Best Days to Fish February:
2-4, 9-13, 16-18, 21-28
Routine isn’t always a bad thing, and depending on what type of schedule you follow in your everyday life, it can be very good for you! If only we could be fortunate enough to schedule prayer, meditation, mental and physical exercise, community service, and playing in the outdoors around our everyday effort to sustain economical stability in our lives, the world would be a better place.
For our family, fishing, paddling and camping are part of this routine, but we have found you must pay to play. Each year I make a point of buying my new Florida Recreational License for both salt and fresh water fishing between Christmas and New Year’s, which coincides with our annual camping trip to Longpoint Park. The campground there is situated on a speck of an island located just off the Indian River Lagoon’s eastern shore, north of Sebastian Inlet State Park.
During our week-long stay we primarily spend our time eating and drinking, collecting firewood and building campfires, watching nature, fishing, paddling and hiking, and then eating and drinking more! My wife Karen and I also make a point of looking at the year ahead and planning for it with our calendars in hand. The cost of this annual trip is affordable, and the results are priceless.
Planning ahead is usually one of the distinct attributes of a serious angler. As an advocate of beginning with the end in mind, I encourage you to consider your fishing objectives and goals each year to increase your pleasure and efficiency.
During our end of the year retreats we know it’s time for surf fishing, weather permitting, so we plan accordingly. We geared up to catch pompano, whiting, black drum and bluefish along the beaches north and south of Sebastian Inlet, and with water temperatures this year hovering in the upper 60’s and the waves being on the small side, we were able to reap the rewards of our sound judgment. We focused our full attention on surf fishing, and the pompano we cooked over the campfire were delicious.
Quite often the cost of success, whether it comes during a quick fishing trip close to home, or a continent-crossing journey planned a year or more in advance, is more affordable and enjoyable when planned wisely.
Cobia and tripletail will be the topic for my March column.
For more information on the following dates, contact Rodney Smith at irlcoast@ gmail.com.
• February 5th at 6 pm in Rockledge — “Fishing Smart in the Surf ”
• February 6th in Sebastian — Surf Fishing Workshop
• February 9th at 9 am to1 pm — Merritt Island Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge Cleanup
• February 13th in Ft. Peirce — Surf Fishing Workshop
• February 20th — Free Veteran’s Go Fishing Day
• February 27th in New Smyrna Beach — Surf Fishing Workshop
• March 2nd in Apopka — Train the Trainers in Recreational Fishing Educational Outreach • March 6th from 6-8 pm in Titusville — Surf Fishing Workshop
If you have any outdoor questions, please write Captain Rodney Smith via e-mail at irlcoast@gmail.com.
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