Skills

Tides offer windows of opportunity for anglers

Story by Craig “Snook Cowboy” Timbes and photos Jeff Suber and courtesy of Capeweather.com

People often ask me, “When is the best time to fish?” The answer varies greatly depending on weather fronts, barometric pressure readings, water temperature, salinity, tides and your days off!

For saltwater environments, using the tides and the cycles of the moon is one of my primary tools. Tidal flows vary throughout the month. Each month on the Gulf Coast there are four-tide days, two-tide days and some days with only a single ebb and flow of water. Tides occur as the Moon circles the Earth and its gravity pulls the water from one side of the planet to the other in an ever-changing ebb and flow. The reason why there are varying tide times and ranges is that the Moon’s position in its orbit is constantly changing, as is the Earth’s rotation on its axis. Fishing windows, as I call them, occur throughout the day around the time of a tidal change. Four-tide days are a special treat for anglers because you are presented with four fishing windows during waking hours—two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Fish are opportunistic feeders and will not feed during hard rushing flows. They prefer instead to feed during the softer flows when the water has less force and they do not have to waste energy to gain energy. For example, on an incoming tide the flow starts slow, rushes hard for a time, tables off for an hour or two and then becomes slack before beginning to ebb. The prime fishing window extends two hours through this table period before slack tide, through the change and two hours into the beginning of the new tide. Incoming or outgoing, it doesn't matter. This rule is true for any day, but during four-tide days you are ensured sufficient water flow to induce movement of the fish and you have more than one chance to get your timing right.

Use a weather website that has information on tides and moon phases to help plan your fishing days. A great resource for the western Gulf Coast of Florida is Capeweather.com. Hunt around to find the most detailed site for your local area.

I fish the entire month except the day of the full moon itself. Inshore, I have found that twenty-four hours before and after the full moon are much more productive than the actual day of the event. Whichever day you choose, get out on the water and start using the two-hour method to take advantage of those fishing windows.

Craig “Snook Cowboy” Timbes lives in Pine Island, Florida. He became known for going toe to toe with monster fish after jumping into the water to land a 400-pound goliath grouper. He’s written numerous magazine articles and made appearances at Bass Pro Shops, seminars and boat shows. Email Craig at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any questions. Also visit calusabackwater.com.

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