I had an incident with another boater this week on the morning ebb tide. The guy did what in my mind from 50 years of fishing this spot was a bonehead move. After the confrontation it was apparent to me he had no idea why he was in the wrong when I heard him repeating to his wife its all about him and that I thought I owned the spot. I was annoyed but not as pissed as I would have been if it had been someone who I thought knew better. So to maybe help some guys out who don't fully understand what guys are doing out there I thought I would explain it a bit. This is about fishing the ebb at Otter...specifically off Otter Point itself as the west beach is pretty straight forward. I've had close to the same encounters before while off Otter in the ebb flow.
The diagram I included shows how the currents set up on the ebb at Otter...and is close to the same at Sheringham. The flow runs from north to south of the east shore of Otter and out towards the USA and curves west the further out you go. Eventually the ebb flow bends enough it heads due west towards Sheringham. If you followed it further west a portion of that flow gets forced back east and at peak flow velocity it ends up creating a false flood along the 3rd and 2nd rocks. At this point at the border between the ebb flow off Otter and where the false flood converge they create swirly type water and a weed trap....a place to either avoid or find the cleanest way through to move from one zone to the other.
I was in the boat marked "Me" trolling north going into the ebb flow just east of the back eddy line and weed trap. No matter if fishing the west or east zone of Otter you fish parallel to the beach either into the current or with it. This is where some guys don't understand the area. I think they think they should have right of way through the ebb flow and expect boats in that flow to give way to them because they think they are still fishing parallel to shore....when in fact once you get through the weed trap area the shore now runs north to south and that is the tact you take to parallel the beach. As I approach the weed trap not only am I looking for the cleanest path through it I 'm looking for a hole in the boat traffic to squeeze into without pushing anyone off their line. This guy came right towards my bow and ended up on my port bow with downrigger lines inches apart form one another. We both raised our arms at the same time ....gesturing what are you doing to each other. After some words I ended up doing a hard starboard jog to create separation...letting the ebb flow push me back a bit and then hard port to get behind him and back on my line. He was still upset with that move telling his wife I was going right over his lines and I still thought I owned the water. So basically Otter has 2 zones on the ebb...the west zone you fish east/west from Otter to 2nd rock to 3rd rock. Once you get directly south of Otter in the weed trap area it changes to the east zone where you fish south/north. In both zones if you are fishing in the opposite direction you only cross other boats by staying clear of them. If this helps anyone understand it better and avoid a confrontation...mission accomplished.
The diagram I included shows how the currents set up on the ebb at Otter...and is close to the same at Sheringham. The flow runs from north to south of the east shore of Otter and out towards the USA and curves west the further out you go. Eventually the ebb flow bends enough it heads due west towards Sheringham. If you followed it further west a portion of that flow gets forced back east and at peak flow velocity it ends up creating a false flood along the 3rd and 2nd rocks. At this point at the border between the ebb flow off Otter and where the false flood converge they create swirly type water and a weed trap....a place to either avoid or find the cleanest way through to move from one zone to the other.
I was in the boat marked "Me" trolling north going into the ebb flow just east of the back eddy line and weed trap. No matter if fishing the west or east zone of Otter you fish parallel to the beach either into the current or with it. This is where some guys don't understand the area. I think they think they should have right of way through the ebb flow and expect boats in that flow to give way to them because they think they are still fishing parallel to shore....when in fact once you get through the weed trap area the shore now runs north to south and that is the tact you take to parallel the beach. As I approach the weed trap not only am I looking for the cleanest path through it I 'm looking for a hole in the boat traffic to squeeze into without pushing anyone off their line. This guy came right towards my bow and ended up on my port bow with downrigger lines inches apart form one another. We both raised our arms at the same time ....gesturing what are you doing to each other. After some words I ended up doing a hard starboard jog to create separation...letting the ebb flow push me back a bit and then hard port to get behind him and back on my line. He was still upset with that move telling his wife I was going right over his lines and I still thought I owned the water. So basically Otter has 2 zones on the ebb...the west zone you fish east/west from Otter to 2nd rock to 3rd rock. Once you get directly south of Otter in the weed trap area it changes to the east zone where you fish south/north. In both zones if you are fishing in the opposite direction you only cross other boats by staying clear of them. If this helps anyone understand it better and avoid a confrontation...mission accomplished.