{"id":2716,"date":"2018-05-15T17:02:35","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T15:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/?p=2716"},"modified":"2026-01-08T19:28:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T19:28:17","slug":"how-to-read-a-tide-chart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/how-to-read-a-tide-chart\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Read a Tide Chart for Fishing"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p>Knowing how to read a tide chart is important if you want to catch fish.<\/p>\n<p>Tides can make a huge impact on the body of water you&rsquo;re fishing and can make your outing either fruitful or completely unproductive.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2718\" src=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153942\/tide-change-hopewell-rock-1.jpg\" alt=\"Tide change in Hopewell Rock showing a comparison between high and low tide \" width=\"718\" height=\"453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153942\/tide-change-hopewell-rock-1.jpg 718w, https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153942\/tide-change-hopewell-rock-1-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153942\/tide-change-hopewell-rock-1-200x126.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 718px) 100vw, 718px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Some places, such as the Hopewell Rock, in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, can look totally different depending on the tide.<\/p>\n<p>As you can tell, the difference in the water level can either get you to your favorite fishing spot or completely deprive you of any fishing.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, most places see more gentle changes in the water level.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to fish like a pro, you should learn the basics of how to find the best tide to fish your chosen spot.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"things-to-know-about-tides\"><b>Things to Know About Tides<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>\nTo get the most out of your fishing trip, I suggest learning some key concepts:\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Tide <\/b>&ndash; a tide is a movement of the water level caused by a variety of factors. The Moon, the Sun, and the Earth&rsquo;s gravity are all combined in making the water level rise and fall. This affects how and when the fish move, which makes it important for us when planning a fishing trip. There is a lot of information on the topic of tides.<\/li>\n<li><b>Low tide <\/b>&ndash; a low tide refers to the lowest point of the water level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>High tide <\/b>&ndash; a high tide refers to the highest point of the water level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Rising tide <\/b>&ndash; a rising tide means the water level is going up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Falling tide <\/b>&ndash; a falling tide means the water level is going down.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"how-tides-work\"><b>How Tides Work:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>\nThis animation by the NOAA shows how tides work:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2735\" src=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153941\/noaa-how-tide-works.gif\" alt=\"NOAA diagram showing how high tide, low tide, tidal range, and how tides move\" width=\"718\" height=\"287\"><\/p>\n<p>As the flood current &ndash; the tide moving towards the shore &ndash; approaches the coastline, the water level goes up, which means dinnertime for baitfish. But it also means dinnertime for bigger fish that you&rsquo;re after.<\/p>\n<p>During the ebb current &ndash; the tide moving away from the shore &ndash; the fish also move away from the coast.<\/p>\n<p>As a rule of thumb, <b>moving water is what you want to have on your fishing trip<\/b>. It will stir up the fishery and get you better chances of getting a bite.\n<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"fishing-tide-tables\"><b>Fishing Tide Tables<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>\nKnowing how to read a tide chart helps you choose the best time to go fishing. As tide times can vary depending on the spot you are fishing, it&rsquo;s safest to check real-time data on currents and tides for the selected dates. Tide tables are usually available for the week ahead, but you should check a day or two before getting out. This will let you stay atop of the game.<\/p>\n<p>But how do you go about understanding the tide if you&rsquo;ve just started fishing?<\/p>\n<p>When you go to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NOAA website<\/a>, you will find tide charts for different places around the US.<\/p>\n<p>Here&rsquo;s an example of a tide chart for Key West:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2722 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153941\/best-tides-for-fishing.png\" alt=\"A diagram showing the best tide times for fishing in key west, with instructions on how to read a tide chart\" width=\"718\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153941\/best-tides-for-fishing.png 718w, https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153941\/best-tides-for-fishing-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153941\/best-tides-for-fishing-200x89.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 718px) 100vw, 718px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This diagram shows you the main points that you should take into consideration before the trip &ndash;&nbsp;high, low, rising, and falling tides, as well as the times when these will happen.<\/p>\n<p>The difference between low tide and high tide is called a &lsquo;<b>tide range<\/b>&rsquo;. Generally, you should be looking for spots with greater tide ranges.<\/p>\n<p>Why is this important?<\/p>\n<p>Because the moving water (rising and falling tides) will bring baitfish to bigger fish that you&rsquo;re targeting. That way you are more likely to get a good bite.<\/p>\n<p>According to one of the biggest authorities in the angling world, Ken Schultz, the general rule is to fish:\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The rising tide an hour or so before the high tide, and<\/li>\n<li>The falling tide an hour or so after the high tide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nSo, if you have a look at the diagram above, you&#8217;d be able to find some useful info.<\/p>\n<p>For example,\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>On April 2, the high tide will be around noon.<\/li>\n<li>The low tide will take place about 6 pm.<\/li>\n<li>The best time to go out fishing on April 2 is about 10.30 am.<\/li>\n<li>If you want an afternoon trip, you should be on the water about 1 pm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nFor real-time data on tide predictions, check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov\/tide_predictions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NOAA tide prediction list<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><i>There you have it. Now that you know how to read a tide chart, let&rsquo;s now turn it to you. How do you go about interpreting the tides? What tides work best in <a href=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/?utm_source=fishingbooker&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=post_content_link&amp;utm_term=2716\">your favorite fishing spots<\/a>?<\/i><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Knowing how to read a tide chart is important if you want to catch fish. Tides can make a huge impact on the body of water you&rsquo;re fishing and can make your outing either fruitful or completely unproductive. Some places, such as the Hopewell Rock, in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, can look totally [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":2718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1473],"tags":[358,359,347,350],"class_list":["post-2716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-fish","tag-beginners-advice","tag-fishing-without-a-boat","tag-inshore-fishing","tag-technical"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Read a Tide Chart for Fishing - FishingBooker Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/how-to-read-a-tide-chart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Read a Tide Chart for Fishing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Knowing how to read a tide chart is important if you want to catch fish. These easy tips will help you learn how to do this in no time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/how-to-read-a-tide-chart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FishingBooker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FishingBooker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-15T15:02:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-08T19:28:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2018\/05\/14153942\/tide-change-hopewell-rock-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"718\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"453\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stefan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stefan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Read a Tide Chart for Fishing - FishingBooker Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/how-to-read-a-tide-chart\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Read a Tide Chart for Fishing","og_description":"Knowing how to read a tide chart is important if you want to catch fish. 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