Real Offshore Fishing in a SeaCraft

[peterb]

If you read EagleOCNJ's post about transducers it sounds like he fishes near the Flemish Cap.

All kidding aside, I would guess that this is for canyon fishing in his 23' footer. For those of you not familiar with the NJ shore contour the canyons are a 70 to 100+ mile ride (depending upon where you leaving from and where you are going)?

I have taken my 23 footer out as far as the Chicken Canyon (about 50 miles offshore and not really a canyon like the real canyons). This led me to thinking up the following questions?

1. How far do you take out your SeaCraft?
2. For any real offshore ventures what precautions are you taking? Example, include float plans, watching the weather reports, time of year, redundancy of critical components on your boat, and special emergency precautions such as life rafts, survival suits, EPIRB's and etc.
3. If you do take your SeaCraft to a place like the canyons is it for a day trip only or will you do an over nighter?
4. I have a 150 tank (actually 1 100 gallon and 1 50 gallon tank) capacity. This gives me a 225 to 275 mile range. In my mind this is not enough for a canyon trip. Hence I would need to carry extra gas (I would like 50 gallons to be on the safe side). What would be the best wway to accomplish this?

Peter

[Old'sCool]

Peter, Typically an offshore trolling trip out of Chas. SC involves going to "the ledge". It's avg. about 50 miles one way. Very weather dependant for the smaller boat. I personally carry VHF, EPIRB, GPS, (and a spare of each) full fuel (130), extra oil, first aid, SeaTow, and hopefully enough bait!! I would prefer a buddy boat but always leave word of general area fishing even if alone....and always wear the kill switch while underway. I used to take extra fuel in my Whaler in hard tanks (24 & 24) ready to be plumbed directly to input side of Racor and run out on them first, typically having some left. I understand the collapsible bladders are the ticket but have become too exspensive (manuf. liability I think). Never done an overnight but would like to!!

[peterb]

Cam,

Thanks for the great feedback. When you used to use the 2 24 gallon portable tanks how would you set them up so that they did not move around? Also, would you run these tanks dry? If so, did you ever run all the gas out of the racors and lose your prime?

Lastly, what would you coer your main tank line with when you were not using it but under way?

Thanks,

Peter

[1bayouboy]

And the Carla Dee out of Charleston as well has posted on charlestonfishing.com about overnight trips out to the charleston bump....I think that's close to 80 miles....
for swords. Maybe he'll see this post and give some good details.

[Old'sCool]

I never ran them bone dry. I used the "quick connect" fittings like on a small tiller motor.They have a "ball" that blocks flow when disconnected. You have to be sure you don't have any air leaks. They would stay in place in the back without moving. If you have a problem with that use the place mat material underneath.

[Fr. Frank]

I have taken my 20' Seafari to the "Florida Middle Grounds" reefs, 70-115 miles offshore from Tampa northward to off Crystal River,

• I ALWAYS file a Float Plan.
• usually leaving from Hernando Beach, which is the closest spot to the Middle Grounds (70 miles).
• I have a 30 gallon tank, and I carry an extra 24 gallons of gas.
• I carry a life raft, and we all wear SOSpenders life preservers.
• I have SSB radio capabilities.
• I carry food and water for 4 people for 7 days, even though there are usually just 2 of us.
• Once there, I generally anchor, and bottom fish, and don't do any trolling, and don't move more than a couple of times.
• I run off the portable tanks first, then the main tank, moving the portables to the front deck to clear the way for fishing.
• I only go out there when the weather is perfect, and the forecast is for it to stay perfect.
• I cruise at about 3800-4000 rpms where I get about 3.8 to 4.1 mpg, and average about 3.9 mpg.
• I generally have 4-6 gallons of fuel left when I return.
• Oh, I never go alone, but always in the company of one or more other boats which have much longer legs than mine, (usually a 21 Rabco with 150 gallon and a 25' Grady with 140 gallon capacity).
• I have a 15hp kicker motor which can bring me home at 7-8 mph if the big motor quits

If you make long trips, ask yourself, "What's the worst thing that can happen?", and then plan for it. DO that several times, and you'll have a semblance of an emergency action plan.

Common Sense is the key. If you don't have it, ask your wife

[eggsuckindog]

I have also been out there, we used to use 30 gal plastic barrels- you can find at a car wash and put a pickup line them. We used to run them dry first and tie them off on the bow rail.

[Animal Chris]

From the 3rd Coast, up until a few years ago, I would make 10-12 trips a year out to the East Breaks, departing from Port O'Connor, TX or Port Aransas, TX, for a day of billfishing in my 23 SF w/ twin 140 Johnsons and a FloScan. Normally, we would leave the docks in the early hours, fish all day and come back, hopefully, before it got dark. As far as execution, here was the usual plan:

1) I would file a float plan and leave a copy at the tackle store by the loading ramp. I was able to get the owner to put up a board (I supplied it) where anyone could post a copy of their FP and, when they returned, remove it from the board and check in with person behind the counter (open 24 hours). I would also leave a copy at the desk where I was staying. The managers were really good about that and they also monitored their VHF. If we knew of a boat going out, we would always try to contact them before leaving the dock and also while out on the water.
2) No gumby suits, because the water wasn’t that cold, but Type 1 PFD with whistle, small mirror, reflective strips and nightlights. I would also attach a cyalume stick as a back up. I also had a possibles bag with rain gear, hand held flares (in addition to my primary flare gun) waterproof VHF, signaling Mirror, rope, distress flag, flashlight, etc. I didn’t carry an epirb until the last couple of years when they went down in size. I also had a couple of Ziploc bags of green dye (non toxic, used in my business) that would put a chartreuse looking cloud in the water in a second
3) Like you, I have a 100 and a 50 gallon tank. No over nighters, but the trip was 56 miles (each way) from Port O’Connor and 65 miles (each way) from Port Aransas. In all the trips we made, we never ran short of fuel, but then again, I never got crazy with the throttle. We never carried any additional gas cans or a bladder. I had a bad experience on another boat and swore I would never do it on mine.
4) Before each days trip, we always topped off everything, fuel, water, ice, drinking water, food, etc. We also had a supply of replacement parts, tape, hoses, clamps, tie wraps and what ever we could think of that might fit in my parts box. I also had a well stocked tool kit.
5) On one particular trip, on the way back in my hydraulic steering hose developed a pin leak down below the deck. I couldn’t get to it to clamp it off and it quickly leaked all the steering fluid out. I ended up jury rigging my flying gaff pole to one of the engines and used it as a tiller. When I got back to the dock, I got with my local machinist and he built me a bracket that I could bolt to my engine connector rod. The other end had a receptacle where I could stick the flying gaff pole and use it as a tiller. It took about 10 minutes to put in place and worked great.

I hope this might help you out.

Tight lines, AC