If you keep your wits about you, you can take back many days your buddies lose to the Weather Gods. If the onset of September does one thing to our fishing, it ups the ante on our ability to predict and capitalize on fishable weather. Timing is always a critical factor in New England fishing, but with the approach of fall, and the very real possibility of losing multiple days to Mother Natureâs antics, it becomes exponentially more important to know when itâs worth gamblingâ going even when forecasts are less than idealâand when youâd be better off staying home.
Realizing that marine weatherâ the interplay between atmospheric and sea conditionsâis not an overnight study, and that the prediction of fishing conditions is one of the trickier fundamental fishing skills to learn without teachers, the goal in this entry will be to look at the most basic pieces of the weather puzzle, hopefully answering some questions readers have carried silently for some time. From the outset, the language of marine weather is often counterintuitive. Consider the terms, âeastâ or âwest,â which, depending on context, may be used to describe opposite phenomena.
Where wind is concerned, the direction is described not by which way the wind is moving, but by the direction from which itâs blowing. A SE wind blows from SE to NW; a north wind blows north-south. But when we describe current, tidal or otherwise, we use the direction itâs moving: An east tide runs from west to east. Thus, an east tide will run 180 degrees into an east wind. According to common usage, an âeasterlyâ wind may be used to describe wind from the east, or wind from any easterly direction (e.g. NE, E, SE).
GET YOUR BEARINGS
Probably the best way to get a handle on forecastsâor conditions prediction, for that matterâis to start checking them against a nautical chart, so you can reference the windâs angle against land masses and the lay of the bottom. If you can access one, youâll also benefit from the information youâll find on a current chart for your area (like those that appear in Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book).
When youâre trying to determine the impact of forecasted wind on an area you plan to fish, youâll need to know the big-picture movements of water (i.e. tides) that affect it. Consider the North Rip at Block Island, where flood tides travel roughly east-west, and ebb tides run the opposite (west-to-east). Generally speaking, when wind and tide are running the same direction (In the Rip, a W or SW wind will align with an ebb tide), the seas will remain orderly, with relatively long troughs. But when wind and tide are at odds (e.g. if an ebb tide meets an east or SE wind at the Rip), the friction between air and wave action will cause sea height to build, and it will cause the waves to pile up on each other (i.e. the troughs will close right up, making conditions very uncomfortable).
Meanwhile, at the mouth of Narragansett Bay, tides are oriented north-south, floods running south to north, ebbs running north-to- south. If you want to see things turn ugly fast, try rounding the corner at Point Judith Light coming up on the strength of an ebb tide when the wind is smoking out of the SW or SE.
In general, when big fall storm systems are approaching, wind will swing counterclockwise around to the east or northeast, and forecasts will often call for big winds sooner than theyâll actually arriveâone reason you hear so much grumbling among charter captains each fall. One way to reclaim some otherwise lost fall days is to check forecasts against weather realityâto âtake a look,â rather than canceling all plans multiple days ahead of time. In reality, many mornings when there are norâeasters brewing, youâll get some extra âcalm before the stormââprime fishable windows before the wind cranks up and you lose the next three or four days to gales. Bear in mind that wind will often come on with tide changes, and if you do elect to head out fishing when thereâs ugly weather on the way, keep a careful eye on the conditions to the west of your position. Incidentally, most of the time, our weather comes from the westâa reason you should always keep a watchful eye on the westward sky (you may also want to develop a network of friends at westward intervals to track the approach of bad weather).
MIND THE WESTWARD SKY
Of course, one of the key considerations is whether the quality of fishing will justify the anxiety of pushing the envelope. In fall bottom fishing, high winds and rough seas for a sustained period of time will stir up silt and weed and turn the bite right offâoften for a period of days after a good blow. Thus, you really want to factor in the previous couple daysâ weather when you make plans: Even if a norâeaster has cleared town and you feel comfortable leaving the dock in light westerly winds, you may arrive on the grounds to discover water the color of coffee milk (itâs RI after all) and a population of scup and sea bass that wouldnât loose their jaws for all the kingâs calamari. On the other hand, if youâre looking at several days of settled weather with east winds and rain in the forecast, you may get some solid sinker-bouncing in before wind and seas crap things up beyond repair.
When in doubt, realize that deep water over hard bottom will (1) take a bit longer to dirty up and (2) generally clean up faster than shoal areas with heavy wave action. If you plan to hit grounds south of Block Island looking for a mixed bag of bottom dwellers, know that multiple days of high easterly winds tend to stir up not only sediment but hordes of dogfish.
KNOW YOUR LEES
One thing that will save some days is cultivating a thorough understanding of leeward shorelines. During the first few tides of a norâeaster, for example, you may be able to run the south- facing beaches on both sides of the Bay, the land knocking down the northerly winds for the better part of a mile offshore, giving you mill-pond conditions and blitzing bait from Point Judith to Watch Hill, or Seal Dege eastward to the mouth of the Sakonnet. Likewise, you can hide for even relatively stiff westerly winds hugging the west side of the Bay.
No matter what, be sure to cross-check forecasted weather against actual conditionsâlest you call off a dozen prime outings between here and October. And be sure that, when you do decide the push it a bit, steaming home as the windâs coming on for real, that you consider conditions youâll face at the dock or launch ramp. In the case of the launch ramp at Great Island Bridge in Galilee, for example, youâre exposed to stiff northerly winds; even if youâre comfy up in the lee of the beach when youâre fishing, you may face the most treacherous leg of your journey as you attempt to put your pride and joy back on her trailer.
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