PDA

View Full Version : judging offshore weather ??



bar raider
05-05-2008, 02:13 PM
how do you judge the offshore weather on SEQ ?

i got a 475 bar raider and am fairly new to reef fishing (about 10 trips) so i pick the calm days to go i only go when the BOM site says 1.2 m seas or there abouts.

problem is sometimes its calm and all good and sometimes its gnarly and rough as and i cant tell why, i know it may have something to do with swell so i pushed out a couple a couple of times hoping it will get calmer but it didn't, so whats the go with predicting offshore waters ?

PS: i leave from the seaway.

any and all tips appreciated.

Noelm
05-05-2008, 02:24 PM
the swell is usually no problem (unless it is huge) the problem comes from Wind and chop, sometimes you will get a Wind build up a big chop, it blows half the night but drops off before daylight, you launch your Boat with no Wind, but find the Ocean to be a mess (commonly called "slop") as a general rule (depending on where you live) Wind will blow stronger in the afternoon, or in some places, stronger in the Mornings, I guess you will need to see what happens in your particular part of the World and fish accordingly, like where I am during the Summer, the Northeaster will come up after lunch, it will get stonger and earlier every day for a few days to a week, then we get a change, and it all starts all over again.

cormorant
05-05-2008, 02:56 PM
The frequency of the swells is just as important as their height. Check that on BOM or seabreeze.

After you come back in check the site and see what the real recorded values were for the time you were out there. That way you know how comfortable you were in what the real conditions were. Look for the actual realtime and history Buoy data closest to where you are going to fish and land stations to see if it correlates.

As Noel says understand the land and seabreeze affects that are local to you.

Check the current direction offshore as well as it can make the waves stand up in different winds.

If you don't see other boats of a similar size and design leaving the seaway and headed to where you are going - have a good think why.

death_ship
05-05-2008, 02:59 PM
check this before you go in the morning
http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ60900.shtml

adds31
05-05-2008, 03:12 PM
I use weatherzone as an indicator. Live readings for Cape Moreton and the Gold Coast. Not sure if the gold coast reading is from the seaway tower or cooloongatta. Sea breeze is very good but not always 100percent but pretty close majority of time.

Cheers Adds...