There were times this winter when we all complained about how cold it was.
It’s been the same scenario for as long as most can remember.
But the cold sometimes takes it toll on resident speckle trout, a mostly shallow water species that can suffer from what’s called a cold stun.
When this happens, trout become lethargic and many die as they come to the surface in search of warmer temperatures.
It’s difficult to remember when this event hasn’t happened, at least slightly.
Last month, North Carolina closed its speckle trout fishery until early June to better the chances of a good spawn.
And – I know you’re all surprised to hear this – the Virginia Marine Resources Commission at its end of March meeting decided to get on the same boat and closed its season until the end of June.
Some of the reaction was positive, saying that it’s only for two months, more fish can spawn, and you can still enjoy catch-and-release fishing.
More reaction has been voiced by the other side, which said “this happens almost every year and we still have great trout fishing.”
The region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina sport some of the best action for speckle trout in the country. And our anglers tend to catch more larger fish than those caught in Gulf Coast shorelines – where lure throwers have long proclaimed their waters as the speck capital of the world.
So several years ago, I did a little homework and looked at trophy speck catches over a two year period and found that anglers in our neck of the woods out-caught those in Gulf Coast states by a healthy difference. And like those down south, our fishery lasts all year long.
So good is trout fishing here that there have been times when we were given destination fishery status. Fishermen and women came from all over the country.
The point is simple: these cold stun events damage the population, but they do not come anywhere near destroying it. In fact, mere days before the VMRC action, anglers were catching good numbers of fish longer than 20 inches, with some knocking on 30. Fish under 20 inches were plentiful enough to almost be a pain.
And remember, trout reproduce well in our waters and they grow rapidly.
And anglers have really taken to the joy of catch-and-release.
This closure is like so many others. It’s mostly useless – like the “emergency” shutdown of black seabass a decade ago. That closure came with an acknowledgement from officials that they had no idea what the population looked like.
Oh, there’s more.
At the same meeting, the VMRC issued another seabass closure – this one for 10 days combined in May and June to “pay back what was caught by anglers” during a February-only season.
Anglers are dying to know – where’s it going to stop?
In the mean time, there are other things to do.
Flounder should start showing up in Eastern Shore barrier island backwaters any day now. Anglers fishing for them usually find the first sheepshead and black drum as they start to arrive.
Offshore catches for blackfin and yellowfin tuna, along with king mackerel, have been pretty good out of Oregon and Hatteras inlets.
And please don’t forget our fantastic freshwater action.
While the best chances for big crappie mostly have passed, catches will remain outstanding for another month.
Largemouth bass are in the peak of spawning activity and they’re in the shallows feeding and fanning out their beds.
So enjoy what you can, but keep trout in your minds.
Because over reaction by the “experts” seems to be the new norm.
To read more of my work, go to: leetolliveroutdoors.com
