how do you read a weather report?

Thanks to Pern, a fellow NCKA bro who introduced me to Kayak fishing few weeks ago in Fort Ross and now I am HOOKED.  So I bought a new T13 last week and looking forward to start my new hobbie  soon

Plan to go out with some friends on 8/15 in FR or timber cove.  How do you read a weather report that's safe for Kayaking?  For example, what wind speed, swell height, tide, etc...that are not safe for coast kayaking.  What are the general rules for do not go kayaking in a weather report.  Please advise.

TIA.

WTTM~~  i start with:
Swell size. = 6ft and under is prime. anything over that gets dicey.

Wind swell will make it bumpy = anything below 4ft is doable. If the wind swell is four feet, that usually means it's windy and not good for Yakfishing, but a 2-4ft wind swell is workable.

When you see pics of the ocean and it looks like a lake.The WX is usually something like: 3-4ft swell + 1-2ft windswell. When the wind swell is even or close to the swell size, it usually is crappy.Unless it is under 4 ft.

When the WX says the wind will drop below 5kts overnight, the swell is under 6ft and the windswell is below 3 and dropping, you should be dropping everything important, because it is time to fish the ocean.

another factor up your ways is a: Long Period South Swell. These usually happen in summer&fall. The long period means the swell is thicker, it says this: 4ft swell@16seconds= meaning it takes 16 seconds for the bouy to move up&down within that 4ft of swell, which translates into a THICK &HEAVY WAVE. When the radio calls for this type of swell, it usually comes in sets. Once those major lines of sets pass, it will be a while before another builds up.

There are many other factors, but this is how I plan my attack. Tides will be the next thing to plan for.
 Hope it helped and remember BUDDY UP and
BE SAFE. 

Wow Adam, that is the most comprehensive, detailed description I've read.  As an NCKA veteran but relative ocean newb, I think I actually understand this thing now.  Thanks!

WTTM~~  i start with:
Swell size. = 6ft and under is prime. anything over that gets dicey.

Wind swell will make it bumpy = anything below 4ft is doable. If the wind swell is four feet, that usually means it's windy and not good for Yakfishing, but a 2-4ft wind swell is workable.

When you see pics of the ocean and it looks like a lake.The WX is usually something like: 3-4ft swell + 1-2ft windswell. When the wind swell is even or close to the swell size, it usually is crappy.Unless it is under 4 ft.

When the WX says the wind will drop below 5kts overnight, the swell is under 6ft and the windswell is below 3 and dropping, you should be dropping everything important, because it is time to fish the ocean.

another factor up your ways is a: Long Period South Swell. These usually happen in summer&fall. The long period means the swell is thicker, it says this: 4ft swell@16seconds= meaning it takes 16 seconds for the bouy to move up&down within that 16seconds, which translates into a THICK &HEAVY WAVE. When the radio calls for this type of swell, it usually comes in sets. Once those major lines of sets pass, it will be a while before another builds up.

There are many other factors, but this is how I plan my attack. Tides will be the next thing to plan for.
 Hope it helped and remember BUDDY UP and
BE SAFE. 

DOOOOD. That is Money right there. So concise and a ton of real world info.

Now I thought I understood your WX mojo when you tell me in person.  IT SEEMS to make sense.  But now that you write it all out I realize I was just sayin UH HUH, UH HUH, UH HUH!!! What a great explanation DOOD!

WTTM~~  i start with:
Swell size. = 6ft and under is prime. anything over that gets dicey.

Wind swell will make it bumpy = anything below 4ft is doable. If the wind swell is four feet, that usually means it's windy and not good for Yakfishing, but a 2-4ft wind swell is workable.

When you see pics of the ocean and it looks like a lake.The WX is usually something like: 3-4ft swell + 1-2ft windswell. When the wind swell is even or close to the swell size, it usually is crappy.Unless it is under 4 ft.

When the WX says the wind will drop below 5kts overnight, the swell is under 6ft and the windswell is below 3 and dropping, you should be dropping everything important, because it is time to fish the ocean.

another factor up your ways is a: Long Period South Swell. These usually happen in summer&fall. The long period means the swell is thicker, it says this: 4ft swell@16seconds= meaning it takes 16 seconds for the bouy to move up&down within that 16seconds, which translates into a THICK &HEAVY WAVE. When the radio calls for this type of swell, it usually comes in sets. Once those major lines of sets pass, it will be a while before another builds up.

There are many other factors, but this is how I plan my attack. Tides will be the next thing to plan for.
 Hope it helped and remember BUDDY UP and
BE SAFE. 

Excellent recap,

Another thing about south swells, since they are not the norm, many of the usually good yak launches are mostly protected from the normal northwest swells, so they are really open to those south swells, Got this tip from the Salt Point surf rescue.

WTTM~~  i start with:
Swell size. = 6ft and under is prime. anything over that gets dicey.

Wind swell will make it bumpy = anything below 4ft is doable. If the wind swell is four feet, that usually means it's windy and not good for Yakfishing, but a 2-4ft wind swell is workable.

When you see pics of the ocean and it looks like a lake.The WX is usually something like: 3-4ft swell + 1-2ft windswell. When the wind swell is even or close to the swell size, it usually is crappy.Unless it is under 4 ft.

When the WX says the wind will drop below 5kts overnight, the swell is under 6ft and the windswell is below 3 and dropping, you should be dropping everything important, because it is time to fish the ocean.

another factor up your ways is a: Long Period South Swell. These usually happen in summer&fall. The long period means the swell is thicker, it says this: 4ft swell@16seconds= meaning it takes 16 seconds for the bouy to move up&down within that 16seconds, which translates into a THICK &HEAVY WAVE. When the radio calls for this type of swell, it usually comes in sets. Once those major lines of sets pass, it will be a while before another builds up.

There are many other factors, but this is how I plan my attack. Tides will be the next thing to plan for.
 Hope it helped and remember BUDDY UP and
BE SAFE. 

Still too much info for a kayak newbie to absorb...why can't they just add an extra line in the weather report like "GO Kayak Fishing or NO Kayak Fishing"   

Much thanks for the insight....Serioualy, I am still trying to figure out what you mean the south swell....

Aside from knowing the weather conditions, you might want to take some kayak safety lessons. I've been noticing a lot of newbies with the "gung ho" attitude  . Kayaking in the open ocean is not something you can just pick up and do in a day. Respect the ocean and be water skilled before you venture out.

Also, have a plan B. If the conditions are way beyond your comfort zone, skip the kayak fishing and find something else to do.

Good luck and paddle safe!

Aside from knowing the weather conditions, you might want to take some kayak safety lessons. I've been noticing a lot of newbies with the "gung ho" attitude  . Kayaking in the open ocean is not something you can just pick up and do in a day. Respect the ocean and be water skilled before you venture out.

Also, have a plan B. If the conditions are way beyond your comfort zone, skip the kayak fishing and find something else to do.

Good luck and paddle safe!

Thanks for the advice.  I do plan to take some kayak safety lessons soon. 

So the conditions at Albion for the tourney were perfect, right?

Aside from knowing the weather conditions, you might want to take some kayak safety lessons. I've been noticing a lot of newbies with the "gung ho" attitude  . Kayaking in the open ocean is not something you can just pick up and do in a day. Respect the ocean and be water skilled before you venture out.

Also, have a plan B. If the conditions are way beyond your comfort zone, skip the kayak fishing and find something else to do.

Good luck and paddle safe!

Phillip.. hello there brother, WTTM!!! take heed of the above tip.  I did and many times it has helped 

Great advice all given here but one thing I see a lot is that the weather report is a great general guide. I see so many times that when I see it is going to be calm out that shit is a lot rougher then expected and same goes the other way. A lot of times I go up to the Salt point area seeing it is going to be rough by the Ocean report when it is FAC.  I think it is difficult to really tell what the conditions are going to be like up there and will never really know till you get up there. If it is too rough when you do there is always some fishing off the rocks to be done.
Later
Jimbo

Aside from knowing the weather conditions, you might want to take some kayak safety lessons. I've been noticing a lot of newbies with the "gung ho" attitude  . Kayaking in the open ocean is not something you can just pick up and do in a day. Respect the ocean and be water skilled before you venture out.

Also, have a plan B. If the conditions are way beyond your comfort zone, skip the kayak fishing and find something else to do.

Good luck and paddle safe!

Good advise from the Mooch here. It's hard to get an idea of what you should look for. Adam's summary is spot on as far as weather advice. I think the hard thing is evaluating conditions yourself once you get there. Often we have spent a lot of prep time and money to even get to the water so of course the natural urge is to push on through the tough conditions and make it happen.

Being able to make the call from the beach when you arrive is not something that can really be explained or described. I think the only way to get this knowledge is  through the school of hard knocks.

It's best to err on the side of caution and I would highly recommend practicing in the surf with a bare kayak to get an idea of how to launch and land. I donated many things to the ocean as I learned this sport.

Take a class like others have recommended and learn slowly. Baby steps are the key to being safe. Try to make sure that the prevailing winds will always push you back to the launch whether in the bay or the ocean.

Good luck out there!


-Eliot

Use it as a guide but never trust or rely on it.

Toughest thing for me is balancing the will to get up, load all the gear and charge to the launch vs. the will to abort once I get there and it is too sloppy to paddle. The more you paddle, the tighter you'll get in terms of your gut feeling that it will be good or bad.
Mooch gives excellent advice. An into to kayaking (SIK or SOT either one) will do much to help build your skillset. I took multiple courses & paddled with my instructors in between.

The fishing part of kayakfishing is really only about 10% of the activity.