Weather Forecast

[nealeboy]

Hi All, I love my fishing and being a full time worker with a house and family, i don't get much time to fish. So when the forecast isnt good and i decide not to take the boat out, only to wake in the morning to find great fishing weather, and the forecast has changed in the morning, i get quite annoyed. i go by Coastwatch, BOM and Seabreeze. is there a more reliable, and more frequent issued forecasts then Coastwatch and the like? Cheers.

[Almako]

Not really..
It depends where your going as well.. I head offshore and sometimes quite a distance so following the forecast is important.
I'd imagine if you fish locally with the possibility of quick run home you could pop out with the knowledge it's likely to turn as per the forecast at some point during the day. Generally I find a quick check of BOM / City Observations / Brisbane / Cape Moreton (for me) is a good indicator of whats actually going on, which aids in my decision to go or not. Lastly, I feel you get to understand the weather forecast (to a point) for instance it might say it's going to be 15-20knots south/south east and it's the middle of summer, there's a good chance this won't happen until after lunch. Vice versa in winter I find it windier earlier in the day, so a slight sleep in is possible in comparison to summer.

[castlemaine]

I guess, the weather is up to Mother Nature and not BOM, so unpredictable to the minute. I usually check Seabreeze, Whillyweather and the one I like the most is Windfinder.
I rather not go out when there may be a chance of bad weather, it is uncomfortable to fish and ends up a poor family day.

[nealeboy]

Thanks Almako.small boat in exposed fishing areas makes it bit uncomfortable. i dont mind if i get a bit of fishing in then the weather turns. i get upset when i've made my decision not to go as the forecast is terrible but then you wake up to no wind or different forecast.

[nealeboy]

Thank Castlemaine. i will try windfinder as well next time as i hadnt heard of that. i'm with you as not to go out in bad weather as my boat is not big enough to make it enjoyable.

[Still_Dreamin]

I feel your pain. I live 40min from ramp. So can't just go outside and have a look as it is vastly different to the bay. We cancelled a fishing comp this year because all sites were predicting strong winds. BoM issues a strong wind warning overnight. By 5pm it was 5-10kn and 8pm glassed out overnight. But 10am next day it blew it's ring out. The forcast was right just 12 hours out.

[littlejim]

I find seabreeze good for Jervis Bay.
Usually gets the weather right, but times can vary a bit from the prediction.
Much better than the broad bureau forecasts.

[Lucky_Phill]

The BoM has a page that shows forecast wind speed and direction:-

http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/wind.shtml?location=qld2&tz=AEDT

To get an accurate picture of a forecast, a couple of things should happen.

Use the BoM ( There is a tutorial there ) to learn how to read the " charts " in that looking yourself at Isobars, Highs and Lows you can get a good picture in your head on what the weather is doing. Utilize the barometric pressure to help.

Then combine 3 weather sites to narrow down the forecasts accuracy. Having said that, I only ever " predict " 48 hrs in advance, the weather is too unpredictable for anything more.

I use:-

the BoM... Marine Charts and localised forecasting.

Seabreeze

Buoyweather..... and I have a Premium account there which enables me to pinpoint a specific area to obtain a forecast. I can bet a reasonably accurate 6 day forecast.

http://www.buoyweather.com/loginForm.jsp;jsessionid=EAFDD02F5B4E4D9F71C5E63D5 6DD0E5A

Further, if you study the BoM site, you'll find all sorts of helpful information , like Historical Observations, which have been a great help in determining extended fishing holidays.

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/201510/html/IDCJDW4026.201510.shtml

Cheers LP

[Bremic]

Also, the seabreeze has charts that tell you what the wind was actually doing over the last 24 hours. So, you can read the various charts, learn to predict what the weather will deliver and then check the seabreeze for your spot, and check how close your predictions were.

[Haji-Baba]

Also N.B. where you are fishing is very subject to tide and wind, as you well know.

Over the years I have studied the wind and tide in conjunction with Seabreeze and plan accordingly.

In my opinion the weather forecasts in recent years have been pretty good but you still have to accept that timing of a weather event can be hours out.

I could probably write a book on my boating mistakes but I am still here and not going to give fishing up just yet.

Have Fun Haji-Baba

[littlejim]

One time I was out on JB when the forecast wasn't too good, when I overheard a yacht calling up Ulladulla RVCP on CB. he was just east of them.
He told them the current forecast he had was for gale force winds, they confirmed that was what they had too. He pointed out that he was almost becalmed with winds around 3 knots.
The front the Bureau predicted would come up the coast, petered out round gippsland and went east.