Wow, 700 miles, what a drag! Glad I don't have to go that far. How much fishing time do you get to compensate for such a long trip? A long trip to fish over here is about a 3 hour ride, and that gets you to a place called Grand Isle, LA. There you can fish marlin, snapper and other offshore fish (50 miles in the boat) in the morning and reds and specks in the afternoon (4 miles in the boat). Flounder gig on the beach at night (100 feet on your feet) and party till you drop.
My short drag is 1 minute, a back down ramp that lets me access Vermillion Bay and The Gulf of Mexico is in my back yard.