Scroggins prepares to evacuate

Hurricane Matthew's projected path as of Wednesday afternoon.

With Hurricane Matthew approaching the U.S. coast, Elite pro Terry Scroggins is preparing to evacuate in case the deadly storm threatens his San Mateo home in east central Florida.

“I’m only 18 miles from the ocean, so I’m pretty dang close to it,” Scroggins said while helping family batten down the hatches. “It just all depends if the eye of that storm stays out 50- to 80-miles offshore. There’s like 135 mph winds at the eye right now, that will put 80-90 mph winds on us, so if it gets closer, it’s going to be bad.”

The storm, which is expected to become a Category 4 by the time it reaches Florida, has already taken 10 lives in the Caribbean. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency, and there are evacuation orders for barrier islands in Florida and South Carolina.

“It’s starting to get crazy down here,” Scroggins said. “The small town where I’m at, the gas stations are already out of gas. Everybody is buying water out.”

Scroggins said he will secure his property along the St. Johns River and keep a close watch on the actual storm track. He said it will get ugly for those close to the water. Winds will push water in the river, creating a storm surge, and the double whammy is the area is expected to get 12 inches of rain.

“My house sits on top of a hill,” he said. “It would have to come up 40 feet. It will be nasty for a while. The good thing is it should only last 36 to 40 hours and be calm again on Saturday.”

Cliff Prince is probably the only other Elite angler in Florida who has to take similar precautions as Scroggins. He lives across the St. Johns in Palatka. Shaw Grigsby and Bernie Schultz live in Gainesville, Bobby Lane is in Lakeland, and Randall Tharp and Koby Kreiger are on the Gulf. None of the Elites from South Carolina live close to the coast.

“Shaw and them will be fine, and I think I’ll be fine where I’m at, but if it comes any further west than what it is right now, then I’m going to leave,” Scroggins said. “If I had to evacuate, the best thing to do is go due west toward the Gulf side. If you get on the interstate to get out of the state, it’s a nightmare right now — you’re going to be sitting in a parking lot somewhere.”

Scroggins said it’s best to stay calm, not get in too big of a hurry and make good decisions. Being prepared with gear and supplies are a necessity, then getting a better tack on the storm’s track is key. He’ll determine Wednesday night to leave or not.

“I have a lot of family here that I have to make sure is OK,” he said. “If I do leave, I don’t want to go too far. The problem though, when you do leave, there’s a lot of fallen trees across roads, so it can be hard to get back to where you need to be.

“When you leave, you take a generator, a chainsaw, a bunch of water and something to snack on — kind of like a long fishing trip. You prepare and make good decisions. People sometimes get crazy when something like this happens. You just do the best you can, but make sure you have plenty of water and something to eat, and you’re good.”