In basic terms, since the times vary throughout The Delta, low tide will occur at noon today. The other tide extremes – two highs and another low – have already occurred (first high tide was at 5 a.m.) or will occur outside the competition time.
Justin Lucas, who spent the first 23 years of his life in this area and finished in 8th place on Day 1, explained his tide fishing philosophy yesterday.
"You have about a two- or three-hour window in The Delta as the tide moves from the west to the east," Lucas said. "When people say they're running the tides, it means they start at one end and follow it to the other. That happens four times a day."
An angler's particular tide favorite depends on how he's fishing.
"You could be fishing outside weed lines at low tide," he said. "You're not going to get bit as much there at high tide. But you might be flipping tules, and that's the kind of thing you can run at high tide.
"You've got to have a little bit of both because you can't stay on the same tide all day. You've got to adapt to some changes."
Lucas' Day 1 total of 21-13 was a perfect example of this. His five-bass limit included a 6-13 and a 6-10. One was caught "punching" thick vegetation, the other was caught sight-fishing a spawning bed.