Fishing the ebb to low water

[CoarseanglerSteve]

Tried this again last night, as family commitments and tide times rules out a HW session. After 2 attempts I am on the verge of giving this approach up. Has anyone got any advice as I just can't get my head around fishing as the tide recedes.

I cast out, wading out a little, but within 5 minutes I am starting to think I need to reel in as already my tripod is a few metres from the water. I am hindered as I fish a gentle sloping, almost flat beach, with a few gullies. Last night I started off fishing in a gulley, but soon the sandbar beyond my bait started to appear. I waited, waded out to that bar when I could, and started over, only for the same thing to happen.

I guess fishing just before LW would avoid that issue, but to make such a session viable you would really need to fish the flood too, which I admit is a bit daunting for me such is the pace that the tide comes in and fills the gullies behind you.

My success so far has been mainly fishing starting say 3 hours before HW. I find that more comfortable. Yes, you still need to be mindful of the incoming tide, but at least you can cast then retreat, knowing your bait is in water that is getting deeper!

I don't think the ebb fishes that well up here but would welcome any advice before I give up on that time completely!

 

[Mr Fish]

Hi Steve, it depends on the mark whether it fishes well then or other tide states, they all tend to vary.
We have shallow flat surf beaches here and the tide runs out at a crazy pace. You can pretty much cast out, then by the time you’ve dealt with a second rod, the gear from the first is practically high and dry.

As for advice, I decided some time ago it was wasn’t really viable for me to fish the main part of the ebb back on those sort of beaches. Just too much moving and not enough effective fishing time.
One or two down to low then the flood would be my tactic now.

In your case it’s hard to advise too much without seeing the beach, but it’s very wise to be cautious about gullies filling in behind you.
If you had time one day you could always leave the rods at home and go down in waders or even just shorts at the moment, and watch in daylight how quickly it floods and how easy it is to retreat back across the gullies.
Bearing in mind of course that the sand will shift to new formations pretty regularly anyway.

Another thing to consider is if the gullies are the fish holding features, fishing the ebb will have limited use as the fish will be looking to vacate them as the water disappears, whereabouts on the flood they will be looking to enter the gullies to feed.

 

[CoarseanglerSteve]

Hi Steve, it depends on the mark whether it fishes well then or other tide states, they all tend to vary.
We have shallow flat surf beaches here and the tide runs out at a crazy pace. You can pretty much cast out, then by the time you’ve dealt with a second rod, the gear from the first is practically high and dry.

As for advice, I decided some time ago it was wasn’t really viable for me to fish the main part of the ebb back on those sort of beaches. Just too much moving and not enough effective fishing time.
One or two down to low then the flood would be my tactic now.

In your case it’s hard to advise too much without seeing the beach, but it’s very wise to be cautious about gullies filling in behind you.
If you had time one day you could always leave the rods at home and go down in waders or even just shorts at the moment, and watch in daylight how quickly it floods and how easy it is to retreat back across the gullies.
Bearing in mind of course that the sand will shift to new formations pretty regularly anyway.

Another thing to consider is if the gullies are the fish holding features, fishing the ebb will have limited use as the fish will be looking to vacate them as the water disappears, whereabouts on the flood they will be looking to enter the gullies to feed.

Cheers Mr Fish, yes, I would say the beaches here are not dissimilar to where you are. I lived in North Devon for 10 years or more, though didn't sea fish at that time.

I have started to get to know the beach (from dog walking and worm pumping) but never feel I can fully concentrate on the rods if I am looking behind me on the flood! The gullies are notorious here but I am happy to fish the last few hours in (in daylight) although I am overly cautious compared to others.

The post was more to enquire if it is even viable to fish the ebb on beaches like that. I can't see it is unless for, say, bass where you can catch in the surf. I don't think I am going to bother again as the tide yesterday wasn't that low, but it still receded at such a pace that, like you say, you end up fishing in inches of water. I didn't even bother setting up a second rod.

Thanks again!

 

[Mr Fish]

Cheers Mr Fish, yes, I would say the beaches here are not dissimilar to where you are. I lived in North Devon for 10 years or more, though didn't sea fish at that time.

I have started to get to know the beach (from dog walking and worm pumping) but never feel I can fully concentrate on the rods if I am looking behind me on the flood! The gullies are notorious here but I am happy to fish the last few hours in (in daylight) although I am overly cautious compared to others.

The post was more to enquire if it is even viable to fish the ebb on beaches like that. I can't see it is unless for, say, bass where you can catch in the surf. I don't think I am going to bother again as the tide yesterday wasn't that low, but it still receded at such a pace that, like you say, you end up fishing in inches of water. I didn't even bother setting up a second rod.

Thanks again!

Ah, you know the score then.

Yes imo it’s probably not worth it as the constant moving and lack of effective fishing could see a lot of wasted hours with little reward.
Plus as I said, the fish know when the tide is ebbing and they’ll go with it.
I have caught bass by chasing the surf back but it’s such a bloody pain, I’ve done it very rarely.

Obviously I haven’t seen your beach but if the gullies are notorious and fill quickly, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.
I have sometimes learned marks simply by observing the flooding tide for a couple of hours but it’s finding the time and I have had to practically swim across a couple of full gullies that caught me out in my time, so better to leave too early than too late!

My rule of thumb with marks that get cut off is, I got on here two hours before low so I’ll leave 1.5 hours after.
Often prevailing wind or swell can push the water in quicker than it went out and even experienced anglers have been caught out, so I figure best to leave early.
Especially if you can’t actually see the cut off point from where you are.

 

[Topwater]

Good advice above but do not give up on fishing the ebbs if you are referring to the golden sands of the Fylde ! Yes it's harder work and you will need chest waders to wade right out to be within casting distance of water that fish will be happy to feed in rather than just flee from, but it's perfectly safe on the ebb if you know your marks as it's obviously dropping away all the time. The Fylde has a big (10m+) tide variation and believe me it can be very rewarding to fish 'in between the tides' despite the fact that the vast majority don't/won't bother. Fish have to feed at some stage if they're in front of you and far too many anglers just can't be bothered with the effort it involves! The last 3 hours of the ebb on smaller tides can be particularly can be very productive for bass and later in the year codling. On ebbs you want to find gullies that bait and therefore target fish concentrate in. Travel light with just a small bag of minial tackle bait, a drink etc on top of your tripod. Talking of tripods I've managed with a 6ft Ian Golds (god rest his soul) I got decades ago but will be buying a 7ft if I can ever get one post covid! I've seen a picture of your set up and I'd advise that you keep your rod tips higher up (above 45°) and move the butt cups up when wading out to fish standing in the sea so your reels are always well out of danger of swamping (more relevant on the flood obviously)

 

[CoarseanglerSteve]

Good advice above but do not give up on fishing the ebbs if you are referring to the golden sands of the Fylde ! Yes it's harder work and you will need chest waders to wade right out to be within casting distance of water that fish will be happy to feed in rather than just flee from, but it's perfectly safe on the ebb if you know your marks as it's obviously dropping away all the time. The Fylde has a big (10m+) tide variation and believe me it can be very rewarding to fish 'in between the tides' despite the fact that the vast majority don't/won't bother. Fish have to feed at some stage if they're in front of you and far too many anglers just can't be bothered with the effort it involves! The last 3 hours of the ebb on smaller tides can be particularly can be very productive for bass and later in the year codling. On ebbs you want to find gullies that bait and therefore target fish concentrate in. Travel light with just a small bag of minial tackle bait, a drink etc on top of your tripod. Talking of tripods I've managed with a 6ft Ian Golds (god rest his soul) I got decades ago but will be buying a 7ft if I can ever get one post covid! I've seen a picture of your set up and I'd advise that you keep your rod tips higher up (above 45°) and move the butt cups up when wading out to fish standing in the sea so your reels are always well out of danger of swamping (more relevant on the flood obviously)

Cheers Topwater.....good clear advice thanks. Might well give it another go at some point and take heed of your tips.

Thanks again.