Mike Avery
09-21-2009, 10:31 AM
Thought I would post this up to encourage more to give this a shot. It’s sometimes tough to get a buddy boat out there at night so if more get into this kind of fishing; the most buddy boats can be out there at night. Now I ain't the expert here by an means. I've been doing overnighters now for almost 3 years on my boat and have around 15 or so trips under my belt. I'm still learning too so this post are just some of my rookie thoughts. Many have far more experience than me.
Here are some of the advantages I see to overnighters offshore.
Running Out and Back. You get to leave mid or late morning after the sun is already up and return early afternoon. Typical offshore day trips you have that sun burning into your eye sockets running out and back. No need to rise at 2 am so you can be underway by 4 am and run halfway or more in total darkness. You can sleep in some and leave at a reasonable hour. Plus you can get gas and ice on the way out vice the day before. Take your time getting out as you’re not trying to rush to catch the early morning bite.
Fish the best times of the day. Late afternoon and evening and first thing in the am. Plus if there was pressure on the fish during the day, you get to fish when the fleet has already left for the day in the late afternoon. You also get a couple of hours of fishing from dawn to when the other boats start showing up the next morning. You might even get some of the anglers that fished during the day to tell you where the bite was since they are pretty much done and running home.
It’s like 2 trips for the price of 1. Fuel is our biggest expense so doing an overnighter you get to fish for 24 straight hours with is almost like 2 trips. Certainly gives more time for other options like deep dropping or changing over your game plan.
A shot of big fish at night. Yea sometimes I don’t even get a pull at night. But sometimes you do. I would say at least 50% or more I at least hook a sword or have one on for a little while. And if I don’t see a sword, many a nights we get to battle very big sharks. But you have a shot. And even if you don’t get a pull all night, then so what. As long as the weatherman didn’t lie too much, it’s just downright peaceful and beautiful out there. The stars and planets are so bright since there are no city lights within miles. And best of all, come dawn, all you have to do is put the spread back out and you are right where you want to be to start the day off for that early morning bite. And most of the fleet is still underway. I mostly sword fish at night but have tried the tuna chunking too. I have not yet had a success tuna chunking but I think mostly because there are just not any around when I’ve tried. And it’s still a big ocean out there and you have to setup in the right place (where the fish are). I am not yet equipped to handle those big sharks yet but we’ve release some giants beside the boat.
Some safety thoughts……
Know the weather (at least don’t rely on a single source). I like to see the overnight winds stay 10 knots or less. I drift at night and drift to beam so anything over 10 knots makes the drifting uncomfortable.
Weather Underground. A good summary of the NOAA marine forecasts by segment. Also shows buoy data, tides, and currents.
Windguru. A sight by our landlocked brothers in the Czech Republic for windsurfers who look for wind but is has information not found in other sites like wave direction and period. And it goes out a full 7 days for longer range planning.
Fishweather. One of my favorites. A graphical presentation of our area with buoy data showing wind speed and direction. A feature I really like it you can click a buoy, like the VB Buoy and it will provide up to 8 days of predicted wind speed and direction. The data is models only and shows 4 different models, WFS, WRAMS, NAM, and GFS.
Intellicast. A very accurate close in forecast going 2-3 days out. Shows what the winds are doing graphically over our area. When others are wrong, I have found intellicast to be dead on. If you see high winds in intellicast not shown on other weather sites, proceed with caution.
Buddy Boats. Great to have a buddy boat out there with you. A buddy boat is a boat you stay in contact with, not necessary within visual range all day but close enough for good VHF communication. If something goes wrong, it's a long way to shore and your buddy can save your life if the unthinkable should happen.
Radar. I think radar is essential for running offshore. First, it's important when running in the dark in the morning. Second, if fog or other limited visibility conditions show up, radar can let you see other ships. The biggest concern I have out there is those big container ships that roll through at night so keep the radar on all night to track them. Have the crew check it often.
Satellite Weather. Both XM and Sirius have satellite weather than can be beamed directly to your chartplotter for a small monthly fee. I use the XM Weather on my Garmin 478. It is great for tracking storms and there intensity long before your ship's radar picks it up. Anyone who spends a lot time offshore will eventually get caught in storm. With this service, you can pick up and get out of the way before it arrives.
SPOT Tracker. Really more a comfort item for those left on shore so they don’t worry but it also serves as a PLB that can get help should my EPIRB fail for whatever reason. You can create a shared page so family and friends can track you out there.
Ditch Bag. A ditch bag is all your essential safety items in one bag you can grab in case you have to leave the boat or worse case go in the water. I keep my EPIRB, flares, strobe, flashlight, mirror, handheld VHF, airhorn, and signaling flag.
DSC Radio. Pretty common feature now on my most VHF radios but don’t forget to connect it to your chartplotter for this is the only way for your GPS location to be transmitted.
EPIRB. A must have item for offshore fishing. One flip of the switch, my boat's lat/long coordinates are transmitted instantly to USCG rescue personnel who will send a ship or plane to an activated EPIRB. If you fish offshore, strongly recommend an EPIRB.
Lifejackets. Obviously we must have a least one lifejacket for each passenger. But it's important they are stored in a place the crew can easily access them. Stowed down below in a hatch that is hard to get to is not a good idea. Mine are stowed overhead in the hardtop for easy access.
Liferaft. I have a 6 man coastal life raft should the need ever arise. With the ditch bag and lifejackets, I feel pretty safe and if we ever had to get in the life raft, I can’t image we would be in there long with my DSC, SPOT, EPIRP, handheld, and flares all going off.
Keep the batteries charged. Running the generator to keep all your electronics and batteries charged. And if you don’t have a generator, perhaps an extra battery or 2 or one of the jump starters to get you going in the morning. Some just leave the engines going all night to keep the batteries charged too.
Radar reflector. Raise up a radar reflecting flag so other ships can see me better with their radar. Our small fiberglass boats don’t paint much a radar signature. Radar Reflector Boat Flags | The Radar Flag Company (http://www.radarflag.com/)
Keep at least 2 crew awake at all times. Don't let everyone fall asleep and having just one awake as he could fall asleep easily. And sitting in a beanbag on the deck means they will probably fall asleep and they are not watching the horizon for ship either. Their main job is to keep an eye out for the big ships that pass through at night. Those big ships are usually on autopilot and even if they see you, they may not change course for you. It's best to scoot out of their way if they get too close.
So think about it and give it a try. If the safety of it all has you worried, plan a trip with a buddy boat and fish with visual sight of each other for added safety. I don't think one has to have a big boat to consider overnighting.
Here are some of the advantages I see to overnighters offshore.
Running Out and Back. You get to leave mid or late morning after the sun is already up and return early afternoon. Typical offshore day trips you have that sun burning into your eye sockets running out and back. No need to rise at 2 am so you can be underway by 4 am and run halfway or more in total darkness. You can sleep in some and leave at a reasonable hour. Plus you can get gas and ice on the way out vice the day before. Take your time getting out as you’re not trying to rush to catch the early morning bite.
Fish the best times of the day. Late afternoon and evening and first thing in the am. Plus if there was pressure on the fish during the day, you get to fish when the fleet has already left for the day in the late afternoon. You also get a couple of hours of fishing from dawn to when the other boats start showing up the next morning. You might even get some of the anglers that fished during the day to tell you where the bite was since they are pretty much done and running home.
It’s like 2 trips for the price of 1. Fuel is our biggest expense so doing an overnighter you get to fish for 24 straight hours with is almost like 2 trips. Certainly gives more time for other options like deep dropping or changing over your game plan.
A shot of big fish at night. Yea sometimes I don’t even get a pull at night. But sometimes you do. I would say at least 50% or more I at least hook a sword or have one on for a little while. And if I don’t see a sword, many a nights we get to battle very big sharks. But you have a shot. And even if you don’t get a pull all night, then so what. As long as the weatherman didn’t lie too much, it’s just downright peaceful and beautiful out there. The stars and planets are so bright since there are no city lights within miles. And best of all, come dawn, all you have to do is put the spread back out and you are right where you want to be to start the day off for that early morning bite. And most of the fleet is still underway. I mostly sword fish at night but have tried the tuna chunking too. I have not yet had a success tuna chunking but I think mostly because there are just not any around when I’ve tried. And it’s still a big ocean out there and you have to setup in the right place (where the fish are). I am not yet equipped to handle those big sharks yet but we’ve release some giants beside the boat.
Some safety thoughts……
Know the weather (at least don’t rely on a single source). I like to see the overnight winds stay 10 knots or less. I drift at night and drift to beam so anything over 10 knots makes the drifting uncomfortable.
Weather Underground. A good summary of the NOAA marine forecasts by segment. Also shows buoy data, tides, and currents.
Windguru. A sight by our landlocked brothers in the Czech Republic for windsurfers who look for wind but is has information not found in other sites like wave direction and period. And it goes out a full 7 days for longer range planning.
Fishweather. One of my favorites. A graphical presentation of our area with buoy data showing wind speed and direction. A feature I really like it you can click a buoy, like the VB Buoy and it will provide up to 8 days of predicted wind speed and direction. The data is models only and shows 4 different models, WFS, WRAMS, NAM, and GFS.
Intellicast. A very accurate close in forecast going 2-3 days out. Shows what the winds are doing graphically over our area. When others are wrong, I have found intellicast to be dead on. If you see high winds in intellicast not shown on other weather sites, proceed with caution.
Buddy Boats. Great to have a buddy boat out there with you. A buddy boat is a boat you stay in contact with, not necessary within visual range all day but close enough for good VHF communication. If something goes wrong, it's a long way to shore and your buddy can save your life if the unthinkable should happen.
Radar. I think radar is essential for running offshore. First, it's important when running in the dark in the morning. Second, if fog or other limited visibility conditions show up, radar can let you see other ships. The biggest concern I have out there is those big container ships that roll through at night so keep the radar on all night to track them. Have the crew check it often.
Satellite Weather. Both XM and Sirius have satellite weather than can be beamed directly to your chartplotter for a small monthly fee. I use the XM Weather on my Garmin 478. It is great for tracking storms and there intensity long before your ship's radar picks it up. Anyone who spends a lot time offshore will eventually get caught in storm. With this service, you can pick up and get out of the way before it arrives.
SPOT Tracker. Really more a comfort item for those left on shore so they don’t worry but it also serves as a PLB that can get help should my EPIRB fail for whatever reason. You can create a shared page so family and friends can track you out there.
Ditch Bag. A ditch bag is all your essential safety items in one bag you can grab in case you have to leave the boat or worse case go in the water. I keep my EPIRB, flares, strobe, flashlight, mirror, handheld VHF, airhorn, and signaling flag.
DSC Radio. Pretty common feature now on my most VHF radios but don’t forget to connect it to your chartplotter for this is the only way for your GPS location to be transmitted.
EPIRB. A must have item for offshore fishing. One flip of the switch, my boat's lat/long coordinates are transmitted instantly to USCG rescue personnel who will send a ship or plane to an activated EPIRB. If you fish offshore, strongly recommend an EPIRB.
Lifejackets. Obviously we must have a least one lifejacket for each passenger. But it's important they are stored in a place the crew can easily access them. Stowed down below in a hatch that is hard to get to is not a good idea. Mine are stowed overhead in the hardtop for easy access.
Liferaft. I have a 6 man coastal life raft should the need ever arise. With the ditch bag and lifejackets, I feel pretty safe and if we ever had to get in the life raft, I can’t image we would be in there long with my DSC, SPOT, EPIRP, handheld, and flares all going off.
Keep the batteries charged. Running the generator to keep all your electronics and batteries charged. And if you don’t have a generator, perhaps an extra battery or 2 or one of the jump starters to get you going in the morning. Some just leave the engines going all night to keep the batteries charged too.
Radar reflector. Raise up a radar reflecting flag so other ships can see me better with their radar. Our small fiberglass boats don’t paint much a radar signature. Radar Reflector Boat Flags | The Radar Flag Company (http://www.radarflag.com/)
Keep at least 2 crew awake at all times. Don't let everyone fall asleep and having just one awake as he could fall asleep easily. And sitting in a beanbag on the deck means they will probably fall asleep and they are not watching the horizon for ship either. Their main job is to keep an eye out for the big ships that pass through at night. Those big ships are usually on autopilot and even if they see you, they may not change course for you. It's best to scoot out of their way if they get too close.
So think about it and give it a try. If the safety of it all has you worried, plan a trip with a buddy boat and fish with visual sight of each other for added safety. I don't think one has to have a big boat to consider overnighting.