Northeast4 regions
Maine to Long Island — semidiurnal Atlantic tides, strong inlet currents, and the Cape Cod Canal as the most tide-driven striped bass fishery in the United States.
Tide stage fishing guide
Fish the right tide.
Tide stage drives saltwater fish behavior more reliably than almost any other variable. This guide covers 13 target species across 24 coastal regions and 9 water types — incoming, outgoing, and the two slack periods that separate them.
What stage to fish right now
These pages are educational guides — they describe how fish respond to each tide stage. To know what stage your local water is in right now, check your nearest NOAA tide station (linked on every regional page) or use the live tide layer in the Bield: Fish app.
Three ways in
By species, by water type, by region.
By speciesPick your target — redfish, snook, striped bass, flounder — and see how they respond to each stage.By water typeMarsh drains, oyster bars, inlets, passes, bridges — see which species are active where, on which stage.By regionMaine to South Padre — regional tide guides cover local tidal character, NOAA stations, and species behavior.
Browse by species
Pick your target.
- Red DrumSciaenops ocellatusBest on outgoing tide
- Speckled TroutCynoscion nebulosusBest on outgoing tide
- Southern FlounderParalichthys lethostigmaBest on outgoing tide
- Striped BassMorone saxatilisBest on any moving tide
- SheepsheadArchosargus probatocephalusBest on incoming tide
- Black DrumPogonias cromisBest on incoming tide
- Florida PompanoTrachinotus carolinusBest on any moving tide
- SnookCentropomus undecimalisBest on outgoing tide
- TarponMegalops atlanticusBest on outgoing tide
- CobiaRachycentron canadumBest on outgoing tide
- King MackerelScomberomorus cavallaBest on outgoing tide
- Spanish MackerelScomberomorus maculatusBest on any moving tide
- BluefishPomatomus saltatrixBest on outgoing tide
Browse by water type
Pick your water.
- Marsh Creeks & Drain MouthsTidal creek systems draining salt marsh — the brackish capillary network connecting open bays to high marsh grass. Found extensively from New Jersey south through the entire South Atlantic and Gulf coast.
- Grass FlatsShallow water (1–6 ft) covered in seagrass beds — primarily turtle grass, manatee grass, and shoal grass. Found throughout the Gulf Coast and from northeast Florida south.
- Oyster Bars & Shell BottomSubmerged or partially submerged oyster reef structure — found extensively throughout salt marshes from Virginia to Texas.
- Inlets & JettiesCoastal inlets where bays and sounds connect to the open ocean — most are stabilized with rock jetties.
- Florida & Gulf PassesThe Florida and Gulf equivalent of inlets — where bays and lagoons connect to the Gulf or Atlantic. Often deeper and narrower than typical East Coast inlets.
- Bridge Pilings & Dock StructureBridge fenders, dock pilings, and similar urban structure in tidal water. Concentrate barnacles, baitfish, and ambush predators.
- Surf Zone & Beach TroughsThe wave-zone water immediately adjacent to ocean beaches — typically the first sandbar trough where wave action reactivates sand fleas and coquina clams.
- Mangrove ShorelinesRed, black, and white mangrove forests fringing salt and brackish water — the dominant inshore habitat from central Florida south through the Caribbean.
- Open Bay WaterThe deeper, more open portions of bays and sounds — typically not directly adjacent to flats, marsh, or structure. Includes wide channels, deep holes, and middle-bay drops.
Browse by region
Pick your coastline.
Mid-Atlantic7 regions
New Jersey to North Carolina — semidiurnal Atlantic tides with the Delaware Bay spring black drum spawn and the Outer Banks fall flounder run as flagship tide-driven fisheries.
South Atlantic6 regions
South Carolina to SE Florida — large 6–9 ft tide swings on the Lowcountry and Georgia coasts, dramatic marsh-flooding for redfish, and direct Gulf Stream proximity in SE Florida.
Gulf Coast7 regions
Florida Panhandle to South Texas — mixed semidiurnal in the eastern Gulf transitioning to diurnal microtidal on the western Gulf, where wind setup often replaces tide as the primary driver.