The classic North Florida beach hunt — Ponte Vedra and the adjacent Mickler's Beach feed off the same offshore Hawthorn-derived phosphate horizon. Mickler's gets the press but Ponte Vedra (just north) is quieter and just as productive after a NE blow.
Solid hunting day. Best window opens around the 6:13 PM low (0.6 ft, likely 0.3 ft below NOAA → more beach exposed). Moderate E winds (9 mph); seas 3 ft+ — murky and choppy.
Next 3 days: Today is the pick (75); Sun runs cooler at 67.
Plan around the great low-tide window. 3.9ft swing · low 6:13 PM · 13mph onshore stir · post-storm · +6 event boost.
Impact on visibility and stir-up over the next 5 days.
The Hunt Score blends tide range, lunar phase, daylight timing, recent stir, wind setup, and surf.
Highly favorable. Worth the drive.
We are deliberate about which factors to include. These are not currently in the model:
If you think we should add one of these, log a hunt with notes — every rated outcome helps us decide which signals actually predict tooth count.
Walk the wrack line on a falling tide the day after a NE wind event. Look for the dark shell-and-phosphate lag below the upper wrack. Sift if you want — most finds are surface-visible.
Multiple free public access points off A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach. The Guana Tolomato Matanzas Reserve south of town has additional walk-on access.
Open beach surface collection is fine. Inside the GTM Reserve, no digging and no removing live wildlife — surface fossil collecting is tolerated.
Trophy = headline find · Rare = real score · Uncommon = some trips · Common = most trips.
The beachcomber's bonus round — what else the geology gives up.
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