Obviously, that's not entirely what I'm trying to say. I mean we all know tide tables are super important when planning a trip. But at the end of the day the tables only give you two things. The beginning and end of a tide cycle and the expected variance from normal mean low and mean high water. That variance from the mean is the key, and understanding how to use it makes all the difference!
Let's say your tide table says low tide is at 2pm. You're fishing find a spot at 1:50pm where the oyster bars are 10' off of the bank and just barely covered by water. The day you find it it seems like there a red or 2 holding on every oyster. Jackpot, I found a great low tide spot... you think. Then the next time you go fishing you plan to be at that spot just before low tide to fish the same tide. The second time, you tell your buddies that it's going to be an epic day, and you pull up to the spot just 10 minutes before "low tide" ready to go. But this time, the oysters are completely dry and 15' from the waters edge. Obviously, this spot is not going to produce today.
The problem is the first time you went the "low tide" was 1.6 feet and the second time it's a -.7 feet. That's 2.3 feet of difference in water level at the same "tide stage". If you were armed with the knowledge of the tidal variance on the first trip, you could have used that along with the new variance and figured out that you needed to be at the spot a couple hours earlier that the stated low tide to fish the same "low tide" you the fished last time.
Obviously, this takes some time and requires a bit of work. The best way to get a handle on it is to log your catches. Simple info like "Redfish, south bank, oysters just covered, 2:15p)" is enough. Back home, you can check the tide table, find out how that water level translates to the mean low for that area and apply that next time you are planning to go to that spot.
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