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Guide
How to Read a Tide Chart for Fishing
A tide chart tells you when the water will be high and low at one station and how far it will rise or fall. For fishing, focus on moving water: the hours between high and low, when current pushes bait around, usually fish better than the slack minutes at the turn.
Basics
What a tide chart shows
A tide chart (or tide table) is a forecast of the water level at one spot, called a tide station. Each line gives a time and a height: the high tides, when the water peaks, and the low tides, when it bottoms out. Many charts also draw a curve so you can see the water rising and falling through the day.
Most of the US Atlantic coast sees two highs and two lows in a little under 25 hours, so the tides arrive later each day – often close to an hour later. The Pacific coast usually gets two highs and two lows of uneven size, and parts of the Gulf of Mexico often see just one high and one low a day. That is why the chart from your home waters is no help in another town. Always check the one for where you are fishing.
Our live fishing reports show a tide curve and a 7-day tide table from NOAA for coastal towns. Open a page like the Destin fishing report and you will see today’s highs and lows, plus the week ahead, so you can line a trip up with the tide.
Heights
Tide heights, MLLW and minus tides
The height numbers are measured from a baseline called a datum. On NOAA tide predictions that baseline is usually MLLW, short for Mean Lower Low Water. It is the long-term average of the lower of each day’s low tides. A reading of 0.0 ft means the water is at that average low. A high of 2.5 ft means the water is 2.5 feet above it.
Minus tides (shown like -0.6 ft) are lows that drop below that average. They expose flats, oyster bars and sandbars, and they can leave a boat sitting in mud where it normally floats. If you are wading, launching a kayak or running a skiff in skinny water, a minus tide is worth noting. Low water can also be a good time to scout: you can see the holes, troughs and channels that fish will use when the water comes back.
Tide range is the difference between a high and the next low. A high of 2.5 ft followed by a low of -0.5 ft is a 3 ft range. A bigger range means more water has to move in the same amount of time, which usually means stronger current. Range varies a lot by region. Much of the Gulf Coast has small tides, while parts of New England, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska see very large swings.
Moon
Spring tides, neap tides and the moon
Tides are driven mostly by the moon’s pull, with the sun helping or working against it. Around the new moon and full moon, the sun and moon line up and their pull adds together. That gives spring tides: higher highs, lower lows and stronger current. The name has nothing to do with the season. Spring tides happen twice a month, all year.
Around the first and last quarter moons, the sun and moon pull at right angles and partly cancel each other out. That gives neap tides, with a smaller range and gentler current.
- Spring tides – more current, more water on the flats at high tide and more exposed bottom at low. Fish often feed hard, but strong current can make bottom fishing tricky and can muddy some water.
- Neap tides – softer current that is easier to fish with light tackle, but in some spots the water barely moves and the bite can be slow.
Neither one is always better. Many anglers like the days just before and after a new or full moon, when there is good movement without the very strongest pull. The moon also drives solunar fishing times, which show up on the same report pages as the tides.
Timing
Moving water and fishing the change
For most saltwater fishing, moving water is what you are after. Current carries shrimp, crabs and baitfish, and predators like redfish, trout and snook set up where the current delivers food to them: points, jetty tips, channel edges, creek mouths and the down-current side of rocks and pilings.
Slack tide is the short pause at the top or bottom of the tide when the water stops before it reverses. The bite often slows during slack and picks up again once the water starts moving. That is what anglers mean by fishing the change: be in position before the tide turns, then fish the first couple of hours of the new direction.
A rough rule many boaters use is the rule of twelfths. Over a typical six-hour tide, the water moves about 1/12 of its range in the first hour, 2/12 in the second, 3/12 in each of the third and fourth, 2/12 in the fifth and 1/12 in the last. So the middle hours usually carry the strongest flow. Real tides are not that neat, but it is a handy picture.
Incoming or outgoing?
It depends on the spot. An incoming tide often brings cleaner, cooler water in from the ocean and lets fish push up onto flats and into the marsh grass. An outgoing tide drains bait out of creeks and marshes, and fish wait at the mouths to ambush it. Local captains usually know which stage of the tide each of their spots fishes well on, and that local knowledge is a big part of what you get on a fishing charter.
Location
Why your spot may not match the station
A tide chart is a forecast for one station, often on the open coast or at a harbor entrance. Water takes time to squeeze through an inlet and spread into bays, rivers and back marshes. So the farther you are from the station, the more the real high and low can lag behind the chart, and the range is often smaller too.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Inside an inlet or up a tidal river, the tide usually turns later than on the ocean side.
- The time of high water and the time the current changes direction are not always the same. In narrow inlets the current can keep running for a while after the posted high or low.
- Strong or steady wind can push extra water in or hold it out, so the real level may run above or below the prediction. Our guide to wind and fishing covers this.
The fix is simple. Use the chart for the overall pattern and timing, then watch the water. Note when the current actually starts moving at your spot compared with the chart, and after a few trips you will know the offset for the places you fish.
Questions
Quick answers
What tide is good for fishing?
In most places, a moving tide fishes better than slack water. The middle hours of a rising or falling tide usually have the strongest current, which moves bait and gets fish feeding. Whether incoming or outgoing is better depends on the spot, so fish both and keep notes, or ask a local captain which stage their area fishes well on.
What does MLLW mean on a tide chart?
MLLW stands for Mean Lower Low Water. It is the baseline NOAA usually measures tide heights from, based on the long-term average of the lowest daily low tides. A height of 0.0 ft equals that average low. Positive numbers are above it, and minus tides drop below it, exposing more bottom than usual.
Why is the tide at my fishing spot different from the chart?
The chart is a prediction for one tide station. If you fish inside an inlet, up a river or in a back bay, the water takes time to flow in and out, so high and low tide often arrive later and the range is usually smaller. Wind can also push water in or hold it out. Learn the offset for your spot by watching when the current really turns.
Are spring tides only in the spring?
No. Spring tides have nothing to do with the season. They happen around every new moon and full moon, all year, when the sun and moon line up and create bigger tide swings and stronger current. Neap tides happen around the quarter moons and have smaller swings and gentler current.
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