Surfing Waves

Hello everybody! I have been a surfer my whole life been about 15 years now so im very experienced and skilled.

I recently moved from LA to Tampa, FL and I have no idea how or where to continue my hobby. From what I have seen so far Clearwater Beach, St Pete etc beaches on the west coast of FL seem to be very flat, its currently August.

So does anybody have any advice on when to find big waves or any good surf spots or time of year or weather to look for In Tampa area or Gulf Coast?

Any advice would be appreciated.

surfline

There are several companies that provide surf forcasts, Surfline is one of the most popular If you google surfline they even have some web cams for the gulf coast of Florida. If you have to drive far to surf that is a bonus. Another site is Magicseaweed.

Some areas of the gulf coast CAN get good. But its rare. Pensacola can be alright. Sept - Oct are the best months but even then there may not be much or anything in the Gulf. Your best bet is to get used to traveling East if you want to surf with semi regularity. A straight shot across the state to the east coast will put you on something rideable almost all the time.

edit: gulfster.com is a good resource for the west central coast.

Big waves in Tampa and Gulf Coast? This must be a joke, right?