Longer fishing days, spring are on the way
Article By Capt. Jerry Dilsaver, Special to the Pilot Feb 28, 2024 Updated Feb 28, 2024
After getting off to a bit of a chilly start, February settled down and was a really nice winter month – except for nearly relentless winds. Some days started with temps near freezing, but most warmed at least into the 50s, with the 60s being common, the 70s occasionally and even setting some new daytime highs in the 80s. However, there weren’t a lot of weather windows to head offshore due to pesky and persistent winds. The good news is that when the winds calmed, the fish were biting.
We’re on what is usually the last day of February as this comes out, but this is leap year and we have an extra day. I hope you take advantage of it and then we leap into a March this is overall nicer weather than February – especially with lighter winds. There are good things happening in March, including the start of Daylight Saving Time on the 10th and spring easing in just before midnight on the 19th. Yes, being leap year, with the extra day in February, spring comes in a day earlier in March. This is also a year that Easter is in March on the 31st.
I’m one of those folks who really enjoys Daylight Saving Time and looks forward to it returning each year. The days don’t actually get longer, but we shift our clocks to move an hour of sunlight from the morning to the afternoon. This makes it more useful for a lot of people. There are different definitions of useful, but one big thing is there will be time to go fishing after work and before dark.