Fishing in January and February can be frustrating. Even March is tough as the winds are usually high. With Christmas and New Year's out of the way, fishing is on the minds of many. However in January and February you just have to get used to the rhythm of the weather. With cold fronts coming in every few days, you must adjust your fishing days. Weekends are notoriously jammed with windy or cold weather. This is not a vendetta by the weather man, but comes from the North Pole, and is attenuated by Jet Stream’s movement. When the Jet Stream dips into Florida, we get our real cold weather.
Fish bite very well before a front, (for most anglers) but after the front the water is muddy and the winds are hard. There are usually 1 to 3 calm days between fronts. It usually takes a couple of days for the winds to die down after the front moves through. On the 3rd or 4th day, the weather may calm and you have a window of 1 to 3 days before the next front moves in. Wow, that makes it tough doesn't it?
When the front gets closer, winds will begin moving towards the front as the low pressure from the front pulls the air toward it. In our area, you can usually see the front coming in marked by a definite line of clouds stretching from the South West to the North East as the front moves off Louisiana/Alabama and aims toward the Central Gulf Coast of Florida. Therefore, when fishing the day of the front, you can usually get a couple signals to cast one more time before you have to come home. The winds will get too strong and/or the bank of clouds of the front moving in gets too close. When the front gets visible, don't wait too long. Be safe and anticipate with a good margin. Thunder, lightening, wind and big waves are not friends.
Although our local weather people are very good, they do not always get the winds just right. My motto when wanting to fish between the fronts, is to go to the water and look at what the winds are actually doing. My friend had a huge pine tree in his yard, he lived very close to the water near Howard Park. He would go out into the street and watch his pine tree. If the moss was still he would go fishing. If not, he would retreat to the TV or some unnessary mundane chore.
Comments