Weather Buoy

[bajakian]

I see that some use the Weather Buoy site in planning their trips. Is it worth the subscription? I check NOAA and the Weather Channel routinely and often they give different forecasts, which allows you to pick the one you like better . That said, i hate going out expecting two footers and finding 6 footers. Has anybody that uses the Weather Buou susbscription found it to be any more reliable than either NOAA or TWC?

[DonK]

My one friend has the subscription.
I always go by the NWS marine forecast either online or on the radio..

Product View

4 weeks ago he bailed on a trip out because the bouy was saying something like 6'-8's; The NWS called for 2 or less building to 2-4 after midnight. NWS was 'dead balls on'...it was beautiful out there and the forecasted front moved thru just as predicted....and we hooked up on a fish (much to my bud's chagrin )

Granted I have been on these waters since I was a kid, and I have a feel for the ocean's behavior here. I always bear in mind that any forecast is a prediction and allow for the possibilty (probability? ) of error of +/- 2' and +/- 2 hours

If you are new the waters, the more info you can get the bigger the picture you have to look at.

[P33JP3]

I agree with DK, get as much info as you can before you go out. it's always better to be safe than sorry. I have been burned by the NWS forecast so the more info the better off you will be.

[pelagic predator]

I have a subscription, I think it is worth it. It gives you tons of features, and I use almost all of them. and they offer a free 30 day subscription so you should try it out and see for yourself.Buoyweather 30 Day Free Trial

[snooknreds2]

Originally Posted by DonK

Granted I have been on these waters since I was a kid, and I have a feel for the ocean's behavior here. I always bear in mind that any forecast is a prediction and allow for the possibilty (probability? ) of error of +/- 2' and +/- 2 hours

If you are new the waters, the more info you can get the bigger the picture you have to look at.

exactly!!!

OK IMHO here is the deal. MOST of the time buoy weather is on the money, but some times it is not. The best thing is learn how the weather paterns work in this area and use your own intuition along with buoy weather AND noaa to make the calls. I have seen NOAA be 100% wrong and buoy weather 100% right......BUT i have also seen it the exact opposite.

Once you get a feel for how the weather works around here it is easier to combine noaa, buoy weather, and your own personal observations of the weather for the past few days around you to make the calls. Another key thing is to understand wave mechanics. basically if it is 20 foot waves at a 12 second period you are good to go (ok well i am a little crazy and will go in anything) but if it is 6 foot waves with a 2 second period i would probably not go. I dont want to insult your intelligence But i am not sure what you do and do not know so......... the period is basically the time it takes for the wave to travel from one peak to another peak. that being said if you have a 20 foot high wave that takes 12 seconds to pass from one peak to the other all it is, is big fat azz rollers, where if you have a 6 foot wave 2 seconds apart the waves are basically right on top of one another and you will be stuffing your bow all day long. anyways just my .02

[DonK]

Good point SNR2...

Wave heights and pds. are great info...for the spot that the bouy is located. Factor that into the big picture, (the current trend over the region) and you got a good basis for making your decisions.

plus consider the wife factor , multiplied by the time off quotient , and divide by beer and you got a good formula whether to go offshore or to Shooters.

[SUPERDOLPH]

Originally Posted by DonK

Good point SNR2...



plus consider the wife factor ,

I agree with you 100% on the wife factor!!!!

[bajakian]

Thanks for all the advice fellas. I really appreciate you all taking the time to share your experience with me. Its kind of what I figured, nothing is infallible and the more information the better. I was going to go last night, but I didnt see the wind clocking around and slowing down like NOAA and the Weather channel predicted. I think the Buoy was off too!!
But with all the money I spend on fishing, its really not that much more to be safer.

Has anyone used the SST surface temps that Weather Buoy provides in their service? Have they helped you find good areas to fish?

[DonK]

I used to go to a site that showed the SST (freebie)...I'll have to surf around and see if I can find it again. It was a nice tool, especially if you look at it just before going out...you could see where there were upwellings, and rips coming in shorewards...those are always hotspots. However, the one I used to go to was usually a couple of hours old, so the upwells would be miles off by the time I would get out there...more than anything I watched for trends.

[snooknreds2]

Originally Posted by DonK

I used to go to a site that showed the SST (freebie)...I'll have to surf around and see if I can find it again. It was a nice tool, especially if you look at it just before going out...you could see where there were upwellings, and rips coming in shorewards...those are always hotspots. However, the one I used to go to was usually a couple of hours old, so the upwells would be miles off by the time I would get out there...more than anything I watched for trends.

see if you can find it!!!!

fishing is analyzing patters

[CJDcatch22]

dude, i f noaa says 2-4 it's 4. if they say 2 or less, it's less. never fails.

[snooknreds2]

Originally Posted by CJDcatch22

dude, i f noaa says 2-4 it's 4. if they say 2 or less, it's less. never fails.

we agree to disagree

[DonK]

Freebie SST:
Sea Surface Temperature - IMCS Marine Remote Sensing

NOAA Bouys:

Settlement point: Buoy Locations

Lk Worth:
NDBC - Station LKWF1

Fowley Rocks:
NDBC - Station FWYF1

NOAA, NASA and JPL all have downloadable datasets. I will probably work on a "bot" that will poll and compile this info. (maybe even overlay it on "google earth"...I'll keep you posted

[Tuna Devil]

HotSpots Charts, LLC Saltwater Fishing Charts & FREE Sea Surface Temperature Charts

You have to put the link up in the address bar to make it work.

How about now?




Wait a minute, Hold my beer.

[DonK]

edit the link to remove the last "/" and have a space before the and it should work!

[Relentless33]

That's because ( : d r i n k : ) is attached.





Make a space between the drunken smile and the url and you'll be fine.



HotSpots Charts, LLC Saltwater Fishing Charts & FREE Sea Surface Temperature Charts

[Relentless33]

ROFLMAO. It still doesn't work.


I put it in my above post.


Jr.

[Tuna Devil]

Bam. it works now but, I think I cooked the right side of my brain.

[Relentless33]

Tj's daughter is yelling at me.

[Tuna Devil]

[Relentless33]