Calmer sea in south?

[eddy.gs]

Hi guys I have went out to Dover for sea fishing with my 3.8 defender xpro sib with 15hp. Although I checked the weather etc, I found that the sea was a bit rough and choppy. Some people sad Dover is mainly rough sea. Is this true and is there any more calmer areas? I'm from london and will travel up to 120 miles.

[Ovey]

Unfortunately it's all to do with the wind versus the tide - there's no real calmer areas, unless you can find a nice sheltered cove somewhere.

I was out diving in the Solent (from Lymington) on sunday and it was lovely when we set off, but as we cleared the Needles the wind got up and there was a Sea State of about 4/5 which wan't too pleasant for most of the divers in the boat! I was one of only three not to feed the fishies!

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by eddy.gs

Hi guys I have went out to Dover for sea fishing with my 3.8 defender xpro sib with 15hp. Although I checked the weather etc, I found that the sea was a bit rough and choppy. Some people sad Dover is mainly rough sea. Is this true and is there any more calmer areas? I'm from london and will travel up to 120 miles.

Yeah it's a bit like that round Dover way.....where as down down South West it's always Flat as a Witches Tit!..Slips are empty....no traffic jams...with the Sun Shining 24/7!
Oh and Petrol is Free,and the Fish just jump into your Boat too!!

[eddy.gs]

Hi maximus, I wouldn't be happy if the fishes jump in my boat without me making any effort

Which area would you recommend.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by eddy.gs

Hi maximus, I wouldn't be happy if the fishes jump in my boat without me making any effort

Which area would you recommend.

Well.....I reckon you'd fit in pretty well damn with the Poole Harbour lot....for sure!

[cptsideways]

Essentially there are two type of waves/chop

Ground swell - eg bigger swell generated from 1000's of miles away, think surf waves. Comes & goes with weather generated out in the Atlantic/Irish Sea/etc can take weeks/days to arrive following a large storm etc.

Wind chop - Generated locally, eg F4 25mph offshore winds will generate 2-3ft short waves within a couple of miles of flat calm water close to shore.

Add the two together & you can get a very rough day!!

A good website to look at is Magic Seaweed a surf based weather monitor with ground swell measured by bouys & satellite all over the major seas.

Then you also get ground swells generated by the tide over rock outfalls, eg Anglesey, Dorset St Albans Head/Portland Bill etc. These are not wether dependent but the weather can make it a lot worse still.

Mint surfing weather is a huge groundswell & with flat calm millpond local weather. Generally quite rare but thats what surfers look for.

[eddy.gs]

Can you fish within the harbour?