Inshore fishing offers anglers the opportunity to catch both fresh and saltwater fish species. These tidal watersheds, however, can be difficult for bank fishermen to master.

Here's a quick guide to helping you catch big inshore fish from the bank.

Timing

Inshore fishing is highly dependent on the tides. Because inshore fishermen are confined to dry land, timing your fishing trip to coincide with optimal fishing tides is key.

• Moving Tides: both high and low tides can be productive for bank fishermen. When planning your inshore fishing trips, it is critical to fish while the tide is moving. This means the tide is either swinging from low to high or high to low. This tidal swing creates moving water, which attracts baitfish and the predators that prey on them. Planning your trip during slack tide, where the tide is at its highest or lowest point, will drastically reduce water flow. Fish are often inactive during slack tide, making them very difficult to catch.

Structure

Fish, much like any organism, look for safe places to hide. These structures don't just protect them, but they also allow them to ambush prey. One of the biggest mistakes inshore bank fishermen often make is casting too far out. Often, your best cast is parallel to the shore.

• Tracing the Bank: casting parallel to the bank gives you the chance to probe the structure and current that often exists close to shore. When casting parallel to the bank (or tracing the bank), it's important to fish all water columns available to you. This might mean throwing a topwater plug like a spook or pooper, shallow diving crank bait or swim bait, and/or throwing a weighted hunk of cut bait to soak for a while.

Subtly

Fishing baits and lures come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Inshore baits, in particular, have a tendency of being bright and flashy colors. If you aren't getting bite with these gaudy colors, you might want to aim for subtly instead.

• Match the Hatch: fishing is about imitating. Thus, in more stained waters, where you might think a brighter color would be attractive to fish, you're better off throwing a darker-colored bait. The rationality for this subtle switch deals with the environment. In dark waters, everything will look darker to fish; shouldn't your bait look like prey they're hunting for? The same holds true for clearer water, where brighter baits are more appropriate.

To learn more, reach out to a company like Hunter Charters.