Erie Winds
- Thread starter Nofish
- Start date
sronza
Active Member
I fish both Erie and Ontario. I have developed a reliable wind prediction procedure that works for me.
Check wind strength predictions on weather network , marine forecast for lakes Ontario and or erie.
When they predict wind in klm/hr. Make that knots and its almost always correct.
So if peak wind for the day is predicted as 15klm/hr. I almost always see 15knots on water. I e been predicting/planning around wind this way for 20 years and it has proven very reliable.
Ill add that I sail the lakes to so i am quite in tune with measuring the actual wind against what was predicated.
Hope this helps.
Check wind strength predictions on weather network , marine forecast for lakes Ontario and or erie.
When they predict wind in klm/hr. Make that knots and its almost always correct.
So if peak wind for the day is predicted as 15klm/hr. I almost always see 15knots on water. I e been predicting/planning around wind this way for 20 years and it has proven very reliable.
Ill add that I sail the lakes to so i am quite in tune with measuring the actual wind against what was predicated.
Hope this helps.
Old Cut LongPointer
Well-Known Member
No !
We are but mere mortals that receive advice from the Wizards of Meteorology and as such we are subject to the whims of Mother Nature.
We are but mere mortals that receive advice from the Wizards of Meteorology and as such we are subject to the whims of Mother Nature.
Crestliner16
Well-Known Member
Current forecast off Burwell for this Saturday (mid-day) -
windy.com: SW 16 kt
windfinder.com: NNE 18 kt
theweathernetwork.com: E 16 kt
I mean, none of these look great for offshore fishing but they're not even close to one another. Sometimes I think they should just admit, "we have no idea"
windy.com: SW 16 kt
windfinder.com: NNE 18 kt
theweathernetwork.com: E 16 kt
I mean, none of these look great for offshore fishing but they're not even close to one another. Sometimes I think they should just admit, "we have no idea"
Trevor M
Well-Known Member
I go look at all those sites I've posted in the past. They usually all say something different, even if similar. I look at Environment Canada and The Weather Network for London just to get an idea of what it might be doing here at home. I NEVER use them for determining whether to go fishing at the lake or not.
Then I look at windy, windfinder, the weather buoy out in the lake by Pt Stanley, and Weather underground to get a better idea of what it might be doing at or closer to the lake, because what it's doing here at home in London is almost NEVER what it's doing at the lake. Then I look out the window at the trees to see what they're doing and I trust my eyes and what my gut tells me. (and I have a pretty big gut) and that's just for me to go sit on a pier.
If the winds are too high from any direction including NE or NW, I won't be able to sit on the pier because the lake will be overtopping it. BUT, if I had a boat, whether or not I would go out on any given day would be decided by how big the boat is, how big the motor is that I'd have on it, and most importantly, how comfortable I am with the boat AND the lake conditions. I've been out with @tailfeathers in some pretty big swells, and it hasn't bothered me at all. I trust his boat, and I trust him. Not so sure I'd be out there in a smaller boat in those conditions, in fact I'm sure I wouldn't be.
OF the sites I look at, I set weather underground to Aylmer (and trust it the most) Windy to malahide (pt bruce) and windfinder to Pt Burwell and they all give me an idea of what might be happening at the lake but as with any weather forecast, I NEVER trust them to be even remotely accurate more than 48-72 hours out because it's bound to change and almost always does. IE. Right now here at home, there is NO wind at all. Not even a hint of a breeze and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to go fishing right now. But Env Can is saying the winds are blowing out of the SSW at 20km/hr. Weather Underground is telling me that the winds are SW 20km/hr+ and increasing to SW25km/hr + by noon and 30+ by 2 this afternoon. Won't be and already isn't worth going.
Windy is telling me that at the lake (Pt Bruce) the winds are blowing out of the sw at 21 km/hr with higher gusts. Windfinder is telling me that at Pt Burwell, the winds are blowing out of the SW at 22km/hr+ with gusts into the low 40's, but tomorrow where windy says it's going to be a light wind (and rain) out of the W,SW, and S, Windfinder is saying at Burwell it's going to be an offshore to an east wind all day tomorrow. I'm not fishing today for a reason and that reason is the wind. I'm not planning on fishing tomorrow but that could change. I have rain gear, but I won't sit out there during a thunderstorm to try to catch fish.
OMG!! The forecasts have changed 3 times in the time it took me to read all this.
Trevor M
Well-Known Member
YEP. That's what the weather and what the weather sites do. In the time it took me to go out and cut the lawn (takes me about 10 minutes to get the lawn mower out, cut it and put the lawn mower away) it changed on all sites I look at as well. Didn't change much, but it did change, and the wind picked up here at home. Trees are definitely getting blown around now. Guess today is as good a day as any other to get that stuff I've been putting off done and then when mother nature decides to cooperate, they're done and I can go when I want to with the blessings of the boss lady
@floater66 tomorrow morning looks good but you should double check in AM
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spincast
Well-Known Member
active weather, with fronts moving through means unpredictability and lots of wave action. This week has seen fronts passing through almost daily. I wait for stable weather for a couple, 3 days and target those days for my outings. I use a few different sites, most already mentioned, although if I am not sure or getting really mixed message, I find using Windfinders map feature, checking the buoys forecasts in combination with the marine forecast seems to be accurate 8 out of 10 times.
If you live close to the lake like some of the folks around here, the trip may be worth it for a small window as opportunity presents. Either lake for me is an hour away, and then of course, its time on the water to the fishing ground. As much as I dislike it, these weeks come every summer. You could always fish a river, like the Grand, or buy yourself some good karma from the other half, do a few hunney dos and attack thinks like trailer lights, bearings, eytc, respooling and retying, replacing riggerwires on the other down time (my list the last week).
One thing I aint doing, is pushing my comfort zone. I look at it like the saying we have in transportation about going down hill - you can go downhill too slowly many times, but you can only go down too fast once. Getting caught out on big water can have the same outcome.
If you live close to the lake like some of the folks around here, the trip may be worth it for a small window as opportunity presents. Either lake for me is an hour away, and then of course, its time on the water to the fishing ground. As much as I dislike it, these weeks come every summer. You could always fish a river, like the Grand, or buy yourself some good karma from the other half, do a few hunney dos and attack thinks like trailer lights, bearings, eytc, respooling and retying, replacing riggerwires on the other down time (my list the last week).
One thing I aint doing, is pushing my comfort zone. I look at it like the saying we have in transportation about going down hill - you can go downhill too slowly many times, but you can only go down too fast once. Getting caught out on big water can have the same outcome.
Trevor M
Well-Known Member
I think the most appropriate advice that I can give is simply this. When it comes to safety, the golden rule is always, "if/when in doubt, DON'T." If you're not comfortable with what you're seeing when you look at all the weather sites that have been mentioned here, (or others that haven't) or if you're not comfortable with any potential wave forecasts, then it may be best to err on the side of caution and not go until a day when the weather, wind and waves are "better if not ideal" for your comfort levels. Lady Erie can be very forgiving, but she can also exact a very heavy toll on those who do not respect her. Remember, all 5 of the Great Lakes, and Lake St. Claire are known killers. Trust yourself and don't go beyond your own comfort levels
It's amazing how long these comments can get. By the looks of the long comments, nobody's out fishing, just sitting at home wishing and reading forums.
Trevor M
Well-Known Member
Not true. I did stuff today that I didn't wanna do and or had been putting off. I woke up, which is a good thing, but I didn't wanna do that when I did. (half past stupid o'clock and I wasn't going anywhere today to do anything I wanted to do) I've done the dishes, scooped the cats litter, cut the lawn, weeded the gardens, cleaned up the patio, went on a minor trip to the grocery store, picked up something for lunch on the way back. I've somewhat been a nurse for my wife since yesterday. We both got our second Covid vaccinations on Tuesday afternoon. I've been fine, bit of a sore arm like I walked into a door knob just like the first one, but my wife has been suffering some side effects this time and been home for the past two days. She's been a little nauseous, a bit lethargic, had a headache and a low grade fever, felt a little dehydrated and could barely move her arm yesterday. (it's still bugging her today but not as much as yesterday) but over the past couple hours, especially after she had something to eat and downed some water, she's becoming more and more like her usual self.
@packrat , I think that is from a drag queen site, not that it would make a difference in my ability to hook you up... Or did you know that already?
packrat
Well-Known Member
no i didnt know that. see how sheltered my life has been