Outer Banks Angler: Cold-stunned
Outer Banks Angler: Cold-stunned
Outer Banks Angler: Cold-stunned
Well, after weeks of unusually mild weather, I think the cold has found us.
The weather has been pleasant on the Outer Banks for the end of last year and the beginning of the new year. Sure, we have had some days where it got below 40 degrees and the wind chill might have gotten us to or below freezing, but the consensus is that the weather has been great for this time of year.
Some recent days saw temperatures near 70 degrees with sunshine and light breezes. You could almost imagine that it was the beginning of May and not the first week in January.
And who wouldn’t want this weather?
I have enjoyed the weather like so many others, but I am wary of it.
I know to a certain point that the milder weather was a nice relief for those affected by the fall hurricane and northeasters. It allowed for pleasant conditions to be outside swinging a hammer and making much-needed repairs.
And nice weather sure makes those long days and weeks when your work hours have been cut for the season go by quickly.
Now most of the northern half of the country is caught in an arctic blast with extremely low temperatures.
The Outer Banks is just on the southern fringe of this massive system.
Our temperatures at night have been dropping to or below freezing and our daytime temperatures are rising just above that. And if we are lucky, they are pushing 40 degrees.
This is a flat out cold-stun, a shock for everyone and everything around these parts.
We just have not seen this type of weather in this area for any extended time thus far this winter.
I believe we have it really good in comparison to others, but I am still concerned.
The last time we saw something remotely close to this type of pattern was in December of 2009. Late fall temps and early December temps were mild.
But by the end of December, the temperature raced down and made our fish crazy.
The mild winter weather sends mixed signals to many species of inshore fish.
Typically, fish such as puppy drum, speckled trout, and flounder look for deeper water or move into the ocean as winter water temperatures drop.
This helps to minimize cold stuns the fish may face in shallower water that can drop in temperature by several degrees or freeze overnight.
In late 2009 and early January 2010, when we saw the weather do something similar, the puppy drum and trout close to the inlets raced out into the ocean, and it led to weeks of catching both from the surf.
However, the population of speckled trout and puppy drum caught further inland and in shallow waters took a severe cold-stun, and many fish died. This season’s milder temperatures have left a fair amount of fish in shallower water.
Many fishing reports around the state have consisted of fairly decent numbers of speckled trout and puppy drum being caught in our inner coastal waters.
This means that while water temperatures in the sound are cold, the warmer surface temperatures have been getting these fish to feed when they would generally be dormant.
The fish are in shallow water and in search of food.
Mother Nature is good at fooling animals and plants.
Just think about those mild late winters that trigger early foliage on plants and trees–only to have a deep frost hit out of nowhere and kill all the early blooms.
With the weather we are currently seeing, the old bait-and-switch could work numbers on the inshore stocks.
Yes, it would be a little fun to see the puppy drum and trout swarming the beaches in January or February, but not at the potential cost of our inshore population.
The current forecast is for very cold temps by night, with a little warmer daytime temps. But by Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, we see temperatures in the 60s again–only to be followed by very chilly nights the rest of the week.
This scenario has the potential to have devastating effects.
Now, every year there is some kind of loss to cold-stuns. It’s the natural order of things and is nothing new.
My only concern lies with these circumstances and how they may affect the fish.
We saw a very mild winter in 2012, and it led to an explosion of juvenile trout and puppy drum last year.
I would hate to think that this weather might have the ability to wipe most of those fish out — and then some.
Time will tell the tale. There is still a long way to go until winter is over. All of this is speculation.
For now, I’ll run around in my T-shirt and work outside when the weather is nice and enjoy it like everyone else.
In the recent past, the offshore fleets have been doing well with blackfin and yellowfin tuna, although the bluefin tuna have been scarce.
Surf fishermen have picked at scattered puppy drum and speckled trout, and some days have been better than others.
I don’t think that there is any real hope of stripers for Hatteras or Ocracoke. The bite has been less than fantastic and consistent in the Chesapeake Bay area.
Sure, they caught some stripers — and some big ones at that — but not enough regularly near the North Carolina state line to make me think they could get pushed this far south this late in their season.
They may get pushed down across the state line and towards Oregon Inlet, but I doubt any farther, and even those chances are not that great.
It’s been several years since the stripers have been a reliable winter fishery.
I don’t think there’ll be a whole lot to get caught outside of the offshore fish, unless the puppy drum and speckled trout are forced into the ocean by the weather.
I’ll just take what I can get, when I can get it, ’til winter is over.
(Rob Alderman is the owner of the Hatteras Island Fishing Militia website and is a kayak fishing guide. Rob has 10 years of fishing experience on the Outer Banks, and is host of the “Outer Banks Angler” television show. You can follow more of his extreme adventures or contact him at www.FishMilitia.com)
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