STEINHATCHEE  – VOODOO

This morning I feel sore, after riding out, two back to back days with a horribly missed forecast.  The NOAA legal document stated, 2 to 3, followed by the next day, 1 to 2-foot seas.  It was off by a factor of two X plus.  These so-called experts that are well salaried, with hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of the latest high tech equipment at their fingertips, with untold millions more orbiting above, shouldn’t flub the forecast that much and that often.  After more than two decades of charter fishing, having read thousands of NOAA statements,  I’ve come to the conclusion; I’d rather trust the inclinations of a voodoo lady with an old set of chicken bones, who is stricken with arthritis and gout, to tell me what the weather is going to be tomorrow.  For one thing, she has a vested interest, as I and will bother to go outside and double check her prediction.

Weather is a thoughtless natural phenomenon, that seems to be extremely difficult to predict.  Fish have rudimentary brains and a will of their own, which leads me to believe fishing forecasts, short or long term, are less reliable than the evening weather.  They are more for entertainment and lifting hopes of fishermen.

I’ve just penned the worst introduction of a fishing forecast ever.  However, fishing forecasts are based on historical data and experience, so there is some validity in them.

The red snapper bite will continue to be hot even after the closure.  Last week, we caught the limit (12) for six guys in twenty- two minutes.  Our minimum size on the boat is 22 inches, not the legal size of sixteen.  The best bait is anything.

Scallop season opened today.  I haven’t heard of the harvest results.  But if the sheer number of boats along the coast are an indicator, the scallops are outnumbered.

If fishing the flats is in your plans, fish early in the morning before the invasion.  Scallopers tend to enjoy the night life so early mornings are not their trend.