Tide chart a key tool for anglers

Mardi Gras activities are over, and anglers now can turn their attention to fishing. We’re still in a pattern of sporadic catches, but as the water becomes warmer, that quickly will change.

One of the more common questions from readers centers around the subject of tides and tidal movements. Several times a year, we get requests to explain the tide charts.

Newcomers to saltwater fishing quickly learn tidal movement is key to catching fish. Tide charts, whether large or the pocket-size ones common at bait camps, do not always explain how to interpret its numbers.

The two most confusing aspects are the time differences and the numbers for high- and low-tide levels.

The times on the charts are at a given location — for instance, the charts available around Galveston — normally are for Galveston Channel or pleasure pier tides.

If you are fishing near either location, time differences are a moot point. If, however, you are attempting to determine the tide changes at a location away from either point, time differentials will tell you how much time to add or subtract from the reference points.

For example, if you are fishing West Bay and want to know the tide times, choose the time differential closest to where you are fishing; maybe it’s shown for Jamaica Beach. One tide is more than two hours later than, say, Galveston Channel and the other is more than three hours. If the number is negative, subtract it, if it is a positive number, add it to the reference point time.

The tide heights generally are used to determine the strength of the tide. If you calculate a high tide at 3 p.m. with a height of 11/2 feet and the next low tide is –1 foot, that is a significant drop and indicates a strong tide movement.

If, however, the same tides measure 1 feet and half a foot, that would indicate a weaker tide.

This is just the beginning. There is a lot more to learn about tides.

Capt. Joe Kent is a columnist for The Daily News. To get your catch in the Reel Report, call 409-683-5273 or email reel.report(at)galvnews.com.