TIDEBITE
The method
How the Bite Score works
Every hour of the next 7 days gets a score from 0 to 100. Here is exactly what goes into it.
One weighted average
Each factor is rated from 0 to 1 for the hour, multiplied by its weight, and averaged. The result is scaled to 0–100. A factor that does not apply, such as tide on a lake or weather data that is missing, is dropped and the remaining weights are rebalanced, so you are never penalised for something that cannot affect your water.
| Factor | Default weight | How it is rated |
|---|---|---|
| Solunar | 30% | Full marks within an hour of the moon overhead or underfoot (major period). Moonrise and moonset give a smaller boost (minor period). The effect fades smoothly over 30 minutes either side. |
| Moon phase | 10% | Highest at new and full moon, lowest at the quarters. |
| Daylight | 20% | Highest within 45 minutes of sunrise and sunset, fading over an hour. Low light is when most fish feed. |
| Tide | 20% | Moving water scores higher than slack water. The weight scales with the local tidal range, so a lake or a sea with almost no tide is not penalised for it. Sea only. |
| Pressure | 12% | Measured as the change over 3 hours. A slow fall is best, steady is good, a sharp rise after a front is worst. |
| Weather | 8% | Wind (a light ripple is best), rain (drizzle is fine) and cloud (overcast is slightly better by day). |
| Swell | 10% | Wave height at sea: small waves are fine, big ones pull the score down, and seas that are settling after a blow score well. Sea only. |
Levels and best windows
Scores fall into four levels: Poor below 30, Fair from 30, Good from 55 and Excellent from 75. A best window is a run of Good or better hours. The score for a day is the average of its four best hours, because you only fish a few of them.
Severe weather (strong wind or heavy rain) caps the score at 40, whatever the moon says.
Tuned to how you fish
- Shore is the baseline.
- Boat leans on moon and pressure, and feels swell less.
- Kayak feels wind, weather and swell more.
- Lake and river have no tide or swell, so pressure, moon and light carry the score.
- Target species changes the weights and adds the water temperature the fish likes and its season.
Solunar periods, explained
Solunar theory says fish and game feed more when the moon is overhead or underfoot (major periods, about two hours) and when it rises or sets (minor periods, about an hour). It is a long-standing angling rule of thumb rather than settled science, which is why it is one signal among several and not the whole score.
Every score explains itself
Open the score breakdown in the app to see how each factor rated for the hour, its weight and the points it added. The top reasons also appear as chips on Today: for example “major solunar period”, “incoming tide” or “pressure falling slowly”.
What it cannot do
Fish do not read forecasts. Use the score to pick your time, not as a promise. Forecasts are less certain after a few days. Tide times are modelled and approximate: not for navigation.
See it for your spot
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