Weather:Forecast vs Reality

Hate posting about no fish but maybe this will help others trying the area.  

So plans for Saturday was to hit Whiskey Gulch or Homer. But there forecast is for 3 ft in Homer with 20knt winds and 5 ft in Lower Cook Inlet. Even the spot forecast was reading 3-5 ft for Lower Cook Inlet.  

My alarm goes off at 3am. Weather looks nasty. Back in bed. Check again at 8am and it seems better. Not the forecast but the general wind conditions.

Check:  Homerwebcams.com
Check: the new K-Bay buoy http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46108

Check Wundermap.  Make sure you click weather stations. http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/
Doesn't seem THAT bad...

So off I go. Flat tire at Hope. ARGH. Back to Anchorage. Decide I can hit the low slack at Whiskey Gulch. Forecast still remains similar. Get to the beach at 6:00pm. Current is raging with the big tides. Low tide is at 9:30pm. Sunset is at 9:30pm. I want to stay close to the launch so I fight the urge to jump in the water and wait till 7pm.  

Once I launch, I can hold position or move slightly up current. I stayed in front of the car basically the whole time. So at least with a Hobie, you can hold your position even on a big tide swing within 2 maybe 3 hours prior to high or low tide. The last hour and a half, I could freely do circles or move as I pleased. 

Fished halibut for an hour. trolled king for two. Nothing. But you can see the water is pretty flat. Glad I went. At least I got it out of my system.

one minute video of conditions and landing. 

April King! EIGHT consecutive month from a Kayak!!!!

Having spent all last weekend at the Sportsman Show, I had to go fish.  But the weather forecast was not looking good for Homer.  Southwest winds are not fun off the spit.  Cook Inlet looks rough too.  Hmm... Seward looks good.  Well Ya never know.

Launched at Miller's landing.  Trolled around the area and out to Tonsina Creek.  I told myself I was fishing for Dollies but secretly I was hoping I would discover a king.  Not to be.  I didn't find either.  Tried deeper water for a bit.  Managed a quill back rockfish.

The whole time I am thinking to myself...only if I could fish Cook Inlet...Still it was a good day.

So before I go to bed, I check the weather.  Homer is still ugly.  But as I use the spot map forecast, I click right off of whiskey gulch and it says "light winds, 1ft to 2ft".  HUH???  I knew the swells would be fairly large even if the wind waves were small given the SW direction and the winds we have had the past few days.  Still, no pain. no gain.

Leave the house at 9am.  I drive through a blizzard at hope and then once again after Ninilchik.  Surf looks big!  But you can see the water right behind it is almost flat.  Ok, gotta try it.  On the water at 1pm.

It's snowing and sleeting to the point where it hurts.  I'm trolling a flasher and green able herring.  Started with 12oz, but lightened it up to 5oz to try shallower.  One hour into the session, over 25 ft of water, my rod doubles over.
SUH-WEEEEEET!!!!!!  It puts up a good battle but its no match for my halibut rod with 65lbs power pro and 80lbs flour leader.  lol.

So, if I want to fish halibut, I have to go a mile off shore.  The weather looks like its getting worse so I opt to head right back in.  I am loaded and up the hilt 3pm.  2 hours total from launch to load.  Hard to beat!  Did manage to drive through a heck of a snow storm.

So make it EIGHT consecutive months I have landed a king salmon off my kayak!  I have a hard time believing it.  But like I said in my seminars, it really is the kayak.