Hi Folks,This probably seems early, but by the time we get enough sunlight in our lives to start thinking about fishing this summer, many of the best fishing tide days will be booked already. So this is just a little “heads up” to all on my list, that are looking for an optimum tide, whether they are bluefin tuna fishers or striped bass fishers. It is not a given, but as a general rule, tuna prefer less or small tides (or current) and bass prefer larger tides or more current. My tide charts measure both the time and the heights of the tides. I use a Boston tide chart, and many of you probably already have one. The time of slack water is about 2 hours before Boston at the Chatham inlet and about 1 hour before Boston at the rips, depending upon where you are. I try to time the departure of a trip to maximize the best use of the tide on any given day. Remember there is travel time to and from the spots.
Here is a brief summary of the highest and lowest tides in heights from the middle of June to end of October:
June 13 through 21 large tides in both mornings and afternoons
June 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28 small tides in the morning
The first 3 weeks of July are all larger than average tides, with the highest on July 2, 3, 4, 5, 15, 16, 17, 18 in the AM, and July 9, 10, 11, 12 in the PM
July 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 has the smallest tides of the month in the mornings
August 1 through 6 all have large (10’) tides in the mornings, then above average tides all the way to August 18
Starting August 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 have very small morning tides.
August 28 to September 3 has large tides in the mornings
September 5 through 9 has small tides in the mornings and large in the afternoon.
September 10 through 16 has above average tides in both AM and PM.
September 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 have extremely small tides in the mornings.
Then they are large again until October 4, 5, 6, & 7.
October 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 & 21 has very small tides in the AM
Remember small tide is good for tuna; large tide is good for bass. In between is just an average. You can’t catch ANY fish unless you put hooks in the water !
Hope to see you,
Capt. Bruce & "Marilyn S"
