Deep Sea Fishing: Knowing Your Tides

It can sound weird but a comprehensive knowledge on
tides and their effect on your fishing area can
actually pay big dividends. In fact, it is considered
to be one key to being successful in the realm of deep
sea fishing, by the experts. A lot of fishing guides
and charter-boat captains know this secret. They even
make close studies on currents, tides, and how they
would affect fishing on their areas.

The Unknown Secret

However, sad to say, that a lot of informal deep sea
anglers actually pay very little attention to such
important details. In fact, some anglers don’t pay
attention at all! And then they would wonder how come
the other guy catches all the fish and they don't.
Nevertheless, there are still those who realize that
somehow tides can affect their fishing. However, they
do not know exactly how and why this happens.

These anglers usually waste their precious hours
trolling, casting and sinker bouncing even when the
tide is not right. However, the deep sea angler who
knows his tides could pick in advanced the most
favourable fishing periods and concentrate on his
efforts during those times. This simply means you can
have less of those wasted days and get more fish on
your deep sea fishing trips.

Getting Started

You don’t have to delve into tide’s science here,
except to point out that tides are due to the
gravitational forces that are brought about the sun
and moon. Since the moon is nearer earth, it has
greater influence with tides than the sun.

Types Of Tides

Every time the tide is up, water would move towards
land, which is also known as "flood tide". On
occasions that tides drop, moving its way back to sea,
is called "ebb tide". The period in which it doesn’t
move either way is termed as the "slack tide". It
usually takes a period of 6 hours for it to rise, and
6 to get low. For every 24 hours these tides occur 50
minutes later than the last, approximately.

Variations

They also vary in regards to the degrees that they
drop or rise. The highest tides occur when the sun and
moon are situated on Earth’s same side, creating a
direct line. Such kind of tide is called "spring
tide", which occur during new-moon and full-moon
periods.

During these times, both low and high tides are higher
than their usual state. However, during the last and
first quarter phases of the moon, tides don’t fall or
rise or fall that much. This is called as "neap
tides".

Which Is Which

So which of theses tides are helpful and which are
not? To start off, most experts believe that moving
tides or currents are most of the time more productive
than having no currents or tides. Thus, a "slack" tide
would rarely produce good catch.

Using The Tides At The Right Time

You can take advantage of tides even more by knowing
when to go. The period in which an incoming tide
starts is considered to be one of the productive
periods for fishing, especially if you are targeting
for gamesters like bluefish, striped bass, channel
bass, and weakfish.

During the periods of slack water, the small bait
fishes tend to scatter, and having a lack of strong
currents they are able to swim faster and escape their
predators.

However, when tides start moving, such small bait
fishes are at the strong rips and current’s mercy.
Thus, they are easier to catch and find by stripers
and other kinds of game fish. When an outgoing tide
starts is yet another good time do fish, simply for
the same logic. In general, the popular change of
tide, whether it be low or high, is actually the best
time to do your fishing.

Choosing The Right Deep Sea Fishing Charter For You

There are a lot of factors to take into consideration
when picking out a deep sea charter. You do not only
have to look for one that is professional and
reputable, but you also have to find one that can meet
your personal needs. Thus, before you go out to sea,
you have to decide on exactly what it is that you
really want from the trip.

What Kind Of Experience?

Your main concern must be to decide on the type of
experience that you want to get. Is it wreck and reef
fishing that you want? How about inshore fishing?
Probably you’re interested in getting a charter which
specializes on targeting specific types of specie,
like billfish, tarpon, etc.? Factors like these would
definitely depend on what place in the world you’ll be
fishing in. For instance, if you’ll be fishing from
the Gulf of Mexico, you would have different options
if you’ll be looking for a deep sea charter in
Northern California.

What Kind Of Level?

Second, you should decide on the level that you want
to fish in. There’s a big difference between charters
catering to novice fishermen than those designed for
experienced ones. Nevertheless, the great thing about
charter boat’s abundance is that they have one for any
kind of level.

Some specialize on catering to beginners and families,
while some specialize in bringing more experienced
anglers out to sea. A lot of charter services can
actually offer you several options. Most likely,
charter boat captains would offer trolling options,
which is especially for novice anglers, families, and
even kids. For instance, a lot of charter boats
situated in Southern Florida can take their patrons
trolling during spring and fall months, in which they
are given the opportunity to have 6 hours hunting some
redfish, dolphin, etc.

However, high speed trolling would be a great choice
if you’re an experienced one that lack some of the
equipments to have your own expedition. This is best
done around summer months, which is when conditions
are best set to catch bigger game fish, like bull
dolphin, sailfish and yahoo.

Ask! Probably the best advice when looking for a
charter would be directly asking the captain exactly
what it is that they offer, and can offer. You would
definitely don't want to be wasting money and time on
an adventure that is not really tailored for your
needs. A lot of charter services are actually up front
regarding the different choices of service that they
can offer. Thus, you have the ability to determine
what type of charter would be the best for you!

Money Matters After deciding on the type of experience
you would want, now it’s time to settle on how much
you’re willing to pay for the trip. In general,
smaller boats that have the capacity of 2-4 people
have a typical price of $200-$400. If you want to get
a bigger boat for a whole day trip, prices usually
play around $900-$1,200. Additionally, factors like
the charter’s reputation play a role on how much they
charge.

Playing It Safe

Although most charters are headed by quality,
experienced individuals, there are some occasional
shady characters that might try to sell their services
to you. If this is the case, you should try checking
their reputation by asking people around the area and
getting some recommendations from the locals.

Doing this could mean having visits in the local
marinas and bait shops. Basically, you should visit
the docks. Another choice would be asking the hotel
that you're staying in. Such hotels usually have
charter services that they usually use and can
recommend to you.

Lastly, you can directly interview your potential
charter captains. This would help you see what kind of
person you’ll be spending the trip with. Most of the
time, this method is the one that shows whether the
charter service is reputable or not.

A Deep Sea Fishing Family Guide

Deep sea fishing is one great activity that a lot of
families enjoy. It’s something that can give you and
your family momentous experiences and priceless
memories that can last for a lifetime. The family
bonding experience with nature at hand is simply
indescribable.

If you’re new to this sport and wonderful past time,
there are some things that you should know before you
go on with your deep sea fishing trip. It is indeed
one big adventure for you and your family. However,
you should consider some things first to make your
trip a successful one. Other than not forgetting to
bring your camera, for those momentous snapshots, here
are some things that you have to think about before
even making some plans.

Judgment Time: Are They Capable?

First off, you should take a realistic look at your
family’s abilities and age. Let’s face it, you can’t
really maximize a deep sea fishing trip if you’re kids
are still infants or toddlers. If you’re deciding on
what kind of excursion to have, deliberating on these
kinds of factors are important too.

In case you’ll be getting the service of a charter
boat, this would play an important factor too, since
most boat companies have set age limits. Generally,
age limits start at about eight years old. You should
understand that companies set these kinds of rules to
guarantee safety on your part.

Additionally, you should consider the duration of how
long you’d want to be on water. Most inexperienced
fishermen would usually prefer half-day trips, so that
it wouldn’t be that stressful and still be enjoyable
for the whole family. On the other hand, lifelong and
expert anglers would definitely want to have overnight
trips. However, regardless of how long or short you
have been fishing, you should still remember your
family’s physical comfort would affect the trip’s
overall enjoyment. Factors such as attitude and age
play important roles on how can your family adjust
with a temporary boat life.

Be Distance Conscious

Another important consideration is how far away your
target fishing location is from your home. The
packages that you may encounter can vary greatly,
depending on the company. This means the provisions
that they’ll give to you on the boat would also
differ. If you will be travelling a huge distance just
to fish, you might be more interested in availing
packages that are all inclusive, which provides you
with everything you’d need for the trip.

However, packages like these are usually hard to find,
and of course, they are way more expensive than those
for average day trip packages. An average package
usually provides you bait and tackle. But if you’ll
need a license, some packages already include it,
while some can charge you extra for the cost.

Know The Terms

Generally, boats would ask you to bring your own hats,
sunglasses, clothing, sun block, medications for
motion sickness and everything else that you think is
important to bring. Make sure that you are clothed
appropriately with a number of warm layers, since it
would be colder when you’re on water than being on
shore.

Also, most of the day trip packages would ask you to
bring your own food. If this is the case, you should
plan accordingly. Try to pack items that are easy on
your stomach, just in case that waters will be rough.