The usual 2-4's

[jamesytuna]

So we fish out east whenever we get the chance really but occasionally we make the trip south as we are out of Nantucket. We have never been to the canyons yet but I was wondering what size waves do you guys look for before you make the call to go? It's always 2-4ft! Now I'm not stupid and I know it depends on boat size a lot but it just seems if you waited for the perfect day you would never go. Just wondered.

[rabcoman]

2-4' all day everyday

[Fffiisshh0]

He seems to take all the available info and make his own weather judgements. He's pretty good in that dept, among other things!! i PREFER 2-3 with NO "E's" in the forcast. The next few days should be pretty good? Im going Mon to Tues, hopefully all the guys going tomorrow will leave a few behind!

[backman]

I use NOAA as a guide; not as fact. I too look for 2-3's; 1-3's are even better. It depends what I'm doing also and how far I have to run.

In Aug a trip to the top of the Dump - I went in NW 3-6, decreasing to 3-4's. Tomorrow for an canyon overnight I'm hoping the current 3-4 goes to 2-3 as an overnight w/ the occasional 4 sucks in my boat.

Building during the day or dying during the day? Tide issues in the sound? Do I have a fallback spot to fish if the wind is 10 knots more and the seas 1-2' higher than predicted. I've saved many day trips to the canyons by stopping at the Lanes and fishing an inner break when 3-4 was more like 4+.

Which was is the wind and sea; sea state - swell, steep or very steep?

Fishweather, FMOC, Intellicast, general weather pressure isobar maps all contribute to the decision. Real time buoys and the buoy graphs will tell you a lot if you go past the simple top of the buoy page.

Bottom line - this is where you start:
TONIGHT
VARIABLE WINDS 10 KT OR LESS. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT.

SUN
WINDS BECOMING SW 10 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT.

SUN NIGHT
S TO SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT.

MON
WINDS BECOMING S TO SE 10 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT.

TUE
S TO SW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT.

but as your bettting your life and others on it; consulting and analyzing 3-4 other sources is a must before going out of sight of land.

[jamesytuna]

Thanks a lot for the info. We do go offshore a lot so I am familiar with checking all those things for when we go east. I just wanted to pick the brains of someone a little more salty than me on this as we do not go south often enough. Thanks a lot.

I also hope that the chunk of 70+ deg water that is south of the islands right now will get a little closer after the next three days of wind so that it is worth going down there on tuesday.

[Parapapam]

James,

A game I play all season long goes like this... Even if I am not going, I make a mental forecast based on the data Larry lists above. Then I wait. The next day I check the bouy data and verify the actual conditions against what I thought was going to happen.

When I am out, I like to check what the bouys say versus what my back and sea legs felt. Everyone is a "I can take 4 - 5 footers, no problem," hero on shore. A lot of times I say, "Boy that was uncomfortable," only to find out the bouys say 2 footer rising to 3 foot...

You learn a lot. It is easier to learn from your "mistakes" while you are sitting at your desk than sitting 54 miles SE of Nantucket. Your weather forecasting skills will improve dramatically....

Mike