weather reports

[Jonnysig]

I've got a 17ft bass tracker. Pretty light rig. So I naturally try to avoid windy days on the water. However, even when expecting 5 to 10 mph winds (which is not a problem for me) sometimes the reports are very wrong and the wind will be howling.

Anyone have any recommendations on where to get a better weather report? Other than the obvious ones like weatherchannel.com and wunderground.com

Anyone have a site or report that is pretty acurate??

Thanks!

[Larry Hemphill]

Don't know if this will help. You can check "National Weather Forecast" - then scroll down to NOAA National Weather Forecast, then enter you area - such as Lakeport, Calif. It is up to the hour and good on the wind forecasts. If you are talking about Clear Lake, the wind has different patterns - especially in the afternoon/evening periods - and things change suddenly! Opposite ends of the lake can have opposite wind patterns. Be careful!

[SethB]

NOAA is by far the best. Thet still miss every now and then. best thing to do is check 3 or 4 weather sites you will get 3 or 4 different predictions. Between the different reports you should be able to get a pretty good idea of what the actual weather will be like.

[elfish16]

I agree that the NOAA is spot on. it's the most consistent out there.

[TeamBeefmaster]

Ahhh... a 17' tracker... that was my 1st boat. If you dont already have one, get a Drift Sock and setup on a nice drift to deal with those super windy days. It can make the fish eat, dont fear the wind. Also, consider a 24 or 36 vdc trolling motor- head in to the wind to better control it.

You would be surprised what that lil tin can will be able to take- i took mine out into the broads of lake champlain with 3 people each at 200lbs, in 4-6 footers. Yes we got soaked but the boat did just fine. Just make sure u have a good bilge pump if u have the riveted hull....

As for sites, weather.com hourly gives you an idea at least what time of the day a wind shift may occur- like when a front passes. Other sites I check out are www.windfinder.com/ and www.wunderground.com .

[Jonnysig]

Thanks for the advice guys!

Im in a local club and we're fishing Delta and Clear Lake soon. Im hesitant about taking the boat there in fear of one of those crazy days. Which really stinks because being from the East Coast those are my types of lakes. I hate the thought of missing out on those lakes out of my own boat. Guess I will pay close attention to the weather reports and make a decision the night before.

I will look into a drift sock.

[jazzwannabe]

Thanks for the advice guys!

Im in a local club and we're fishing Delta and Clear Lake soon. Im hesitant about taking the boat there in fear of one of those crazy days. Which really stinks because being from the East Coast those are my types of lakes. I hate the thought of missing out on those lakes out of my own boat. Guess I will pay close attention to the weather reports and make a decision the night before.

I will look into a drift sock.

Johnny, I have the same boat as you and am afraid to use it on one of California's most notorious wind lakes, Isabella, which is just up the road from here and my favorite lake to fish. That's why I'm on the verge of buying a fiberglass rig. Some days in the summer the forecast will call for 8 MPH winds, and by 11 a.m. it's blowing like a freakin' hurricane.

[Ross England]

Specifically here for Clear Lake you just gather all the info you can find and once you have some experience here, blend it together and guess. None of the forecasts are accurate due to the locations where the data is gathered. NOAA is pretty good as long as you remember that the actual area of forecast is partway up the side of Mt. Konocti about 800 feet above lake level. What no forecast details is the wind generated by that large mountain sitting smack dab in the middle of the lake.

From your note I will assume you are going to be up here this Spring (like everyone else!). Consider concentrating on the "upper" end of the lake and you will run in to less issues with wind, have more cuts/channels to fish that are protected, and with the water level so far, tons of productive water.

Before you get here, make a note of where the marinas/launch ramps are located in each arm of the lake and the tackle shops' phone numbers...Limit Out in the Oakes arm, Clearlake B&T Redbud arm, eTackle and Clearlake Outdoors upper end. If you start to get nervous or feel like you may be in over your head hit the closest ramp and ask for some help or a land ride back to where you launched. Almost every one who lives here and fishes a lot is willing to help out because we have all been in the same boat before, regardless of the size!

[VJ]

That was my first boat fished it for two years every weekend rain wind 20mph didnt matter. There are always areas on all bodies of water that have some kind of wind protection. Also i did have a 82 lb trolling motor which if i didnt have i probably couldnt have fished on some crazy days for sure. Good luck and if you dont already get a 82 lb trolling motor.

[Bassinlee]

The Sugar Barge has a little weather station on the roof and can give you local conditions in real time. I always use it as a reality check for the forecasts I get from The Weather Channel online:

http://www.sugarbarge.com/weather.html

-Bassinlee