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26 Dec 2007

Understanding The Tides

Posted by decem under Fishing.

Tides are caused by two types of forces acting on our rotating Earth: gravity and inertia. The gravitational force of the moon is stronger than the sun (as it is nearer to earth) and would pull the water surface in the direction of the moon, to form high tide. On the opposite side of the earth which is furthest away from the moon, however, the gravitational force of the moon is minimal and the centrifugal forces (rotational inertia) of the seawater which is actually rotating at almost the same speed of the earth, would cause the water level to rise (meaning also high tide but slightly lower than that facing the moon).

Hence in theory, the interaction of these forces would bring about two high tides and low tides a day at any coastal point on earth.

In reality, however, there would also be other forces at play to affect the tidal conditions, such as underwater terrain, wind conditions, sea currents, earth movements, etc. For instance, the tsunami that hit Sumatra several years ago had a tremendous impact of the tides and currents throughout the world, until today. And today is the memorial of the innocents that was tragically hit by that deadly catastrophe back then, which i think a silent prayer is considerable.

Saltwater anglers should be concern because marine fish tend to feed when water is moving, and you will catch more fish if the fish are feeding. Tides and their associated tidal currents and breaking waves are among the main forces that move water and influence fishing in the ocean.

Ocean fish are part of a complex food chain. Baitfish feed on plankton, which cannot swim and are moved about by currents, so when plankton are concentrated in a certain area baitfish will follow, and they in turn will attract the game fish we want to catch.

Furthermore, strong currents caused the tides overpower baitfish and concentrate them in dense schools. If you know where the baitfish are, or you can predict where they will be, you have tremendous advantage in finding game fish.

Most saltwater fish are wanderers, following the currents of the food that is carried with the currents. Therefore, an area with moving water is generally a good place to fish. The reverse is also true in the ocean fishing tends to be poor in areas where the current isn’t moving; during slack water, there is no current to concentrate either the plankton or bait-fish, and they disperse.

Simply put, tides give us a timetable with which to deduce when the water is moving, which is when the fish are most likely to be feeding.

For the fisherman or oceanographer, many aspects of the tides are relatively easy to understand, but some, such as tidal currents, can be complex. Fortunately, anglers don’t have to understand all the tricky factors; knowing the ramifications and effects of tides is already good enough when we fish.

Taggged: fishing, sea