Big tides

oldessox

oldessox

Well-known member
Wildcard wishes me well "before we get back to the big tides" (I've supposedly got swine flu , but how they can tell over the internet is beyond me) .............. I'm just wondering , how much difference does the size of the tide make to the fishing? I'm still very new to all of this and so far my efforts have concentrated on finding marks that might produce. Now I have to start learning more about tide heights and times and the effects they have on the fishing .
I've been working it out , if I manage to get out say 10 full days in the summer months and I need to compare 10 wrecks and 10 hard ground marks at 10 different states of tides .................. I'm goin to be nearly 40 :rolleyes: :red: :D before I've worked it all out (more like 400 lol).
Any hints tips or advice in that direction would be greatly appreciated ..... :)

Ray
 
This tides thing is just a balancing act tide v wind. Fish a wreck on a big tide with no wind is fine - a drift of about 1 knot ideal, add wind and it changes the speed.Wind against the tide can slow you and fish well but tide and wind together is usually too fast.You might think that fishing a wreck at slack tide was the best time but the fish d'ont want to feed over slack water.
If there is a lot of tide running this is when to shift to fishing hard ground because you can cover more ground and more fish. One more thing, abit of tide does make shads etc fish better and more life like.
Like all fishing, views are subjective but these are what I've found in more than twenty years of wreck fishing. Good luck, catch plenty and use the freshest mackerel you can!
 
I find anything over a 4.8 can make for a hard days fishing, it could just be because of the speed of the drift or that the fish stay in the wreck away from the tide i dont know for sure but my best days have always been on a 4.2-4.4 tide.
 
I agree that the smaller the tide the better but its always good to get a light wind day not that we have alot around here lol

Oh and get well soon Ray hope its not too bad for you mate:)
 
Anything over a 0.8 and i put my baited rigs away and pull out the pirks or leadheads.

Main thing is you have fun and fish the way you like not what others say.

Ow and on rough ground i like a fast drift but others dont
 
Totally agree with you's, you need no wind on the big tides, and very little wind on the small tides, (just a slight breeze), because the further offshore you go, the tide movement is less noticeable, and you need a bit to shove you along. just my opinion. tight lines Ray. :) perfect day tomorrow so i might have something to report.
 
I'm struggling through Ivan:rolleyes: lol, I'm hoping the worst is over and if it is (fingers crosed touch wood and all that) I've had worse hangovers :red:
As for the tides , my limited experience would seem to agree that the wind has more to do with problems when drifting than the actual tide , I couldn't comment on what difference it makes to the fishing however as I've not done enough to be able to tell yet.
One thing I have noticed is that the wrecks seem to fish just before the water goes slack , once the drift stops dead , so do the fish ??
I watch the speed of the drift too , it's wierd cos sometimes you can be drifting very fast and still hold bottom easily yet sometimes you can have a nice slow drift but a pound of lead is needed , (wind over tide / wind with tide scenarios I guess)
I'm not keen on the big spring tides , not because they fish poorly , more because they are often more difficult to fish , a nice neap tide is so much more sedate normally , a more pleasant day out so to speak.
I'm never going to fall into the trap of staying at home because the "tides are wrong" mind .......... fishing dosn't seem to work like that lol.

Amblecol........ do you keep records of your fishing with tides and such written down , or is it all in your head? I am hopeless at keeping records or remembering things , I really envy these blokes that can remember things like ,the last time the tide was like this we fished such and such a way and did well etc.
I'd love to write it all down , but like I say , it would take some time to fill a page never mind a book the way the weather has been lately .
For now I'll stick to getting out as often as I can regardless of tide sizes and take my chances .

Cheers lads

Ray
 
Slack tide is my fav time of the tide in the months of Aug and Septemeber, get your big baits down on a flowing rig, half side of mackerel, big ling time we hope.
 
When you say slack tide Richy , do you mean when the flow stops altogether between the flow and the ebb? and do you think it makes a difference whether it's at high tide or low tide?

Ray
 
With the wrecks I keep a "black book" with a page for each wreck.I put the readings in when its marked so after a while you can see which way it lies eg. ne to sw. Tide never runs north or south as it should so the best way is to use the plotter do mark your drift and repeat it. If your just starting out at wrecking don't try and get ahead of the wreck to drift over it. If the wind is stronger than tide (as it usually is) come up to the wreck, head facing the wind and stop on top of the wreck.The time it takes for the wind to turn your boat broadside you should be on the bottom, watch the sounder and drop those baits tight to the bottom as you move off the wreck - thats where the ling love to sit. "North East" is spot on about hard bottom fishing, moving fast is better as long as you can hold the bottom with your leads. Another good item I always take is a piece of broom shank because a fast hold with braid cuts - far better give some slack take 10 turns around the shank and snap that way. Good luck with the wrecks.
 
They're definately BIG ,mind you my oppinion is .....if you've been working all week and the only chance to get out is at the weekend then give it your best shot or sit at home wondering if you made the right choice and missed something .
 
Thats my feelings as well Steve, if i cant make the wrecks then i try the rough ground and have a day doing something abit diffo but at least am out.

Working Sat so hoping for Sunday to be nice weather
 
SIXFOOTSTEVE said:
They're definately BIG ,mind you my oppinion is .....if you've been working all week and the only chance to get out is at the weekend then give it your best shot or sit at home wondering if you made the right choice and missed something .
Click to expand...

Well said that man...still might be worth sticking the pot out in the marina to save a blank mind :D
 
If the wind is light enough for me to get out I'm going , big tides or no big tides , I'll fish the hard ground up until just before slack water then nip across to my favourite wreck for an hour , then back to the hard ground . Catch mackerel , spin for pollock , drift with twintails , whatever is doable on the day suits me fine :)

Ray
 
It gets even more complicated when you add the fact the tide times are based on a particular location on the coast.

For example the tide times at whitby are based on high tide at the road bridge...but the at the Bell which is not far out to sea it 1hr diffeent...and I cant remeber which way that hour is.

So every time you move the actual time of the tide peak/low changes. The further out you go it changes again. Fish behind a headland and who knows what the tide will do! An extreme example is Portmouth which I beleive is the only place in the world to have 4 tides a day!

I have had considerable success in certain conditions by using a bucket tied to a rope to slow the drift below 1kt but its only really effective in a small boat and have often wondered about experimenting with sea drouges (spelling?) as a way to slow the drift.

There is a lot to learn...and if fishing was easy I would have given it up years ago through boredom.

Cheers
dave
 
I've noticed 6 miles out the tide is considerably later to turn than close inshore , I love being over a wreck when it's turning though , there comes a poit at which you can present the bait perfectly at any part of the wreck you like. I've tried a drogue/sea anchor over rough ground , more to slow wind drift than tide , they work but are a bit of a faff on if you want to repeat a short drift a few times.

Ray
 

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