The Pleasure of Fishing: For the savvy angler

If all of us that fish were ordered to forget all we know about saltwater fishing, save one item, what would yours be? Cast netting would be a good one to remember. Or how about fishing techniques for the snook? That would be a great one that took countless hours to develop.

There are endless facets of saltwater fishing that are all seemingly irreplaceable, but I believe there is one that precedes all the rest and that is simply understanding and using the tide!

The tidal factor and its effect on fishing hold as bedrock in any backwater or tangent coastal fishing. It becomes a somewhat diminished factor the farther you move offshore, but still has a well-defined impact.

Let me illustrate the issue by using a true story about one of my very near and dear customers. We'll call him John D. to protect the "innocent."

John D. is an engineer by trade and a fisherman by passion. He lives in a world of precision where a .00001 variance on a micrometer makes a difference on the tolerance of a bearing. He applies the very same logic to his fishing.

John D.'s initial contact with me for any charter reservation is quite different. Most folks will call and ask if next Wednesday is available; John D. calls and asks what day and time within the next week has the most favorable tide.

If low tide is at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday and there is a good incoming tide following, that's when he will book.

Once we set a date, John D. will dissect the water flow for his charter day. Using a computer-based tide prediction program, he segments the tide into the amount and speed of the water flow per hour.

To him, and most that study the effect of the tidal currents, the tide is not always the same. It will run at different speeds at different times in its six-plus hour life cycle. Different things will happen to the fishing during those different time segments.

So now it's John D's Tuesday and we're off on another "scientific" fishing trip. Remember, the tide change was at 11:30 a.m., but we don't start the trip until 1 p.m. We both understand that what follows the low tide occurrence is a period of slack water — no water movement for about 45 minutes to an hour.

John D.'s computer data also shows that the water will move very slowly during the first hour of the tide. Thus, we go and start our fishing where the water moves the quickest during that initial period, i.e., in the Gulf passes.

Sure enough, the action is there almost immediately. There are ladyfish and some small sharks, but there are also a few nice-size pompano taking advantage of the early tidal flow. We box three nice pompano in just over a half hour. That's good fishing these days!

After the water movement is beginning to show in the pass, we move off and head inland to a favorite snapper spot. Inland tidal flow will begin later than the passes and we're looking for that beginning tidal flow over some of the snapper beds.

We anchor up and begin to work the current eddies on an inland point north of the island. It doesn't take long. The first actions are smaller snapper, sort of the recon team for the school. Soon after, we are into nice action on 12- to 14-inch mangrove snapper that are holding nicely as the tidal flow gently begins to flood.

Then, like someone turning a switch, the bite stops. John D. declares that the tide is now in its third hour and pushing maximum water for the next two hours. It's time to move off the points and back along the coves and cuts where the snapper and their fellow predators have tucked themselves away.

Right again — there they are. Not quite as aggressive as they were on the points but still hungry. The snapper are the major action punctuated occasionally with small black drum and even a nice redfish. The tidal flow is evident here but quite muted in relationship to the points.

It's after 4 p.m. and we've had a great trip, but John D. announces we are into the final tidal phase. After the strong current of the third and fourth hour, the tide will begin to slow in the fifth hour and we could again find fish returning to the points. We weigh anchor and move off for a final try.

It's another winner. We get nice action on snapper on a point we passed by earlier in the day. The fish have moved back to the current points driven by those instincts embedded in their nature by centuries of habit. Our day finishes and we head for home with John D. smiling as if he just discovered another use for his slide rule.

So the tide really isn't just the high tide and low tide. It's a series of segments each with it's own fishing opportunities. Knowing where you are and what time it is in the tide cycle can make a major difference in your success ratio.

Just remember, take your watch and keep rollin' with the tide!