Escape Winter — Now

If your patience has worn thin, good fishing awaits to the south

Do you miss the feel of a bent fishing rod, sun on your face and warm, wet feet? Are you feeling trapped by the snow, ice and frigid temperatures? Perhaps it’s time to escape to a better place, by heading south, way south.

The closest fishy escape destination, Florida and especially the Keys, sport an endless shoreline, warm, sunny days and bountiful supplies of accessible fish. If you’ve got an accomplice or two who can handle the non-stop driving marathon, leaving before dawn will get you there in time to start fishing the following morning.

You can fly as well, with bargains for the determined angler. One word of advice: Fly into Ft. Lauderdale, not Miami. Life will be easier.

The key to your successful escape is preparation. With Internet access you can find accommodations. FishHoo and MetaCrawler are excellent for your angling queries.

If you don’t have your own small craft to tow, small fishing boats can be rented all around the coast. Many shore-side motels offer free docking with their rooms, giving you 24-hour access to some great angling. In many areas of Florida, shoreline fishing can be productive.

This time of year there are tarpon, snook, jacks, snapper and about 50 other species of fish to pursue: many are delicious, and the others a thrill to catch.

Maximize your catching for the duration of your stay by booking a guide the first day — with the understanding that your money will also buy you a good local route to follow later, when you’re on your own.

New Orleans is also within marathon driving range. It too is a relatively inexpensive air-ticket. This time of year, the Big Easy’s superb light-tackle redfish angling is at its best. Prospects for speckled seatrout and black puppy drum are also excellent, and Louisiana’s freshwater largemouth bass fishing is great.

Souther Still

Way farther south, Cancun, Mexico, has some great deals this time of year, especially since the imperiled global economy has stimulated competition for tourist dollars.

Cancun, on the Mayan Riviera, is an intensively developed wintertime vacation area targeted to Americans. An inexpensive cab ride northwest will bring you to good do-it-yourself wade fishing for bonefish, jacks, snapper and small barracuda.

Cancun has the additional advantage of direct flights out of BWI; if you leave on an early morning flight you can be warm and fishing later that afternoon. It’s only about six hours air time and about the same cost as flying to Florida.

South out of Cancun is Ascension Bay and a half-dozen or so resorts that cater to the tropical flats angler. Resorts are not cheap, but you get picked up at the airport in Cancun, comfortable lodging and a flats skiff with a skilled guide who can put you onto vast quantities of bonefish, jacks, barracuda and even, perhaps, the elusive permit. This place is a light-tackle angler’s dream. And it’s warm.