Sample article. The guides quoted are fictional. This story shows how a Fishing Gear technique feature will read on the web.
Jess Tran keeps a tide chart taped inside the console of her skiff, with two hours of every falling tide highlighted in orange. That window, she says, is when redfish slide up onto the flats to feed and their tails break the surface.
Why the falling tide matters
As the water drains off the flat, crabs and shrimp are pushed out of the grass and into the open. Redfish follow them, and in very shallow water a feeding fish tips head-down and shows its tail.
“Watch the water, not the fish. The water tells you where they are going.”
Where to stand
Tran sets up on the down-current edge of a flat and lets the fish come to her. Wading anglers, she says, should move slowly and stop often, because a redfish in six inches of water notices everything.
When it does not happen
Wind, cold fronts and boat traffic can all shut a flat down. On those days Tran moves to deeper mangrove edges and changes to a slower presentation.