Hey all, I have known about this post for some time but have not kept up on reading it. I bought a boat and have been fishing the Pt. Defiance area regularly for the last year. Lately I have been reading the threads on blackmouth. I see things like “good tides” and “bad tides”. What makes the fishing on different tides better or worse? Thank you for any information shared with a rookie.

Hi there,

Here is a good example.

High 5:19 AM 12.4 7:40 AM
Low 10:26 AM 7.5 5:08 PM
High 3:04 PM 10.6
Low 10:19 PM -1.9


The reason that this is a good example is two fold.

1. The tide change is occuring a day break and
the small swing between high and low, only 5'

2. If you notice the second tide changes they are not a good tide due to the fact of such a big swing which is about 12' which means that water will really be rippin' and you would have one hell of a time with you gear. Also with such big swings the fish are really hunkering down and don't move much as apposed to the slower moving water when the hunt is on!!

Hope this helps..

Make sure you plan your fishing around the tide changes or slack tide. A tide change sparks a bite because the water stops moving for a while and the fish will feed.

Days that have little tide change can be good fishing all day long.

Days that have big tide swings, most often, will only be good at the tide change.

That's been my experience.

I think it depends on the location and your technique (mooching or trolling). Some spots, especially around points, fish better on a bigger tide swing, such as Point no Point. I usually won't venture up there unless there is at least an 8' swing from high to low. The bite generally occurs when the water slows or begins to speed up - generally an hour before or after the actual peak or low. An old-timer also told me that, as a general rule, the east side of the Sound fishes better on an ebb and the west side better on the flood. There are exceptions of course, but I have also found this to be true.

I agree with CD. Flat tides are not good. You need enough of an exchange and current to push around the bait, like herring, which gets concentrated around points and along dropoffs, where the salmon wait to waylay them. Salmon do not hunker down on these fast currents -- I've seen hot king bites at Sekiu during current of 1.5 knots or more. You just have to know how to maneuver your boat (backmotoring and such) and what weight to use to keep your bait down. In short daylight hours of winter, the best tide is a moderate to swift morning ebb. The fish are hungry in the morning, and the ebb is usually stronger than the flood and sets the food chain in motion.

My first choice is to fish a tide change at first light with low to moderate tide movement. If I can't do this I try my best to figure out where the bait is going to concentrate as a result of the water pushing it around......For example off the clay banks at PD on a receeding tide. Finally, there are some places I know of where the best technique is to simple look for tidal rips and fish through them since bait is often concentrated below.

Thanks for the information! I'll pay closer attention to the tides and hopefully it will help me put more fish in the boat.

Here's my take on tides... There is no such thing as a bad tide! I am not a big believer of the "Magic 3 (optimal time)." Tides fish differently with location. I'll even go further to say locations of specific areas. E.g., at Green Pt, on small swings, I know the majority of the bait holds between 130-160 feet. On large swings, 160'+ (out of the current) on the backside of the ledges

We all know about the golden rule of the "magic 3" hours. This is optimal time because of less current (herring don't like current). Plus, salmon don't have to work as hard to catch them. However, Blackmouth can be caught all day long despite the tides. You just need to adjust accordingly by fishing deeper than normal. This may mean starting at 180' and going deeper. To adjust, look for contours and ledges and fish the lee side of these or points of land. This is where the bait will be and the salmon will be close by.

If you take a look at a few of my past posts, you'll notice the majority of my fish where caught outside the "Magic 3."

I wouldn't try to plan just to fish days with the "best" tides. Fish anytime- just plan and adjust accordingly to area and location.

Downriggin'

Agree with Downriggin too. Most of my comments pertain to mooching, but also to d'rigging if you know how to fish the location. Location is everything. But the best time to fish is whenever you can get out, and if tides aren't perfect, if you keep drilling and fishing you can catch fish anytime. Downrigging too allows you to go deep and fast and cover lots of water and overcome tidal limitations.

Everyone has his or her own thoughts and opinions but I too fish with an old timer. He's been fishin' PS for 35+ years so I use a lot of what he say's as a guide and he won't even go out on an 8+ swing. I have tried just about everything tidal change and looking over my log book I have always done best on the more gradual tidal swings. But like other's have said it can depend on the location you are fishing. I work the Saratoga Passage a lot and it really gets movin through there so I prefer slower moving tides. On the other hand when the tide is rippin' if you find a good pocket of fish they are pretty concentrated just stay on top of them. And Blackmouth DO hunker down when it's rippin. They are laying in wait for an easy meal. That's why they hang around the drop off's and places they can hide. They are waiting for an injured baitfish or just fish that are tossed around and can't handle the swift moving water to come their direction. The bigger the fish usually the lazier they are. They don't want to chase around some little morsel. They are going to go for the wounded and injured fish, something they can get easy without expending a lot of energy. Why do you think you cut plug or mooch for that matter?
Just get out there and start you own ways to catch these fish. As you can see by this board many of us have completely different theories and different thought on fishing BUT....we are all still catching them. Luck is sometimes the best bait on the boat... The golden rule no matter what technique you use.... Clean your hands and your gear if you want bigger fish.

In my experiences of fishing PS for 20+ years now I think having your line in the water increases your odds dramatically on the fish in boat ratio

Get out and fish

I too have to agree that location makes a big difference on when the bite will come on. My favorite B.M. spot does not get hot untill the middle of the tidal runoff. Looking back in my log the best bites have been on the tide changes after a big tidal swing. Another interesting notation for my area, little movement and acres and acres of bait and birds = no fish catches. in that spot. Go figure.

4 slickers in a row just chimed in with damn good advice. Yeah, tides matter, but the way the bite is at a particular spot at a particular tide is what really matters. I've got many spots that I can predict to the quarter hour when I will catch a fish just by looking at the tide, and it's not necessarily right around DRs "Magic 3". Fish the spots the right way and learn the water and the honey holes. What is way cool about blackmouth fishing is that you are fishing such a stable and predictable environment that it will always be the same, given of course the varagies of run size of both bait and salmon (that being the most important variable ) Now I happen to have a few more spots that work on the outgo in the AM, so I like the way the tides are for the upcoming weekend. And a bit less voilence in the tide, again like this weekend, is better in most places. But not all - some are killer in big runouts, and some work a lot better on the flood. I've been fishing the Sound for over 45 years and I am still a long ways from having it figured out, but I watch and learn. Do the same and you'll be toasting the fish gods often too