Doc's Perspective on Neap Tides

The books all say that the fishing will be poor during neap tides. The articles you read in "Field and Stream", "Florida Sportsman", "Outdoor Life", and all the other fishing magazines proclaim that fishing is generally worst during periods of little tidal flow. I, myself, issue a weekly proclamation to that effect. . .

Why is it then, that a grown man, with presumably better sense, gets up at four o'clock in the morning - knowing that there will be neap tides that day - to go fishing? It defies all logic. But illogical as it may seem, I did just that last Saturday morning.

I don't quite know what got into me. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the long Labor Day weekend. Maybe it was just plain stupidity. In any case, after cancelling a trip to the barrier islands on account of poor tides, I got up bright and early Saturday morning and headed for the front beaches.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few mullet astir during the wee hours; and that was enough to give me just the false optimism I needed to keep my casting arm going. Topwater MirrOlures, Zara Spooks, Boone Spinadas, Devil's Horses, Spoons - the Johnson Sprite, Sidewinder, Mr. Champ, even a Li'l Cleo, I tried 'em all. Jigs - White, Yellow, Chartreuse, Black, and the exotics - hot pink, white with hot pink firetail - I tried those too. You name it, I tossed it. . .

After a couple of hours, it became a challenge just to see if I could even catch a single fish. I resorted to the tried and true, dependables. I dredged the bottom slowly with a silver Johnson Sprite. I bounced a Sparkle Beetle off the bottom ever so enticingly. All brought the same results: absotively nothing, nichts, nada. Oh, I did snag a large piece of Saran Wrap that provided a momentary thrill. That doesn't count though, does it?

A couple of hours later, I cursed and grumbled and moaned as I headed for shore. It was another one of those days. This time though, I really should have known better. And if you enjoyed similar results the last time you tried fishing on a neap tide, you should have known better too. . .