# Blue Water hopefully headed towards Nipple area



## Sharkey

I work on the Noble Danny Adkins, we are currently in Miss. Canyon, near Mars and Ursa. The water is Cobalt here, they have been killing the yellowfin on live hardtails. There is a loop current here and a huge eddy underneath the loop, currently the loop is pushing west to east at about 2.5 knts. Keeping my fingers crossed this will bring good water to the nipple by mid To late August.


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## Chris V

Good info. Thanks for sharing


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## RedLeg

Good stuff...after that we'll need good weather!


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## Kim

The Loop Current is an ocean current that transports warm Caribbean water through the Yucatan Channel between Cuba and Mexico. The current flows northward into the Gulf of Mexico, then loops southeastward just south of the Florida Keys (where it is called the Florida Current), and then just west of the westernmost Bahamas. Here, the waters of the Loop Current flow northward along the U.S. coast and become the Gulf Stream. With current speeds of about 0.8 m/s, the Loop Current is one of the fastest currents in the Atlantic Ocean. The current is about 200 - 300 km (125 - 190 miles) wide, and 800 meters (2600 feet) deep, and is present in the Gulf of Mexico about 95% of the time. During summer and fall, the Loop Current provides a deep (80 - 150 meter) layer of vary warm water that can provide a huge energy source for any lucky hurricanes that might cross over.

*Figure 1.* The Loop Current flow northwards into the Gulf of Mexico. Every 6-11 months, a bulge in the current cuts off into a clockwise-rotating eddy that then drifts slowly west-southwestward towards Texas. Image credit: NOAA.
The Loop Current commonly bulges out in the northern Gulf of Mexico and sometimes will shed a clockwise rotating ring of warm water that separates from the main current (Figure 1). This ring of warm water slowly drifts west-southwestward towards Texas or Mexico at about 3-5 km per day. This feature is called a "Loop Current Ring", "Loop Current Eddy", or "Warm Core Ring", and can provide a key source of energy to fuel rapid intensification of hurricanes that cross the Gulf, in addition to the Loop Current itself. The Loop Current pulsates in a quasi-regular fashion and sheds rings every 6 to 11 months. When a Loop Current Eddy breaks off in the Gulf of Mexico at the height of hurricane season, it can lead to a dangerous situation where a vast reservoir of energy is available to any hurricane that might cross over. This occurred in 2005, when a Loop Current Eddy separated in July, just before Hurricane Katrina passed over and "bombed" into a Category 5 hurricane. The eddy remained in the Gulf and slowly drifted westward during September. Hurricane Rita passed over the same Loop Current Eddy three weeks after Katrina, and also explosively deepened to a Category 5 storm.
So, a key question each hurricane season is: when will the next Loop Current Eddy break off, creating a ready-made high-octane energy source for any hurricane that might pass by? A good way to answer this question is to study the behavior of the Loop Current over the past year. This can be viewed at Navy Research Lab's web site, including a large movie (51 Mb) of the past year's currents. This movie has arrows showing the direction of the current, plus a color coding that represents the height of the sea surface above mean level. The higher the height, the warmer the water (since warm water expands and thus raises the sea level where it is at).
We've also saved a copy of this animation covering the period October 2005-October 2006. One can see at the beginning of the animation the Loop Current Eddy that fueled Katrina and Rita sitting in the Gulf of Mexico south of Louisiana. This eddy moves slowly west-southwest to a point off the Texas coast by November, where it gradually dissipates. A small Loop Current Eddy breaks off eight months later in March, and a large one just four months later, in July. The July 2006 eddy gets temporarily re-absorbed in September, then breaks free again by October.


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## Sharkey

So are you predicting good or bad?


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## Kim

It does the same thing once or twice a year and it's easy to track at the navy ocean research center site. It also has all the information of the subscription sites, altimetry, currents speed and direction, chlorophyll etc. You just have to find the right links and book mark them.


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## Sharkey

Okay, thanks for the info, they have all of that stuff onboard the platform i am on also.


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## Subdude

Its been rolling out here in the Thunderhorse field too. Headed ENE. Purple water and lots of grass. 1 more week and im swapping this steel hull for a fiberglass boat and getting me some.


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## Captain Woody Woods

Kim said:


> It does the same thing once or twice a year and it's easy to track at the navy ocean research center site.


In the six years I have been fishing Venice regularly, we have never had a loop current come this close. The past 2 weeks, we have dealt with current up to 3 knots or more out of the west, on every rig in Mississippi canyon.


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## Captain Woody Woods

Subdude said:


> Its been rolling out here in the Thunderhorse field too. Headed ENE. Purple water and lots of grass. 1 more week and im swapping this steel hull for a fiberglass boat and getting me some.


Where did West Auriga go, do you know?


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## Sharkey

Not sure on that Woody, can I send you a PM about a question I have?


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## Frenchy

Woody about three years ago we mobilized for a shallow job on Mirage and were never able to dive, even work class ROV were struggling, it was in February though...


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## Captain Woody Woods

Sharkey said:


> Not sure on that Woody, can I send you a PM about a question I have?


Sure


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## Captain Woody Woods

Frenchy said:


> Woody about three years ago we mobilized for a shallow job on Mirage and were never able to dive, even work class ROV were struggling, it was in February though...


Ya I have seen it come close to Titan and Independence Hub. Usually in late March, early April. Incredible temperature break on it, too. Like 70 on 79 degree water. Let me see if I have a screen shot from several years ago


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## Captain Woody Woods

Here we go..


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## Downtime2




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## Subdude

The Auriga moved out of here by West Vela about a month or so ago. I passed it in the Loop safety fairway anchored up last week headed to Fourchon. Supposed to be alot of Steel hitting the Gulf in the next 2 years. Good for fishing and even better for my wallet.


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## Captain Woody Woods

Subdude said:


> The Auriga moved out of here by West Vela about a month or so ago. I passed it in the Loop safety fairway anchored up last week headed to Fourchon. Supposed to be alot of Steel hitting the Gulf in the next 2 years. Good for fishing and even better for my wallet.


I saw that too. Another dozen or so new builds from Singapore. Awesome.


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## spinfactor

That's good news for many working the gulf and anglers fishing in around Louisiana. Be nice if some were off Pensacola within 30 miles. That would help increase our fish population I'm sure.


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## Reelbait

It was off Pensacola abouut 30 miles out Saturday. We trolled all day near and around the nipple with about 25+ other boats. Mostly white marlin raised with dredges. Bait balls were deep.


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## Reel Rowdy

Reelbait said:


> It was off Pensacola abouut 30 miles out Saturday. We trolled all day near and around the nipple with about 25+ other boats. Mostly white marlin raised with dredges. Bait balls were deep.


I wouldn't call it Blue, really not even close......but it certainly was MUCH better than it has been. Definitely a nice blue/green. Important thing is that the bait was there!


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## Tofnda

after that we'll need good weather!


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## MrFish

Reel Rowdy said:


> I wouldn't call it Blue, really not even close......but it certainly was MUCH better than it has been. Definitely a nice blue/green. Important thing is that the bait was there!


Yeah, it was a nice blended bluish green. Saw some tuna busting on flyers about 2 miles north of the edge. Scattered grass all out there. Didn't see many mahi, though.


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## Captain Woody Woods

I think the mahi are going to be around for awhile, after showing up so late this year. The line I got on east of blind faith last Tuesday had a pretty good showing of them. Missed one 40+ all day long. Some really nice north-south lines that day pushing west (east wind) between Globetrotter and Faith.


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## Tom Hilton

Captain Woody Woods said:


> Where did West Auriga go, do you know?


*West Auriga - *Drillship - 2847.434 9000.019 - Grand Isle 71 - 07/22/2014 - Acceptance Testing -


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## bpy

It was NASTY at Petronius on Friday. Prettier water at Perdido Pass than what we saw.


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