# Mini offshore warrior



## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

When i was designing my boat and setting it up i ha no thoughts of really clearing the inlet much.. But unfortunately my area (stuart) isnt know for world class flats fishing.. And everyday i find myself more broke and more and more entertained by the thought of throwin a couple dolphin in the cooler for dinner. Does any one else use their micro for "double duty"? Last weekend i ran 10 miles north of palmbeach inlet an 15 miles off in search of some activity. Round trip near 50 miles on the navionics. Am i crazy/stupid or do other people here do this every once in a while?


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Back when I was young and single, it was not unusual to
make a trip out to the Gulfstream in a 13 Whaler Sport.
35 hp Evinrude on the back, 12 gallons of fuel and a big cooler.
Plenty of dolphin and tripletail ended up coming home for dinner.
I've seen Great Isaac's light a few times on some of my trips.

Not that unusual at all. Just have to be a little extreme...


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## makin moves (Mar 20, 2010)

look at chasingtail's post  he runs his gheenoe offshore on the regular and cleans up I might add


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Yea ive seen his posts, he definately does well. Im not going to the darkside, just broadening horizons..


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## HighSide25 (May 15, 2007)

what boat/motor?

during the coming months i will spend more time offshore/nearshore than inshore, and vero has great flats fishing.

you just have to pick your days. i usually drive my truck to the beach before i load the boat up and decide if its gheenoeable.

a couple things i have for this coming summer that i didnt last summer will help a lot and could have helped a lot last summer( i learned the hard way)

hard mount gps/ff

NON-ELECTRONIC COMPASS - i was 15 miles SE of the inlet, could not see land and the wind picked up around noon. we had to go in, but my handheld gps would not turn on. we had to guess which way was west with 4 gallons of gas left in the boat. we made it back(obviously) by clueing in on the t-storm clouds that always come in from the west. that and a cargo ship heading south or north that passed us. it was scary.

auto bilge pump.

i also never turn off the motor once outside the inlet unless i am scuba diving in 15ft of water by myself.

a float bag. i have all my survival stuff in my T-Bag and a knife attached under it. should the boat go down, i can quickly grab the knife and cut the 4 straps that hold the tbag in place. then i can shuffle through my lifejackets/ whistles/ flares/ dye. if im with someone else i would also make them take the cooler off, as a white cooler is much easier to see than an orange life vest.

VHF radio.

cell phone in dry box/bag.

100' rope+ anchor

if i plan on going more than 15 miles one way, i try to bring a 1 gallon gas can. i always have a pint of oil on the boat also. i have needed the extra gallon once, as the motor sipped its last bit 200 yards outside the inlet on the return trip. my boat has a 9gallon tank.

noon. always be back by noon or be prepared to get beat up. afternoon t-storms usually roll in around 2-3pm. unless its a bluebird sky, i always start fishing closer to home later in the day.

of course, you dont have to adhere to any of these suggestions, but they help me out and are what i usually try to do.

the most important thing to do is pay attention to the water. trolling and running require different seas and the ocean waves hit the bboat a lot different than river waves. use common sense and if you dont feel safe, head in, even if the fish are biting.


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## TomFL (Oct 2, 2007)

lol... Last weekend we had what appeared to be a hi-sider come fairly close to us as we were fishing about 8 miles out. He was headed due East..

About 2 hours later the wind picked up rather quickly, which is always the concern in a small boat that can't duck for cover quickly.

Personally, summertime out of St Lucie anyway I wouldn't have any issue as things are usually pretty lazy during the summer. 

This time of the year with the changing and often strong winds (today is nuts!) I would keep a pretty close eye on the wind and water surface, and live or die by the tide chart. Any East wind, and/or the swell that was out there last weekend and your butt is bacon once that tide turns to outgoing!

Particularly when the inlet is shoaled up as it is, and the prevailing swell is out there. 

Other inlets vary considerably though!

PM me your # and hop aboard the *Hang 'em High* brother and solve those worries!

-T


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

. Lets see.. 100yrds rope and anchor- check. Bilge pump-no. Vhf-no. Compass-no. Gps- navionics app on my i phone(that works very well) . 9gal tank-check. Boat has brand new motor that is overly serviced so its not really a concern to me.oh believe me i watched the bouys, tides , and weather closely. The boat hauls a$$ so on a calm day (like last saturday) i ran wfo everywhere and made very good time. Heck i was passin half the guys on the way out there. It just feels neat bein in near 1000 ft water in a micro skiff !







bluewater! Tom: sending pm


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## mhinkle90 (Feb 24, 2011)

sweet skiff. I've been thinking about doing the same. let me know how it goes for you!


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## HighSide25 (May 15, 2007)

if you're going offshore, i would get a bilge pump asap. in the pic it looks like you got speakers, if so, you have a battery onbboard too, why not hook up a bilge?  nothing worse than having waves come over and you have to worry about pulling the plug and driving in slop at the same time.

also, if you go out of site of the condos/land, i cannot stress enough how important a compass is.  you dont need a fancy one, just one that points north.  i found a cheap($10) one at wlamart in the camping section that i siliconed to the boat. it will point me home should the electronics act up.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stansport...0000003260410&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=10927620


im going for a dolphin/cobia run this weekend, weather will dictate what boat sees the blue water.

and yes, two places on earth i love the most; where the green water turns to blue and when the sun breaks the horizon to light up lilly pads and decoys


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Im gonna get some binoculars, and yea i got a group 27 battery up front, its gonna get a bilge pump. And a battery powered vhf


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## beavis (Dec 11, 2006)

I would suggest an epirb. Not Spot. That way if something happens, you will not be in the water too long.


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## MrSnook (Feb 7, 2008)

Perhaps being older married and now having kids I don't think there's anyway I would take my Noe offshore. I used to own a 20' Back Country Bay Boat and I got caught several times offshore when the wind or a storm cam on almost out of nowhere, scared the Hell out of me.

On a side note please don't rely on a GPS app. on a smart phone they aren't water proof and all it will is some rain or a stray wave to knock it out.

Be safe and have fun and good fishing more B*lls than I have right now. ;D ;D ;D ;D


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

It might sound worse than it is but goin out of palmbeach inlet, 2 miles and your in 450 feet of water. That and theres about a million boats out.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

I can't add anything to the previous suggestions, but I wouldn't be afraid to try it. If you are never foolish, your stories will bore your grandchildren. Conversely, if you are foolish enough, you won't have to worry about it.

You gonna use the Hobie or your other one? The Hobie would be a good fit.

Nate


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Oh i plan to use the hobie for this mission. Problem is its not done yet. But soon to come. I would like to have it going around mid summer.


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## popcorn (Apr 11, 2010)

Get a good compass! You don't have to be out of sight of land to get turned around. getting caught in an extended heavy rain can be blinding. Another reason for a good bilge pump too! Watch the weather and know the tide table. Don't let a rogue swell catch you off guard in a small boat. I've been out in 16' work boats many times, you just have to keep aware, be prepared and be careful.


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## SilentHunter (Jun 14, 2010)

that ride out of palm beach was epic on the brookercraft bro.

lets do it again this weekend....

we got spear guns and a cooler and a dry box.. what could go wrong haha


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