Froggy Morning

[MarshCappa]

Wet the skiff at 5:15am this morning in clear skies. Made it 1/2 way out and got rolled up by the fog. No gps makes it pretty scary. The horns were blasting all over the bay. We putzed along and found some schools and were hooking up on small schoolies. I was getting stressed that we were in the main channel and I decided to press on a little more and anchor in shallow water. We did that for a 1/2 hour and few other small boats passed by us. A few friendly toots of the horn and friendly exchanges and they were gone in seconds. You could here everyone talking like they were right next to you. Then the wind picked up around 6:45 and bingo we could see again! We weren't even close to where I thought we should have been. We were outside of Clark's not Saquish. We did find a couple more schools that were attacking our top water plugs with zest. No keepers but plenty of action. Easier ride back to the landing. Weird morning though. I need to get a handheld GPS. It would have made a huge difference. The compass isn't enough.

[fishaholic18]

Glad you made it back OK. I've been in that situation a few times b4 I could afford a gps. I know how scary it is, hard enough with a gps. Get one as soon as you can,,,, Be safe..

[Flaptail]

Was out in CC Bay this am. Hazy until the tide turned and then the brezze came up off the bay and the fog rolled in. I was off of Dennis and had to get back to Barnstable with less than 50 feet visibility the whole way.

I had memorized the course numbers for the way back ( forgot the gps at home) long ago and the old compass got me in safe and sound before a bunch of other much bigger boats than my 14 foot skiff. Took almost 45 minutes of underway without any sign of land or buoy. Saw some 23 footer doing circles.

Just followed 270w from Chapin's and used the depth sounder as back up hit the red can almost on the nose inside and cut across the flats on the ebbing tide in four feet of water. Before I knew it I was in the stakes at Blish Point slick as sh!t.

Amazed myself. Pays to know where you fish and the bottom structure too.

[ProfessorM]

Steve I have done that a few times without a compass. Stupid I know. At least all you have to worry about there is running aground on a sand bar and then get out and pull, and if you stay in close no other boats can float there either. So did you catch anything?

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

I had memorized the course numbers for the way back ( forgot the gps at home) long ago.

You are gettin old. Hope ya didn't forget to replace the batteries too.

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

Steve I have done that a few times without a compass. Stupid I know. At least all you have to worry about there is running aground on a sand bar and then get out and pull, and if you stay in close no other boats can float there either. So did you catch anything?

Couple things I was taught by Ol Capn' "Lucky Singleton o' the Sea Witch back in the day.

1. Hazy and visible offshore fog and outgoing tide you have the tide time, if no breeze, with clear visibilty, The tide will keep the fog from rolling in on you.

2. Incoming tide and fog offshore but clear inshore and calm watch for a breeze from the direction of the fog, you have 20 minutes tops to make for the harbor before she brings the fog in on you (yesterday was a perfect example of this) breeze went w/nw.

3. Make note of the breeze diection in relation to the land fall you want to make before the fog rolls in. When visibilty goes and no compass or gps you can keep the wind on that quarter and follow in general direction home.

4. Study the bottom where you fish and as you travel and know your tide movement across that structure especially rise and fall rates.

5. Even a hand held compass is better than nothing. I keep a bubble compass in my gear box. The Ritchie is twenty years old and still works like a charm.

6. When in doubt throw the hook and wait it out.

Paul, one weighed just over 25lbs and the others were all small, 10 to 15lbs on the hsw. Yellow Bernzy Howdy was the tiket cept the bigger one came on the Gibbs Yellow pro series pencil 2oz.

You know where.

[blue oyster]

i went out this moning in the fog (i have gps but no radar) the fog didn't lift till 11:30 even with gps it is still nerve wracking not a big fan but i have had some of my best fishing in the fog , today was not one of those days .

[MarshCappa]

I sent an email to a local charter Cpt. in Dux that had an interesting comment about last Sat. He said he dosn't get on the bay in fog because of the big boats that barrel thru the stuff full steam using the GPS. His comment was that it dosn't pick up the boats that may be in front of them. That's what really stressed me out while I was out there, hearing the motors going full steam thinking to myself how can they be sure that no one is floundering in the channel?

[likwid]

Most anything under 30 feet without a good radar reflector won't show up on radar.

Just something for you to think about with all the morons blowing through the fog at 20+ knots.

[BassyiusMaximus]

Down my way, at night, no one is ever out, which is always nice for me as I've the whole place to myself. Years ago I bought a Magellan Explorist 300 for under $200, basic, no detail, just trails I could use to get myself to and from where I need to go at night or in the fog at night, it did the job and was my backup in case the primary GPS' I have somehow went down. This past month, while fishing on Stellwagen, I had the unit in a velcro'ed pocket in my PFD when I reached over the transom on my buddies boat, there goes my blue GPS, slowly swinging down to the bottom of the bank. I thought about diving in for it but without a change of clothes, I'd have been cold and miserable for the rest of the fishing trip that day.

Magellan since has quit making the Explorist series so for under $150, I got an even better color model along with the chart which is as detailed as the chart on my big/primary GPS as a backup. If you can, get one, sure helps better than not having one for sure. Best thing about the Li-Ion battery is that it is rechargeable so no more me buying AA batteries or AAA's anymore, just leave the thing on and either charge it up at home or use the 12V on the boat/truck to recharge, nice.

[RIJIMMY]

I was out Sunday in dense fog. I waited close to 2 hrs screwing around the harbor feeding bunker to bluefish, finally had a enough and ventured into the fog. Not a lot of big ships in the bay where I fish so I was not concerned about that, but man it was FREAKY and scary even with the gps. I had to go in neutral a few times and put around to get my bearings on the GPS. Its not as easy as you think.

[Rick Ackley]

One Saturday morning, a few years ago, we were out in Quincy Bay, with only a compass. It was way to scary. Boats flying around with not idea where they were going or what was in their path. Bought a GPS unit on the way home the next day. At least now I know where I am.

[Goose]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

Not a lot of big ships in the bay where I fish so I was not concerned about that, but man it was FREAKY and scary even with the gps. I had to go in neutral a few times and put around to get my bearings on the GPS. Its not as easy as you think.

that's right, especially near skinny water or structure. I've been out at night in dense fog, you can't make heads or tails till you are seconds in motion, the only thing you can hear is the surf close by. Guys get away with and without gps,, doesn't make them bright. Radar is gives you eyes in fogged up conditions.