Best time to fish in Upper Hell's Gate
Today, Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · local time (AST) · Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba , Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Today, Wed, Oct 28 · AST- High tides
- 9:15 am
- Major periods
- 12:46–2:46 am and 1:17–3:17 pm
- Solunar activity
- Medium
- Sun
- 6:10 am–5:43 pm
Today, Wednesday, October 28, the best time to fish in Upper Hell's Gate is 8:20 am to 9:10 am, with the 9:15 am high tide, moonset and some swell, though with moderate wind. It's an average day (6/10). The best day this week is Saturday, October 31, at 7/10.
Your day in Upper Hell's Gate at a glance
The strip runs from midnight to midnight, local time. Night in gray, daylight in yellow; the blue curve is the tide; below, the solunar periods and the best windows.
Fishing forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best times | High tides | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 6average day | 8:20–9:10 am12:00–12:50 am | ▲ 9:15 am | Waning gibbous |
| Thu 29 | 6average day | 9:30–10:20 am2:20–4:20 pm | ▲ 10:32 am | Waning gibbous |
| Fri 30 | 6average day | 10:40–11:20 am12:20–2:20 am | ▲ 11:41 am | Waning gibbous |
| Sat 31 | 7good day | 5:10–6:00 pm11:40 am–1:40 pm | ▲ 12:39 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Sun 1 | 6average day | 12:20–1:10 pm5:20–6:00 pm | ▲ 1:24 pm | Last quarter |
| Mon 2 | 5average day | 5:50–6:40 am12:50–1:50 pm | ▲ 1:46 pm | Waning crescent |
| Tue 3 | 4fair day | 11:50 am–1:50 pm7:00–9:00 pm | ▲ 12:45 pm | Waning crescent |
Each day's rating comes from the tide, the solunar periods, the light and, when we have the forecast, the weather.
What can you catch in Upper Hell's Gate?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 62 mi of Upper Hell's Gate: great barracuda, swordfish, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail snapper and mahi-mahi. October is one of the months when these are seen most: swordfish, yellowfin tuna and mahi-mahi.
- Great barracuda Sphyraena barracuda · fish · 70 records Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Swordfish Xiphias gladius · fish · 55 records Photo: vtzanatos · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares · fish · 39 records Photo: OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP) · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus · fish · 30 records Photo: Fred Hsu ( Wikipedia:User:Fredhsu on en.wikipedia ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Mahi-mahi Coryphaena hippurus · fish · 21 records Photo: Nick Tobler (Cowturtle) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus · fish · 18 records Photo: Allen Shimada, NOAA NMFS OST · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Wahoo Acanthocybium solandri · fish · 9 records Photo: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Too few sightings to tell the months
- Tarpon Megalops atlanticus · fish · 9 records Photo: Daiju Azuma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Too few sightings to tell the months
These are sightings and catches recorded since 1970 (reports from divers and anglers, scientific surveys and museum collections), not a promise that you will catch them. The months come from sightings only, adjusted for how many there are each month; hatched months have too few to tell.
Source: GBIF.org, which also gathers OBIS data. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0, from 1,130 datasets (retrieved October 24, 2026). Where the data comes from
Photos: each species' image on Wikidata (Wikimedia Commons) or, if there isn't one, one from GBIF; only licences that allow this use, each with its author and licence.
Piers, ramps and tackle shops nearby
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Within 9.3 mi. A spot may be missing or closed. Open the map on OpenStreetMap · Missing one? Add it to OpenStreetMap
Spots: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps.
How we work out the best time
We score every moment of the day, every 10 minutes, with simple rules anglers have used for decades:
- Tide: 2 to 3.5 points in the hour before and the hour after each high and low tide. Spring tides (high coefficient) score more, because the water moves faster.
- Solunar: 2.5 points in the major periods (moon overhead or underfoot) and 1.5 in the minor ones (moonrise and moonset).
- Light: 2 points at dawn and dusk, from first light to the end of the morning golden hour and from the evening golden hour to the end of twilight.
- Weather: falling pressure adds 1 point and rising pressure takes 1 away; wind takes points away from force 4 (about 12 mph), up to 5 points in a gale; waves of 1.6 ft to 4.9 ft add half a point (they stir up the water) and from 8.2 ft they take points away (up to 4).
- Best windows: the stretches of 40 minutes to 3 hours with the most points, at least an hour apart.
- Day's rating out of 10: the best window (up to 5), the moon (up to 2, near new or full moon), the tide coefficient (up to 2) and whether a solunar period lines up with sunrise or sunset (1). Without a tide, we score out of 8 and scale it to 10. Good weather adds up to 1 point and bad weather pulls it down.
Today: best window 3.6 of 5, moon 1 of 2, coefficient 2 of 2 and lineup 0 of 1; the weather multiplies the rating by 0.92.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: fish don't read tide tables. Always check the sea conditions and local fishing rules before you go.
Learn more
Questions about fishing in Upper Hell's Gate
What's the best time to fish in Upper Hell's Gate today?
8:20 am to 9:10 am, with the 9:15 am high tide, moonset and some swell, though with moderate wind. Also 12:00 am to 12:50 am. Today's rating: 6/10 (average day).
What about tomorrow? When's the best time to fish in Upper Hell's Gate?
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 29: 9:30 am to 10:20 am, with a rating of 6/10.
Which day this week is best for fishing in Upper Hell's Gate?
Saturday, October 31, at 7/10. Its best window is 5:10 pm to 6:00 pm.
What can you catch in Upper Hell's Gate?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 62 mi of Upper Hell's Gate: great barracuda, swordfish, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail snapper and mahi-mahi. October is one of the months when these are seen most: swordfish, yellowfin tuna and mahi-mahi. These are sightings and catches recorded in GBIF and OBIS, not a promise that you will catch them.
When are the solunar periods in Upper Hell's Gate today?
Major: 12:46–2:46 am and 1:17–3:17 pm. Minor: 8:08–9:08 am and 7:25–8:25 pm. Solunar activity today: medium.
Does the tide affect fishing in Upper Hell's Gate?
Yes. Today high tide is at 9:15 am, with a tide coefficient of 108 (big spring tides). The hours around each tide change tend to fish best, because moving water carries food.
How is the rating worked out?
From the tide, the solunar periods, the light at dawn and dusk, the moon phase and, when we have the forecast, the pressure, the wind and the waves. Each factor gives a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
Does it take the weather into account?
Yes. During today's best window: steady pressure (30.00 inHg), moderate offshore wind (13 mph) and some swell (3.8 ft waves) to stir the water. Strong wind and big waves lower the rating; falling pressure raises it a little.
More about Upper Hell's Gate today
Our own calculation: tide from St. Barthelemy (NOAA), sun and moon with astronomy-engine and, when available, weather and sea from Open-Meteo (ECMWF, NOAA GFS and Copernicus Marine, CC BY 4.0). Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database)