Navigating through the fog
It seems as though for the next couple of days Tampa bay anglers will be navigating through the fog. Today I was asked by someone who is scheduled to fish later this week if the fish bite with the weather being so foggy. My response to him was, Yes sir. The fog does not affect the way the fish eat or not. He then asked me if it was dangerous to go out when there is fog. I told him that if he felt more comfortable going out when the fog dissipated, he should tell the captain, safety comes first and fishing can wait.
Skyway Fishing Pier fog moved in thick
Navigating through fog makes it a little challenging. The best way to navigate through the fog is going really slow and making sure you are very familiar and confident with your GPS machine and or radar. As many of us learned from last years incident of a 39 foot boat slamming into the restaurant, Sunset Grille in Ruskin. Navigating through the fog can be dangerous. Luckily no one was hurt in that incident. The captain of that vessel was navigating at high speed. This showed that he was a young captain with no experience. His number one mistake was his speed. If he was going slow, he would have beached the vessel instead of going thru the restaurant. Many anglers don’t feel safe to Navigate through the fog. If you don’t have experience navigating through the fog, it can be dangerous. Ultimately it’s a judgement call. If you can keep your boat in the channel and you know your area without getting off the channel, then I wouldn’t worry about the fog. Remembering that our goal is to have a great day on the water. If you are out navigating through the fog, please slow down and be alert. Even if you are completely confident in your ability to navigate and keep yourself and anglers safe, others on the water might not be as careful. Stay alert and have a good time catching fish.
Here is the video of a boating accident that could have been prevented.
