bigwave dave

[novicefish]

I can't seem to find anything for Port Renfrew on the weather forecast/wind prediction. Carmanah seems to be the closest on the map....would this be accurate?

[LastChance]

Go Forecasts>Marine>NOAA . The first two sets of forecasts apply, the Cape Flattery to Shoalwater out 60NM usually applies to what will happen on the bank, and teh JDF West Entrance applies everywhere else.

www.lastchancefishingadventures.com

[novicefish]

So....what wind speed should I stay at home with my feet up on the couch...at what point does it get nasty out there....particularly for a novice!? I'm looking at Race Rocks right now and its at 30knots...[V]

[LastChance]

quote:Originally posted by novicefish

So....what wind speed should I stay at home with my feet up on the couch...at what point does it get nasty out there....particularly for a novice!? I'm looking at Race Rocks right now and its at 30knots...[V]




Depending on your boat, and the tides, and your experience, anything over 20KTS can be quite uncomfortable. There are so many more factors then wind, there is projected wave size as well. 15KTS can be not too bad at all for fishing, but if it's say, a Westerly, and you have a big honkin' May ebb tide in it, you can get 6 ft standing waves at the Race.



Last Chance Fishing Adventures

www.lastchancefishingadventures.com

[Poppa Swiss]

thats some solid advice, but for me I rarely will fish in anything over 15kts, its just a pain in the ass in anything higher.

[juandesooka]

As a surfer/fisherman, I'm more weather obsessed than most. I've compiled my Port Renfrew weather links onto a webpage

http://www.fishingportrenfrew.ca/weather.html

The page needs some tidying up, and there's a few more additions to come, but it puts all the links I use on one page for easy reference. Any further suggestions most appreciated!

I'm going to do the same for Sooke weather links soon.

And for me and my relatively little boat, my rule is that anything above 15kts starts to be not so much fun. That's my go / no go rule...and sometimes lower when it's 5 am, cold and dark out, and I really want to just go back to bed. ;)

John

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fishingportrenfrew.ca
fishingsooke.ca

[Tsquared]

quote:And for me and my relatively little boat, my rule is that anything above 15kts starts to be not so much fun. That's my go / no go rule...and sometimes lower when it's 5 am, cold and dark out, and I really want to just go back to bed. ;)


and how many wobbly pops you have the night before.
T2

[novicefish]

Hahah, believe me, I've always got a few wobbly pops on hand! Thanks for all the advice and links...very helpful. However, I'm looking at weather forecasts, eg today:

TODAY...VARIABLE WIND TO 10 KT BECOMING W 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 14 SECONDS. CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN THIS MORNING.

Wind waves and Swell, what height would you recommend for a novice guy in a 17.5 ft boat not to go out in? 2 ft doesn't sound much to me...??

[LastChance]

quote:Originally posted by novicefish

Hahah, believe me, I've always got a few wobbly pops on hand! Thanks for all the advice and links...very helpful. However, I'm looking at weather forecasts, eg today:

TODAY...VARIABLE WIND TO 10 KT BECOMING W 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 14 SECONDS. CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN THIS MORNING.

Wind waves and Swell, what height would you recommend for a novice guy in a 17.5 ft boat not to go out in? 2 ft doesn't sound much to me...??




Real 2 footers are what most people call 3 or 4 footers. In that sort of wind, I think you would be OK. Swell height does not matter so long as the height in feet is less then the duration in seconds.

Last Chance Fishing Adventures

www.lastchancefishingadventures.com

[Hoochiebob]

Yes... the all important duration.Add a cumulative wind to a short duration and you can get greenie madness.Learned that lesson about five years ago in Sooke-very unpleasant (and wet!)

[juandesooka]

I did up a Sooke fishing weather page:
http://www.fishingsooke.ca/weather.html

These are the links I look at before heading out locally...what's going on now, what's coming soon, and what to expect longer term (although the longer the forecast, less likely to be correct)

Have fun, play safe.

John


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fishingportrenfrew.ca
fishingsooke.ca

[novicefish]

Hi there, hope someone could clarify a little issue for me. I'm hoping to get out there to Sooke in the next few days, however, the blasted wind might make it a little messy! However, my question is this: on the following link

http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/JordanRiver.0to2.shtml

It appears that the weather is nice, clam and perfect for fishing, however, when I go to big wavedave for current conditions, it has Race Rocks @ 25knots, Gordons Beach @ 22, which are not that far away from Jordan River....my problem is, that I don't know which one I should trust!!! HELP!

[Deewar25]

trust what you can see novice...pretty straight forward as bigwave has video feeds from Sheringham east, and between Sheringham and Carmanah current report info, you can get a pretty good indication of whats up in between.

I'd also use environment canada over a surf site for accurate info:

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/region_e.html?mapID=02

and buoy info out at La Perouse and Neah Bay will be decent indicator for Swiftsure as well:

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46206
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46087

[juandesooka]

Agree with Deewar...you have to be careful about the forecast/model sites, because they are based on a computer program's interpretation of conditions. They are ok for general weather. Surf-wise, they are reasonably accurate for swell, but winds in Juan de Fuca are incredibly fickle, highly localized, and hard to predict (howling in Victoria, calm in Sooke, windy at Jordan River, calm at Sombrio....makes you crazy, if your day depends on it!).

Most trustworty are actual observations, from buoys, light stations, or others. For example, this is an interesting one,
http://www.stormsurf.com/page2/links/qsnpac.html
Shows actual wind observations (not forecasts) across the pacific as observed by satellite. Good for surf forecasting, but not specific enough for fishing.

Next best for forecasts, from what I've found, are the US National Weather Service "Washington Marine Forecast" and the Enviro Canada Juan de Fuca report (although both are conservative, meaning they show winds and swell as higher than they usually end up to be, quick on the small craft advisories). These are ok for 1-2 days, and then only a rough indicator beyond that, as too unpredictable long-range. Bigwavedave gives excellent wind forecasts, quite accurate in my experience, again for 1-2 days at most.

On a given day, if you're going out after dawn, you can look at the webcams for gordon's beach and elsewhere to see real conditions, and then look at as many buoys as possible from either side of where I'm going, to try and get a sense of the pattern of what's happening. Then look at the local wind forecasts as up to date as possible, to see what the call is for the time you're fishing, and plan accordingly. You can also listen to the weather channel on your vhf to see if the call has changed (listen for "washington marine forecast, cape shoalwater out 6 zero nautical miles", as the juan de fuca report follows shortly after). They also report the local buoys and lighthouses.

If you're fishing Sooke or Renfrew in summer, and fishing to the west of either, the predominant afternoon sea breezes are often west, which makes it a following sea coming home. So, if the wind call is from the west, you can plan your day to get home nice and dry.

Hope this helps

John

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fishingportrenfrew.ca
fishingsooke.ca

[wolf]

Agreed but also when you are at the boat lauch ask someone who has come in ie guides like myself last week it was a maybe 1 ft chop at sunny shores but outside it was real bad just from a big ebb and a strong west wind. told the guys who were launching it wasnt nice (took a wave over the bow trolling) they went out for there maiden voyage never been on the boat fishing before and just got it.

Well bumped into him at the ball tourney on the weekend and he told me couldnt believe how snotty it was and shouldnt even have even tried it as it scared the crap out of him.

So what I am trying to say there WILL always be another day to fish or go out is a life really worth it????to maybe catch a fish lets try and have a safe and good summer our family and freinds deserve it.

With all this wind lately we really need to respect the ocean and take whats it giving us as a serious reminder dont fu$# with mother nature.


Good luck and be safe

Wolf

Blue Wolf Charters
www.bluewolfcharters.com

[juandesooka]

For sure...safety first! Been out on some pretty stupid days in the craziness that fish fever brings on.

For Sooke, I've found it is often worst right at the Harbour mouth, I assume from the current. So, for the newbie, motor out a little ways past Whiffen spit, assess the situation, and if too much you can always go for a harbour cruise and see if it dies down. No shame in that...and from my experience, don't listen to your even more fished crazed buddy "it doesn't seem that bad, I think we'll be fine"[:o)]

If you do press on, sometimes it has calmed down a fair amount once past Muir Point. But I'm talking 10-15kt days, not the 25kt plus nightmares you charter guys regularly have to put up with...;)





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fishingportrenfrew.ca
fishingsooke.ca

[dohboy]

couldnt agree with roy more, went out monday and it wasnt supposed to get snotty till mid moring , figured i could get about 3-4 hrs in, no such luck , 1hr into it had to pack it in, when i got back i told a couple boats my size and smaller not to bother,i think they thought i was nuts(might be true but they didnt know me) at the dock it was like glass, always be carefull

[novicefish]

awesome, thanks guys, I'll make it out someday..I'm sure of it!

[juandesooka]

I see that Enviro Canada has changed the links for its forecasts. Here's the updated links:

central strait
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/forecast_e.html?mapID=03&siteID=07010

jdf west http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/forecast_e.html?mapID=03&siteID=07007

jdf east http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/forecast_e.html?mapID=03&siteID=07003

west coast south
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/forecast_e.html?mapID=03&siteID=16200

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fishingportrenfrew.ca
fishingsooke.ca