MCA Editorial·July 2026
Fish live somewhere. Your job is to work out where — before you drop a line.
Ten minutes of thinking beats an hour of casting in the wrong place.
Tide First
Most estuary and inshore species feed on moving water. A slack tide in a great spot often catches less than a moving tide in an average one.
Structure Second
Drop-offs, weed edges, rock walls, bridge pylons, reef bommies — fish live near edges. Open sand rarely holds much.
Bait Tells the Truth
If you can find the bait, the predators are usually nearby. Watch the birds, watch the surface, watch the sounder.
The Four Questions Before You Cast
- ✓What's the tide doing — and when does it turn?
- ✓What structure is nearby, above and below the water?
- ✓Where's the bait — surface, mid-water or bottom?
- ✓What's the wind and light doing to the fish's feeding window?
The best anglers prepare on land so they can enjoy the water.
Things to Think About
- Do you fish the tide, or just the time you happen to be free?
- Could you catch more by fishing less water, more carefully?
- What do the best local anglers know that you don't yet?
Key Takeaways
- Fish are found, not summoned.
- Tide, structure and bait are the three big levers.
- Local, seasonal knowledge beats generic technique.