if you can fish a rising tide then that's generally good. Weather plays a more important part so I go when it allows and the tides become secondary. You won't catch fish sitting around waiting for the best tides so just give it a shot when you get the chance.

if your just fishing the reefs for pelagics it wont make much difference! but if your heading wide for reds then the last two hours before the high tide are best! but saying that if you get onto the fish its not going to matter what tide your fishing!

 ok so pretty much normal rules apply then. perhaps i should have asked, is there a specific time/tide i shouldnt bother fishing? eg low tide middle of the day?

Agree with Tim if weathers Good go you never know if you don't go or if like us end up at potshot both good fun

Gday Versus (I assume a Pearl Jam Fan?! Anyway.....)

If you are coming from down south and have never been north, seriously, dont worry about the tides too much (for fishing, not vessel retrieval from a ramp etc.) and get into it. The last thing you need is to go to a new area and try to stick to a time table.

Give it a go and find out for yourself. Think outside the square a bit. Look at older/recent posts of fish caught (or mates stories, they normally accidentally drop the bundle) in the area you intend to fish. You can get a lot of info from a single photo of a fish.

Look at Lucky Tims Red in one of the recent posts, for example. Going by the written content, it was a late catch for the boys (and a good one at that), the photo looks late arvo as the sun is to the left of screen and there is no land in the background. Exmouth waters drop very deep very quickly so it would make sense that the boys wouldnt be miles out to catch this fish, especially taking into acount the recent weather. Also, they have had a good morning on the spear so you could assume they went north west (ish) to the islands up that way. Check the recent tides for the area for that rough time and see what they are - try to do a similar thing.

Snappermiles is on to it with the reds for consistancy.

But, to answer your question, think like a fish (Grasshopper) in terms of food over effort - and this applies to anywhere you fish - would you try and swim in a fast moving current near a reef, or wait until the change of tide (slack water) to venture out for a feed? And what would make the deeper water fish (eg Reds) on the flat ground that have nothing (or very little) to hide behind, feed? No run, no fun.

I dont know Adam or any of the other guys from up here (except Bwusta the lame dog...), so Im not privvy to any inside info on that story, but I hope this helps a little.

Always remember, only take enough for a feed and leave the rest on the beach....

Like most of the boys said. about 2 hours before, up untill high is best. But having said that they can just turn up at any random time. I find the tides make more difference in shallow water or land based.