Spring 2025
®
Obviously, the decision to run the tide or camp in an area on tournament day depends on the tides that are given to him. A “low tide spot” may not pay off if you’ll never have a true low or close-to-low outgoing phase. Nevertheless, Reese’s strategy when he won’t have the “right” tide anywhere on the system is to hunker down in areas where he got bit during practice.
“You just have to grind through it if you can’t chase it,” he explained. “There’s always a bite to be had, even if it’s just a matter of scaling down to something like a dropshot.”
The other variable is tides that go beyond normal extremes, often due to moon phases of continuous wind in a certain direction. Sometimes the factor won’t be immediately obvious until you see water up in the parking lot or run aground in a place where you can normally navigate.
When the water pulls out another foot and a half, the fish can become spooky, especially during the spawn when they want to be in traditional nesting zones. On cover with adequate water, such as a deep dock, they may just move from shoreline pilings to the outermost poles, but when everything is high and dry they’ll relocate altogether. Reese said that his typical strategy is to move out to where there’s safe overhead water at all tide phases, and find the first piece of cover they can reside upon. It could be a large laydown or even just a small stick, but when they’re particularly confused they need the comfort of an object more than ever.
So what’s the next phase of tidal water fishing? Since the beginning of competitive fishing, we’ve relied on the
predictability of bass in these venues – relating to the daily cycles of the water in ways that repeat themselves. But Reese thinks that there are still more secrets to be unlocked.
“One thing I’ve always knowns is that a lot of fish live a lot deeper in our systems,” he said. “There is area a ton of fish out in 8- to 15-feet of water, on channel banks and cut banks. They live deeper than we fish for them.” Forward facing sonar has started to prove this supposition, as it has been used for top finishes in BPT tournaments on the Chowan and the James.
Combined with ever-improving landscape and perspective modes, Reese believes that electronics will help unlock more understanding of these fisheries beyond what he’s known and refined for decades. He may not be a native of the “YouTube Generation,” but he accepts that their time is here. It may also pull some of the anglers off his shallow water juice that continues to be harder to access due to increasingly educated competition.
As he enters the late stages of his career, Reese is thankful that he learned to fish in Northern California, which held and holds “the most diversified fisheries in the country.” Over a few days, he could chase swimbait giants on Clear Lake, run the tides on the Delta, and hit Shasta for world-class spotted bass. It’s what made him so deadly across the country. The tidal waters, though, will always hold a particular place in his heart. “They fit my style of fishing,” he stated. But he values their playing fields not just for the wins, but also for how he applied their secrets to non-tidal fisheries. •
page
14