New to Fishing Fraser Mouth

[samba123]

hello folks, I have been around boats and fished lakes for number of years... The wind and wave info is much more predictable since lakes are often in a protected area and there are no currents to deal with unless you are near an area where the lake dumps into a river.

I am trying to figure out the best way to predict what the weather(mainly chop conditions) at the South arm of the fraser. As this area is new to me and saltwater fishing is relatively new to me, I want to ensure that I go out in safe conditions and at the minimum in conditions in which I am comfortable in and will enjoy.

Fishing the south arm there are no weather info buoys that give wave heights... only the wind info for Sandheads... The 3 nearest weather buoys with wave information is Halibut Bank, Georgia Straight and English Bay. here are my questions:

1) Would the English Bay weather buoy with wind and wave info be the most accurate buoy that would closely resemble the conditions at SandHeads?

2) The next few days has South East winds from 5-15 knots... If it's a southeast wind, would the land area near Sandheads(Richmond, Steveston, Delta etc) provide some coverage and minimize the wave heights at Sandheads as compared to a NW wind?

thank you in advance for your assistance.

 

[Brett83]

The south east are fine out at sandheads. I leave North Vancouver. If it's horrible you could hit bellboy, then gauge from there. North arm to sandheads is a ****** haul in rough water. If you launch out of Richmond a South east should be good. If you're new to the salt I would avoid sandheads. Yesterday it was a gong show. Between t-10 and sandheads is a good place to start.

 

[seafarer]

Welcome to saltwater fishing! Although dude gotta say the English Bay buoy is helpful but not perfect for sandheads.

 

[Clint r]

Fished a derby at the sandheads one time. Literally 100s of boats passing within feet of each other. Saw 3 Asian dudes riding the sizeable whitecaps in a 12’ Jon boat like they were whalers on a Nantucket sleigh ride. Not a life jacket to be seen.

 

[Damn Ugly]

hello folks, I have been around boats and fished lakes for number of years... The wind and wave info is much more predictable since lakes are often in a protected area and there are no currents to deal with unless you are near an area where the lake dumps into a river.

I am trying to figure out the best way to predict what the weather(mainly chop conditions) at the South arm of the fraser. As this area is new to me and saltwater fishing is relatively new to me, I want to ensure that I go out in safe conditions and at the minimum in conditions in which I am comfortable in and will enjoy.

Fishing the south arm there are no weather info buoys that give wave heights... only the wind info for Sandheads... The 3 nearest weather buoys with wave information is Halibut Bank, Georgia Straight and English Bay. here are my questions:

1) Would the English Bay weather buoy with wind and wave info be the most accurate buoy that would closely resemble the conditions at SandHeads?

2) The next few days has South East winds from 5-15 knots... If it's a southeast wind, would the land area near Sandheads(Richmond, Steveston, Delta etc) provide some coverage and minimize the wave heights at Sandheads as compared to a NW wind?

thank you in advance for your assistance.

I mentioned this in another thread.....Sandheads (south arm), North Arm and English Bay are notorious for standing waves when you get westerly winds apposing outflow currents. The waves are taller and packed closer together, putting your boat on steeper angles. The shallowing water near shore amplify the problem. When you look at a map and see the general direction the water flows out from Burrard Inlet, the North & South Arms, and even Howe Sound during an ebb Tide, and compare it to the wind speed and direction....the more the wind and current oppose each other the sloppier the conditions. The 60' ocean-going tugboat Harken 10 sunk off Sandheads in those conditions back in 2015. Join the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron and take some courses.