My first choice is to fish a tide change at first light with low to moderate tide movement. If I can't do this I try my best to figure out where the bait is going to concentrate as a result of the water pushing it around......For example off the clay banks at PD on a receeding tide. Finally, there are some places I know of where the best technique is to simple look for tidal rips and fish through them since bait is often concentrated below.