Making the jump to salt

gottafish · 02-21-2004, 10:47 AM

I am about to get a 27 foot sea Ray Sunday. I have never had a boat anywhere close to that size. and I have fished very little in the big blue. I have been out of depot bay on a charter a time or two and I went to the chicken ranch with a friend from work. Now the scary part. I got a big boat and I dont want to die, This is where you fine ladys and gentelmen come in. The boat is awsome and ready to go. What should I look for before heading for say: newport as far as conditions as I live near portland? also Is there some way I can find places to fish for lings and sea bass, ect. books, maps, GPS ???? I am pretty much a salt virgin so I know tuna is proble out of the question. I would like to try halibit if the weather and sea's are good. I have a 100 gal of fuel is that enough for tuna if I do go?? chevy 350 motor. all things to learn. Please help Thanks Rich

[ 02-21-2004, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: gottafish ]

rojo · 02-21-2004, 10:54 AM

Ya got yourself one heck of a nice boat. As for learning big blue, get ahold of someone thats docked in Warrenton and take a ride or two for early salmon around the 1st of July. Or bring it down and get someone to go with you...Roger

gottafish · 02-21-2004, 12:53 PM

made a small error its not a sea sport its a sea Ray Sorry.

corrirod · 02-21-2004, 03:17 PM

gottafish,

You've come to the right place and congrats on the new ride! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

The fact you don't want to die is a great mindset to have also. Here's a link to a thread from last summer that has a lot of good safety info in it, related to offshore fishing:

Click Here

Make sure you take a look at what equipment other people have in their boats:

Click Here

Then you'll need to start getting informed on the weather, tides, etc. so here are a couple of good links to threads for that:

Click Here 1

Click Here 2

That'll get you started but when you need more just use the "Search" function and you'll find more data then you'll ever be able to read!

gottafish · 02-21-2004, 03:56 PM

Thanks theres a lot of great stuff here.

Salmonator · 02-21-2004, 09:05 PM

Since you are new to this size of boat my first stop would be to one of the larger lakes in your area. Many engines have certain "quirks" and you don't want to learn them on big water. I've had my latest boat for almost two years and although I am confident it won't strand me, somebody else probably could't start it cold or after it's been shut down for awhile. Also you could top off the tank and run 'er around the lake for an hour at cruise and top it off again to find your gallons per hour consumption for those conditions.

Slugranch · 02-22-2004, 06:15 AM

Get into as many classes as you can that are offered by the CG Aux. and Power Squadron. Try to find people that have the experience, and ride along,,leave your boat at the dock for a few trips, and then have an experienced skipper take you out on your boat, and give you some lessons. Safety is the most important part of any offshore fishing.

SlabQuest · 02-22-2004, 08:43 AM

Also, have someone with a similar boat show you driving and docking techniques. Learn how to trim your boat correctly. A 27' single screw boat requires special skill to manuver properly. Definately NOT like driving a car.

blubeast · 02-22-2004, 12:21 PM

Congrats on the new boat. Sounds like a very ocean capable boat.

As stated above, suggest you ride along with others on the salt to watch how they handle their boats & fishing rigging.

Also suggest you attend the Salty Dogs meetings to meet and discuss equipment face to face.

backlash442 · 02-22-2004, 01:30 PM

What model Sea Ray? My friend has one that's either 23' or 24'. It has a tendency to porposie at the bottom of a swell. Can take a lot of green water up and over the windshield. It took/takes a fairly skilled skipper to drive my friends boat in semi rough conditions. Say 5'-6' swells and a bit of wind on top. You also get soaked.

Taking the boat out on a big lake is a good suggestion. You can also take a floating seat and put it in the water to practice maneuvering the boat around it. Back up on it, come up beside it etc. It will allow you to get the feel of your boat and how well it turns in a tight spot w/out worrying about hitting something. Do all this on a day with little wind. When you are comfortable with running your boat then take it out on a day when the wind is blowing 20-25knts. You'll only be dealing with wind waves and no swells. See how it handles then. Go straight into the wind from one end and then back. See how it handles coming back with the wind. Drive it in a quartering wind/swell. Better to find out how the boat handles this way then being 40 miles offshore on a pancake day when the wind suddenly kicks up.

If your boat doesn't have one I'd strongly suggest you put a fuel flow meter in it.

Hawg Caller · 02-22-2004, 02:10 PM

My first 2 yrs. on the big blue I always took a buddy who's been there and done that...learn from him.see ya out there good luck.

gottafish · 02-22-2004, 02:42 PM

Well I took her out on the columbia today and It was very windy with white cap's She handled it like a dream. Its a big boat and it was kind of a pain getting it in the boat ramp to slow no control to fast was to fast but I lived the river.

Birdnest · 02-22-2004, 05:10 PM

My advice to you would be go at your own pace. Take the sage advice above concerning classes. Learn what safety items you need and more important learn how to use them. Don't let somebody else talk you into something(ie bar crossing) you are not ready to do yet.

Remember, this is suppose to be fun.

Joe

Puffin · 02-22-2004, 07:07 PM

THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO DO IS LEARN YOUR NEW BOAT I WOULD SUGGEST FISHING SPRINGERS FOR A FEW WEEKS OR A MONTH THIS WILL GIVE YOU TIME TO LEARN THE INS AND OUTS OF YOUR NEW CRAFT BOAT CONTROLL AND SUCH BE SURE EVERYTHING WORKS AND HOW WHEN YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AND ARE SURE EVERYTHING WORKS ALL THE TIME START IN NEWPORT THERE ARE MANY REEFS WITHIN A FEW MILES AND ITS PROBABLY THE EASIEST BAR CROSSING YOU DEFINATELY WANT MANY BAR CROSSINGS AND LOTS OF OCEAN EXPERIENCE BEFORE ATTEMPTING A TRIP TO THE CHICKEN RANCH OR TUNA FISHING CONDITIONS CAN AND DO CHANGE RAPIDLY IN THE OCEAN I HAVE SEEN MORE THAN ONE BOAT SINK ON THE HALIBUT GROUNDS CONDITIONS CAN BE VERY TREACHEROUS ESPECIALY IN THE EARLY SEASON AND YOU ARE PROBABLY MUCH BETTER OFF HITCHING A RIDE WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN THERE BEFORE 8FOOT SEAS WITH 4 FOOT WIND CHOP AND 30 KNOT WINDS ARE NOT AT ALL UNCOMMON IN THE EARLY SEASON AND CAN COME UP SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY 20 OR 30 MILES OUT IS A BAD PLACE TO LEARN BETTER TO HITCH A RIDE AND GET A SEASON OR TWO OF INSHORE EXPERIENCE BEFORE ATTEMPTING LONG RANGE TRIPS IM SURE ANY OF THE EXPERIENCED OCEAN SKIPPERS WILL AGREE LEARNING A NEW CRAFT AND A NEW ENVIONMENT IS BEST DONE SLOWLY YOU AND YOUR CREW HAVE BUT ONE LIFE WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO BE CAREFUL AND ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION THE SEA IS A WICKED MISTRESS AND VERY UNFORGIVING YOU SELDOM GET TWO MISTAKES CONGRATS ON THE NEW BOAT

Puffin · 02-22-2004, 07:17 PM

I WOULD ALSO RECOMEND YOU TAG TEAM WITH ANOTHER BOAT GOOD TO HAVE SOMEONE CLOSE BY I SPEND ABOUT 500 0R 600 HOURS A YEAR ON THE OCEAN AND USUALLY TAG TEAM WITH PILAR WHO SPENDS SIMILAR HOURS EVEN AFTER 15 OR 20 YEARS OF OCEAN EXPERIENCE I FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH A BUDDY BOAT NEAR BY