Everyone seems to have a spin on which tide is best this week. Some say the low tide because it concentrates the fish. I like this theory as told to me by Greg Dipalma. The New Jersey pro is a highly skilled tidal bass fishing expert, having grown up fishing B.A.S.S. Nation tournaments on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, and then in the Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens held on the James River.
Dipalma likes the incoming tide and here is why.
“It’s my experience in fishing the upper bay that big postspawn females come back up with the tide to feed,” he said. “They are hungry and they follow the food.”
He based that theory on the early postspawn when the females still are in channels bordering spawning sites, where they have easy access to shallow water.
Shoreline cover gives the bass ambush cover for sniping at baitfish as those food morsels are swept past them. Dipalma likes mid-tide the best, which is when he says the most movement occurs.
If that holds true then the tide is moving in favor of Diplama’s theory.
“It’s going to be an hour later each day, which is ideal,” summed up Dipalma.
Here is the lowdown on the NOAA tide predictions, using the entrance of Winyah Bay as a reference marker. I only added the tide changes that most impact the tournament hours.
| FRIDAY |
Low: 6:49 a.m. | High: 12:44 p.m. |
| SATURDAY |
Low: 7:50 a.m. | High: 1:49 p.m. |
| SUNDAY |
Low: 10:01 a.m. | High: 4:10 p.m |