Jumping out of my skin - anyone else?

kirk a

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Down to 3 weeks to go until May 1, the slated splash date. Bouncing off walls here, giddy with anticipation. Have to temper myself by repeating that May weather in New England blows...

The first 10-20 hours will be tough to get through - break in period.
 

Ekea

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im on a trailer and "could" be on the water now (MD & DE waters), but am still bilge deep in my fuel tank replacement. i cant wait to get out. that first time pulling away from the dock will feel sooooo good
 
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blynch

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Mar 28 in CT! That is a personal record for earliest, and I will say that I have not fished yet (and we did have a storm with 60mph gusts in the meantime), nonetheless when the opportunity presents itself to go I'm ready.
 
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Mustang65fbk

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You guys are lucky and I'm quite jealous. Around here, crabbing usually opens up July 1st and then the king salmon season is usually around mid July. There are a few things that you can do during the winter or early spring like winter black mouth fishing, winter crabbing and halibut fishing in the spring. But the fishing is a bit more difficult and the weather conditions are usually not very favorable. Of which, I'll typically just pass on those and wait until crabbing/fishing opens up in July, but yes the wait can be quite long.
 

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You guys are lucky and I'm quite jealous. Around here, crabbing usually opens up July 1st and then the king salmon season is usually around mid July. There are a few things that you can do during the winter or early spring like winter black mouth fishing, winter crabbing and halibut fishing in the spring. But the fishing is a bit more difficult and the weather conditions are usually not very favorable. Of which, I'll typically just pass on those and wait until crabbing/fishing opens up in July, but yes the wait can be quite long.
if I had to wait til July to go fishing I'd blow my brains out..

Getting a boat ready by April is not easy. Can't bottom paint a 40degree hull.
Funny how 50deg in February feels like summer but 50 deg in April feels like an Alaskan dick punch...
Need a string of 70+ days to get things done.

I've been in by April before. Here in NJ there are striped bass if I run North 20 miles...in the cold...
There are Blackfish (aka Tautog or TOG). For west coast guys, picture a California Sheepshead minus the red stripe.
Black Seabass opens May17 so now I shoot for that. Then Bluefin tuna show up and striped bass are right outside the inlet.
 
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Mustang65fbk

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if I had to wait til July to go fishing I'd blow my brains out..
That sounds rather extreme. I've lived in the area my entire life, so I'm "used to it" by now. Even still, if the weather is mediocre at best and there aren't any fish running, it doesn't make sense to have my boat in the water. I'm sure there are probably some king salmon running before early to mid July, and it might be different in different fishing areas or zones, but with working I'll stick to what I can do locally, when I can do it. Just my opinions of course.
 

FREEDOM!!!

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Don't want to rub it in....but around here we boat all year...
My buddy just sold his SeaHunt and bought a new Coastal 281. I know it's driving him crazy with the boat being at the dealership getting electronics installed and all the rigging. Said it should be ready next week...
 

Fishtales

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I use to rush in the past for 4/1. No more. There really are not that many good days in April for boating between rain, wind, temp and seas. I do mid May now.
 
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CharlieBeard

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That sounds rather extreme. I've lived in the area my entire life, so I'm "used to it" by now. Even still, if the weather is mediocre at best and there aren't any fish running, it doesn't make sense to have my boat in the water. I'm sure there are probably some king salmon running before early to mid July, and it might be different in different fishing areas or zones, but with working I'll stick to what I can do locally, when I can do it. Just my opinions of course.
I live in PNW too. Landed two blackmouths 2 weeks ago, squidded in January and February, prawns open on May 16, Ling cod soon, I'd run up to BC if I didn't have kid obligations. Plenty of options if willing to run and can dodge the weather. But yes summer salmon fishing is awesome.
 
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Mustang65fbk

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I live in PNW too. Landed two blackmouths 2 weeks ago, squidded in January and February, prawns open on May 16, Ling cod soon, I'd run up to BC if I didn't have kid obligations. Plenty of options if willing to run and can dodge the weather. But yes summer salmon fishing is awesome.
Anything of decent size with the blackmouth's or just the typical 7-8 lb cookie cutters?
 

Ekea

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You guys are lucky and I'm quite jealous. Around here, crabbing usually opens up July 1st and then the king salmon season is usually around mid July. There are a few things that you can do during the winter or early spring like winter black mouth fishing, winter crabbing and halibut fishing in the spring. But the fishing is a bit more difficult and the weather conditions are usually not very favorable. Of which, I'll typically just pass on those and wait until crabbing/fishing opens up in July, but yes the wait can be quite long.
you can still go out if you want, though. contrary to popular belief, there really is more to boating than fishing. we typically cant boat at all over the winter, marinas are closed, floating docks pulled onto land, sub freezing temps.
 

Mustang65fbk

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you can still go out if you want, though. contrary to popular belief, there really is more to boating than fishing. we typically cant boat at all over the winter, marinas are closed, floating docks pulled onto land, sub freezing temps.
Yeah...so it's been in the high 20's to low 30's most mornings here over the last several months as well as even some of the daytime highs, oftentimes also with 10-15+ mph winds and/or rain, even a bit of snow sprinkled in there. That's going to be a hard pass from me on just taking the boat out for a joyride in those conditions, especially if there's no fishing or crabbing to be had.
 

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Yeah...so it's been in the high 20's to low 30's most mornings here over the last several months as well as even some of the daytime highs, oftentimes also with 10-15+ mph winds and/or rain, even a bit of snow sprinkled in there. That's going to be a hard pass from me on just taking the boat out for a joyride in those conditions, especially if there's no fishing or crabbing to be had.
I went to Washington St (88-92) and lived on Whidbey Island. Don't miss the weather up there at all!
 

Ekea

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Yeah...so it's been in the high 20's to low 30's most mornings here over the last several months as well as even some of the daytime highs, oftentimes also with 10-15+ mph winds and/or rain, even a bit of snow sprinkled in there. That's going to be a hard pass from me on just taking the boat out for a joyride in those conditions, especially if there's no fishing or crabbing to be had.
i didnt know seattle got that cold. i spent a bit of time in Astoria and thought it was pretty mild up there. i guess seattle is a bit off the ocean though, so that does make sense
 

Mustang65fbk

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i didnt know seattle got that cold. i spent a bit of time in Astoria and thought it was pretty mild up there. i guess seattle is a bit off the ocean though, so that does make sense
There was a freakish week or so in January where it was 9 degrees in the mornings when I was going to work. Admittedly that is quite a bit colder than normal, but the average temperature in Seattle for January is only the high 30's to low 40's... oftentimes staying in the mid 30's with rain, and just warm enough not to snow. The same can be said with February and March with regards to average temperatures, and it's not until April and/or May when the average temperatures start getting up into the 50's. But yes, it was 34 degrees outside this morning on my way home from work. Obviously it isn't the coldest part of the country like the midwest or other locations where you typically see negative degree temperatures consistently, but they do happen on occasion, especially during the winters and especially in eastern Washington.
 
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FREEDOM!!!

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There was a freakish week or so in January where it was 9 degrees in the mornings when I was going to work. Admittedly that is quite a bit colder than normal, but the average temperature in Seattle for January is only the high 30's to low 40's... oftentimes staying in the mid 30's with rain, and just warm enough not to snow. The same can be said with February and March with regards to average temperatures, and it's not until April and/or May when the average temperatures start getting up into the 50's. But yes, it was 34 degrees outside this morning on my way home from work. Obviously it isn't the coldest part of the country like the midwest or other locations where you typically see negative degree temperatures consistently, but they do happen on occasion, especially during the winters and especially in eastern Washington.
WAZZU winters were brutal over in Pullman. Eastern Wash is a frozen tundra 4 months of the year.
 

Mustang65fbk

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I went to Washington St (88-92) and lived on Whidbey Island. Don't miss the weather up there at all!
The only thing I "like" about the weather here is that you don't get the extremes like you do in the rest of the country. During the winter it's usually in the 30's with a little bit of snow, but definitely not 50-60" or more like other parts of the country. The winters are usually pretty tame, though as mentioned above you will get subfreezing temperatures, and we had a week in January where it was 9-10 degrees in the mornings with a high of only being in the mid to upper teens. Which for me, is bordering on being too cold, especially since I work outside on occasion. The other end of the spectrum is the same in that the summers are usually pretty mild as well, where you get average temperatures in the 70's to 80's without the extreme humidity, and it's quite tolerable. There are a few days or weeks during the summer where it'll get over 85 degrees, sometimes even a handful or two of days where it might hit triple digit temperatures, but those aren't common. We also don't get hurricanes, tornadoes and other extreme weather conditions like that, which is very nice. There are very few natural hazards around here like animals or wildlife, we don't have to deal with a ton of bugs, insects, alligators or crocodiles, sharks and so forth. So all in all, it's not horrible, though yes you do have the "doom and gloom" of 38 degrees and raining for what seems like weeks or months on end. I don't mind the tradeoff though since we don't have to deal with tornadoes, hurricanes, monsoons or flash floods and so forth.