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Part I
The Wells Daily Fishing Forecast was first published by Harold Wells in 1957. At that time, few fishermen understood the importance of "fishing with the tides" and hardly any actually planned their fishing based on TIDAL CURRENT movement. Harold Wells discovered years earlier from personal interviews, at docks and anywhere he could find fishermen bringing in their catch, that fishermen had better success during times when there was current movement. His records from hundreds of fishing trips and countless interviews supported his theory that TIDAL CURRENTS were the controlling factor in the movement of bait, and as a result, gamefish. Wells reasoned that TIDAL CURRENTS were the most important factor in determining WHEN and WHERE to fish.
 
The following will explain how you can use the WELLS DAILY FISHING FORECAST to plan trips days, and months, in advance. If you have to travel several hours to the coast, wouldn't you rather fish when the CURRENTS are rated TO BE IN YOUR BEST FAVOR? Your FISHING GUIDE knows this is a key to fishing success.
 

Basics of the Wells Daily Fishing Forecast...
TIDAL CURRENTS - Because they control the movement of fish food, they are THE ONLY advance predictable factor in the movement of gamefish. All of the other minor factors which effect the movement of gamefish can only be determined on a day-to-day basis. It can be determined when and where the most fish movement will occur on any given day. You can decide whether to fish the deeper reefs, the close to shore feeding areas or the passes from the Gulf. Day or night, you can use the WELLS DAILY FISHING FORECAST to your advantage.

The Wells Daily Fishing Forecast tells you when fish will move from one area to another, the direction in which they will move, and how long they will stay in the area. Each tide change creates its own tidal current, its direction, starting time and maximum speed of flow being a predictable scientific fact. The Wells Daily Fishing Forecast shows the time when a tidal current has become strong enough to move fish, and the time when this movement ends. It must be pointed out that winds which are stronger than moderate can be a factor in upsetting the starting time schedules as much as 30 minutes.

Currents move fish food...
It is a well established fact that our game fish feed almost constantly on shrimp and small bait fish. They are continually on the move with their food supply. Their food supply is propelled throughout the bay systems almost wholly by the force of the tidal currents.

 

 

CURRENT MOON
lunar phases

These currents are constantly forcing shrimp and other small baitfish into shallow water or out to deeper water whenever they have sufficient speed or forcing power. It is simply a matter of when the food moves, the gamefish move, too.

Because tidal currents are the only reason shrimp move for any distance, it is important to know why fishing on a shell reef or hard sand bottom is usually more productive than a soft mud bottom. Almost the only means shrimp have for protecting themselves is the ability to bury instantly in soft mud. A tidal current which forces them across a shell reef or hard sand bottom, causes them to lose their protection.

The time factors used in the daily tables of the Wells Daily Fishing Forecast are on the horizontal movement of the tidal currents and do not reflect when high tide or low tide will occur. These time factors cannot be directly correlated to the times of High Tide or Low Tide that are periods of stand.

Every time factor used in the Wells Daily Fishing Forecast is original to Gulf Coast Fisherman.

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