NOTE: A full explanation, in greater detail, on a PowerPoint Presentation, is part of the Lecture Series in 2009. It is given at Community College of Baltimore in Hunt Valley, MD. I will post the exact date when known on my Seminar Page. After this Lecture Series you should be able to put together a full day trip using the swiftest current in the locations you fish.
When trying to locate active/feeding fish one very
important factor to consider is current flow.
Most species, especially striped bass, will be located in the swiftest current
available.
This is the horizontal movement of water.
It should not be confused with the tide
which is the vertical movement of water (incoming/flood/high OR outgoing/ebb/low). There will
be a times when the current is slack during an ebb or flood
tide. Try not to think that because
the tide is in the process of ebbing or flooding that there is always current
movement at a particular location.
Case:
Both the tide and current are for the same location on the same date.
For September 5, 2002 a local magazine had a tide table
stating that a Thomas Point Light Shoal:
04:10 & 16:19.
This magazine advises you to add 6 1/2 hours to the high
tide to calculate the lowest of the low tide:
04:10 + 06:30 hrs = 10:40 is when a low tide will occur at Thomas Point Light Shoal.
The tide chart below verifies these times to be correct.
This information can be misleading if you think the current is moving at 06:16 even though the tide is still ebbing.
The old saying that 'current stops when the tide is at its highest or lowest for approximately 30/45 minutes' is misleading.
Point:
The current chart below shows slack current will occur at: 06:16 and 13:31.
The tide chart above shows that at these times the tide is still ebbing
then flooding.
The current chart shows that the swiftest currents crossing this structure are at 10:00 to 11:00 and 16:00 to 18:00. These should be the most productive time to fish this location..
End Note:
These charts are predictions based on scientific
data. Keep in mind, that Mother Nature can make changes that will
invalidate their accuracy from time to time.
You will be fishing in more productive waters by using current charts NOT tide tables.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Tom Hughes