Consider your “essentials” for summertime outdoor adventures: Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, technical fishing clothing. Now, consider that fish have no such protection.
Every day, inshore species manage the heat and sunlight with one simple strategy: relocation. Night fishing merits a dedicated discussion, so we’ll hold that topic for later. For daytime fishing, it’s all about moving with the fish.
Inshore fish know that shallow water offers ideal feeding grounds, as prey items have less room for evasion. However, shallow water heats up quickly, so expect predators to target those island edges, oyster bars and mangrove edges in the first couple of hours after sunup.
Tides greatly impact this game and most agree that a high incoming tide in the early morning can generate lights-out potential by washing those sweet feeding spots with cooler, oxygenated water. Low tides in the morning can still be productive; the action just moves farther from the shorelines.
Later in the day, your deeper grass flats, channels and bridges can be gold mines of opportunity, as deeper water is the coolest. Bridges are particularly popular, because they funnel/redirect current, offer fish-friendly structure and shelter anglers from summer showers.