We have a charter out of Venice LA booked next weekend(2/14). First time and we're really excited about the trip. I've started watching the weather forecast but don't really have any idea at what point the weather/seas impact going out or not. we're going on a a 37' Freeman with one of the charters down there. I'm just concerned bc my FIL is coming all the way from San Diego to go on the trip with us.

Anyone have any general guidelines on what type of seas/waves/weather puts these offshore trips in jeopardy of being cancelled? The extended forecast, which I'm sure will change drastically is calling for a nice day except for 18 mph winds in Venice which seems like it could be a problem. Thanks..

18 mph shouldn't have it roughed up enough for a boat that big to not go out as long as it wasn't blowing 25+mph the 3-4 days before. Here's the buoys in the GOM. You can click on the one off the coast of Louisiana and it will show how tall the seas are right now.

http://www.stormsurf.com/buoy/mht/gom.html

On a boat that sweet I would say around 4' will start to be unpleasant. It also depends on the wave period. Right now it's 4' @ 7 sec which I would say is doable. If period gets a lot shorter or wave height higher I would think captain would cancel. Can you change to inshore if that's the case ?

Are you going with MGF?

Ive fished a 37 freeman some out of Fourchon. Im picky on when I go out but 18mph wind would be a no go in my opinion. Once you get over about 15-16mph, thats a pretty good rip on open water. Those boats do real well in a solid chop but once it gets rough, its rough.

With that said, part of it might depend on your expectations of what you want to target. There's a number of rigs and deep drop spots inside of 10-15 miles that you can always slow boat to. But then you'll be tossing around trying to fish.

https://www.weather.gov/marine/usamz

Find your zone and drill down, and you'll get a forecast on wave height a few days out. Sometimes it is off, but often within 3 days or so it is fairly accurate.

I've been out in a small skiff in 2's and 3's but the boat was shorter than the wavelength so it wasn't bad. Same with kayaks, been 2.5 miles out on 4's and that was a bit exciting and nauseating. Never been on a big boat in big water. They can run in it but not sure how they sit in it.

10-15 mph on the coast isn't unusual, but 15+ will start driving choppier waves.

Good luck. Take your motion sickness meds and some ginger snaps and have a good time regardless.

Fishing in 4s ain't bad, if you got the stomach, traveling in 4s sucks and IMO not really worth it, unless you planned a trip or in a tourney or something. You'll still feel the chop in a 37' no doubt. I love to fish, but fishing in the gulf is such a pain with bad weather and made worse when you wanna go long.

OnlyForNow said:

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Are you going with MGF?

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Yes

Thanks everyone.

if this one gets cancelled they have nothing else available for months so that would be a bummer. But I feel better about our chances based on this thread. We're taking 3 13-14 yo boys as it will be my son's birthday and they are so excited they can't stand it. Really hoping for some big tuna.

Don't be afraid to give EVERYONE Bonnie, and take it and I mean take it per the label.

The trip will be horrible if someone gets sick.


2nd piece of advice is to not be afraid to switch tactics. If the tuna aren't popping go after wahoo and tell the captain first thing that you'd rather catch fish than come back empty. And a combo of short drops at some of the rigs should get you some nice reef fish.


It's EARLY for black fin, so you're targeting YFT. But if you follow MGF and Venice Fishing you'll see that it's hit and miss on boat fulls of YFT.

This will be the trip of a lifetime. I'm jealous. Sounds like everyone is an adult but for the love of god have everyone pee before you get on the boat or you are going to regret it when the boat is fighting through chop to get to a rig. It's a long bumpy slog. I found this out the hard way.

Have everyone take a Dramamine the night before and the morning of. You'll be glad you did. Just to echo some of the other posters, yes a 37 freeman can handle 3-4 footers but anything more might be a bit uncomfortable

Bonine is non drowsy better for me than dramamine. Better yet a scopolamine patch is amazing but need a script.

The freeman is a twin cat right? Should be more stable and be able to handle a lot. I highly doubt you will have to worry about cancellation

10 days out is an awful long ways out for an accurate wind forecast. One suggestion is be sure to take extra waterproof and cold weather gear. The wind blowing across the cool water can get really cold in a hurry even on a warm day.

When my son was 8 we went fishing in Alaska for halibut. I gave him dramamine and he slept for 10 of the 12 hours we were on the boat. It completely knocked him out and I couldnt get him up for anything.

I wouldn't do dramaine, I'd do Bonnie or the patch if you can get it soon enough.

I had that sleepy reaction to dramaine as a kid as well.

I believe the freemans MGF runs, are hybrid cats (with quad 300s!).

MGF's newest cat is 40' with quad 450s

Personal (learned the hard way) and Professional opinion. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. The day and night before and stay hydrated on the trip. Water or Gatorade is fine. Just watch the sugar content. Agree Scopolamine patch is clutch, and if you can get a visit w a doc for that have them write you a RX for Zofran ODT. They can be game changers if someone gets sick.

I use to go out before kids every summer w buddies from PA school. Then spent one trip out past the flower gardens chasing tuna in the fetal position in 4 fters. On a much smaller boat than yours but still. Honestly thought dying out there didn't sound too bad

And for the record my buddies and the Captain gave me no sympathy and kept on hammering the black fin. Best haul of my life and worst trip.

We went offshore with Kevin Beach in the Old Palehorse in 2015. The weather of course kicked up before our trip, I think Beach was kinda wanting us to back out. We pushed and went. Prob 4-5' rollers that day. The Cats take the waves pretty well and they have beanbags in the bag of the boat that make the ride a breeze when rough going in/out. Was too murky inshore for tuna so we ended up trolling a rip for 4-5 hours pulling in wahoo and dorado. Was a fun trip, all of us out scopal patches the night before and chenged out the morning of and no one had issues. This was the 37' freeman. The new ones are beasts. As long as wind not blowing like crazy and washing machine seas they'll likely go. Ask your captain beforehand. They do it daily. Good luck and tight lines.

Update on weather ??

Quads on those boats are awesome. I had been a few times on boats with less horses.
Last time we were there we went on a 37 Freeman and cap told me to sit down. Thought he was crazy until we hit 72 mph.

FYI: assuming you're paying for gas based on how much you guys burn? Have everyone bring some extra cash just in case. We ran a lot farther than anticipated last time and quads suck down the fuel quick. Fuel bill was about $500 more than expected.

I've been on platforms/rigs/work boats and seen these guys out there in some pretty rough conditions. I've felt bad for some of the folks I've seen. They looked bad...!!!
But I've also seen these guys fighting and landing some awesome fish.
Good luck and keep us posted on how things go.