Online resources for trip planning

[dsaavedra]

I just watched this video from light tackle legend Shawn Kimbro and found it really interesting and informative and wanted to share it in case anyone hasn't seen it. He covers many different online resources one can use to help plan a trip more effectively. He talks about resources that predict wind, tide, salinity, oxygen levels, and more. I have my own set of similar online resources I use to plan trips and I was surprised to see that Kimbro uses an entirely different suite of online tools to get the same information (and more). I think I'll start incorporating some of the sites he mentioned in my own planning.

We all know these environmental conditions can make or break a trip and figuring them out can be a tricky endeavor, so using every resource to your advantage seems worthwhile. Something to ponder and toy around with as we enter the slow winter season...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpvEIfu5IDk

[J.A. Veil]

Dave - As you note, there are quite a few different online resources that anglers can use for planning their trips. Last January I gave a one-hour Zoom seminar to the Free State Fly Fishers on the same subject (title - Using Online Resources to Plan Your Fishing Trip). I covered a variety of web resources that help us predict the conditions we are likely to see out there. I am happy to share that presentation with Snaggedline members. If interested, send me a message including your email address.

Shawn mentioned this, as did I in my presentation -- local wind conditions can easily override the predicted tide tables. For example, I launched from Jonas Green this morning at what was supposed to be high tide. The actual water level was very low. The winds earlier in the week may have pushed water out of the river. I also encountered skim ice for the first time this fall.

[nhunter344]

Lots of excellent resources to be found and used out there. I use them as much as possible but Murphy's Law dictates that the few days I can actually get out and fish/crab are usually those with the least favorable conditions. I always wish for better, but a fishless day on the water always beats a day at the office!

[Mark]

And then the projected winds, air temperature, tides and every pre-trip resource we rely on can be spot-on correct...yet, the fish don't bite.

Show me an analytic tool that accurately predicts fish behavior. It must be related to solar and lunar phases, right? I'm glad I never bet my house on that.

Actually, cancel the above thought. I truly like the randomness of fish activity. If the bite was always good when I went fishing, and if I knew that in advance, I would find it boring. I enjoy a challenging day on the water as much as an active day of catching.

I believe the fish we pursue are always in control of our successes and failures with them, regardless of how well we prepare and how proficient we are as anglers. Bottom line: If they don't bite, we don't catch.

I use the many environmental tools at our disposal for my comfort and safety on an outing. In that way, they may help me to catch fish. But ultimately, I'm at the mercy of a fish's inclination to hit what I offer. I lose that contest far more often than I win it. But I keep trying cast after cast after cast.

[dsaavedra]

Yup, sometimes you can do everything right on paper and still strike out. That's definitely what keeps fishing interesting. But I like to still use the resources that are available to me and formulate a game plan I feel good about before a trip, that way when the fish don't bite I can't blame it on myself

In all seriousness, I do like to make game plans for most of my trips. Occasionally I'll go out for a low-effort trip and just say I'll throw X lure around for a bit and the fish will either bite or they won't. But most of the time I scope out bathymetric maps (skip this part if its a place I'm very familiar with) and take into account wind and tides to come up with a series of likely fish-holding locations that I can fish comfortably given the conditions, and think about what lures/tactics would work better than others at those places. That's not to say I don't change my plans when I'm on the water and things aren't as predicted, but I at least like to have a plan to follow. I also almost always bring an ultralight rod with some little jigs and spinners as a plan B... white perch, crappie, and other panfish are a good way to salvage a would-be skunk trip.

[Red_Beard]

There is a LOT of luck in fishing, but as the saying goes "luck favors the prepared." So do your homework, and you'll put yourself in the best possible position to take advantage of the situation if the fish decide today is the day they want to bite. And to be honest, as a kayak angler most of the pregaming I do online is first and foremost to ensure my safety on the water, and game planning the fish comes second.