The Gulls

[AndyF]

How bad are the rocks around Little Gull Island? Tuna, I saw your post the other day in which you said you needed to keep the motor running to avoid hitting them. Is it that bad? Wondering how risky it is to go out there without someone who knows it well. I've checked out the charts, and have a GPS and good eyesight but am curious if that is really enough. Any thoughts?

[Tuna]

I fished it with Josh, who had fished it before, based on other posts and things I heard from guides. I've fished some rocky areas solo for the first time and have managed, and might have managed that day solo. But I am glad I was with someone who knew the area, as it had a strong tide moving through (stronger than I was used to) and the fish were often a quick drift into the rocks (or 6 inches away from them). When I was at the helm, I often let us slip closer to the rocks than made sense, just because I was unused to the speed of the water.

Had I fished it alone that day, I would have found it hard to cast, hookup and maneuver (or I would have put the boat on the rocks). Chances are I would have been skunked or left before the tide slowed and the bass became catchable on a mere 400 grain line.

But I was there a mere day. On an incoming tide, I was thinking the tide would pull you away from the rocks.

There may be others who know a better answer.

[AndyF]

Well, better to be skunked than sunked.

[MAKO20]

Andy-

The rocks between both islands can be pretty treacherous for someone whose inexperienced in the area (Not to say you're an inexperienced boater). The tide that rips through there pulls at a pretty good speed. Add in a ton of huge submurged boulders and it can become pretty hairy. I don't think it's dangerous enough to do any serious damage, but your hull might take a bit of a beating if the tide is just right.

If you are going to fish alone, I'd concentrate on fishing dead even between the islands. If you hook up and stop paying attention for even a minute, you could end up in some of the shallower water closer to either Big or Little gull. This is where you'll run into some problems.

The fishing can be fantastic out there, but for your first time, I'd go with someone else and trade off fishing duties while the other stays on the throttle.

[AndyF]

Thanks for the advice, which I will take.

[joshr]

Tuna and Andy give good advice, but I would edit one element of Andy's post. Between the two islands there is a reef formation that we call "the horseshoe".....you want to make sure you don't drift into it....at high water it is covered, but barely .... you will be able to see it there because the water flows over it weirdly. Frequently fish hold right in there with birds working right over it, so it can be tempting to get in tight to it....that is a mistake unless you really know what you are doing because you will think you can power away from the bolders and you'll be wrong. The current really rips through there and can swing you around as you are trying to pull away from the reef.

--Josh