Tog in the Fog

[live bait]

Got out early Friday morning & I countered a few patches of light fog on the ride to the ramp. Launch time saw a clear sunrise, almost no wind & flat calm conditions. My plan was to venture east towards Gull Island, got to the north side of Plum & decided to make a drop on a productive spot. Almost instant action with short Tog. When I decided to head east I could see a wall of fog closing in, decided to stay put till it passed, which it didn’t. With visibility down to less than 50 yards I was going nowhere. Radar showed an increasing number of boats dropping anchor near by. The tog continued to bite, & when the fog finally lifted about 11, two keepers were on ice. By now too few crabs left , & too late in the tide to head east, so call it a day. Never liked the fog & don’t think I ever will…..John

 

[Chinacat]

Smart move John!?

 

[captmike28]

I agree with Mitch that you made the right call for yourself, John. No matter how confident you may be in your own ability to navigate in tough conditions it is always the other less experienced and often foolish/risky boaters I worry about.

Also, fog is such a local event on many occasions. Case in point, I had my charter party the same day headed to
Fishers early and when we got to our first drop just SW of the island the fog bank appeared to be well to the east. Then within 30 minutes Fishers Island disappeared for about 45 minutes only to burn off again and then remain clear for the rest of the day.
You can never be too cautious in limited visibility situations. No fish is worth risking an accident for, or worse.