The Reeltime score is an evidence-based composite index that combines six environmental variables known to influence inshore fish behaviour and feeding activity. Each variable is weighted according to its relative biological importance, and the six components sum to a maximum of 100.

Rather than relying on a single factor like the tide or moon, the model reflects the reality that fish respond to their whole environment simultaneously. A building tide during a major solunar period at dawn, for example, stacks multiple favourable signals — and the score reflects that compounding effect in real time.

An excellent score (85+) occurs when several high-scoring conditions align — typically early or late tide, a major solunar period, low-light conditions, and falling pressure. These windows are relatively rare, which is precisely why they are worth planning around.

A good score (55–69) represents reliable fishing time. A single premium factor — such as a major solunar period — can elevate an otherwise moderate baseline considerably.

Tide phase is the single most influential factor in the Reeltime model, accounting for 30% of the total score. It describes where the current hour sits within the tidal cycle — specifically, how far the water is from the nearest high or low turning point.

Fish are far from passive during tidal cycles. Moving water concentrates baitfish, flushes nutrients into estuaries, creates current lines along channel edges, and triggers predictable feeding behaviour in ambush predators. The two-hour windows on either side of a tide turning point — when current is building or easing but not yet at its weakest — consistently produce the most feeding activity in NZ inshore species including snapper, kahawai, trevally, and kingfish.

Slack water, by contrast, suspends the mechanical advantage fish rely on. With no current to pin bait against structure or sweep food past a holding position, predatory fish become passive and harder to target.

Tidal range is the vertical difference in metres between high and low tide on a given day. A larger range means stronger tidal currents, more water movement through channels and over flats, greater habitat exposure and flooding during the incoming tide, and more pronounced current edges for fish to hold on.

NZ's tidal range follows the fortnightly spring-neap cycle driven by the relative positions of the sun and moon. Spring tides — occurring around new and full moon — produce the largest ranges and fastest currents. Neap tides, around the quarter moons, produce smaller ranges and gentler flows. Most NZ locations experience ranges between 0.8 m (neap) and 2.5 m+ (spring).

Solunar theory holds that fish and other wildlife feed most actively during four daily windows linked to the positions of the sun and moon relative to Earth. These are two major periods — when the moon transits directly overhead or underfoot — and two minor periods at the moon's 90-degree positions.

Major solunar periods typically last 1–2 hours and represent the strongest combined gravitational influence of the day. Minor periods are shorter — around 45–90 minutes — and moderately productive. Outside these windows, the gravitational influence is at its weakest.

Light intensity is one of the most reliable triggers for feeding transitions in coastal fish. Low-light conditions — dawn, dusk, and darkness — reduce the visual advantage of larger predators and cause baitfish to school in more compact and vulnerable formations near the surface. This cascade triggers active, aggressive feeding in species like snapper, kahawai, and kingfish.

The one-hour window around sunrise and sunset represents the sharpest light transition of the day — the moment when predators shift from low-light ambush tactics to daytime hunting, or vice versa. Bright midday conditions in clear water push fish deeper or into shaded structure, suppressing surface and shallow-water feeding activity significantly.

Fish are physiologically sensitive to changes in barometric pressure, which affects the volume of gas in their swim bladder and, in turn, their buoyancy, comfort, and feeding motivation at different depths. A falling barometer — typically preceding an approaching weather front — triggers a short but often intense feeding response as fish compensate for the pressure shift and feed more aggressively before conditions deteriorate.

A rising barometer after a front has passed can produce slow, finicky fishing for 12–24 hours as fish re-adjust their buoyancy. Stable pressure is neutral — conditions are predictable and fish behave consistently with the other factors in the model.

Moon phase captures the longer-cycle lunar influence on fish behaviour — distinct from the daily solunar periods. While solunar periods change every few hours, moon phase shifts gradually over the 29.5-day lunar cycle and acts as a background modifier on the overall feeding environment.

The new moon is scored highest for two compounding reasons: it produces the strongest spring tides and means dark nights, both of which independently favour aggressive feeding in inshore fish. The full moon also generates spring tides of comparable strength, but illuminates the night sky substantially — reducing the nocturnal low-light feeding advantage.