If i had to choose it would be time. Been surprised a few times by it in crap conditions and tides... Sometimes just got to wait for that happy hour. Dusk is my favorite though.

 

I like dawn but prefer dusk

 

For me it has to be tide really as most of my marks only fish 3hrs to high tide

 

State of tide for me generally,especially on the estuary.
Try to pick 1st or last light coinciding with preferred state of tide whenever possible.

All my usual marks are 90+ miles away so I get there the night before so, I'm fishing at 1st light.
Am not so sure if state of tide is so critical when fishing at night though!
I'll endeavour to try that out soon!:smile2:

 

90 miles from your nearest mark ours is 5 miles mate. You should move closer to the sea lol

 

if i had a choice it would be state of tide coinciding with dusk or down..in a perfect world...
time often do not matter really,.as i have had good days at mid day,.good tide combo.
day time depends more on how much traffic is on that stretch..well around here it matters.

 

90 miles from your nearest mark ours is 5 miles mate. You should move closer to the sea lol

I intend to do exactly that, within the next couple of years John.
And , if I end up in South Devon, I'll be all over that coastline like a dose of the Herpes on Ho's undercarraige.:wink:

 

Conditions for me , on every Mark .......
Matters not a jot , time and tide if conditions are wrong .......

Odd surprise , but not often ...........

 

Hi mark when you say conditions over tide /time do you mean onshore wind with fizz in water ??

 

......

No mate EVERY MARK , needs its own set of conditions ,
I have loads that need flat calm .........but if winds easts , or norths rubbish even if flat .......

Some marks need lift more than fizz .............

Portland rocks ( I'm happy to name them as there's miles of them .
Fish FAR better with lift and fizz , a slight swell rolling in , to flush out the bait , and fizz , so even on a bright day your catch , add a tide 1.9 and above , Portland scale , your good to go .........

BUT , these conditions make it dangerous ,,,,,, very, dangerous , and you need to know the tides well , and what rocks to be on safe , etc ......

Two marks fish well on a east , wind ,,,,, WEST is best everywhere ,
Spring tides , some marks , neaps others ,
But WITH OUT right conditions on these marks , all waste of time , rarely will I be surprised ,
Often I will not even cast , can just look at the mark no it's wrong , and not waste my efforts and move onto a better one .......
Wind in your face , rough and fizz is good ,
Pointless on a shallow sand Mark ,
Pointless on a shallow reef Mark ,

Get to know your marks , try to fish them all conditions ,
Your find the formula .........I did ....

 

My recent successes have been at first light because Dorset is swarmed all over by holiday makers in the day time. Expecting things to get back to normal and day sessions to be more productive as soon as the smell of suncream leaves the air.

 

It's slowly sinking in to me that conditions are King And if they can be combined with Dawn/Dusk then all the better.
Point in the tide cycle is important I'm sure .....however I have caught throughout ,from Springs to Neaps - so I'm no longer too bothered - IF the conditions are favourable I'm on it!
This also goes for point in the tide - although I do like a few hours either side of HT But that has no evidential backing,just my preference really.

Yesterday I thought I'd better hit my Mark before the settled weather deteriorates.

(Yes my only one ! - I'm on a mission to really get to grips with it ,as I would rather do some learning and Blank ......than chance it somewhere else on a hunch - I feel this is for me a more productive approach - However I do live quite close ............so no great sacrefice for me).

I did have a couple of Basslets 350mm ish after the neap tide was ebbing, 3hrs after HT.
Yes not big or plentiful but I now have further confidence that conditions TRUMP all else and combined with fading light I didn't Blank - good enough for me :BigGrin:.

 

What do u guys call good conditions?

 

Definitely got to be Dark into first light /dawn or then dust into dark
I don't bother in bright sunlight but sometimes if its very overcast might give it a go
some marks fish best on the flood and over H/W some over L/W some on the ebb, some when its got fizzy water and a good blow, some on nice calm conditions
So I tend to pick somewhere that coincides with some of these factors but not all at the same time
as you get to know your marks by fishing them regularly you can work most of it out by yourself

 

Great info mark thankyou

 

State (& size) of tide is critical for me, but add in dawn or dusk and I'm a lot more confident.
I've also been told recently that fishing sets of increasing tides will be better, and that after the spring tide has been, it'll be less productive even on a big tide, presumably because the bass have eaten everything that was uncovered by the springs...

 

Like others say depends on the mark but shallow always means dusk,dawn or night for me.

 

Will vary from mark to mark.... some fish well on ebb some on push... depending as well on conditions...baitfish location etc....winds.... with 'West is best' hereabouts (as Mark333 says above)
I don't do early mornings........ so as the Japanese would say... I'm an angler that concentrates on 'Day wading Game' and 'Night wading game'! and "Rocky shore day games".

Depending on where and when you fish during the day thru the year... lure choice is also critical imho... yes.... you may 'strike it lucky' but it may be no use flogging softs or hardbait minnows/toppers by day, at a time and place where vibration baits will make the difference between blanking and catching!
Watercraft and Lurecraft ! Sussing out the when, where , and how (or 'with what!)

 

Estuary 80% tide & 20% conditions, clarity and weed for me. Time of day / light level matters very little on catch rates as they come in and out with the tide. Just personal preference that I like really early mornings.

Open coast / reef marks 80% conditions, clarity and weed and 20% tide