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Date: May 02, 2008 at 19:15:41
From: Cire, [user-160v527.cable.mindspring.com]
Subject: Tidal strait observations



I will attempt to synthesize a full set of observations of one stretch of a tidal strait made over the course of one year. These observations were made during daylight hours. I was able to make detailed observations at every stage of the tide and was in position to observe the activity of fish, anglers, birds and current.

The outgoing tide saw significantly higher levels of activity than the incoming tide. Under blitz conditions, both the incoming and outgoing tides were productive as long as the current was moving fast enough. On both the incoming and outgoing tides, peak observable fish and bird activity coincided with peak current flows.

Many anglers attempted to fish this one stretch of water. However, only three boats consistently caught fish. These boats demonstrated a sophisticated knowledge of the area, showed up with enough time to set up and would generally move on quickly to a different location when they did not catch fish. One prime “soft spot” yielded fish when properly approached. These boats were keenly aware of where the fish preferred to set up in the current and of the relationship of the time of year to this particular location.

None of the other anglers that fished this area ever caught any fish. They were correct in their assessment of this potential of the location, but their methodology and timing were not properly calibrated for success.

On two occasions, very large fish were visibly striking on the surface. On one of these occasions, these very large fish were in a feeding lane that I had not observed being used previously. They were out in the main current and away from observable structure. Later on in the season, I observed one of three successful boats exploring this feeding lane, with no observable result.

Cormorants often indicated the places where fish would position themselves in the current. The cormorants took advantage of slack tide to hunt but mainly waited for the current to focus the food. There were several areas where the cormorants would fish which never showed visible signs of fish activity and which never yielded any visible signs of fish activity over the course of a year.

Of interest as well was the relationship between structure and current. Eventually I was driven to sketch out underwater features based upon charts to understand what I was looking at. It was the key step.


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