Tide Times Today For Fishing

There isn't one tide that is best for every type of fish or for every location. Fishing is generally productive when the tide is moving, especially at the beginning of a run-in or run-out tide, since the current can gather bait and cause fish to feed. As with the tide, local underwater features, the species being targeted, the wind, and water clarity can make a difference.

The Rule of 6 is not a term that is universally defined; it usually involves splitting up the approximately six-hour interval between high and low water into six stages as an estimate. In reality, what people generally have in mind is the Rule of Twelfths for tidal height or a different rule of thumb concerning the changing speed of the tidal current.

The 50–90 rule is used for estimating the speed of the tidal current over a period of about six hours; from slack water, the current attains approximately 50% of its maximum value after one hour, 90% after two hours and 100% after three; it then drops to 90%, then to 50% and finally reaches zero. However, this is only an approximation and does not apply to all locations.

The Rule of Twelfths is a method of estimating the change in tidal height between low and high tide over a period of six equal time intervals. The amount of water rising is roughly one twelfth, two twelfths, three twelfths, three twelfths, two twelfths and one twelfth of the entire tidal range. This is only an approximate indication and becomes unreliable in areas where the tides are strongly irregular.

Slack tide, which is more properly known as slack water, refers to the brief interval during which the tidal current becomes extremely weak before changing direction. It can happen close to either high or low tide, though it does not have to occur at the same time. In channels and at the entrances to harbours, there can be a considerable difference between the height of the tide and the timing of the current.

Not at all, since the Moon moves in its orbit while the Earth rotates; comparable tides usually happen about 50 minutes later each lunar day. The amount of this shift depends on the location and varies from one tide to the next. Moreover, the weather, the shape of the coastline, and the local depth of the water can also affect observed water levels and timing.

The difference in sea level is generally greater both at full moon and at new moon, because the Sun, Moon and Earth are then roughly in a line. These are known as spring tides, characterised by higher high tides and lower low tides. The tidal currents may also be stronger, but the actual current can be greatly influenced by local geography and weather.

The number of high tides or low tides occurring on the same day can vary since the Moon is generally north or south of the Earth's equator. This results in diurnal inequality, meaning that one tidal bulge has a stronger effect on a particular location than the other. The difference can be amplified by the shape of the coastline, the depth of the water and the geometry of the basin.

Spring tides have a greater tidal range and stronger tidal currents than neap tides, and they occur around the times of the new and full moons, when the lunar and solar tidal forces aid one another. Neap tides happen near the first and third quarter moons and result in a smaller difference between high and low water.

Low tide is the lowest point to which the water will fall at a particular location during a tidal cycle and signals the transition from a falling tide to a rising one. It does not indicate that the water has ceased to move everywhere, and the time at which the current becomes slack may differ from the time predicted for low water.

A spring tide takes place roughly twice every lunar month, that is, near both the new moon and the full moon. Even though it is called a spring tide, it has no connection with the season. The characteristic of spring tides is that they result in a greater tidal range: high tides are usually higher and low tides lower than normal. Neap tides also occur about twice each month, occurring between the spring tides.

The sea does not vanish when the tide recedes. Tides are massive waves which spread the water of the ocean all over the Earth. Where the water level is falling at one coast, the tidal wave is in motion and at a different stage water is rising elsewhere. The way this movement is seen depends on the local bays, channels and coastlines.

The tides at Perth are mainly diurnal, so during a lunar day of approximately 24 hours and 50 minutes, one high tide and one low tide take place. The rotation of the Earth, the shape and depth of the Indian Ocean and the coastline of Australia reduce the twice-daily tidal effects in south-western Australia, which causes the once-daily tidal effects to become more apparent.

In many places in Australia, the change from rising to falling tides occurs once every six hours, which results in two high tides and two low tides over a lunar day of approximately 24 hours and 50 minutes. However, this is not the case everywhere since some locations have only one cycle each day and mixed tides may cause unequal tide heights and intervals.

Several coasts go through two tidal bulges in each lunar day—one being on the side turned towards the Moon and the other on the opposite side. As the Earth rotates through these bulges, most places have two high tides and two low tides. The shapes of the continents and of the ocean basins can cause this to become mixed or once-daily tides.

The Sun does cause tides, but the Moon has a stronger tidal effect. Although the Sun’s gravity is much greater overall, tides depend on the difference in gravitational pull across Earth. Because the Moon is far closer, it has a more significant impact on Earth's oceans.

An intertidal zone is the area along a coast that is covered by water at high tide and exposed to air at low tide. This part of the shore faces regular changes in water level. Many plants and animals live here and must handle both wet and dry conditions. The intertidal zone is important for coastal ecosystems because it supports a wide range of life.

The narrow mouth of Port Phillip Bay, together with its rocky headlands and sandbanks, limits the tide coming in from Bass Strait, so that the range within the large bay is about 0.4 to 0.6 metres. In contrast, Western Port exchanges a much greater volume of water via deep tidal channels over wide mudflats, giving it a typical range of about 2 to 3 metres and much stronger currents.