I'd like to take it offshore a little, but how far in a 19 and to where? Never been outside the jetties but would like to catch a tuna, snapper, even a shark. Have a couple surf rods, ugly sticks with penn reels which have done well on bull reds. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Before you go running offshore, do some coastal fishing within 2-5 miles of shore. Get used to how your boat handles etc. Whalers are awesome boats & can take alot (my boat is a 'corporate cousin' so I know your boat can take alot).

But, no matter how much your boat can handle, you need to get the experience under your belt in small-boat handling in ocean conditions before you run out offshore. Just my two cents!

Apreciate the two cents Mr Greek ,saftey first and all. I figure I should hire a guide or take a class on offshore boat handling before subjecting this mama's boy to the rigors of offshore boating. Never considered coastal fishing though and that's a great idea. I could launch at Packery, cruise to Big Shell and piss off all the shark fishermen whilst bobbing around the third gut. May as well give that a try this weekend. Thanks again.

gritz, you can get some really good shark fishing quite close to shore. Also quite a few good reefs & oil rigs within sight of land out of Port A & packery

Go Straight out of Packery to Big Southern. It's only 25 miles and theres all kind of big critters out there including sharks for you to catch. I took my 19 foot Bluewave there twice this summer.

Thanks fellars. I'll be studying my map this week for the aforementioned reefs. Long as we can see land, mama should be happy (or at least quiet). Big Southern is now marked in my notebook Strangler (nice South Texas whitetail), but feel I need to grow a pair before venturing that far..perhaps the weekend of Halloween. Sharks that close huh?

Thanks but that's a Whitetail from North of I-20(Shackelford County). Do what I did and put about 100 miles of offshore driving on the boat within sight of land before you get out of sight of land. Also get all the safty equipment you can. EPIRB Two Radios Flares Smoke Extra Beer.

Before you go barrelling out the end of the jetties you'd better do your homework on wind/wave conditions.

Anything over 3 foot you'd probably should stay inside the jetties.

Your Whaler won't sink but I've seen them capsize. As far as I'm concerned one is as bad as the other.

Check the National Data Buoy Center website for offshore wind/wave conditions. Good Luck.

I thought big southern was a bit further out than that? I guess i need to study my map a little bit closer.

+1

It's only 24 and change from the ramp at Packery Channel. At least the Data that I have says that. I know it's a long haul from Port A to get there. The Liberty ships are easy to get to from Packery as well.

we went 20 miles out of the port a jetty saturday. just set a waypoint at the jetty. and drove till we couldnt see land. take some beer to trade with the shrimpboat and get a onion sack full of shrimp.

weather permitting, of course.

Im going to have to make it out to the Big Southern then. Iv'e been out to the liberty ships several times and never there. Ill get there as soon as the weather permits. What kinda fish can be taken there?

What is the name of the "new close offshore ship reef" everyone was talking about several weeks ago??

I havent heard of that one. Is it out of the packery channel?

I've been 30 miles out in my Aquasport no problems. Just be mindful of safety provisions and weather. I wouldn't have any reservations on taking a 19' Whaler at least that far on a nice day.

Seas 2ft or less and winds under 10 knots.....have at it.

If it isn't going to be those conditions for a couple days in a row then you best stick close to the jetties or you will regret it.

3 footers ain't doable in that boat for any distance....3 footers with any chop and you are talking making 10 knots at best and getting soaked and beat up in the process. For 25 miles...that's the worst 2.5 hours you will ever spend in a boat.

Your boat is more than capable of fishing nearshore. Summer is going to be your best bet...dead of winter you get some very calm seas right after cold fronts if you can time them just right. Have to be careful though because sometimes the south wind will pick up and make things ugly...seas that go from south to north and back to south again can turn into a washing machine in a small boat.

Baitfish, that's exactly how I look at it when I take my bay boat out. If I'm making 10 mph and getting soaked and beat to death, do I really want to run to the rigs. Half the time, half my guests are going to be green anyway. If it's flat and I can make 20 mph, I go for it. Last time at POC, I was making 5 mph getting soaked and beat up just to get to the jetty. On small boats the weather dictates. Hope for bluewater, but have a back up plan.

Caught this guy in my 17ft Key West skiff...just pick your days and have electronics that allow you to call for help if sh@t hits the fan.

Thats what I'm talking about! Awesome small craft trophy.