The importance of Tidal Data
Palm Beach tides are in the minds of anyone familiar with Palm Beach County’s inlets, such as the Boynton Beach Inlet. Navigating boats through shallow water ports, the Intracoastal Waterway, and other tricky or busy waters requires a knowledge of the time and height of the tides, as well as the speed and direction of the tidal currents. Gulfstream Boat Club can help.
Tidal data affects not only boating, but fishing and surfing, three of South Florida’s most popular water activities. Gulfstream Boat Club’s experienced captains use knowledge of the tides and tidal currents to improve their catches. “Depending on the species and water depth in a particular area, fish may concentrate during ebb or flood tidal currents,” NOAA’s website reports. In other words, checking Boynton Beach tide tables online or on a phone app can be the difference between a big day of fishing and a bust.
So when you’re getting ready for a day of fishing or boating in South Florida, besides packing the rods, snacks, and sunscreen, definitely be sure to check the Palm Beach tides.
Palm Beach Tides and Fishing
Here’s a good explanation of how tides affect fishing, according to Sport Fishing Magazine:
“The gravitational pull of the moon and sun drives tides, forcing water up or down over a period of the time. Low tides reveal structure such as jetty rocks, sea grass, pilings and oyster beds; high tides flood those fish aggregators. Current moves water in specific directions; currents can be driven via tide, wind or even waters of different densities abutting each other. All summed up, currents and tides create water movement, and understanding how that movement causes fish to react dramatically increases your chances of success.”
Like most living creatures (humans included!), fish want to conserve energy, so they rarely swim against the current. That means they like to follow the water movement, and also tend to huddle behind structures or gather in eddies to escape it.
“When fishing in current, especially in shallow waters, anglers should cast up-current to let their presentation flow naturally,” says Sport Fishing magazine. “This axiom holds true no matter where you’re fishing in salt water — neither prey nor predator lackadaisically swims against the tide.”
Palm Beach Tides Sources
So what sources does Gulfstream Boat Club rely on for tidal information?
Here are a few of our favorite websites:
The Discover the Palm Beaches website offers links to the live beach cameras in the area: Lake Worth Inlet, Boynton Beach Inlet, Jupiter Inlet, Boca Raton Inlet, and the Delray Beach cam. The Boynton Beach tides are the ones we at Gulfstream Boat Club check most often.
NOAA.gov can always be counted on for up-to-date information. Their local tides and currents info is linked to Lake Worth Pier.
Tides4Fishing offers easy to read, hour by hour information on Palm Beach tides.
Magic Seaweed offers forecasts and a whole week’s worth of tidal info at one glance.
Here are some helpful tide-related phone apps for the Boynton Beach area:
Tide Charts Near Me has 6,000 stations around the word. By default it will pick the closest station to you.
Tides Near Me offers fast, free current tidal conditions.
Watch the Palm Beach tides and connect with other anglers on the Fishbrain app. Fishbrain allows you to access a wealth of community fishing intel, track your catches, and connect with other fishermen. It even offers short weekly tutorial videos.
Now that you’ve checked some websites and downloaded a phone app to track local tides, you’re ready to call Gulfstream Boat Club and set up your next fishing excursion! We’re open seven days a week: 561.865.7797.