"Understanding the Tides"

TIDES! Tides can create just about as much confusion for saltwater anglers
as an isle full of artificial baits at our favorite tackle shop. We like what we
see and we want desperately to know everything that might improve our
success, but we're awfully confused and don't want to make a costly mistakes!
maybe the information I'm about to present will help remove some of the confusion.

First of all, what are tides? Tides are the vertical rise and fall of
water in the ocean and in our very own bay system. Tides are caused by the
interaction of the gravitational forces or our Earth, the Moon, and the
Sun. Even though the moon is much smaller than the sun, its about 400
times closer. Therefore, it exerts a larger gravitational force upon the
earth and is capable of influencing our tides to a far greater degree.
If measured from Earth, the Moon and Earth combined have about twice the
gravitational pull of the Sun. The Sun has its greatest impact upon the
tides when the Sun, Earth,, and Moon are all in one line causing an
unusually strong gravitational pull that in turn creates a much stronger
than normal tide. when this happens, it is called a spring tide. Which has
nothing to do with the four seasons. Spring tides, sometimes called moon
tides occur every two weeks, right in line with the new and full moons.
Fishing on these spring tides can be exceptional because of the stronger
than normal currents.

Neap tides, which are the opposite of spring tides and not very
strong tides at all, are caused when the Sun and Moon form a right angle
from the Earth causing their gravitational pulls to be in some degree
equalized. The same as spring tides, neap tides also occur every couple of
weeks and coincide with the first quarter and third quarter moons. Now,
let's throw in lunar apogee and lunar perigee for a moment. Lunar apogee
is a term that describes the moon in its farthest position from Earth.
When this happens, the tides will be lower than normal. Lunar perigees
the term that describes the Moon in its closest position to Earth. In this
situation, the tides will be higher than normal. This is caused by the
gravitational pull of the Earth and Moon in tandem. Lunar apogee and lunar
perigee are spaced exactly 27 1/2 days apart.

Another factor that can have great impact on our tides is the wind. Let's
think back to last winter when we had those strong north winds. When we
had an ebb tide (outgoing) in the face of strong north wind, our bays
drained to just about their lowest natural levels making it very
difficult to get around unless you operated a true skinny water boat. With
the same north wind blowing for several days, it makes it very difficult
for a flood tide (incoming) to fill the bay system back up. During the
spring and summer, just the opposite happens. The predominant south and
southeast winds hold the tides from falling out.

Why should we even be concerned with tides? Well, for one thing, fish like
to feed when the water is moving. When the tide starts to rise and fall it
starts to move baitfish around causing them to start looking for a safer
place to hide. For example, on a high tide, bait fish might be moved up
into a small bayou or canal. When the tide starts receding , the bait fish
are forced out, drawing them back out to the main body of water. This is
where predator fish (Trout, Reds, and Flounder) can and will stack up and
ambush these baitfish and shrimp.

Tides pretty much control the bait and their movements. Learning how to
locate them or even how to predict where they will be at any given time
will greatly enhance your catching! During slack water times (no tidal
movement) there is no current to concentrate schools of baitfish or force
them out of their hiding places. As a result, the fishing at this period
is generally slow.

Tides play a variety of roles. Not only do they induce the movement of
baitfish and feeding our game fish, they also provide the critical flushes
that our bays frequently require. Tides bring in fresh water and flush out
estuaries and other inlets. They also bring rich nutrients to the bays for
the plant life and plankton for baitfish to feed upon. There are many
different aspects of tides. One could go on and on about many causes and
effects or tides and their movements. I hope I was able to shed a little
light on the subject without causing any more confusion.

TIGHT LINES AND FULL LIMITS

Capt. Greg Francis
Gulf Coast Connections June 2001