# Fishing Watches With Tide Graphs (2026): Casio Tide Graph vs Garmin Tide Stations > Casio tide-graph watches and Garmin watches with a Tides app compared on how each works out the tide, how to set your port, water ratings and battery life. - Source: https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs - Publisher: SaltProofLab (https://saltprooflab.com) - Published: 2026-10-01 - Category: tools-catch - Tags: tide watch, fishing watch, tide graph, moon phase, Casio WS-1700H, Garmin Instinct 3, lunitidal interval - Method: picks chosen from Amazon listings and brand specs; not hands-on tested; current Amazon prices are on the page; content checked 2026-10-01. - Quick answer: For a tide curve with no phone and a 10-year battery, the Casio WS-1700H draws its graph from the moon and a port setting you enter once. For station tide times and alerts, a Garmin Instinct 3 Solar reads tides from a paired phone, with unlimited solar battery under Garmin's light assumptions. ## Key takeaways - Casio's tide graph is an estimate from the moon's position and your port's lunitidal interval; Casio says it is not for calculating high and low tide times. - Garmin's Tides app needs a paired phone to load a tide station, then shows a 24-hour chart and can alert you before high or low tide. - NOAA predicts astronomical tides only; wind, rain and runoff can move the real water level off any prediction. ## Products (chosen from listings, not tested) 1. **Casio WS-1700H Tide Graph Moon Phase Digital Watch** (details: https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0CS8DX4J3) — Buy it if you want a rough tide curve on your wrist without a phone. - Pros: Tide graph for a chosen date and time, plus moon age and phase, per Casio; Approx. 10-year battery on a CR2025, per Casio; 100-meter water resistance; 48 g resin case - Cons: The graph is an approximation; you set your port's longitude and lunitidal interval by hand 2. **Casio WS-1200H Fishing Timer Digital Watch** (details: https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0858MRMZV) — Buy it if you plan trips around the moon rather than the tide. - Pros: Fishing mode rates a date and time on one of five levels, per Casio; Moon age and moon phase graph; 10-year CR2025 battery; 100-meter water resistance - Cons: No tide graph; Casio does not say what the fishing levels are based on 3. **Garmin Instinct 3 Solar Tactical Edition, 45 mm** (details: https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0F674Y3FZ) — Buy it if you want real tide times and a battery the sun tops up. - Pros: Tides app and tide glance with high and low tide times, per Garmin; Smartwatch battery up to 28 days, unlimited with solar under Garmin's assumptions; 10 ATM water rating; multi-band GPS; built-in flashlight - Cons: Tactical extras most anglers won't use; tide stations load only with a paired phone 4. **Garmin Instinct E, 45 mm** (details: https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0DSC72873) — Buy it if you want Garmin's tide app and charge your watch weekly anyway. - Pros: Tides and tide glance listed in Garmin's specs; 10 ATM water rating; 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter - Cons: No solar charging; up to 16 days as a smartwatch and 24 hours of GPS, per Garmin 5. **Garmin quatix 8 Marine GPS Smartwatch, 51 mm** (details: https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0FFHJGBVM) — Buy it if your boat already runs a Garmin chartplotter. - Pros: Alarms for imminent tide changes or anchor drag, per the listing; Streams heading, speed and water depth from a compatible Garmin chartplotter; 40-meter dive rating; 1.4 in AMOLED screen with a titanium bezel - Cons: Most of the boat features need compatible Garmin electronics on board A tide watch tells you which way the water is moving at a glance, so you know whether the flat is filling or draining before you pick a spot. The two kinds work very differently: a Casio tide graph estimates the tide from the moon and one number you enter, while a Garmin pulls predictions for a real tide station through your phone. **How we chose:** we did not test these watches. Features come from Casio's and Garmin's own pages and manuals, and every pick was sold by Amazon.com and in stock on October 1, 2026. Many watch listings on Amazon come from third-party resellers that may not carry the maker's warranty, so we left those models out, including every tide-graph G-Shock we found. ## Five tide and fishing watches side by side | Watch | How it gets the tide | Water rating | Power | Sold by | Amazon price | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | [Casio WS-1700H](https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0CS8DX4J3) | Moon position + port setting | 100 m | CR2025, approx. 10 years | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | | [Casio WS-1200H](https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0858MRMZV) | No tide graph; fishing-time levels | 100 m | CR2025, approx. 10 years | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | | [Garmin Instinct 3 Solar Tactical 45 mm](https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0F674Y3FZ) | Tide station via paired phone | 10 ATM | Up to 28 days, unlimited with solar* | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | | [Garmin Instinct E 45 mm](https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0DSC72873) | Tide station via paired phone | 10 ATM | Up to 16 days | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | | [Garmin quatix 8 51 mm](https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs#product-B0FFHJGBVM) | Tide app with tide-change alarms | 40 m dive rating | Not on the listing | Amazon.com | see the current Amazon price on the page | *Garmin's solar figure assumes all-day wear with 3 hours a day outside in 50,000 lux conditions. Battery figures are smartwatch mode, from Garmin's [Instinct 3 Solar Tactical specs](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1705221) and its Instinct E page. ## How a Casio tide graph works, and how to set your port Casio's [WS-1700H manual](https://www.casio.com/content/dam/casio/global/support/manuals/watches/pdf/35/3562/qw3562_EN.pdf) explains it plainly. The graph "indicates tidal movement based on the Moon's transit over a meridian and the lunitidal interval," shown as six segments from low tide through high tide and back. The lunitidal interval is the time between the moon passing over your longitude and the next high tide there. It differs by place, so the watch needs three Home Site settings: UTC offset, longitude and lunitidal interval. Out of the box it is set to Tokyo, and Casio says the moon and tide data "will not be displayed properly" until you change it. The manual's site list gives U.S. examples you can enter directly: Boston 11 h 20 min, Miami 7 h 30 min, Los Angeles 9 h 20 min, Seattle 4 h 20 min, Honolulu 3 h 40 min and Anchorage 5 h 40 min. Your own inlet or bay can differ from the nearest city, and Casio warns the moon age itself can be off by a day. **Key point:** Casio is blunt about the limits. The watch "is not an instrument for calculating low tide and high tide times," and its graph gives "a reasonable approximation of tidal movements only." Use it to know roughly where you are in the cycle, not to time a bar crossing. ## How a Garmin gets tide times Garmin's watches take the other route. Per the [Instinct 3 owner's manual](https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-2C274FD2-F0C3-445C-B0AC-700FECCE12E9/EN-US/GUID-3DB3FF64-F943-4D96-8334-C9C7764FE85E.html), "when you pair your watch with a compatible phone, you can view information about a tide station, including the tide height and when the next high and low tides will occur." Setting your spot means picking a station, not entering numbers: use your current location when you are near a station, a saved location or typed coordinates. The watch then shows a 24-hour tide chart, you can mark a favorite station for the tide glance, and you can set an alert before high or low tide. Garmin adds that its tide information "is for information purposes only." The [Instinct E](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1315817) lists the same Tides app and tide glance in Garmin's specs, without solar charging. The quatix 8 adds "alarms for imminent tide changes or anchor drag," per its listing, and talks to compatible Garmin chartplotters. ## Predictions are not the water you'll see Every watch here shows a forecast. NOAA's [Tides and Currents FAQ](https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/faq.html) says it can "only predict the astronomical tides" and "cannot predict the effect that wind, rain, freshwater runoff, and other short-term meteorological events will have on the tides." A strong onshore wind can hold water on a flat long after the predicted low. ## Water ratings: what 100 m and 10 ATM cover Neither Casio here is a dive watch. Casio's WS-1700H manual says not to use it for scuba diving, and to rinse off salt with plain water after a dip in the sea. Garmin's [water rating definitions](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/legal/waterrating-definitions/) put 10 ATM at pressure equal to 100 meters, fine for "swimming, diving into water, snorkeling, high-speed water sports." Only a "Dive" rating, tested to EN13319, covers scuba. Our [dive watch water resistance guide](https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/dive-watch-water-resistance-explained) explains the labels. ## Which kind to buy **A Casio tide graph** suits you if you fish one home area, want a watch that runs a decade on a coin cell, and treat the graph as a reminder of where the cycle is. The WS-1200H drops the graph for a five-level fishing-time rating; Casio does not say how it works it out. **A Garmin** suits you if you move between inlets, want station times, or want an alert before the turn. The Instinct 3 Solar Tactical was the solar Instinct Amazon.com itself sold when we checked; the plain Instinct 3 Solar came from a reseller. **Tide-graph G-Shocks** such as the solar GW-7900 (200-meter water resistance, tide and moon graphs, per [Casio](https://www.casio.com/us/watches/gshock/product.GW-7900-1/)) were only on Amazon from resellers on October 1, 2026. Our [G-Shock vs Garmin Instinct comparison](https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/g-shock-vs-garmin-instinct-for-fishing) covers them. We found no CPSC recall for Casio or Garmin watches in our [recall tracker](https://saltprooflab.com/recalls). Related: [boat and gear wash](https://saltprooflab.com/gear-care/boat-and-gear-wash), [handheld VHF radios](https://saltprooflab.com/life-jackets-safety/handheld-vhf-radios). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does a tide watch replace a tide table? No. Casio says its graph is an approximation, and Garmin calls its tide data information only. Check NOAA's predictions for your station before running a shallow inlet or crossing a bar. ### Does the Garmin Tides app work without my phone? Garmin's manual ties tide station data to a paired compatible phone. Once you have set a favorite station, it shows at the top of the Tides app and in the tide glance. ### What happens to the Casio settings when the battery is changed? Casio's manual says the Home Site data returns to the Tokyo default whenever the battery is replaced, so re-enter your UTC offset, longitude and lunitidal interval afterward. ### Why is there no G-Shock on this list? Every tide-graph G-Shock we found on Amazon on October 1, 2026 was sold by a third-party reseller, not Amazon.com or a Casio store, so we link only Casio's own pages for those models. --- *SaltProofLab is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Features are quoted from Casio's and Garmin's product pages and manuals.* ## Sources - garmin.com: [Instinct 3 Solar Tactical specs](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1705221) - casio.com: [WS-1700H manual](https://www.casio.com/content/dam/casio/global/support/manuals/watches/pdf/35/3562/qw3562_EN.pdf) - www8.garmin.com: [Instinct 3 owner's manual](https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-2C274FD2-F0C3-445C-B0AC-700FECCE12E9/EN-US/GUID-3DB3FF64-F943-4D96-8334-C9C7764FE85E.html) - garmin.com: [Instinct E](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1315817) - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: [Tides and Currents FAQ](https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/faq.html) - garmin.com: [Waterrating definitions](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/legal/waterrating-definitions) - casio.com: [casio.com page](https://www.casio.com/us/watches/gshock/product.GW-7900-1) --- Last updated: 2026-10-01 Canonical URL: https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs How to cite: "Fishing Watches With Tide Graphs (2026): Casio Tide Graph vs Garmin Tide Stations", SaltProofLab, https://saltprooflab.com/tools-catch/fishing-watches-with-tide-graphs (checked 2026-10-01). Disclosure: as an Amazon Associate SaltProofLab earns from qualifying purchases. Safety information summarizes public guidance and is not medical advice.