Tide chart
Tide chart for fishing
Catalysst SoCal puts today's tide right on the fishing chart. Turn on the Tide Chart layer and it finds the NOAA tide station nearest your phone's location, or nearest the part of the map you are looking at, and draws today's curve with the highs, the lows and a line for right now.
What the tide chart shows
The card shows today's tide height through the day in feet above mean lower low water (MLLW), the datum NOAA tide tables use. High and low tides are marked with their times and heights, and a red line marks the current time so you can see at a glance whether the water is rising or falling and how long until it turns.
With location on, it uses the station nearest you. With location off, it follows the map: pan down to San Diego and it switches to the San Diego station, pan out to Catalina and it switches to Avalon.
Why tides matter for fishing
Tide drives current, and current moves bait. Inshore, around kelp, points and harbor mouths, the bite often turns on as the water starts moving and slows at the top or bottom of the tide when the current goes slack. Knowing when the next change comes tells you when to be on your spot.
Tide also matters for getting out and back: harbor bars, launch ramps and shallow back bays all fish and run differently at a minus low than at a big high.
How to use it with the rest of the chart
Pick the water first. Find the temperature break, the chlorophyll edge or the spotter plane activity you want to fish. Then check the tide card to plan when to be there: arrive ahead of the change instead of after it.
For inshore and kelp trips the tide often decides the plan. For offshore trips it matters most at the start and end of the day, crossing the bar and running the harbor.
Where the numbers come from
Predictions come from NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS), the official source for US tide predictions. Some smaller stations publish only the times and heights of high and low tide; for those, the card draws the curve between them the same way printed tide tables do, and says so on the card.
Frequently asked
Which tide station does Catalysst use?
The NOAA tide prediction station nearest your phone's location, or nearest the center of the map if location is off. The card names the station and how far away it is.
What does MLLW mean?
Mean lower low water, the zero line NOAA tide tables use. A tide of 0.0 ft is an average lower low tide; a minus tide is lower than that.
Is the tide chart part of the Catalysst subscription?
Yes. The Tide Chart is a layer in Catalysst SoCal alongside SST, chlorophyll, spotter plane activity and the fleet tracker, and it is included in the free trial.