Grand Isle Louisiana 2015 fishing the rigs for Mangroves

Fishing Grand Isle 2015

[@bretguidry6603]

how far out were y'all?

[@vidsoutmike]

9 miles I think.

[@tomdobyns2062]

100 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico isn't unusual for small boats..... especially those skippered by captains with more hormones than sense. Isn't it amazing how rough 100 foot deep water can get with a 50 MPH breeze ?

[@terryfonz4603]

Buddy there’s no way in hell that little bay boat was out 100 miles and no absolutely zero captains go 100 miles offshore in bay boats! they were in 100 feet and under as the water was not blue yet! Still dark and green the mangroves hang at the 60 foot rigs often in that range and so the inshore captains go tear them up. This was Grand Isle so 100 miles off is all blue water. There’s also no fog in Grand Isle in summer months. That’s spring time cold water hot air.

[@tomdobyns2062]

Boooop......Booooop. Of all the silly sounds for an oil rig fog horn to make, no one can tell where the rig is in the fog, nor can they tell how far off it is, nor can anyone tell in which direction it is. Add to this that rigs come in bunches, and the whole scenario gets silly. Rigs are everywhere and no where. Shut the engine off, try to figure out the direction by compass (which a lot of the smaller boats don't have), then idle in the appropriate direction for a couple minutes. Shut the engine off, and repeat. If you have a chart (hint... hint), you can usually look the rig number up on it.... unless it's a digital chart, which never seems to have the rig numbers. Out in the middle of no where, everything looks the same. Thankfully, fog usually means relatively calm waters, but not always. To also consider, is bad weather or darkness or fog, all of which decrease viability.. They always mean running along at a slow speed to prevent accidents.... or running aground. A depth sounder is really a necessity. It's a good idea to have enough canned food to feed everyone for a few days, along with the basics such as a spare battery and generator.... and belts. The water is a dangerous place under the best of conditions. Add in a crew that doesn't have a lot of experience, or traveling in a new area, or navigating around the Mississippi river, or not having a radio, or life jackets, or multiple fire extinguishers, and the water becomes a really fun death trap. People that intend to go off shore need something with a covered water tight deck. You will see. Like my late wife used to say, "Usually the most fun things are the most dangerous". I think what she meant was open water could be either safe or not.... but, knowing her, maybe not too.