SURF & PIER

Go south young man! Women too! Our water temperature has now dropped into the 50’s! So – do not waste you precious time, energy and money, surf or pier fishing here, in North Florida, at least until the water temps rise above 60, and maybe even 64. How far south do you need to go? Well, that is a moving target. My target is 70 degrees. Here are a couple of websites that will help you plan a successful road trip south. The most important thing is the water temp. Just search the web for “SST charts” which stands for sea-surface-temperature-charts. There are several good ones. My favorite is the web address that contains Rutgers.edu. Next in importance, is the wind and weather. Winter cold fronts rolling out of Canada can ruin even a South Florida road trip. My favorite site to use is intellicast.com. There you can see current and future wind speeds. Look for the break where the speeds are below 15 MPH, and warm out of the south or southeast for best beach conditions.
There are plenty of sites in regard to the weather. I have had very good luck with wunderground.com. If you put it all together with wind, weather, and water temp, you are just about guaranteed a day of fun. Last week I drove my charter 3.5 hours south to Vero Beach. The very first cast was a nice fat pompano. For the next four hours, we caught whiting, pompano, redfish, and blacktip sharks.
If a road trip is not in your future, maybe maintenance can help you. What kind? Start with the most important, which is your reels!  Salt spray is deadly on your equipment. Use this down-time to break down your reels, and clean and lube every part and piece. If you are not comfortable doing it yourself, them send them off to the manufacture for a thorough cleaning. This will ensure that you have a fun spring run. That sure beats a crusty reel that you have not touched since November!
This is also a great time to improve your long-distance casting. I can meet you at an athletic field if you would like to learn how to cast 300 feet, 400 feet, and beyond. One of my students has now broken 500 feet! This is not pie in the sky. All my surf casters have reached at least 300 feet. Tight lines!