Fishing With Jay: There’s no Smyrna Like New Smyrna

Located less than 15 miles south of Daytona Beach and the famous Bike Week, Jeep Week and the only track to tame Dale Ernhart, New Smyrna Beach offers a sandlot of watery options to anyone wanting to get some salt in their gills.

No matter what stresses life fires your way, ten minutes in the surf or lagoon will have you thinking…nothing. Like an eraser rubbed down your medulla, the only thoughts that come your way are where to be in position to make the drop or how not to blow the cast.

There’s a freedom that comes with this lifestyle, one that immerses itself in your thoughts, actions and soul. Almost everyone here is super-chill. If a bomb went off in their front yard they’d walk around the crater to hook up the boat.

The residents live for the water, protect it and even build their occupations around it, so they’re pretty serious about keeping things the way nature made it. When the surf is up or the bite is on, the streets are barren but the water is packed with all the people you love.