Oceans 17

Skipper · 05-13-2002, 09:46 PM

It looks like the ocean is going to be too rough for Fri May 17 halibut fishing. What do you think? :depressed:

Capt. Rich · 05-13-2002, 09:57 PM

Skippie... Yeah your right... Way to rough.... Stay home...... [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]

Just kidding.

Where did you get that???? :whazzup: NOAA says 15 knots.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/afos/PDX/CWF/PDXCWFPDX

bait boy · 05-14-2002, 12:17 AM

15 kts out of the west changing to SW does not make for a pretty ride, and 3 ft wind waves with a 9Ft swell isn't great either. especially for us small boaters. I think most charters will do fine If they can stay on bottom.

Skipper · 05-14-2002, 08:08 AM

Capt. Rich,

I was looking more at the wave height: 3 ft wind waves along with a 9 ft swell. Along with: http://www.mpc.ncep.noaa.gov/RSSA/PacRegSSA.html

Someone mentioned earlier, if the combined seas were over 10 ft then its a rough ocean. But I have to admit that this is the first time I've based a trip on the big blue trying to interpret charts and info from NOAA. That's why I was asking for other opinions. :whazzup:

Pilar · 05-14-2002, 09:12 AM

FZUS56 KPQR 141623
CWFPDX

COASTAL WATERS FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
930 AM PDT TUE MAY 14 2002

COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE SHOALWATER WASHINGTON TO FLORENCE OREGON
AND WESTWARD 60 NM.

PZZ255-275-142230-
COASTAL WATERS FROM CASCADE HEAD TO FLORENCE OREGON AND WESTWARD
60 NM
930 AM PDT TUE MAY 14 2002

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY THROUGH THIS EVENING

TODAY
N WIND RISING TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 5 FT. SW SWELL 3 FT
AT 17 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

TONIGHT
N WIND 25 KT...DECREASING TO 15 KT OVERNIGHT. WIND
WAVES 5 FT...SUBSIDING TO 3 FT OVERNIGHT. SW SWELL 3 FT AT 15
SECONDS.

WED
N WIND 15 KT...RISING TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND
WAVES 3 FT BUILDING TO 5 FT. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 15 SECONDS.

WED NIGHT
N WIND 25 KT EARLY...THEN EASING TO 15 KT. WIND
WAVES 5 FT EARLY...SUBSIDING TO 3 FT. SW SWELL 5 FT.

THU
NW WIND 10 KT BECOMING SW. WIND WAVES 2 FT. W SWELL 5 FT.

FRI
W WIND 15 KT. WIND WAVES 3 FT. W SWELL 9 FT.

SAT
SW WIND 15 KT. WIND WAVES 3 FT. W SWELL 8 FT.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Weather Service
Generated 1706 UTC, Tuesday, May 14, 2002
Document URL http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtb.../pz/pzz255.txt

Please notice the wind direction (North) Vs. the swell direction (Southwest). They are crossed up. You would have the wind on your beam and the waves straight at you or away. This combination is pretty scary and the people in the boat will get wet, guarantee.

The situation improves on Friday and Saturday as the wind swings around to the SW and the the swell comes from the west. The issue for the halibut days is the huge 9 or 8 ft swell. Add some wind to that and last Saturday will look like a walk in the park. The ride out for halibut would take longer than normal. On the way in you have the wind at your back, a very desirable thing.

All we can do is wait and see.

Unless the swell drops by alot, I'm remembering Halibut fishing this weekend, not doing it. Besides there's a few million shad in the Willamette that need thinned out and friends that need some help.

Capt. Rich · 05-14-2002, 09:38 AM

Pilar and Skipper.... The best is to look at the Stonewall Banks bouy graphs.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_pag...$station=46050

It has graphs both for wind and the swell conditions.

They get the long range swell reports from two sources. The NOAA swell model and the Navy swell model. You can find them on the Weather Bureau website. It may be as big as nine feet but the real time report from Stonewall is the best indicator. One thing to look at that period of the swell. Nine feet is not bad if the period is long. What is what they call a lazy swell.

The thing that will determine the halibut fishability will be the low descending from Alaska and the thermal low in California. If the winds come up today and laydown by Thursday, we may have good weather like the last two days.

But then again.... getting a warm up for Summer steelhead with some dart fishing is not a bad idea. Save the roe for me. Remember the old saying about planked shad... Eat the plank and throw away the fish.

Skipper · 05-14-2002, 03:51 PM

Capt. Rich,

How far out is the 46050 bouy from Newport?

According to this the ocean looks do-able on Friday, if not for halibut, then at least closer in for bottom fishing.

Capt. Rich · 05-14-2002, 06:26 PM

Skipper, If you took a dogleg trip to the ranch, it would be that yellow thingie floating around in the ocean halfway to the ranch. So watching it on the net is a good idea if you are going to fish at the ranch. Earlier today the ground swell had a period of 16 seconds. That is good. Six to ten seconds is bad. It started blowing about noon today. So watching it for the next couple of days will let you know how the ocean will look for Friday and Saturday.

Still like those shad though. Let's see drifting slowly or anchored up, pitching darts. Close your eyes and pretend that there is a chromer on the end instead of a herring on steroids.