Many seatrout anglers depend on these habits to be assured of a good catch. The fishing locations may vary according to the area of the country you fish, but the pattern will still be the same. You could be fishing a huge flat off the Texas coast, a tidal oyster creek in Georgia, or the flats on Florida s panhandle. The pattern remains the same. If you catch seatrout there on a particular tide, incoming or outgoing, the chances are good they will be there again.
Tidal movement is one key, moon phase is another, and the time of day is the third.
If you catch seatrout on an outgoing tide in the early morning three days before the full moon, you can pretty well be assured that you will catch fish again next month in the same location under the same conditions. If the moon is not the same, the fish may not be there, and if it s afternoon instead of morning, they might not be there. Most fish are either opportunistic feeders or hunter feeders. Opportunistic feeders simply sit and wait for food to appear. They are very territorial and include most bottom species.