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Helpful Links

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Included below are a number of links which you may find helpful in planning your next fishing trip or for checking up on conditions just before heading out. As the websites we are linking to may change you might occasionally find a broken link here. If you do, or if you know of a link you think we should include, please let us know by filling out our contact form.

Current Conditions and Forecasts (weather, tides etc.)

Weather
  • www.accuweather.com - Detailed hour by hour forecast
  • www.wunderground.com - A good forecast broken down into 3 hour segments. Also has excellent hurricane information.
  • www.wxnation.com/orlando/ - A collection of links for all kinds of things having to do with weather in and around Orlando (or choose another location).
  • http://www.wxqa.com/states/FL.html - Links to private weather stations in Florida. You may have to use your browser's search feature to find a station in the town you're looking for (the list is not organized by location) but once you find it look for the "Neighboring Stations" list down the page. All or most of the sites include information include information on tempurature and barometric pressure, Some also include relative humidity/dewpoint and a few have wind speed.
Ocean Conditions (wind, waves, tempurature)
Current Winds
  • http://www.iwindsurf.com/ - Sure, it's windsurfing but the reports work for fishing too! Covers many sites up and down each coast of Florida. Also includes graphical tide chart (see below).
Tides
  • www.saltwatertides.com - Includes tide information for locations all over the US. Pick a location, a starting date, then how many days worth of information you want.
  • http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ - Drill down to the station you want using the map on the homepage. Once you find the station click on it then on one of the links on the information popup. Several kinds of data are available including the predicted and observed tide levels. You can access past data on the Tide Data pages (preliminary, verified or predictions) by setting the date range to up to one complete month. Spend enough time here studying how the wind, rain and other variables affect the tide in the area where you fish and you are much less likely to be surprised by a particularly high or low tide.
  • http://www.iwindsurf.com/ - A little difficult to navigate to but the graphical tide charts on this site make it easy to see where the predicted tide level will be at a particular point. Navigate to the location you want tide for and look for the "Tides" link on the left navigation bar. Tides are available for at least some locations that require a login for wind forecasts.
Surface Water Levels (freshwater rivers, canals etc.)

Regulations & Permits

Buy a Fishing License Online - available for most states:

Most states allow you to purchase a fishing license online, which tends to be much easier and less time-consuming than standing in line at a big-box store until someone comes along who actually knows how to sell you a license.

Local/Florida Information:

Aerial Photos/Maps:

  • http://www.bing.com/maps/ - Look before you go. Overhead aerial high definition photographs of the US and many other parts of the world.
  • http://earth.google.com/ - Similar to local.live (site above) but with more options. Requires download and installation.

Places to go in and around Orlando:

Orlando area Freshwater fishing:
St. John's Water Management District Recreation Guide:
  • https://www.sjrwmd.com/lands/recreation/ - This guide provides information on the public lands owned by the St. John's Water Management District. Orlando is in the South Central region. Many of the properties have pdf maps which you can print out and take with you.
Ocala National Forest:

  • http://www.fs.usda.gov/florida/ - National Forests in Florida. For information on Ocala click on the "Ocala " link on the "activities" menu to the left. Click on the "Maps and Brochures" link on the left side to find maps and brochures for Ocala. Places to fish in the Ocala National Forest are detailed on this page.

  • www.florida-outdoors.com/article_ocala_canoe.htm - An interesting article on canoeing in Ocala. You could do it in a kayak too!
Tenoroc Fish Management Area
Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River
  • http://www.fws.gov/merrittisland/ - Information on Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge fishing, hunting and other activities. Make sure you have the self issuing permit (see "Regulations and Permits" above) if you decide to fish the Refuge.
DEP Trails
Freshwater Boat Ramps

Other helpful resources:

  • Florida DeLorme atlas
  • County maps
  • Pasadena TopSpots maps
  • Standard Mapping overhead aerial photographs.
  • Bing Maps, Flash Earth, Google Earth, and other online overhead aerial sites.

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