Estuary fish

An estuary cannot be read without the tide. The flood pushes salt water upstream and carries marine fish with it; the ebb drains the mudflats and concentrates everything leaving them into the channels. The two hours either side of slack water often decide the session, and the same spot can be excellent at one precise hour and empty two hours later.

Coloured water is the rule here, not the exception. Heavy water limits what fish can see, so they hunt by scent and vibration: strong natural baits and lures that move water beat finesse. Confluences, the tips of banks, channel mouths and bridge supports squeeze the current, and with it the food.

It is also a habitat that demands care. Mud banks cover quickly, channels fill in behind you, and you go out onto them only knowing the state of the tide and the way back.