Captain Favorite's Weekend Fishing Forecast: Oct. 30, 2014

BRADENTON – Cownose stingrays are migrating by the thousands! Stone crab season has finally arrived! A cold front which will approach from the Northwest and pass over most of the state on Thursday. Expect scatted showers and a few thunderstorms. Wind speeds will pick up Friday night and continue throughout the weekend.

• Cownose stingrays migrating by the thousands!
  Every spring and fall, people the world over have photographed flocks of migrating birds and waterfowl. But for some reason, migrating schools of “golden” rays swimming back and forth across the Gulf of Mexico are so seldom photographed that one woman’s pictures pop up multiple times when searching for information or glimpses of the natural spectacle.
• Actually called cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus), these stingrays migrate between western Florida and the Yucatan by the hundreds or thousands, heading northeast to western Florida in the spring and southwest to Mexico and the Caribbean in the fall.

• Stone crab season opens Oct. 15 in state, federal waters
  Florida’s recreational and commercial stone crab claw harvest season opens Oct. 15 in state and federal waters. To ensure this valuable resource is available for generations to come, take care when removing crab claws, and follow all protective management guidelines for stone crab harvest.
• To be harvested, stone crab claws must be at least 2¾ inches in length when measured from the elbow to the tip of the lower immovable portion of the claw (see illustration). View a video on how to properly remove the claw, and increase the likelihood of survival of the released crab.

• DEO, FDACS, FWC announce investment of $4.5 million to enlist oyster fishermen in continuing efforts to restore the Apalachicola oyster fishery
  The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced today an investment of $4.5 million to expand funding for hand-shelling operations that capitalize on the expertise of local oyster fishermen to aggressively continue oyster bed restoration efforts.

Fishing Forecast

The high pressure ridge over the Gulf is beginning to be squeezed out by a cold front which will approach from the Northwest and pass over most of the state on Thursday. Expect scatted showers and a few thunderstorms. Wind speeds will pick up Friday night and continue throughout the weekend.

Thursday
Northeast winds around 5 knots then becoming northwest around 10 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Isolated thunderstorms. Thursday night will bring northwest winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms.
2014/10/30 Thu 04:46 AM 2.3 H
2014/10/30 Thu 01:32 PM 0.21 L
2014/10/30 Thu 08:34 PM 1.65 H

Friday
North winds 5 to 10 knots increasing to around 15 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of showers in the morning. Friday night will bring northwest winds 10 to 15 knots increasing to around 20 knots after midnight. Bay and inland waters choppy.
2014/10/31 Fri 12:56 AM 1.42 L
2014/10/31 Fri 06:17 AM 2.11 H
2014/10/31 Fri 02:39 PM 0.31 L
2014/10/31 Fri 09:18 PM 1.75 H

Saturday
North winds around 20 knots. Bay and inland waters choppy. Saturday night will bring north winds 10 to 15 knots. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop.
2014/11/01 Sat 02:46 AM 1.23 L
2014/11/01 Sat 08:05 AM 1.99 H
2014/11/01 Sat 03:39 PM 0.43 L
2014/11/01 Sat 09:53 PM 1.88 H

Sunday
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots diminishing to 5 to 10 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Sunday night will bring northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop.
2014/11/02 Sun 03:09 AM 0.93 L
2014/11/02 Sun 08:42 AM 1.94 H
2014/11/02 Sun 03:30 PM 0.57 L
2014/11/02 Sun 09:24 PM 2.03 H

Solunar Forecast