rogerdodger
Kayaks (and other small watercraft) can be a real challenge to fish from on the ocean OFF Oregon in large part because, no big surprise, they float high on the water. This means they follow each and every swell up and down, from crest to trough and back up again. On top of that, smaller secondary swells can create the dreaded 'washing machine' effect and the wind can add to the fun, pushing the boat around and sending spray all over. Plus it could be misty/raining.
Selecting a 'Go' day depends on the individual and kayak and it is more than just "is it safe?", it's also "can I effectively fish?" and even "is it going to be fun?", and in my case, "how many hours before barf #1?" (in 'washing machine' conditions, getting banged around side-to-side and up-down, while landing fish, it's about 3 hours for me.).
I have used MagicSeaweed for my forecast since 2016, it does a good job for me, predicting the swell and wind at my launch points: Sunset Bay, Siuslaw river, and Depot Bay. I do confirm the wind forecast using the NOAA hourly forecast but NOAA doesn't provide enough details on the swells for me.
https://magicseaweed.com/Coos-Bay-Surf-Report/320/
A great example has just shown up on Friday, April 29, it has several things going for it as of now:
Swell of 3' on 9s is just fine, 3' or even 4' on 12s would be better but with both the secondary swell coming in under 1.5', I can ignore those and this day looks good, no barfing expected, Pepper and crab pots can go if this forecast holds.
Wind is light and not a factor.
Sunny but not hot definitely a plus.
'Soft' tides with a high at 12:32pm means a little extra effort getting to Simpson Reef but makes me like the 10:30am-2pm window for loading up on lingcod and hopefully crab are in the pots when I pick them up on the way back.
with a bit of luck, the day ends something like this one did...
Selecting a 'Go' day depends on the individual and kayak and it is more than just "is it safe?", it's also "can I effectively fish?" and even "is it going to be fun?", and in my case, "how many hours before barf #1?" (in 'washing machine' conditions, getting banged around side-to-side and up-down, while landing fish, it's about 3 hours for me.).
I have used MagicSeaweed for my forecast since 2016, it does a good job for me, predicting the swell and wind at my launch points: Sunset Bay, Siuslaw river, and Depot Bay. I do confirm the wind forecast using the NOAA hourly forecast but NOAA doesn't provide enough details on the swells for me.
https://magicseaweed.com/Coos-Bay-Surf-Report/320/
A great example has just shown up on Friday, April 29, it has several things going for it as of now:
Swell of 3' on 9s is just fine, 3' or even 4' on 12s would be better but with both the secondary swell coming in under 1.5', I can ignore those and this day looks good, no barfing expected, Pepper and crab pots can go if this forecast holds.
Wind is light and not a factor.
Sunny but not hot definitely a plus.
'Soft' tides with a high at 12:32pm means a little extra effort getting to Simpson Reef but makes me like the 10:30am-2pm window for loading up on lingcod and hopefully crab are in the pots when I pick them up on the way back.
with a bit of luck, the day ends something like this one did...
