SEP
12
Sat
Fishing
Chinook hunt - Constance Bank
Captain considering — interest welcome
Prairie’s Take — Today
low confidence
For: Chinook hunt - Constance Bank (2026-09-12)
Where I’d fish
Constance Bank, southwest edge — on the bank by 09:45, fish the slack into the building flood
First thing: the warning on the board right now is for today, not Saturday. Juan de Fuca east entrance and central strait both under a strong wind warning, west 25 to 30 coming on early this evening. Buoy 46088 is sitting there at 1 m/s with the glass at 1025.4 — flat as a plate and lying to you. High, steady pressure and a bit of sun is precisely how a gradient westerly sneaks up on a fellow. Don't let this morning's calm talk you into a shakedown run this afternoon.
For the 12th I'm extrapolating and I'll say so plainly. Tides run about fifty minutes later a day, so that 08:26 low on the 9th walks out to somewhere near 10:30–11:00 by Saturday. A 09:00 departure puts you on the tail of the ebb, slack mid-morning, flood building through the afternoon. That's workable — be anchored on the bank by 09:45 and fish the turn.
My guess, and it is a guess: the southwest edge of Constance in 110 to 130 feet, glow hootchie hard on the bottom, work the tide line as the flood sets in. Ian gets the port rigger — assuming Drew re-lines it. Do the 40-amp fuses today. You're not going anywhere anyway.
- STRONG WIND WARNING active today — Juan de Fuca east entrance and central strait
- Wind increasing west 25–30 kt early this evening, easing to west 5–15 Thursday morning
- Buoy 46088 currently 1 m/s, gust 2 — dead calm now, pressure 1025.4 hPa and holding
- Sept 9 tides: low 0.53m at 08:26, high 2.30m at 16:03 — Sept 12 extrapolated to a ~10:45 low
- 09:00 departure lands you on the last of the ebb, slack mid-morning, flood through the afternoon
- Water temp 11.3°C at the buoy
- Prereqs outstanding: 40-amp Scotty fuses, port downrigger re-line, shakedown run — today's blow is the window for all three
Updated 15h ago
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Operating Area — DFO Areas 19 & 20
Skipper's Brief
Pre-Departure
Check flares and expiration dates
PFDs and first aid kit
Fire extinguishers — expired unit flagged
Electronics, trim tabs, windlass, lights
Macerator Y-valve position
Fishing gear aboard and secured
Upcoming
May 20
Delivery Day
Portboathouse → Angler's Launch 09:00 splash. Garnet + Ian aboard, Alex runs vehicle to OBM.
May 31
Prawn Opener (proposed)
Satellite Channel, Area 19. Captain considering.
Aug 24–25
Sister Week (proposed)
Catherine + sisters. Dates TBD.
Do
Favor slack-adjacent windows
Keep route inshore
Check flare expiry dates
Verify all electronics
3-knot limit at Oak Bay
Don't
Exceed inshore envelope
Assume GO status
Discharge in marina
Fish within marina
Watch
No wind limit documented
No wave limit documented
Draft conflict (28 vs 30 in)
Water conflict (60 vs 80 gal)
How Red Rover Intel Works
Email prairie2home@gmail.com with a question about Red Rover. Prairie reads your message, checks the vessel's document set (owner's manual, 2024 survey, Oak Bay Marina rules, insurance policy), cross-references conditions data, and replies with sourced answers. Every claim cites a source document.
When Prairie doesn't have enough data, she says so — that's why you see NO DATA on wind and wave limits. Help fill the gaps by emailing new docs to Prairie.