How to Read a Tide Chart for Fishing and Boating

by Pablo Koch-Schick January 27, 2022

To effectively use a tide chart for fishing, look at the chart to find the predicted times for high and low tides at your specific location. The chart will show times on the bottom and tidal heights on the sides. High tides are marked with peaks and low tides with troughs on the graph, with exact times listed next to these points.

Plan your fishing trips around these high and low times, as fish tend to be more active during these periods. Remember, tide charts are helpful but not always 100% accurate, so use them as one of several tools in planning your fishing. For accurate and local tide information, you can check resources like NOAA’s tides and currents website.

Marina filled with boats on a clear day, highlighting the importance of reading a tide chart for safe and effective boating.

What Are Tides?

Tides are the periodic rise and fall of sea levels caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Read more about how to fish with moon phases.

When a tide is low, the level of ocean water is at its lowest point. When a tide is high, the level of ocean water is at its highest point.

Tides typically rise and fall about six inches each time, but this can vary depending on location.

What Causes Tides?

Full moon reflecting on the ocean at night, illustrating the importance of reading a tide chart to understand tidal changes.

The tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun.

The moon has a stronger gravitational pull than the sun, so it causes tides to rise and fall more dramatically.

Tides occur twice a day, once during each lunar cycle. The highest tides happen when the moon is full or new, while the lowest tides happen when the moon is in between quarters.

How often do tides rise and fall?

Tides rise and fall about every six and a quarter hours. The time between tides is called a tidal period.

This means that high tide and low tide can happen just about one hour after the previous day's high and low tide times.

How to Read a Tide Chart

Now that you know what tides are, let's learn how to read a tide chart.

Tide chart for St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay, FL, showing high and low tides, emphasizing the importance of reading a tide chart for planning activities.

Tide charts show the predicted times and heights of high and low tides for a given location.

The bottom of the tide chart shows the hours of the day, while the left and right sides of the tide chart show the tidal range in feet.

The high marks on the graph are predicted high tide times, while controversially, the low marks on the chart show low tide times.

Next to the right side of the chart, there are absolute high and low tide times. At the time this blog was written, it was nearly absolute low tide.

How to Use a Tide Chart

Now that you know how to read a tide chart, lets learn how to use it!

Tide charts can be used to help plan fishing trip.When looking to go fishing, keep in mind that usually in a day there is a major activity period, and a minor activity period They are predicted by the tide, moon and sun. And are typically and good indicator when the best time to go fishing is.

It's also important to note that tide charts are not always 100% accurate.

Where to find tide charts for fishing and boating?

Tide charts can be found in most local newspapers or online.

If you're looking for tide charts specifically for fishing and boating, we recommend checking out NOAA's tides and currents for St. Petersburg, Florida here.

Why are tides are important for fishing?

Tides are important for fishing because they help to determine when the best time to go fishing is.

Tide charts should not be used as the only source of information when planning a fishing trip, but they can be a helpful tool!

Conclusion

Now that you know how to read a tide chart, make sure to put your knowledge to use on your next fishing charter! For more information on tides and how they work, be sure to check out NOAA's tides and currents website.

Be sure to contact us next time you are looking for a fishing charter in St. Petersburg, Florida.