of the day to determine where the trout are holding. And there, you have a few tidal patterns that will give you better results and less frustration when fishing on or near the surface. These fishing tips will help you catch more trout regardless of the season, but they’re most effective in the spring and summer. Happy fishing!