Thread: Helpful Hint

Get your fishing in now boys and girls Wind s going to blow Wind is the worst factor in fishing to me I don't like it blowing a gale and it really messes up the water Thursday and Friday ok but increasing 15-18 Saturday and Sunday forget it at 25-25 ESE Sometimes you can catch a fish in a strong wind but tough fishing

Helpful Hint: be sure to check the marine forecast for updates as time draws nearer to your target date and the forecasts are revised.
The NOAA forecasts are updated 4 times a day at 4am, 10am, 4pm and 10pm
and a text version for our stretch of the coast can be found on NOAA Weather radio or online @ http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtb.../gm/gmz650.txt

The graphics version of this forecast can be found @ NOAA Graphical Forecast for Mobile, AL

And check the current wind speeds against the forecast through the network of NOAA data bouys, the closest to the GSPPier being 42012

BTW, all other weather services get their information (data) from this network and simply reinterpret, or rebroadcast it to their clients (some times even charging a fee).

Nearshore Forecast:

Today
Variable winds 5 kt or less. A chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Seas around 1 ft.
Tonight
WNW wind 5 to 10 kt becoming NNE after midnight. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas around 1 ft.

Friday
NNE wind 5 to 15 kt becoming ESE in the afternoon. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas around 1 ft.

Friday Night
Variable winds 5 kt or less. Partly cloudy. Seas around 1 ft.

Saturday
ENE wind around 10 kt becoming ESE in the afternoon. Mostly sunny. Seas around 1 ft.

Saturday Night
SE wind around 10 kt. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas 1 to 2 ft.

Sunday
SE wind around 15 kt, with gusts as high as 20 kt. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas 2 to 3 ft.

Sunday Night
SE wind around 15 kt, with gusts as high as 20 kt. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas 3 to 4 ft.

Memorial Day
SSE wind around 15 kt, with gusts as high as 20 kt. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Seas around 4 ft.

I agree about a strong wind being terrible for fishing, DS2. When the water gets more dirty, the smell-feeders, sharks and hard-head catfish, take over. If it's windy and the water is relatively clear, I use a small egg sinker above my swivel when fishing for kings, which keeps a live bait just below the surface. Kings don't pay any attention to the small egg sinker and a small one doesn't take your bait to the bottom. It just hangs right there in the hot zone. But when the wind gets to be 25 or more and you can't keep your hat on your head, it may be time to call it a day.

You can get the actual model outputs here.

WunderMap® | Interactive Weather Map and Radar | Weather Underground

Scroll down on the right side to the models and click on the little gear symbol. Then you can select between four different models in the first dropdown box and for winds, rain, cloud etc in the second dropdown box. Hit the play icon for the GFS (triangle) and the maps will step through 10 days at 3-6 hour increments.

This has a much finer scale than the reduced statements. Also very handy when the tropics start cooking.


GFS (Global Forecast System)
NAM (North American Mesoscale)
ECMWF (European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting)
RUC (Rapid Update Cycle)

Edit: That link opens up an extremely zoomed in map, click on "Continent" in the map space to get North America. Also close the advertisement on the right to get a better look at the model options, scroll down to "Model Data" and the little gear symbol.

Just my luck. We get in town on Saturday afternoon (staying at Four Season) and it looks like it is not going to be fishable for 3 - 4 days.

Originally Posted by spottedbass

Just my luck. We get in town on Saturday afternoon (staying at Four Season) and it looks like it is not going to be fishable for 3 - 4 days.

You never know for sure what the weather is going to be until the time gets here. The weatherguys often get it wrong. And sometimes when the wind blows -- it doesn't blow hard ALL day. For instance, you may get a couple of hours on Sunday morning, where the fish are biting like crazy and the wind hasn't started gusting yet. It's possible to make some great memories in a short opportunity-window!

There are tons of other places to fish when the wind is blowing. The lagoon, Ft. Morgan, all around Mobile Bay in the sheltered bays/shores, other piers and bridges.
Fri/Sat look just fine, Sunday might be iffy, don't let that forecast be all doom-n-gloom.
If the fish are hungry, they'll eat, hit the pier!

ChileRelleno, That sounds good but as an out of towner, I don't know what areas are public access and what areas I might get shot going to. The wind doesn't bother me at the pier just figured the water would be a nasty mess with the wind coming from the south.

Kinda off topic and don't know if this link will work till I try it but saw this on FB just now and thought it could help with casting into wind. , Will delete if it don't work...



https://www.facebook.com/?sk=h_chr

Well, can't get it to open or figure out how to delete the post. Was a video
of a guy with an air cannon to shoot bait. pretty cool idea.