Fishing Guides
Understand the water and you'll never fish blind again. Field-tested guides on tides, moon phases, and technique.
Guide · 7 min read
How Tides Affect Fishing: The Complete Guide
The complete guide to fishing tides: why moving water catches fish, which tide stages actually matter, and the best time to fish any tide — planned around the water, not the clock.
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Guide · 5 min read
How to Read a Tide Chart (Without a Decoder Ring)
Highs, lows, MLLW, tide height vs. tide movement — a five-minute course that turns the squiggly line into a fishing plan.
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Guide · 6 min read
The Best Moon Phase for Fishing, According to the Data
New moon, full moon, or quarters? What solunar theory actually claims, what holds up, and how to use the moon without overthinking it.
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Guide · 6 min read
How the USTideCharts Fishing Score Works
Exactly what goes into the 0–100 fishing score on every location page — the six factors, how they're weighted, and what the score can and can't tell you.
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Guide · 6 min read
Incoming vs. Outgoing Tide: Which Is Actually Better for Fishing?
The honest answer to fishing's oldest argument — why the flood wins on flats and beaches, the ebb wins at creek mouths and jetties, and movement beats both.
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Guide · 5 min read
Minus Tides Explained: The Best Low Tides of the Year
What a negative tide is, why the biggest minus tides cluster around new and full moons, and how anglers, clammers, and tidepoolers should plan around them.
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Guide · 7 min read
Tide Fishing in Florida: Gulf, Atlantic, and the Keys
Florida's three coasts run on three different tide regimes. How tides work on the Gulf, the Atlantic, and the Keys — and how snook, redfish, and tarpon use them.
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Guide · 8 min read
Surf Fishing San Diego: Beaches, Seasons, and the Sand Crab Rule
Where and when to surf fish in San Diego — from Imperial Beach to Torrey Pines — plus the one bait rule that outfishes everything else.
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Guide · 8 min read
Fishing San Francisco Bay: Stripers, Halibut, and Serious Tides
A shore angler's guide to San Francisco Bay — where the stripers and halibut are, why the Bay's huge tides decide everything, and the spots you can fish on foot.
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Guide · 8 min read
Tampa Bay Fishing: Snook, Redfish, and Reading a Wind-Blown Tide
How to fish Tampa Bay — the flats, the mangroves, the famous pier — and why the Bay's small, wind-bent tides reward anglers who read water instead of clocks.
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Guide · 7 min read
Pier Fishing in California: No License, No Boat, No Excuses
California's public piers are free to fish — no license required. What to catch, how to rig, which piers shine, and the two-rod rule everyone should know.
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Guide · 7 min read
Free Fishing Piers in San Diego: Where to Cast Without a License
Every public pier in San Diego where you can fish free with no license — ocean piers, bay piers, what bites at each, and which piers to check before you drive.
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Guide · 7 min read
Bridge Fishing in the Florida Keys: Free Piers Over World-Class Water
The old bridges of the Overseas Highway are free fishing piers standing over tarpon channels. Which spans you can fish, what bites, and how to fish a ripping Keys current.
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Guide · 7 min read
California Halibut From Shore: Flat Fish, Sharp Strategy
How to catch California halibut without a boat — the sandy structure they ambush from, the moving-water windows, live bait vs. lures, and the 22-inch rule.
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Guide · 6 min read
Night Fishing and Tides: How to Fish After Dark
Fishing at night flips the rules — light becomes structure, big fish come shallow, and the tide matters more than ever. How to plan, rig, and stay safe after sunset.
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Guide · 7 min read
Surf Fishing Los Angeles: Good Water Hiding in Plain Sight
Where to surf fish in LA — from Malibu to Cabrillo — what bites through the seasons, and the grunion-run spectacle every Angeleno should see once.
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Guide · 7 min read
Fishing Monterey Bay: Cold Water, Deep Canyon, Big Rewards
A shore and kayak guide to Monterey Bay — rockfish on the kelp edges, perch on the beaches, halibut on the flats, and why the underwater canyon changes everything.
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Guide · 7 min read
Shore Fishing Miami: Tarpon Under the Causeways, Pompano in the Surf
Where to fish Miami without a boat — Government Cut and South Pointe, the Key Biscayne causeways, beach pompano season, and the night tarpon game.
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Guide · 6 min read
Sand Crabs: How to Find, Catch, and Rig the Beach's Best Free Bait
The complete guide to sand crabs (sand fleas) — reading the swash for colonies, gathering them legally, keeping them lively, and rigging them for surfperch, corbina, and pompano.
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