NorCal Kayak Anglers

Kayak Fishing Zone => Safety First => Topic started by: Malibu_Two on October 12, 2017, 06:25:25 PM

Title: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: Malibu_Two on October 12, 2017, 06:25:25 PM
Is anyone else concerned about paddling/pedaling/fishing in this smoke? I’m tempted to fish this weekend for salmon, but the smoke in the air is giving me serious pause. I imagine it’s worse off Marin. Thoughts?
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: NowhereMan on October 12, 2017, 06:31:56 PM
I think it would be wise to avoid any significant outdoor exercise until the smoke clears...
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: WillFo on October 12, 2017, 06:38:28 PM
I did a good bit of googling and reading regarding this same question, and the consensus seemed to me to be that, if you are neither very young nor very old, and don't have asthma, heart disease, etc, the benefits of exercise outweigh the negative consequences of inhaling additional pollutants. People who exercise live longer and are healthier than people who don't, even in areas with high air pollution.
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: Eddie on October 12, 2017, 07:18:00 PM
Is anyone else concerned about paddling/pedaling/fishing in this smoke? I’m tempted to fish this weekend for salmon, but the smoke in the air is giving me serious pause. I imagine it’s worse off Marin. Thoughts?
I fished china camp monday and benicia on wednesday.  The smoke seems tolerable but my lungs were a little off.  After monday I had a little weez and after wednesday same.  Wore a facemask and it may have helped but the problem is that you do not get enough oxygen. Very minor headache, stay hydratied because smoke removes moisture from your body. Made me tired and cranky and maybe even depressed.  Maybe less if I caught a keeper anything.. :smt005  Other than that, go for it.  I would go again but do not have time.  Don't take my advice unless you have the urge to fish. :smt006
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: NowhereMan on October 12, 2017, 07:49:40 PM
I did a good bit of googling and reading regarding this same question ...

This question deals with a term issue (few days, or weeks at most) and your research probably is based on the long term.  It seems to me that missing a few days of exercise is preferable to getting a bunch of smoke in your lungs. But, my dad died of lung cancer, so I'm probably extra paranoid about getting any crap in my lungs.

And, ignoring my own advice, I have actually fished a couple of times in the smoke---ended up with a sore throat and pretty severe headache both times. So it's definitely not for me...
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: Eddie on October 12, 2017, 08:22:09 PM
I did a good bit of googling and reading regarding this same question ...

This question deals with a term issue (few days, or weeks at most) and your research probably is based on the long term.  It seems to me that missing a few days of exercise is preferable to getting a bunch of smoke in your lungs. But, my dad died of lung cancer, so I'm probably extra paranoid about getting any crap in my lungs.

And, ignoring my own advice, I have actually fished a couple of times in the smoke---ended up with a sore throat and pretty severe headache both times. So it's definitely not for me...
I'm leaning that way but I had to try it.  I had to question my fishing philosophy. :smt006
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: Tinker on October 13, 2017, 12:40:52 AM
Up here, when the Chetco Bar Fire was smoking up the joint, there was always a thin layer of clear air just above the ocean's surface.  Isn't it the same?
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: bmb on October 13, 2017, 08:15:32 AM
Up here, when the Chetco Bar Fire was smoking up the joint, there was always a thin layer of clear air just above the ocean's surface.  Isn't it the same?
not right now it isn't - the smoke has been at ground level in SF everyday. I noticed it at work this week.

There is definitely no benefit to fishing in the smoke, except if you want to eat pre-smoked fish.
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: crash on October 13, 2017, 08:28:56 AM
I fished the hell out of the Rogue during that labor day crush when the chetco bar fire smoke was bad.  There wasn't much relief down low on Sunday of that weekend until the wind came up from the north.  THat only lasted for a couple hours and it was back to choking.  Brookings was completely terrible.  Crescent City wasn't much better, the whole area was socked in with smoke.  Even Humboldt Bay was sufficiently smoky at ground level that we cancelled youth soccer practices.

Thing is, it was smoky no matter where you were or what you did, so you might as well fish.  Fishing was actually good.  Fish did not taste presmoked.  I wouldn't go overexerting myself in heavy smoke, but it's not going to stop me from a little fishing.
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: Sakana Seeker on October 13, 2017, 08:39:46 AM
I fished off the Marin coast from shore, surf perching at wildcat beach, on Wed morning. Air was clear and fantastic. Maybe check some imaging but I imagine the coast is clear.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: pmmpete on October 13, 2017, 10:13:03 AM
Fishing in the smoke is better than not fishing.  We had almost two months of real bad smoke in Western Montana this summer, and were evacuated from our cabin for about three weeks.  Here is a picture of a smoky day on Lindbergh Lake, and a picture of what I should have been seeing.

Title: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: AlexB on October 13, 2017, 12:49:10 PM
I was planning to troll the Marin Coastline this weekend, but opted to hop on a party boat instead. (I will wear an N95 mask on the boat).

Breathing these fine particles (PM2.5) is very bad for your health - especially breathing them deep into your lungs during aerobic exercise.

This isn’t your typical wildfire smoke. This is burned trees in addition to houses, cars, warehouses, meth labs, transformers, electronics, household chemicals, lead paint, plastics, etc, etc, etc... Stuff that’s NOT good for your respiratory system.

It’s your call, of course, but I would recommend against exercising in these smoky conditions.

(I’m an environmental engineer - I know a bit about air pollution.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: Fuzzy Tom on October 13, 2017, 01:00:00 PM
I stepped outside in Santa Cruz this morning about a mile up from Soquel Pt or Blacks Beach and it smelled like a smoky campground.  About 10:30, I drove down to above the beach in  Capitola, and the smoke was right down on the water and it looked real crappy.  I suppose I'm in the "old" category, because my throat was getting sore and I was sneezing frequently just driving.   Probably no worse than all the decades I spent inside workplaces so thick with cigarette smoke you could see a haze in the air and I had to hang my clothes outside when I got home, but I think I'll wait a few days to go fishing (But that's easy for me to say because, without one of those pesky jobs, I can fish the weekdays. Because I'm old.  See what you have to look forward to if you take care of yourselves?) .
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: crash on October 13, 2017, 01:02:58 PM
This isn’t your typical wildfire smoke. This is burned trees in addition to houses, cars, warehouses, meth labs, transformers, electronics, household chemicals, lead paint, plastics, etc, etc, etc... Stuff that’s NOT good for your respiratory system.

That's a good point that I hadn't considered.  Up here it was almost entirely a wildland fire with a relative few houses that burned.

Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: AlexB on October 13, 2017, 04:07:30 PM
Yeah... I’m pretty sure McLeas Tires burned to the ground (they installed a set of BFGs on my very first truck when I was 15). Don’t really want to breath tire smoke...

It’s just crazy what’s happening up there... Unbelievable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: bluekayak on October 13, 2017, 04:08:57 PM
What AlexB said, particularly since that's his line of expertise. It's the small particulate thing that's the worst part of it and it's probably a pretty nasty soup blowing in the wind right now

Professionally speaking I'm on the other end of it, meaning I deal with respiratory issues in ICUs in a children's hospital so I should know better but if I get the chance to fish this weekend I'm out there smoke or no smoke

HMB looked nasty one of the days I was out but the air out on the water I seemed fine. Im dealing with major lung issues myself and 79% of why I'm out there these days is for the workout

But if I had to pick the smartest advice especially for the long term it'd be AlexB's

Oxygenation isn't the problem, it's those tiny little particles that get down in the distal parts of your lungs and stick there, make garden variety respiratory trouble or turn into cancer down the road
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: KPD on October 13, 2017, 05:21:53 PM
This appears to be an authoritative air quality map and forecast tool: https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=317 (https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=317)

You can enter a zip code to get a forecast for the next few days, but it looks like their server is suffering from heavy load right now (no surprise).
Title: Re: Fishing in this smoke...
Post by: AlexB on October 17, 2017, 01:49:56 PM
This appears to be an authoritative air quality map and forecast tool: https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=317 (https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=317)

You can enter a zip code to get a forecast for the next few days, but it looks like their server is suffering from heavy load right now (no surprise).
Yeah, that’s the best air quality resource I know of, but it has its limitations. Localized wind patterns and microclimates make it tough to accurately predict/report local air quality.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk