Is Capers Nearshore Reef within sight of land? I want to fish it but I don’t have a gps so I would like to still be able to see shore
Yes, but I wouldn’t go there without a gps
On a clear day,i have been there and could not see land…its only like 8 miles to the beach…
FYI you need to get off the main numbers to get some really nice BSB…
Getting home would be no problem but finding it might be a challange w/o a GPS.
A wise man once said “Do as I say not as I do” Good advice when I tell you that.
Not to be rude… but I figure a compass would get you home just fine. Finding it is a whole different subject unless there are already other boats there.
Key West 2300cc Mercury 225 optimax “Fish Tale”
On a clear day at sea level, the horizon is roughly 7 miles away. Trees, and tall buildings can be seen further than that, depending on height of buildings and height of eye.
quote:
Not to be rude... but I figure a compass would get you home just fine.
Yep, and no boat should be out of sight of land without a compass.
I don’t want to be rude either, but I’m old and fished offshore for 30 years before GPS was invented. Somehow we always found what we were looking for, and always found our way home 
Although there have been times when I couldn’t even tell you what country’s waters we were in. Dang sextants didn’t work good at all on cloudy days.
If you can’t run 8 miles without a GPS, might want to re-think going out there.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Last time there,i saw 2 markers one was big and red,i think you can find those…
You can easily find it by compass, As Gut wrench said there are big markers bouys on it. I hope you at least have a fish finder to mark the structures. You should be able to easily see the land on the horizon.
I used to navigate a head boat with a compass and an egg timer many days when Loran was not working. Just figure out your bearing from a shipping channel bouy & distance - speed = time. Then when you get close lower your anchor so its just barely touching the bottom and fish. When you catch a few - let the anchor rope out and let it hold. That’s how we used to do it!
With the affordability of todays GPS’s and the availability of the coordinates of all the structures out there it is silly to me to go out there without it. Yes, it can be navigated to without a GPS but you be saving yourself a whole bunch of time and effort looking around for stuff on the sounder when you could just show up and fish the structure much more efficiently with a GPS. Whatever tickles your fancy I suppose. I even have cell service there…
I had a old timer tell me one time he would get home using a AM transaster radio and point the antenna to find a radio station. Thought he was just blowing smoke but then i remember when I was a kid how we had to get radio stations. So just get a old AM transaster radio with a pull out antenna you will be fine.
A wise man once said “Do as I say not as I do” Good advice when I tell you that.
I’ve used AM radios for RDF many times and many years, still do. From offshore Savannah I can receive AM stations from Sav, Charleston, Jax and Brunswick. If you can plot a LOP from 2 or more stations, where those lines cross is where you be Works when LORAN didn’t or GPS doesn’t. Not pinpoint accuracy, but within less than a mile anyway. There used to be an AM RDF signal from the Savannah Light tower, it just transmitted SAV in Morse every 30 seconds or so, not very entertaing but it sure would get you home. Tower is now gone. Container ship ran over it.
I’ve had this old portable Panasonic 8 band DF for over 30 years and dozens of boats. Still works every day that I do.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
That was the old radio direction finder. The units had a loop like antenna and a compass dial. It was rustic - but it would get you back to the shipping channel. I have one that was made in 1937. There are plenty of fishing opportunities for people that don’t have fancy boats with lots of high dollar equipment. I used to fish with a guy that had a john boat with a 25 hp motor with a rope pull start. We would go a little past the jetties on very flat days and drift with bottom rigs, small hooks & cut shrimp & mullet. Sometimes we would just about fill the boat with whiting & spots, trout , flounder and sometimes a big cobia would show up! Its about having fun!
quote:
The units had a loop like antenna and a compass dial.
Old school technology will still get you home. You can DF on Rush Limbaugh just as good as you can an RDF nav station.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Make sure you take your sun dial to tell what time it is too
The bouy at the reef is also sitting right next to a very large structure You wont have a problem finding bottom to fish
My RDF unit is much older that yours. The antenna was a 1/2 circle affair with a big dial. Almost as ancient as a crystal set radio - lots of the younger guys won’t know what the crystal - coil type radio is!. It was amazing how many fish we caught back then, and we all knew that it was so simple - head for the sunrise in the AM and follow the sunset home. I have no problem with an inshore-nearshore fisher scrimping on some toys - just have good safety equipment within the law & a radio.
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker Larryquote:
The units had a loop like antenna and a compass dial.
Old school technology will still get you home. You can DF on Rush Limbaugh just as good as you can an RDF nav station.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
What everyone said about navigating without GPS is very true, and anyone who goes offshore should have the skills to get home if their GPS goes out.
That said, if you have a smartphone, you have a GPS. Just need a cheap app to use it.
on good days you can see the bridge from the chas. 60,