The Arsenal of a Charter Captain's Weather Reports
Lake Michigan’s weather patterns can be vastly different than the weather on dry land. As a charter captain, people message me all the time for ways to keep up to date on the weather. The most important tool you can have is to be close and take the weather as it comes and be ready to adapt if necessary. I have compiled a list of sites that I monitor on a very regular basis throughout the season. I’ll add some more thoughts about the weather and making tough calls at the bottom of the page, but lets get into the tools!
NOAA’s weather forecast specifically forecasts weather over the lake as opposed to the forecast in the town of Sheboygan. I have found the wave forecast to be the most accurate means of predicting wave heights at any given time. Wind, fog, and precipitation is also part of the forecast.
Windfinder.com is a “Go-To” for forecasting if fishing trips will be safe and comfortable in Sheboygan. Use the free version to get wind forecasts for every three hours, or choose to pay the fee for a subscription and up to the hour forecasts.
This weather buoy will give you wind and wave reports and is typically updated every couple hours. Not only are wind and wave direction and speed given, but wave interval also comes in handy in determining the mood of Lake Michigan. The buoy is located in 120 feet of water south east of the Sheboygan harbor. Temperature readings are also given at several different depths, so this is one tool that can help you put more trout and salmon in the boat by finding where temperature breaks are located throughout the column. I use this feature a lot if the winds have been too strong to fish for a day or two and I want to see how water temperatures have been affected by that wind. It’s easier to plan the next fishing trip when I have this information before I leave the dock. Note: The buoy is taken out at the time of this blog. I will update the link when the buoy is placed back in the water.
Sheboygan Lakeshore Webcams
The Sheboygan North Beach webcam is particularly helpful for real time updates on wave conditions with a north wind. With a south wind, conditions may look calm due to waves being blocked by the piers.
Another angle with a better view of the piers.
The Blue Harbor webcam is helpful for real-time updates on wave conditions with a south wind. With a north wind, conditions may look calm due to waves being blocked by the piers.
Sheboygan’s lighthouse has wind speeds up to the hour listed in knots. Knots are similar to miles per hour, but 1 knot is actually 1.151 mph. 17 knots is very close to 20 miles per hour.
There are a lot of sources for you to use for weather radar. I prefer to use the weather channel not only for a display of how a storm has already traveled, but also for the predicted rate and severity of storms. Storms that come across Wisconsin generally break slightly at Lake Winnebago and then completely fizzle out because of Lake Michigan’s cold wall of air and I feel the weather channel’s radar accounts for that in their prediction better than others. It’s still best to err on the side of safety when fishing Lake Michigan.
Another helpful site for tracking wind forecasts.
Keep in mind as storms pop up, winds can vary greatly and storm prediction is currently unreliable especially as they get closer to Lake Michigan. I like to use all of these tools as a baseline for determining whether it is safe and comfortable to fish Lake Michigan, but nothing beats current personal observations. Good luck on the water!