Thread: Record Temps In October And Water Temps Also

With these temps does it make fishing better in coming years?It has to confuse the fish but nice to keep wearing shorts going into November.
Checked water temp from last year and temps up an average of 3 degrees and in some places 4 degrees and that is a big change.
I used to go up to New Jersey and fish the striper run fish coming in late October thru December but it all changed last year with run started in December and thru January.
Now does it also affect the Red fish run down here not sure maybe you guys can give some imput.
Good fishing to you guys. Tom

It seems years with strong El Nino or La Nina events are more likely to have the climate extremes.

IMHO the record drought in the SE US may well have a bigger effect on the fishery longterm, perhaps more so than the temps.
While 78 degrees (at the 42012 buoy) may by a few degrees higher than average, it is not a record for the first week in November.


What this does to the salinity and fertility of our nearshore waters remains to be seen.

If the drought continues through winter and spring, it will start to have an effect on the submerged grass beds next summer.
The ones in Perdido Bay & MS Sound (true sea-grasses) will flourish.
The Vallisneria beds on the upper bay will start to die back again, like they did in 1986-87 and 2006-07. Which would be bad news for fisheries and wintering waterfowl.

All it will take to break this drought is a few "normal" winter cold fronts pulling in moisture off the Gulf producing a leading edge squall line. These squall lines can easily drop 1-2" of rain in a couple of hours.
Normally, we get the first one that drops significant rain right at Thanksgiving. Only time will tell.

Thanks Pier and Carl I only been down here 6 years now and learn from you guys who know the area.The drought affects more than we know.Never thought about sea grasses either.When I lived in Jersey in the Delaware bay the salinity was key to catching flounder especially when we had heavy rains.I kept my boat about mid bay and after heavy rains the bite was better toward Cape May where the salinity was stronger.Now my daughters house in on rt 180 and on Mobile Bay and I wonder how the water just can get from clean one day to muddy the next.Also not sure about the salinity in Mobile Bay the house borders Bon Secour wildlife area.Thanks again Tom