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Cold weather, cold fishing
Dr. Bogus
Ice is again covering the local creeks, and more wind, rain and possibly snow on the way by the weekend.
It gets one wondering about the validity of groundhog prognostications, even by Sir Walter Wally.
I wonder if Wally has even heard about El Nino? With the cold and ice continuing into the foreseeable future, I hope we don’t get into another fish kill scenario. According to DMF Director Dr. Louis Daniel, field and aerial observations by Marine Fishery agents, along with commercial trip tickets, indicated the kill in January was fairly localized to the North River and a few other locations, and not as wide spread as some past events. We hope it stays that way.
This being said, it’s really hard to get any decent fishing information out there since the weather has kept most people home and not even trying to catch fish.
Except for me, of course. However, my only recent altercation with a fish was almost inadvertent. Fishing one of the creeks with a Matzuo soft plastic bait on a cork, my mind and eyes got to wandering a bit, watching the mergansers, grebes and pelicans gobbling up mullet baits one after the other, when I noticed that I didn’t notice my cork.
What’s up with that? Then I noticed my drag going south (literally). What’s up with that? By the time it struck me that I had a fish on, all I had was time to get a glimpse of a big trout, now going south without a hook or cork attached. Oh well, the price of daydreaming!
As far as any other trout, not much to report. Maybe a few at the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty, some scattered fish reported in Spooner’s Creek, a few at the opening to the Upper Broad Creek on the Neuse and maybe some in the New River, but as I said, information is as hard to find as fish these days.
Stripers? There are still some unsubstantiated rumors (or is that redundant?) about some at the Lookout Shoals. The bite to the north out of Oregon Inlet and up to Corolla and north into Virginia waters around Rudee Inlet is still hot, although the water is down as low as the frigid 30s. It is surprising that under these conditions that we haven’t seen the stripers at the shoals or even Ocracoke this year.
Now that it’s February, one of the next fish to look for are the spawning hickory and American shad. With the high water and cold temperatures, will they also be delayed or affected? I’ll keep checking and let you know if there are any reports.
I have often caught them this time of year around Bogue Fishing Pier and around Bogue Inlet as well. Many of the Neuse and Tar River Creeks, along with the Cashie, Roanoke Rivers and others are great spots for late winter and early spring shad fun with these feisty fish. Just leave your Hatteras Heavers at home! If you are interested, it’s time to sign up with the Yahoo NC-Shad message board at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NC-Shad/.
Note: The Ask Dr. Bogus Fishing show, heard every Monday morning at 7:30 on WTKF, 107.1 FM and 1240 AM can now be accessed on the Coastal Daybreak Facebook page. Sign up and be a friend at: http://www.facebook.com/people/Coastal-Daybreak/100000055284546, and never miss a show.
(Richard “Dr. Bogus” Ehrenkaufer of Emerald Isle is on the radio every Monday at 7:30 a.m. on WTKF 107.1 FM and 1240 AM. Call him at (252) 354-4905.)
Ice is again covering the local creeks, and more wind, rain and possibly snow on the way by the weekend.
It gets one wondering about the validity of groundhog prognostications, even by Sir Walter Wally.
I wonder if Wally has even heard about El Nino? With the cold and ice continuing into the foreseeable future, I hope we don’t get into another fish kill scenario. According to DMF Director Dr. Louis Daniel, field and aerial observations by Marine Fishery agents, along with commercial trip tickets, indicated the kill in January was fairly localized to the North River and a few other locations, and not as wide spread as some past events. We hope it stays that way.
This being said, it’s really hard to get any decent fishing information out there since the weather has kept most people home and not even trying to catch fish.
Except for me, of course. However, my only recent altercation with a fish was almost inadvertent. Fishing one of the creeks with a Matzuo soft plastic bait on a cork, my mind and eyes got to wandering a bit, watching the mergansers, grebes and pelicans gobbling up mullet baits one after the other, when I noticed that I didn’t notice my cork.
What’s up with that? Then I noticed my drag going south (literally). What’s up with that? By the time it struck me that I had a fish on, all I had was time to get a glimpse of a big trout, now going south without a hook or cork attached. Oh well, the price of daydreaming!
As far as any other trout, not much to report. Maybe a few at the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty, some scattered fish reported in Spooner’s Creek, a few at the opening to the Upper Broad Creek on the Neuse and maybe some in the New River, but as I said, information is as hard to find as fish these days.
Stripers? There are still some unsubstantiated rumors (or is that redundant?) about some at the Lookout Shoals. The bite to the north out of Oregon Inlet and up to Corolla and north into Virginia waters around Rudee Inlet is still hot, although the water is down as low as the frigid 30s. It is surprising that under these conditions that we haven’t seen the stripers at the shoals or even Ocracoke this year.
Now that it’s February, one of the next fish to look for are the spawning hickory and American shad. With the high water and cold temperatures, will they also be delayed or affected? I’ll keep checking and let you know if there are any reports.
I have often caught them this time of year around Bogue Fishing Pier and around Bogue Inlet as well. Many of the Neuse and Tar River Creeks, along with the Cashie, Roanoke Rivers and others are great spots for late winter and early spring shad fun with these feisty fish. Just leave your Hatteras Heavers at home! If you are interested, it’s time to sign up with the Yahoo NC-Shad message board at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NC-Shad/.
Note: The Ask Dr. Bogus Fishing show, heard every Monday morning at 7:30 on WTKF, 107.1 FM and 1240 AM can now be accessed on the Coastal Daybreak Facebook page. Sign up and be a friend at: http://www.facebook.com/people/Coastal-Daybreak/100000055284546, and never miss a show.
(Richard “Dr. Bogus” Ehrenkaufer of Emerald Isle is on the radio every Monday at 7:30 a.m. on WTKF 107.1 FM and 1240 AM. Call him at (252) 354-4905.)
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Jim wrote on Feb 15, 2010 8:31 PM: