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There is a lot of science that goes into fishing. Tackle companies spend millions of dollars annually to prove their product is better than anything else on the market. Along with that, there are just as many axioms on when the fish will or won't bite. "Never fish a West wind", " Fish a rising barometer" and others are things you hear from time to time.
While those rules hold some basis in truth, my question is how many anglers actually care about them? Most of the fishermen I know squeeze in a hour here or a morning there to get their angling fix. No self-respecting sportsman would say "I have three hours to spend on the water, but the barometer is steady so I guess I'll go mow the lawn." It just doesn't happen. "Why?" you ask.
Very few people in today's world have the luxury of setting their own schedule. Between work, family, traffic and honey-dos, time is at a premium and time to relax is even harder to come by. So when the opportunity presents itself to get out and do what you enjoy it must be seized; it may be weeks before you get another chance.
I have stood in the water fishing in the freezing cold, with a tropical storm breathing down our throats, blazing heat and pouring rain just because I had a couple of hours. I do draw the line at lightening though. There is a big difference between taking a couple hours to relax and risking your life to do it.
Personally, I hate to fish a West wind, but it has nothing to do with the fish. Here in South Florida, when the wind is from the west in August the temperature is always close to 100 degrees. I love to fish late afternoon just before sunset because that is when I get off work and need the time to myself. A rising barometer means that it is most likely going to be windy from the East. A falling barometer in Florida can be very bad especially between June and December. Fishing the daylight hours during a full moon can be slow, but you don't know 'till you try.
Ultimately, if I were able to pick the day and hour to go fishing, I would probably pay closer attention to things like the barometer and moon phase and........on second thought, no I wouldn't, I'd just go fishing.
Jim Dourney is the owner of www.snookguy.com and an avid saltwater fisherman. His family has lived in South Florida for many generations which gives him a unique insight into not only fishing the local waters, but to the surrounding area.
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