How do you account for the tide movements when fishing on an ocean shore

[Karen May Jones]

I have never fished from the beach or shore of the ocean. I've spent a great deal of time on the river banks in Ohio and Kentucky - but nothing like the ocean I swam in as a kid on vacation in Florida.

I'm just wondering how you set up to fish if the tide/depth is changing, and is it a very big space that the tide changes. How would you set up your accomodations, tent's, coolers, etc. If the shoreline is going to move. Or is this a type of fishing that you just keep on the move and don't set up a fishing camp?

 

[Gwydion]

The first thing is to get reliable tide tables for where you are going to fish. When you go will depend on what fish you are after and what the local conditions are like. Most fish come in towards shore with the flood tide (when the tide is coming in) but for rock or pier fishing it's often best to fish at high water because there is often lots of weeds and rocks beneath so if you fish at low tide you will loose more tackle.

But the important thing is to get those tide tables. Then you know what the tide will be doing at any given time of day and you can plan your fishing trips.

 

[sillylucy]

We like to go fishing out on the pier here in Los Angeles. We fish in Malibu or in Santa Monica. You just bring a few poles and sit on the pier and wait for a bite. It's always fun because you get to people watch. The pier is right new some docks so the fish are always coming to eat what they can around the area. I usually bring a chair and just relax.

 

[Esperahol]

I tend to either fish on a pier - in which case this is sort of a moot point - or I fish off the rocks with my "camp" rather further off. I agree with Gwydion that you should get charts for the tides so at least that way you can plan everything out.

 

[bigal3]

The first thing is to get reliable tide tables for where you are going to fish. When you go will depend on what fish you are after and what the local conditions are like. Most fish come in towards shore with the flood tide (when the tide is coming in) but for rock or pier fishing it's often best to fish at high water because there is often lots of weeds and rocks beneath so if you fish at low tide you will loose more tackle.

But the important thing is to get those tide tables. Then you know what the tide will be doing at any given time of day and you can plan your fishing trips.

That is the best advise I have read. When I fished in Hawaii and California that was the first thing I did was get a tide table and learn it if you can. Generally when the tide is coming in in Hawaii that is the best time to fish from the beach or rocks as the big fish are following the bait fish in.