Winter Westerlies and Squire/Snapper

[Adamy]

Hi Guys,

Just a quick question... These cold winter westerlies... is it worth getting up at dawns crack? Does it affect the BAY snapper fishing? Does it put them off - or just us??

Love to know what you think... and your experience!

Cheers,

Adam

[Noelm]

said this a thousand times (almost) never yet seen it windy under water!

[mbt]

Adamy one spot I fish in Morton bay , I wouldnt bother in a nrthwesterly, sth westerly it fires.

[Marlin_Mike]

I agree somewhat with Noelm. Never see it blowing under the water. Most likely puts us off in the cold westerlies.

Mike

[Noelm]

yep, thats it, but in saying that some places will fish better in certain winds, not because of the wind under the water, but because of the way you "hang" in relation to a drop off or reef edge, I have a couple of spots that you can only "properly" fish in a Southerly, then others for North easters and so on, but if (say) you where to drift over them, you would catch some fish in a short drift regardless of which way the wind was blowing, so in some respect, wind does play a part in fishing, but not for the reasons most think.

[Adamy]

Yeh... you're probably right - just wondering if it was worth my while freezing my butt off!

What about wind and tides and wave height?? Westerlies seem to knock the tops off the waves - is that right? Whilst southerlies and northerlies can whip it up - due to wind against tide and all that - basically asking - am I safer on the bay during 20kts of westerly as compared to say 20kts of southerly??

If these questions seem basic - its because I am I usually only fish the light winds and this is only my second full winter on the bay - so havent got the experience of some of you guys. Dont want to get into dangerous conditions - for nothing!

Thanks!!

Adam

[kingtin]

To be honest Adam, IMHO, it doesn't matter which way it blows, there will always be flat spots and lumpy spots in the bay but the north/south wind against tide generally rings true

The wind and tide equation in the bay isn't just a North/South thing. Because of the many banks obstructing, and despite the fact that the tide generally pushes over the tops of the banks, the tide can get pushed sideways so to speak and in various spots in the bay, may be running in a different direction to the main flow.

The danger with Westerlies is that from the shore, you are generally looking at the backs of the waves and white water may not show. Unless you look over your shoulder, the following sea, as you motor out, is not fully appreciated until you have to punch your way back in it. It's also a bit of a bugger for fishing in because it blows across tide and tends to swing the rig round a lot. A westerly is the one occasion when you are assessing whether to go or not, that a look out of the window at the state of the bay, can get you in strife. With a Westerly you cannot truly appreciate the conditions when you are on shore and what conditions you can see are generally not indicative of further out due to inshore being sheltered. OTOH, a westerly is one wind that allows you to fish in blowier conditions as long as you are fishing very close inshore such as woody point reefs.

That said, IMHO, any fishing is better than no fishing, and I usually take no notice of wind direction , only it's strength.

kev

[mbt]

So you blokes recon wind and more importantly its direction has no bearing on where and why you find fish? It effects water clarity , water temperature in the shallow waters and of cause bait schools why would it not affect the way/if fish bite.
Be interested to here your thoughts.

[gleeeza]

Don't know about your westerlies up in the bay but where I grew up the water finishes up gin clear as a result of a good offshore breeze and can make fishing the shallower reefs a bit tricky and sometimes impossible.

Got that from the old man and he knows a thing or two. However I can't imagine that would be much of an issue for you with all the silt and run off into the bay at any time!!! Still who knows Suck it and see.

Cheers Glenn

[kingtin]

So you blokes recon wind and more importantly its direction has no bearing on where and why you find fish? It effects water clarity , water temperature in the shallow waters and of cause bait schools why would it not affect the way/if fish bite.
Be interested to here your thoughts.

I don't think anyone said that exactly, I certainly didn't. Fishing for me, escpecially offshore is a matter of mathematics. If I took note of wind, tides, lunar cycles, etc. and then factor in the deckies shifts, it's a mathematical certainty that I'd hardly ever go fishing.

I fish simply because I like to fish, not because I need to catch. Catching is a bonus and I simply seek the fish, because I can, not because an almanac or some guru tells me that it's a good time to catch.

The biggest catch of my life (which I showed in a thread long gone and was featured in the UK's top fishing mag) was taken in a freezing Easterly wind on the West coast of the UK. I was the sole fisho on a jetty that under "normal" conditions, would have 300 anglers competing for fish. It was a classic "when not to fish" tide. I've ignored all "pointers" ever since and some of my best catches to date have been when lunar pointers and other specifics would indicate that I didn't have a hope in hell of catching.

Apart from that, catfish, stingies, and shovellies pay no heed to wind

kev

[B_E_N]

what was the biggest catch kev? you have a pic of it?

[sunny]

The wind doesn't blow underwater, but it definitely moves the surface water around. I recon if it blows offshore for several days, it must move the surface water further out so that it gets replaced by water from deeper down.

I grew up in a coastal town in South Africa and if it blew west for several days, you could guarantee that the water would be freezing cold, dirty and had a faint smell of sulphur. The theory was that the water welled up from beyond the continental shelf. No idea if that was true or not, but you knew you wouldn't catch much.

Of course Kev has a good point. These are only guidelines, if you don't try you wont be able to prove em wrong.

[kingtin]

what was the biggest catch kev? you have a pic of it?

Sorry about the quality.

[Blackened]

G'day

Geeze kev, nice pose

Good catch aswell

Dave

[kingtin]

G'day

Geeze kev, nice pose

Good catch aswell

Dave

Dave, I was just thinking how cold I was gonna be this weekend at the Pin..............the pictures above remind me how lucky I am now

If I look a bit fat, it's that scarf around me neck.............all the rage back then........Dr Who Scarves...........16 ft long

kev