Been doing alot of research these past two years on fishing the Canal. Feel like I've learned alot but have a long way to go. One area in particular relates to tides / currents. I read Mike P's "how to" post which was great. But I still have some questions that I'm sure some of you die hard ditch fans can hopefully answer.

Lets say a "current" table states the following;

Location - RR Bridge
Date - May 27
Slack - 0353, 1007, 1656, 2241
Flood - 0035, 1314
Ebb - 0705, 1942

I understand the term slack, but what exactly does Flood & Ebb define? Dumb question but I just can't figure it out and how this relates to the "tide" chart for same location?

Anyone? Please & thanks.

flood=highest point of high tide
ebb=lowest point of low tide

Here's the definitive work on the subject.

http://www.striped-bass.com/StriperTalk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14919

Flood is the Incoming Tide from Low to High
Ebb is the Outgoing Tide From High to Low

in the canal for the most part current direction and the time it changes direction are the most important . high/flood and low/ebb dont play too much into it exxcept for how much land there is between the bushes/service road and the water . Low gives you more casting room in some locations .


I dont know too much about the canal or the fishing .

Boys, current/direction means much, much more than tidal stage when you're talking about the canal.

Who can show what is going on.

Slack - 0353, 1007, 1656, 2241n
Flood - 0035, 1314 (going in direction 070)
Ebb - 0705, 1942 (going in direction 250)


What is happening with the flood at 0035, is it starting or is it at it's peak?
if it starts at 0035, I would assume it runs for a little over 3hours till slack @ 0353, but the next ebb shows 0705, is this the end of the ebb?

I'm sure it's simple but my pea brain can't compute.

Which way is the current running on the ebb vs the flood. Say you are standing on the mainland side, now if the current is flowing from right to left, is this considered the ebb or the flood?

J. Jr, I enrolled in a canal crash course this mornin' too after Capt. Jack's message this morn. You in tonite with us?

mainland side = eastern flow or flowing left is incoming . western flow or flowing right is outgoing . I think ! I dont know the canal or fishing . I do know where the 19th hole is though !

Mike I might come down, work has blown the big one today, so I might have a date with a case of beer.

That tidal information makes absolutely no sense to me :confused:

High slack and high tide occur at roughly the same time at the RR bridge. High tide comes about 20 minutes before high slack there.

At the east end there's a much bigger difference between tidal height and current. The tide continues to rise for roughly 2 hours after a high slack.

I find it much easier to use the Army Corp of Engineers Tide Chart for the canal that tells you when the current switches from E-W and from W-E.

http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/recreati/ccc/cgi-bin/search2.asp

Originally posted by fishsmith
Who can show what is going on.

Slack - 0353, 1007, 1656, 2241n
Flood - 0035, 1314 (going in direction 070)
Ebb - 0705, 1942 (going in direction 250)


What is happening with the flood at 0035, is it starting or is it at it's peak?
if it starts at 0035, I would assume it runs for a little over 3hours till slack @ 0353, but the next ebb shows 0705, is this the end of the ebb?

I'm sure it's simple but my pea brain can't compute.

lets see...
slack...3:53 am, 10:07 am, 4:56 pm, 10:41 pm...
flood...12:35 am, 1:14 pm
ebb...7:05 am...7:42 pm...

i'm editing my post because the previous information i gave was basically wrong...:o

flood and ebb tide listings are not high and low tides but rather listings of the stongest current on the incoming stage (flood or east running current) or outgoing stage (ebb or west running current)...the strongest running currents occur around half tide (+/- 3 hours after the turn)...

so anyway, what the listings above tell you is that the current goes slack at 3:53 am and turns west...half tide on the west running current occurs at 7:05 am...the current flows west until slack at 10:07 am, then turns east...half tide on the east running current is at 1:14 pm...the current goes slack again at 4:56 pm, then turns west...etc...

Not sure if I'm more or less confused now vs when I posted the question.

I refer to this web site alot for tides/currents. See specific link for above info I referenced;

http://www.maineharbors.com/currents/maycrr04.htm

confused now wait till we get to the water temp changes during the turn of the current .

the best thing is to do is send me your address in a pm and Ill send you a tide/current chart from the corps of engineers . unless you are close enough to the canal , you could stop at the corps building down by the Academy . they have a box that usually has some tide/current charts . then concern yourself with the current change east to west . once your there with chart youll easier understand more better the tide and current .

then youll be ready for the test . by the way Ive failed the test a record 256 times !

The most important thing on the charts is the slack water or current turns. I don't pay any attention to the high or low tides, unless I'm wading behind the houses after the turn!;)

From the FAQ page of the tide charts from MaineHarbors that John has linked here:

The following info is given in our Current Tables:

Slack - The state of a tidal current when its speed is near zero, especially the moment when a reversing current changes direction and its speed is zero.

Flood - The movement of a tidal current toward the shore or up a tidal river or estuary. Flood can also apply to any flood current at the time of greatest speed.

Ebb - The movement of a tidal current away from shore or down a tidal river or estuary. Ebb can also apply to any ebb current at the time of the greatest speed.

The Direction toward which the current at maximum Flood or Ebb is flowing is given in degrees at the top of the chart. For the Cape Cod Canal, the Flood is generally eastward, Ebb westward.

The Speed of the current at maximum Flood or Ebb is given in knots.


The BOLD is applicable to the Cape Cod Canal, i.e. the times listed for Flood and Ebb are the times when the currents are at their greatest speed, and in the next column, that speed is given in knots.

In addition: "For the Cape Cod Canal, the Flood is generally eastward, Ebb westward." Notice the emphasis on the word "generally, because while it is generally correct, it is not absolutely correct.

Looking at the Corps of Engineers Charts for today, May 28th for the East End (where the time differences are the greatest, as Mike stated):

Low Water was at 12:29 AM
Slack turning west is at ~4:39 AM
High Water is 6:38 AM
Slack to turning east is at ~10:47 AM
Low Water is 12:58 PM

So, this means that until 4:39 this morning, the current was running east, and the water was rising (flooding). At ~4:39, the current turned west, but the water was STILL rising (flooding) for about two hours until 6:38AM.

At 6:38 AM, the current is running west, and the water starts to drop (ebb).

At ~10:47 AM, the current turns east, and the water is still dropping. It continues to drop for about another two hours until 12:58 this afternoon, at which time it starts to rise again, with the current still running east.

So, as you can see, the water can be falling or rising on an east current, and falling or rising on a west current. It is "generally" thought that flood is on the eastward, only because out of the 6+ hour cycle, most of the flood (about 4 hours worth) is during the east current.

Now, looking at the MaineHarbor current charts for today, May 28th:

"Flood" was 1:28 AM
"Ebb" was at 7:42 AM
Flood" again at 2:04 PM

You'll notice that the "Flood" and "Ebb" times (remember, in the case of the canal, these terms refer to when the current is moving the fastest) are about an hour or so after the time of high and low water, respectively, and at about midway between the times of slack.

As Mike mentioned, the further west you head in the canal, the less of a time lag you have between these times.

All that being said, I have to disagree a bit with the folks that say high or low water isn't much of a factor when fishing the canal.

While the current speed and direction, and the times of slack play probably the biggest role, high and low water are also big factors, pertaining to HOW you fish various spots (and how much lead you are gonna lose if you don't factor it in!)

There are certain spots that I won't fish at high water, because they become snag city, but are excellent spots at low water. And there are spots that you allow your jig to drift longer or shoter, depending on the height of the tide.

Some spots at high water, you may get only 4 or 5 good "pumps" to the jig before you have to start reeling like hell to not become snagged. But at low water at the same spots, you can get 8-10-12 "pumps" in and not get hung up. And vice versa.

So I'd have to argue that the height of the water IS an important factor.....but more so on the technique end of things.

The fog is begining to clear, thanks for the replies everyone!!!

Ebbing tide is west running current, flooding is east.

Moses get yourself an Eldridge tide and pilot book, Redtop has em. It makes it all elementary...

I got one of those so's i can see all the good tides I'm missin while i'm 600 miles away.

Although it rained for most of the morning/early afternoon, I spent the day yesteday studying the Canal and currents. Picked up the Eldridge guide yesterday which definitely has some good info. Ended up being a great afternoon/early evening minus the traffic.