I live in charleston, sc and have been reading the fishing reports lately and have thought of trailering the boat up. Can some offer a few ideas of where to go to go after the tuna during their run? How long does the run usually last?

Norfolk Canyon? GPS numbers?
400 line some others mentioned? GPS numbers?

What would be a good place to launch in va beach?

Any other thoughts would certainly be appreciated.


Thanks
Diggler

Diggler,

I'm new to running my own boat offshore too, but I can tell you that the easiest place to launch your boat is at Owl Creek in VB . It's just a mile or so from the resort area and it's FREE.

From the launch, run east to Rudee Inlet and that gets you out to the ocean. There are many destinations to fish from there but it just depends on where the action is at the time. Check this board and and others for reports. Last fall we ran due East out of Rudee for approx. 40 miles to a place called the Fingers and loaded up with Mahi and Tuna.

There are many more knowledgeable guys on this board with much more experience than I that can give you better info. but I just wanted to offer what I could.

I'm a life long fisherman but I'm a newbie to offshore. I have had a subscription to Sport Fishing magazine for 10 YEARS and my own boat for only 3 MONTHS. I have also stayed at Holiday Inn Express many times............

Good luck and welcome to the board~

Check this out for GPS numbers

http://www.jimbaughoutdoors.com/gpsdatabase.htm

Welcome to the board!!

BK's got you covered on the best place to launch. Its close tot he resort area for lodging, too.

The Norfolk Canyon GPS numbers: This is the tip of the Canyon...
37 05.500 74 45.000. The site refeenced above by Donna Sea has the numbers on it, too.

The Tuna bite has been really crazy this year, almost non-existent for most of the summer. Just this last weekend, they started to show up again. And as quickly as they came, they left again...may be due to the oncoming storm. September should be a good month and may be even into early Oct. The Canyon, the Fingers and the Cigar can all be great places to land some good tuna. If you do get up this way...pick up a Capt Seagulls's Chart. They list all the hot spots with both GPS numbers and Loran TD's (which most guys on the radio use up here). There is opne that covers from Cape May, NJ to Cape Hatteras # CMCH20..good chart.

Post when you do come up here so you can possibly buddy up with some other boats out there. Good luck!!

--Don

All of the above have provided you good info. Welcome to the board!!

Welcome,

If you're running outta Charleston then your run offshore is farther than ours and range might not be an issue. If you're running offshore from Rudee inlet to Tuna fish make sure you have the range its twice as far as from Hatteras Inlet (which you'll be passing on the way up) plan on 100-150 mile trip. However, if it blows we got plenty of water close by to fish with the bays, rivers, and sounds. Let us know when you're coming and maybe you can get a buddy boat.

-Mike

Just out of curiousity, it is common for say, a 20-25 foot boat to be out there fishing 70 miles offshore?

I would say not common, but not rare either.

I have a 22' and have run offshore many times (70 miles due east of Rudee more than once). This has to be done with confidence in your equipment and a good understanding of the weather and winds. Let me tell ya, running home in 8 footers in a 22' boat is no fun and if you go enough times you'll do it too. It basically can triple the time it takes to get home, that's why obeying the 1/3 rule is such a good idea.

1/3 tank there
1/3 tank back
1/3 tank reserve

Many on this board run boats offshore that are smaller than 25', with few exception, they all know their equipment and depend upon it. in addition most are weather fanatics checking weather websites, bouy reports, swell models, and sst charts.

-Mike

thanks guys for the links and info. will definitely let you know when we come up. i was asking about va beach since i have family there and can keep the boat at the house, but didnt know about the marinas. we run out from charleston about 50-60 miles in my 26ft center console with no worries. i still pick and choose my days since i dont like getting too beat up in 5fters.

diggler

Sounds good. Hope Vahbeach is good to ya.

-Mike

I would say safety of going off shore depends on the boat. Some of these guys will correct me if I am wrong - but I think it is all about your boat's deadrise. My boat which is 23 feet has a 20 degree deadrise (deep vee) and we take it off shore every time the weather will allow. My son on the other hand has a 23 foot boat with a 15 degree deadrise (flatter bottom) and we do not take it out of the bay.

I also think, everything else being equal, a wider beam is more important than more length - although they usually go hand-in-hand.

My boat was built to go offshore, my son's was built for the bay. You need to know which you have.

I have a 22ft sea-hawk witha 225 Yamaha on the back. I have spent many days going out to the light tower and wrecks close by. I even went out to the Triangle once. I must say that you can feel very small in a big hurry when you are 20+ miles offshore. On that note, I have often wanted to buddy up with someone who was knowledgable. I dont care to troll, I would like to cast the weed-lines for dolphin on light tackle, chunk for tuna, or anything else that involves light tackle and strong fish. If someone is knowledgable about chunking I would love to pay for gas just to go along and see how you do this sort of fishing.

Thanks

Dave