T
hebesttimetogo
fishingiswhenyoucan.
Hardtoarguewith
that.Butwhenyoudo
havethelibertytopickand
chooseadaytohitthewater,
youwantanice,clearwindow
freeofsmudgeslikewind,rain,
waves,badtidesandother
fishingkillers.
I callitwindowshopping.
Intoday’sinformationage,
wecanplanaheadwithconfi-dence.InFlorida,summertime
seesfairlyconstant,predictable
conditions.Youwillbedrenched
insweatandbeggingfora
breezeby 9 a.m.andrunning
fromthunderstormsby3.Pretty
easy.
Butbyfall,changingweather
andseaconditionsushered
inbycoldfrontstriggermore
extremefluctuationsinwater
temps,windvelocity,direction
andbarometricpressure.These
changescanputthewhammyon
fishingaction.I amacharterguide,soI often
getcallsfromvisitorslooking
foratriptheverynextday,or
withinaweekorso.Sometimes
theyaskmetopickadayfor
them.I relyonwebsitesfor
real-timemeteorologicalobser-
vations,andextendedweather
forecastsforwind,temperature
andsurfconditions(whether
fishingthebeachornot).
I fishfromaflatsskiff,soI am
concernedwithpassengercom-
fortandsafety.It'sallaboutlee
shoresformeintheIndianRiverLagoon on especially blustery
days. Surf conditions tend to be
more predictable than that of
general weather conditions, and
especially wind velocity.
When I fish afoot on the
beach, my first concern is ocean
swell. It dictates my decision
whether to go at all. I use http://www.
magicseaweed.com which has
a basic and a “pro” version. The
basic package provides the swell
and wind forecast for my region
(I use Stuart Beach) seven days
out. The pro version allows me
predictions 16 days out. Either
version breaks down the surf
heights every three hours. It is
remarkably accurate. I pompano
fish primarily, and my cutoff to
effectively fish is a 4-foot swell.
Surfline.com is another great
site for surf cams and swell
predictions. For the surf, my
checkpoints in order are: swell
height, wind direction, wind
velocity, water temperature.
However, Doppler radar factors
in, because I don't stand on
beaches in pouring rain!
A big swell, from a distant
hurricane, for instance, can also
have profound effects on fishing
in the back bays, especially near
an inlet. The swell will push
more water inshore, making tide
heights higher and the water
more turbid. During large swells,
I have experienced very poor
fishing on the flats in a 3- to
5-mile radius of the St. Lucie
Inlet, along mid-channel shoals
and shorelines of the Indian
River Lagoon.
In my region, real-time surf
condition observation for “day
of” fishing is a snap thanks to
the Erdman beach cam network
(www.video-monitoring.com).
They operate 10 high-resolution
cameras from Sebastian Inlet
to Lake Worth Inlet. And there
are many surf cams statewide
that you can monitor at http://www.
surfline.com.
Lastly, sea surface tempera-
tures, at either extreme, might
not keep you off the water, but
may keep fish off your hook. If
you don't have a temperature
gauge on your boat's fishfinder,
it's a good idea to carry a small
pool thermometer. I'll also
check online indicators before
the day of fishing. One site I use
frequently is http://www.seatempera-
ture.org. It has over 170 Florida
coastal locations for daily
surface sea temp reports. FSByMikeConner
WindowShoppingEXPERTHOW-TOANDGEAR
INSHORE
It's never been easier to pick your days.View from EVS (Erdman
Video) camera looking south
from Jupiter Inlet, on Florida's
east coast. Decent pompano
water today; not so great for
sight-fishing.PENN
FATHOMIISTARDRAGREELS
Reachingoutforthosebullreds or dou-
ble-stringsofpompano?Pennpacks attractive
featuresintothenewCastingSpecial 15 version
ofitsFathomII StarDragreel.Like all of the
second-genFathoms,thereelfeatures a Fast
GearAccessSideplateforeasyservice, plus a
LiveSpindledesignforclass-leading free spool
forlong,effortlesscasts.Uniquetothe Casting
Specialaremagneticcastingbrake along with
upgradedspoolbearings.ThenewFathom Star
Dragshittheshelvesthismonth,with various
modelsranging$199.95to$219.95.
Seewww.PennFishing.com.NEW GEAR
16 SEPTEMBER 2019 http://www.FLORIDASPORTSMAN.com