Whitsunday Tides

Tidal movement in the Whitsundays is about 4m. As there are plenty of islands here (74 to be exact), this water needs to move in all sorts of ways as it is wrestled by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun. The water tries to flow in one direction, but the surface of the ocean floor and the presence of islands and creek outflows, bends and shapes the flow in many unexpected directions.

As a general rule though, here in the Whitsundays, the tide ebbs (goes out or down) to the north. In other words, the water tries to flow from wherever it is in a northerly direction. As the tide floods (comes in or goes up), it reverses and tries to move south.

Tidal Range

A run in or out tide lasts for about 6.25 hours, then becomes slack for a very short time, and then reverses in the opposite direction. The tidal flows themselves vary depending on the range of the tide for that day. As the moon and the sun align, their gravitational forces pull together creating larger high tides and smaller low tides. The large range in between the low and the high is called the Tidal Range. This varies throughout the year and depends on the cycles of the moon and the sun. When the moon and sun are at right angles to each other, the tidal range is smaller.

The bigger the tidal range, the more water needs to move from one point to another. This means that a large tidal range (Spring tide) will produce stronger tidal currents and water flow than a smaller tide (Neap tide).

Fishing the tides

Here in the Whitsundays, anywhere there is strong tidal current and deep ledges, you'll find Giant Trevally sitting and waiting for prey to be washed into the current and disorientated. When they site a Fusilier for example, they'll rush out into the current, hitting the helpless prey like an express train. It's a fairly simple matter to replace the Fusilier with your own live baited Fusilier or even cast a lure or popper.

Fishing the rock walls and jetties

Arond the rock walls and jetties of Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands, huge schools of small baitfish (mostly local herring) hang out in the shallows. Basically they hide as close to the waters edge and as shallow as they can go to try and evade the larger predators who won't come in that shallow. Of course this makes them a target for seabirds who wait on the rocks standing dead still until a school passes by. When the tides are high, you'll find the bait fish schools generally right up as high as they can get, but as the tide goes out, they are forced back down off the reefs, rockwalls and out of the mangrove roots where they have been hiding, into the path of the waiting predators. Fish like Giant Trevally and Coral Trout patrol the outflow current of the outgoing tide waiting for the little herring that has strayed or been separated from the school. This is one of the best places to get some great bottom fishing happening. Use a cast net when the tide is high and grab some 'livies'. Hook them up live on a light sinker and cast them into the outgoing tidal flow.

Fishing the Great Barrier Reefs

When it comes to the coral reefs, there are no hard and fast rules, but fishermen often look to troll or cast the pressure side of a reef ledge. Basically, as the tide moves across a reef, there is a small section of pressure created at the front of the ledge facing the tidal flow. Large predators can sit here in virtually calm water as the tide races past them carrying all sorts of tasy treats. It's kind of like a buffet, but the waiter keeps walking past with the food. Casting or trolling past these fish in the pressure wave, will see them break from the calm of the wave and race out to smash your lure as it passes by.

Slack tide

As a general rule, 'No run, no fun!'. This age old saying is basically saying that as the tide comes to a stop at slackwater, the fishing comes to a stop. Although this is not 100% accurate, it is true as a general rule. The same can be said for certain styles of fishing if the tide is running too hard. Generally the best times to fish are the lead up to the new and full moon and a couple of days afterwards. The 2nd-3rd hour of the outgoing tide and the 3rd-5th hour of the incoming tide.

Tidal anomalies

At Hook Passage, between Hook Island and Whitsunday Islands, the water ebbs south through the passage and floods north.

Current tidal data for Airlie Beach, The Whitsundays and Shute Harbour.

For latest tidal information for the Whitsundays, see the BOM Shute Harbour Tides page. Select Shute Harbour in the drop down box and enter the date you're looking for.