Hi,
Having never fished salt water to any great extent (I fished in the Chesapeake Bay some when I was a teen) I started learning about tides.
There are two high tides and two low tides every day and between the high tide and low tide there is a slack tide where the water does not move. Generally the fish feed when the water is moving. What this means is you can fish a location and fish it at the wrong time and not catch anything-- then an hour later you can catch fish in the same spot.
High VS Low Tide
You want to fish about an hour after dead low tide and dead high tide. Depending on the Moon-Sun phases (another factor to consider) the water will be moving faster or slower and the high tide may be higher than normal and the low- lower than normal. The places you fish will therefore be deeper or shallower and this is important. You can't fish a shallow spot if the low tide is lower than normal. These fish will strike in skinny water but there needs to be enough water for them to hold in a shallow location.
Is an incoming tide best? That's the common thought. From what I've learned -- it doesn't matter as long as the water is moving. I've had better luck on the outgoing tides.
Tides VS Time of Day
Most fish feed more at night and fishing tends to be better at daybreak and dusk. This is even more a factor in the sweltering Florida summers- even tho I've never fished in the summer- I've been told this and will find out more this summer. So any morning or evening when the tide is moving would be the best time-- especially in the summer.
The Wind Doth Blow
Since I started fishing in December there have been only a few calm days - maybe two or three. In the morning hours the wind is noticeably less so fishing early and sometimes late can help.I have noticed that fishing during a dead calm is worse.
You want wind- this is a big ally because the wind moves the baitfish and grass and also prevents the fish from clearly seeing the lure. They can see it enough to react but not enough to tell it's artificial. You get more reaction strikes and more fish.
Direction of the Wind
If it's too windy you can expect the fish have a hard time finding the lure. If the water is shallow, 2 to 3 foot waves with breakers churning the water makes it tough going. I have caught snook in skinny water and high winds but it makes it difficult. There's a point where too much wind makes an area unfishable.
That's why you need to be able to fish different locations on the East or West side. If you have a 25 mph West wind you can fish the West shore and it will only be moderately wavy-- but the East shore will have 3 foot waves. The West shoreline in particular is elevated from Jensen Beach to Fort Pierce the whole way. That means a howling west or North-West wind will miss the western shoreline and won't create whitecaps until hundreds of yards off the West shore. The Western shoreline from Fort Pierce (and farther north to Vero) to Sewall's Point in Stuart will be calmer if there is a West wind.
If there's a strong East or North-East wind, the West side will be churned up and muddy with whitecaps and the West side may be unfishable. So during a strong East wind you may have to fish the East shore locations which include Bear point (Ft. Pierce), Blind Creek, Mud Creek and Hermann's Bay. Many areas south (West shore) are OK including those off McArthur Blvd.
I haven't tried wading north of Ft. Pierce on the West side but I know many of the areas on the East side like Jack Island are murky and silted-- not ideal for wading (good for kayaking- boating).
So the wind is good until it gets too windy then you may need to travel to find locations out of the wind. Find out the speed and direction of the wind- before you go fishing. Some days I may not fish at all because of the wind. Winds from either the North or South are hard to get away from to find a calmer area to fish. There are always areas you can get out of the wind- even if you have to fish wind-protected coves or around one of the bridges.
Moon Phases
Like the moon rises and sets and there are certain moon phases that exert more tidal flow than others. You can catch fish at any time if the water is moving (between low and high) but certain moon phases are better than others. Usually a full-moon (withing a few days either way) is a better time to fish than other moon phases.
Calculating Tides
There are several online tide charts at Tides4fishing.com and Stuart Rod and Reel Association-- most of these deal with the high tide in the Atlantic Ocean at St. Lucie/Jensen Beach/Stuart. This is not the same as the tide in the Lagoon!!! Around the Jensen/Stuart Bridges add 3 hours. This is critical for fishing the Lagoon. Also the tidewater near the mouth of the St. Lucie River (at the inlet) will change sooner than at the Bridges (several miles away).
I'm not sure of the exact figures on tidal changes in different locations yet but the water is pulled out of the South Lagoon in different places. The water at the Midway location (also Bear Point), for example, is pulled out of Ft. Pierce while the water from the St. Lucie River and nearby areas in the Lagoon goes out the St. Lucie inlet to the Ocean.
Richard
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