Tides in Rivers

Howdy all,

I'm getting better at reading tides on the shore and in the bays, now I need to start figuring them out upstream.

So, how to do I figure out the general timing of tides in rivers like the Columbia and Willamette?  For the Columbia would I just look up the tide table for the mouth?
Is there a decent online resource for this?

NOAA has tide stations all the way up to bonneville. you should be able to pick a location, like kelly point, and get an exact tide schedule for that spot.

Usually they don't have a change in height, just ebb & flood. Dam release is a big factor on the columbia too.

This is my favorite tide website.  It's a web based interface to a program called Xtide

http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/

Pick a location by name and it takes you to a form where you select the dates and output type.  The graphical display is particularly nice.

Brian



If you have an iphone or palm pilot etc.. I think you can get xtide

I really like this site.

http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/washingtonsites.html

This is my favorite tide website.  It's a web based interface to a program called Xtide

http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/

Pick a location by name and it takes you to a form where you select the dates and output type.  The graphical display is particularly nice.

Brian



If you have an iphone or palm pilot etc.. I think you can get xtide

Brian, did you ever look into why the actual tides were as much as an hour off of prediction when we fished B10 this year?

This is my favorite tide website.  It's a web based interface to a program called Xtide

http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/

Pick a location by name and it takes you to a form where you select the dates and output type.  The graphical display is particularly nice.

Brian



If you have an iphone or palm pilot etc.. I think you can get xtide

Brian, did you ever look into why the actual tides were as much as an hour off of prediction when we fished B10 this year?

Do tide forecasters and weather forecasters go to school together?

At B10 I tend to look at the current predictions rather than the tide predictions.  Currents and tides don't always often have a lag between them (i.e. slack tide might occur an hour or so after high tide.)

At river mouths like B10 weather (particularly wind) and river flow can also influence the timing of tides and currents.

You also have to take into account where you are in relation to the actual "tide station location"  For instance for Tillamook bay the Barview (out near the jetty) tide forecast for Tuesday shows the low at 2:52am and the low at Hoquarten Slough (back of the bay) is at 5:11 am. Basically a two hour window in which the low tide marches its way up the bay. There are multiple stations in Tillamook bay that allow you to pinpoint more specific data.  In a huge area like the mouth of the Columbia there is even more of a window (lots of tide stations too) so if you want accurate tide data you need to know the forecast from the closest tide station to where you want to fish or at best make extrapolations based on the data from a station seaward and inland of your location. Close counts! A mile or more can make a big difference, for instance in Tillamook Bay, Miami Cove low tues 3:22am, Bay City low 3:56am  these locations are within sight and an easy paddle of each other basically the top and bottom of the Ghost Hole in Tilla bay yet there is a 1/2 hour difference in low tide times.

There's an app for that....
I use a free app "TideApp" from Atlantis Technology (tideapp.com) that seems to work fairly well.  I'm not sure where they pull their info but it does include the Willamette @ Morrison St. Bridge!

and for those of you with a smarter phone, Garmin has an app on Verizon called MyCast that can give you tons of info too.

Regarding the B10 tides and why they are one hour off.  The main channel down in Astoria is on the Oregon side. The Columbia is a mighty big river. It takes about an hour for the incoming to overcome all that energy and reverse course. On the Washington side the Tide charts are accurate.

The Tide change on the Oregon side is just about always 1 hour later than on the Washington side.  Very useful info whether you fish from a boat or a kayak down there.


Scott

Regarding the B10 tides and why they are one hour off.  The main channel down in Astoria is on the Oregon side. The Columbia is a mighty big river. It takes about an hour for the incoming to overcome all that energy and reverse course. On the Washington side the Tide charts are accurate.

The Tide change on the Oregon side is just about always 1 hour later than on the Washington side.  Very useful info whether you fish from a boat or a kayak down there.


Scott

At B10 I tend to look at the current predictions rather than the tide predictions.  Currents and tides don't always often have a lag between them (i.e. slack tide might occur an hour or so after high tide.)

At river mouths like B10 weather (particularly wind) and river flow can also influence the timing of tides and currents.

I'm familiar with the effect that distance has on tides but the station we were referencing was right near our launch points.  So, I'll go with some combination of these two answers.  500 points for the fish geek and kykfshr.  Next category, Victorian women's hair styles. 

Regarding the tides Spot is referring to we where actually using the Hammond tides which are a few hundred yards away at best.

Regarding women's hair styles of the late 19th century.. it was all about the hats back then so anything that would tuck up nicely in a hat would do.  If you really needed to show off some hair, you would buy a nice wig.

Next category, Victorian women's hair styles. 

What is "up in a braid/bun"?



-Allen

and for those of you with a smarter phone, Garmin has an app on Verizon called MyCast that can give you tons of info too.

Geeze I don't even have a cell phone!

The iphone has been getting me all excited though. Another guy who guides with me took one with us to the San Juan's, and it could give real time, on the spot readings & predictions for current and tides at tons of places. It was cool, but I must be a nerd, because I still like reading charts & current atlases and listening to NOAA weather radio at night. There's still a few places without cell coverage I guess.

I drift from the thread......