Fishing Tips: Radio Etiquette | Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks

Hey guys, I'm Captain Tammy Gray on the Real Action, and I'm gonna give you a little marine etiquette today about your marine radios. Everybody has at least one; somebody's having multiple. We have three through marine radio, and this one fret.

For instance, I can change my channels up and down. If I want to hail for help to the Coast Guard, I have an emergency button right here. High and low frequency—that's for if I'm close to somebody or far away. If you’re on high and somebody's really close to you, you're gonna blare them out; it’s gonna be really loud. So, you use high frequency when you're far away from each other and low frequency when you're really close.

We have a little network that we talk to fishermen. We have code words we use on the radio. We have places that we call by certain names that are certain numbers on your GPS, so that your buddies know where you're at, but the people that you don't want following you around, they don’t know where you're going.

The most important thing about your radio is hailing for help. If you need help—you're taking on water or your boat's on fire—you have a Marine distress number in case of emergency. You're gonna hit the 16:9 button, and that's gonna alert the Coast Guard.

For example, if we were actually having an emergency right now, I would pick up the radio and turn to the Coast Guard Station, saying, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! This is vessel WDG 5553, the Real Action." I'd give my longitude and latitude and tell them what's going on: the color of the boat, how many people I have, and my situation. They would then make a call on what to do next.

I'm Captain Tammy Gray, and that's how you use your marine radio. I hope this demonstration can help you when you're out on the water.