Is it too early to be thinking of the weekend?

I'm having a hard time with this "work" thing, after 42 days of vacation.  So, is it too early to be dreaming of the weekend tides?

I mean look at Sunday!  Can you imagine a better sunrise tide to be striper fishing along the flats somewhere?  Sure the tide could be a 6.0, but i'll take it. Then of course if the winds stay down, the evening high looks nice as well....
I'm thinking brickyard, unless of course the winds stay up, then its san quentin for cleaner water.

Sa   8     High   5:31 AM     4.3   7:12 AM    Rise 12:55 PM      20
     8      Low   9:34 AM     3.1   6:42 PM     Set  9:57 PM
     8     High   3:57 PM     5.9
     8      Low  11:05 PM    -0.1

Su   9     High   6:57 AM     4.2   7:13 AM    Rise  1:59 PM      29
     9      Low  10:37 AM     3.4   6:41 PM     Set 10:59 PM
     9     High   4:55 PM     5.8

What about Benecia Salmon? What's the best tide to fish Salmon there?

The stripers might have eluded many of us last weekend... but they're going down to the XRap this weekend  

Sorry for being a newbie. Can you explain what exactly you are looking at that is good. Is it the timing of the low tide, is it the size of the tide? Thanks

I want to go on the ocean but it looks nasty this weekend.

Monday is always the first day I think about the weekend!

Sorry for being a newbie. Can you explain what exactly you are looking at that is good. Is it the timing of the low tide, is it the size of the tide? Thanks

I'm looking at two things:
1) Timing of the tide-- right around sunrise- so you get low light, which brings the stripers right up along the shoreline (where the bait SHOULD be).

2) Now, this one goes against conventional wisdom, but I'll explain (and everyone can argue against).  The small difference between the tides.  Traditional wisdom says large tide changes for stripers are ideal.  However, I feel that in the flats the large tide changes tend to muddy the waters, and the fish go off the bite a bit.  So, the smallish change means cleaner water.  The one thing here is that the fish might not school up as much- since they aren't pressed into the seams and rips like during a large tide.

If this were really ideal for the flats, I think we'd see same timing, but then a slightly higher tide - like 5.7 or even 6- which would make the depth at brickyard, well 5.7 or 6 feet!

thurs afternoon has a great outgoing tide!

Just came over from Berkley, what a unreal morning_ can you say glass!

me and Jeff hit it yesterday around the rod gun club and San Quintin for only one each, but then again we were leaving right when the tides were high. Sunday evening looks good to me. chef

SteveS,
Thanks, I never thought about the amount of current that occurs depending on the change in tide. I understand the early morning high tide thing. Is high tide better than low? It seems high tide the fish can move into the shallows to feed but it also seems that at low tide the fish would be forced into deeper holes. I've never targeted stripers in the Bay before. Thanks

SteveS,
Is high tide better than low? It seems high tide the fish can move into the shallows to feed but it also seems that at low tide the fish would be forced into deeper holes. I've never targeted stripers in the Bay before. Thanks

ok, so folks can argue with me here(and hopefully CPKAYAK will chime in here as he is a pro on this stuff i'm sure), - BUT...there are high tide spots and low tide spots.
There are flats that are bone dry at low tide- brickyard (chapel cove) for instance, then there are holes that are perfect at low tide.
What has helped me in the recent years is to think of the bay as a really, really wide river.  Holes form at the downstream (toward GG) side of every "rock" and bend. Think sisters- 40+ feet deep on the south sides but only 15 or so on the east and west.
But here's the kicker-- the current can run BOTH ways!  So, on the outgoing tide the current runs toward the gate- and carves holes just like a normal river would- But on the incoming tide, the opposite happens.
those holes on the north and south side of the Sisters or the one under the san rafael bridge (marin side) are perfect examples.  Of course the outgo flow is predominant- since all that water coming out of the sierra is ultimately moving toward the gate.

Now, you're right- the fish get forced into the deeper holes. And they face into the current.  
Take the hole under the bridge-- incoming tide- fish stacked up facing south, outgo- stacked up facing north.
So- suppose I launched from Brickyard at 6:30 sunday-- I'd probably fish the flats along the road for a while, then either work my way to the Marin Islands and the holes there, or around the corner toward the sisters and the hole right at Pt San Pedro...I get an outgo tide, so i know that when the water is only 3 feet deep on the flats I better hightail it to one of those holes.
Probably more info than you wanted, and it is just my opinion, but there ya go...

Traditional wisdom says large tide changes for stripers are ideal. However, I feel that in the flats the large tide changes tend to muddy the waters, and the fish go off the bite a bit. So, the smallish change means cleaner water.

I'm with SteveS on this one
Muddy waters seems to turn off the striper bite.  I know it makes it tough for stripers to see the lure you're trolling.