Background

Fishing Reports

Moon & Sun

Maps & Stuff

Putting It Together

Here's what we do...This may not be a perfect fit for your situation, but it may give you some ideas. If you have suggestions of your own, please feel free to e-mail us, or post something on our discussion forums.

Given a rough timeframe of when we'll be heading out, there are regular seasonal fishing and weather patterns that give us a general idea of what types of fish will be present, and the kind of fishing that we will be doing . Things like unusual weather patterns, heavy commercial fishing, etc. can upset hese patterns, so we keep that in mind. We review fishing reports to see if there are any long-term trends developing.

We use tide tables, moon phase information, and solunar tables to pick the most likely day(s) to go within our trip timeframe. We try to take into account other factors that might influence fishing, such as whether or not we will be fishing on the weekend, or if there are fishing tournaments scheduled before or after our target dates. Depending on what we think the impact will be, we might move our target date(s) to avoid these events.

Using the afore-mentioned tools will also identify likely peak times of the day. Based on our boat's speed and seakeeping abilities, where we want to go, and when we can get out of the house, we may adjust our target day(s) to position the projected peak times so that we can arrive at the right place at the right time.

For example, if it looks like the peak time to be fishing starts around 7:30am, and we have to run around 2 hours, we plan on launching at around 4:00am. Or conversely, if the peak times occur late in the day, we may not be able to stay out long enough to take advantage of it, so we'll choose another day. Also keep in mind that if you want to make a move, it makes more sense to do this during perods of low activity, rather than peak activity.

Starting about 5 days in advance of the trip, we start checking with friends who have been out recently, we begin closely monitoring Internet fishing reports, SST and Chlorophyll maps, and periodically review weather / swell information.

Often, we will plot the coordinates of fish reports on top of an SST map. We use different colors or symbols for each day's reports. Using this technique, you can sometimes see a pattern of fish movement up or down a temperature break or bottom contour.

Obviously, if the fish are moving 5 miles south per day, you would be wise to start your fishing 5 miles south of where the fleet was the previous day. At a minimum, you might want to start at the fleet's position, but if you move, move in the direction the fish were travelling.

We use the weather forecasts and swell information to make sure our target destinations are safe, and to plan the route that we will take during the course of a day. Depending on how the winds and swell are running, we might alter our course to make the runs out/in more comfortable.

The night before the trip, we make a last reality check. We review whatever last minute fishing reports are available, and the latest water and weather conditions. We finalize our plan for the day, complete a float plan, and leave it with the wife.

On every trip it pays to have a contingency plan ready ("Plan B"), in case the weather or water conditions deep-six your original plan. On more than a couple of occasions we've had to cut an offshore trip short, or abort an offshore run because the weather and water conditions made it impossible to stick to the plan.

Over time, you will accumulate a lot of information on different spots, and which spots fish well under different conditions. Use this information to develop your "Plan B". Plan B will typically call for fishing closer to home, and / or for different species.

Here in Southern California, that might mean fishing inshore or the Islands versus offshore, and fishing for bonito and bass versus yelowtail and tuna. With that in mind, it might be a good idea to have some backup tackle on board as well, since your Shimano Tiagra 80 might be a bit much for fishing bass inshore.

If you get to the ramp and things don't seem right, do yourself and your crew a favor and figure out what's wrong, or go to "Plan B". When you don't get out a lot, the temptation is ignore those little warning bells in your subconscious.

We once had a tuna trip scheduled for the peak of the season. We did the boat prep, put the boat in the water, and headed out. The engine felt a little off, but we decided to head out anyway. After getting a couple of miles offshore, we thought the better of it, changed to Plan B, and headed back inshore for the day. It turns out we had a blown head gasket, which could have been a big problem offshore.

Courtesy Sid Wales

This may seem obvious, but keep your eyes open on the trip out. Offshore fish move around a lot, so you could encounter fish almost anywhere along the way, as long as there bait around and water conditions are right. Along similar lines, unless you are targeting a specific underwater structure, it pays to start fishing a mile or two short of your destination, as the fish may have moved.

Keep in mind that if you read it on the Internet, it will probably be you and a few hundred of your closest friends on the same "hotspot" the next day. In these situations, the boat traffic may scatter the fish, so try fishing around the outside of the crowd. Many times the fishing will be better out on the edge.

Once you've developed a gameplan, give it a chance to work. While you need to be adaptable, remember these truisms: "Never leave fish to find fish", and "You can't catch a fish if your line's not in the water". With fast boats and electronics, the tendency is to move too soon, and too often. If you can see signs of fish, but they're not hitting, keep your confidence up, and give your plan a fair chance to work before going to Plan B.

So, with all this preparation, are you guaranteed to catch fish? No, of course not. There are too many variables. Errant weather fronts, fishing pressure, all sorts of things can compromise the best fishing conditions. But don't let it get you down.

Even though the fishing may not be great on the day you get out on the water, you should measure your performance compared to other people fishing the same day, not to the outrageously good reports from last week. When you can only get out on a limited number of days, the odds are high that you will not be on the water during that 2 hour bluefin tuna blitz..That's life.

By the way, being in this situation really underscores the need to keep on top of your terminal tackle and fishing gear. You may not get a lot of shots, so make the most of them by tying good knots and keeping your tackle in tip-top shape.

Remember - keep everything in perspective. Relax and have fun, and above all, keep learning!