CoastCoastCue field guide
Which tide station should I use for Myrtle Beach?
The closest station name is not always the best match along the Grand Strand. Ocean beaches, tidal creeks, inlets, and the Intracoastal Waterway can reach high and low water at different times, even when they are only a few miles apart.
Match the water body first
Start by identifying whether you will fish the open beach, an inlet, a marsh creek, or the Intracoastal Waterway. Then choose a station on the same connected water body when possible. Straight-line distance helps narrow the list, but water has to travel through channels and around barriers that a distance number cannot describe.
Springmaid Pier and Hog Inlet use different prediction methods
Springmaid Pier is a NOAA reference prediction station with predictions calculated from its own harmonic constants. Hog Inlet Pier is a subordinate station that applies NOAA-published offsets to Springmaid. Both are official prediction locations, but they should not be treated as interchangeable points on the same clock.
An ICWW station is not an oceanfront proxy
North Myrtle Beach ICWW and Myrtle Beach Combination Bridge describe inland tidal waterways, not the surf line. Their predictions may be more useful for a nearby dock, bridge, or marsh access than for an ocean beach. Confirm the station coordinates and prediction type before carrying a time from one side of the barrier island to the other.
Add conditions before making the trip call
Use the tide to understand water direction and timing, then add wind, weather, daylight, and active NWS alerts. CoastCue fishing windows are planning estimates built from those inputs, not promises that fish will feed or that conditions are safe.