Gulf Coast Fisherman Magazine Vol 39 No 2 - Spring 2015 | Page 13

Shallow Reds

Introduction to

(Continued from page 6.)

Wells Daily Fishing Forecast
Tidal Currents are the horizontal movement of tide waters. This horizontal movement
is the most vital factor in marine life. Because
currents control the movement of fish food,
they are the only advance predictable factor in
the movement of our gamefish. All the other
minor factors which effect the movement of
fish can only be determined on a day-to-day
basis. It can be determined when and where the
most fish movement will occur on any given
day. You can decide whether to fish the deeper
reefs, the close to shore feeding areas or the
passes from the Gulf.
The “why” it works is known to thousands of fishermen who have depended on
the Fishing Forecast for 50 years. This
explanation is mostly for new (to the Forecast) fishermen but regular users can benefit by reviewing information.
It is essential to understand that fish
and their food start moving IN and OUT as
soon as a tidal current has gained enough
horizontal speed to force them in the direction of its flow.
The time required for a tidal current to
build up to a horizontal speed of at least
three tenths of a knot (forcing speed) can be
from minutes to several hours. For this
reason times given in the column, “Starts”,
can never be correlated to the time of High
Tide or Low Tide as given in sections of this
book.
The Forecast, therefore, starts with the
time when a tidal current has reached necessary speed or Forcing Power to start a
movement in the direction indicated, either
IN or OUT. The second time figure represents the end of the Forcing Power as the
current slows down to slack water time.
Analyzing the two time figures, we
start with the first column, the time when
movement starts. This time figure compared with the last time on the previous line
tells you the length of time since the current
moved the fish. If the previous current
moved IN, then the fish will still be IN until
after starting time on this line. If they were
moved OUT on the previous current, then
they won’t start IN until after this first time
figure.
The starting time represents the time
when a tidal current has gained speed and
force to start movement in the direction
indicated. This time figure represents the
beginning of a period when you do not have
to hunt for your fish. By just being stationed on a known and proven reef or
channel leading to or from shallow water,
the tidal current will bring the fish to you.