bar crossing

[Kuja]

Hi,

I am new to the board and to coastal fishing. I have a 17' Alumaweld Stryker. I have no experience crossing the bar. Is there ever a time when a 17' Stryker can cross the bar? This my first post on the chat board.

Thank you, Kuja

[Mello-Yello]

Absolutely Kuja! I was broke in by a 15' runabout with a 35hp Johnson. We went out of Coos Bay and travelled several miles south. Hammered the bottom fish and came home.

Educate yourself first, then pick your days wisely. Use the search engine on this board, including the archives. You'll learn almost everything you need to know. The rest you'll learn by going and doing it. Just remember, if you aren't sure, back away. This will ensure you'll get to go another day.

Now, (I've been waiting for this opportunity)
As a new member, we will humbly require you to post a fishing story. The bigger, the better.

Welcome!

M-Y

[ 04-28-2003, 07:03 PM: Message edited by: Mello-Yello ]

[SouthCoastStu]

Lots of people go over the bars in boats of that size (or smaller). I have a 19' Stryker and go out all the time. I'm sure a lot of the other folks that are more experienced than I will chime in, but I'll tell you a few things I know.

1.) Start out on the better bars on the coast. Coos Bay, Winchester Bay and Newport are some of the better bars. Avoid shallow bars like Tillamook and Nehalem (others?) until you gain some experience.

2.) Read the tide book. All bars get rougher when the tide is ebbing (flowing out). The bigger the tide change, rougher the bar. Try to plan your trip so you cross on the slack portions of the tide (time between out-going and in coming) or when the tide is in coming. I think the safest plan is to cross at a low slack, this way you can come back in anytime before the high slack (about 6 hours). If you go out towards the end of the out-going you may be stuck outside until the next low slack tide.

3.) Look at the marine forecast. Here's a site I use http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/zone/west/westmz.htm. In general I only like to go out if there's combined seas of less than 8' (i.e. 6' swell and 2' wind waves), less is much more comfortable. Until you get a feel for it you may want to look for combined seas of less than 6', actually being able to look at the ocean and get a feel if it's relatively safe takes time. Look for the trend too, sometimes the prediction can be off.

4.) Get a good VHF radio and GPS if you don't already have them and learn to use them. Make sure all your equipment (motor, bilge pumps, compass etc.) is in top notch working order.

5.) Try to hook-up with someone from this board who has ocean fished a lot and is experienced on the bar you plan to cross. Keep it short your first trip, near shore bottom fishing or salmon.

6.) Stay tuned to this site and learn, learn, learn. Ask questions, people here are happy to help out.

I'm sure I left a bunch of stuff out, but I think I'm starting to ramble.....

[Stoyjun Princess]

Welcome Kuja,
Yes, we want to read all about your fishing adventures out on the big blue. :smile:

We really like going out of New Port, you still have to check the seas before going out. And the wind and tides can play a big part in crossing the bar.
Be safe and have fun. :grin:

[Birdnest]

Nice post DiamondBack.

[bllelk]

Thanks from here too, DB. Been wondering about stuff like that since we got the bigger boat. VHF is on order. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[id. painter]

My last boat was a 17ft. stryker. We took it out to the C.R. buoy six times. No trouble at all.
The seas were around 8 ft. those days , and we crossed the bar at a good time , no trouble there.
We always had another boat or two out there, we kept visual and radio contact at all times. We clobbered the Silvers. Be safe and have fun. id. p.

[Pilar]

Zacktly Diamondback. Only thing I would add is wait a few before you run over the bar at low slack. Or at least give it a look before you go. Sometimes the rough from the ebb tide takes a while to subside. The bar is usually at it's worst about 3 - 4 hours into the ebb. Max flow happens then. The Columbia River bar is famous for this, they often forecast breakers at that point in the tide.

The other thing is to try to plan so that your first adventure does not fall on new moon or full moon days. The weekend in between either of those two times will give the smallest tides and hopefully the easiest bar. But then you have to think about time of day. The 1/2 moon tides are low at midday. So you would go out in the afternoon when the wind likes to blow.

The bottom line is that if you feel a pucker factor developing as you approach the bar, trust your feelings. If you think it is bad it probably is. As Magnum says 'That little voice'. Listen to it and live to fish another day.

Go with someone with experience to calibrate your pucker meter. After some experience you will learn to see the bar for what it is.

The door on the barn that keeps the animals inside

[Mello-Yello]

It looks like this week is shaping up to be one your opportunities. I just checked out the Coos Bay Bar and now I have slobber all over my shirt. Ick! Almost as bad as Hali slime!

I'd like to add another bit of info. When you're returning to port on an ebb tide, it's very hard to tell exactly what is happening at the mouth of the bar as you can't see the breakers breaking from the sea side. You don't want to go charging right in, ferry around a little bit if you can. I prefer to watch another boat enter if possible. Once your committed though, get after it. Try to ride the backside of the leading swell so the following wave doesn't catch you. If the swells are big, you'll want to get a good look-see at what's way out ahead of you. Once in the trough you might not see over the next wave until your all the way in. GPS is real handy here. You will likely be overwhelmed at how fast these swells come in when you're in the middle of them.

Whew, that got my blood churning!

[Kuja]

Hi
Thank you for the post and the welcome. I have a place in Waldport and will be fishing out of Newport. Do not have a fish story just retierd
Thank you Kuja