The Moon's Wrath

Ocean tides are constantly changing and ever since I was a little kid I have enjoyed that change.  At low tide I could hunt for crabs and enjoy myself in a protected cove of rocks while at high tide I was learning to skimboard and diving for footballs into the waves.  While tides are important for fun ocean activities they are extremely important when it comes to fishing.  As I have mentioned before an outgoing tide is ideal when fishing off of the breachway.  However, if the fish are biting then the fish are biting and fish can be caught during any tide.  The tide changes are very noticeable in Quonochontaug and an experience fishing off of the breachway over the course of six hours can change drastically as well.  Below is a panorama view of the beach in front of my grandparents beach house.  I have never seen the tide so low before or such a large sand bar in the cove as pictured in the center. At high tide the cove is filled with water and the waves are crashing over the rocks.  Furthermore, recently since Hurricane Sandy the water has been coming all the way up to the wall at high tide pictured at the bottom of the photo.  Hurricane Sandy as well as other storms can easily transform the beach by brining in or taking out more sand.  This happens not only on the beach but also in the breachway which can affect the way fish move in and out of the pond.

Tides are controlled by the moon which I believe most of us know.  Yet how many of you actually know how the moon controls the tides?  Ok yes gravity is the answer but what about gravity?  First of all, the Moon and the Earth are constantly moving through space. The Earth spins on its own axis and the ocean water is kept balanced on all sides of the planet through centrifugal force (which I learned about in Physics with Dr. Moss last year!). The Moon's gravitational forces are strong enough to disrupt this balance however by moving the water towards the Moon. This concept is known as 'bulge'. The Earth's rotation causes a bulge on the opposite side of the planet as well even though the moon is not on that side physically.  That is why there are two high tides and two low tides approximately each day.  Where the bulging occurs the coast line experiences a high tide, and the others are subject to a low tide. However, the Moon's movement around the Earth means that the effects of its forces are in motion as well, and as it encircles our planet, this bulge moves with it.

The moon however is not always the same distance away from earth.  Perigee is when the moon is closest to Earth and as you may have guessed there is the highest tide and lowest tides during perigee.  The gravitational pull during this is the greatest creating extremely low and high tides.  The first panorama picture was actually take during perigee.  Apogee is the opposite when the moon is furthest away from the earth and the tides have a much smaller change between them.  Furthermore, the tide will be extremely high or low during full moons or new moons when the sun, moon, and earth are in a line.  at this point the sun and moon have a combined gravitational pull which pulls the tides to extremes. This is called a 'spring tide'

When fishing it is important to check the tides as well as the weather to ensure the best fishing.  When fishing in a boat you want both the tide and the wind to be going in the same direction for maximum catching.  Furthermore, it is just important to know which way you will be drifting if you are in the boat especially if you are fishing at night.  You don't want to find yourself crashed into a rock in the middle of the night in the dark!!  Furthermore, if the tide is coming in and you are fishing off of the breachway you know which way the fish will mostly be coming. In!! And vice versa if the tide is going out.  Also, if the tide is running fast it can lend a lot of information on which lure or what size lure one should use. If it is really running a heavier lure will be needed to ensure the lure is down near where the fish are and not just at the top of the water.  Below is a picture of the Quonochontaug Breachway from an above view.  You cna easily see the different amount of sand in certain areas as well as different rock deposits which may be showing or not showing depending on the tides.