You’re right … we’re all getting tired of this crazy spring weather.
Cold, warm, hot, windy and raining, severe storms.
But hey, if you’ve lived in the mid-Atlantic more than a year or two, you know the wackiness is more normal than strange.
Trouble is, yo-yoing conditions make planning days on the water a little more challenging.
That’s too bad.
We’re in the midst of a really good start to the fishing season, with the wonderment of catching and the growing number of opportunities only getting better with every passing day.
The freshwater scene typically is the first to take the stage, but so far this year that has provided a good saltwater match.
Crappie and yellow perch catches were good throughout the first couple of months and largemouth bass action has been churning up really fast.
Catches on regional tidal rivers and lakes will show you how good bass fishing is right now. Just look at the Bassmaster Elite Series held a couple of weekends ago out of Elizabeth City – where a 20-fish limit caught by Alabama’s Kyle Welcher (pictured) weighed more than 118 pounds and beat the runner-up by a series record 45 pounds, 7 ounces. The previous margin of victory was 29-10.
Now you can throw Back Bay and Currituck Sound into the mix for more mind-blowing catches as both bodies of water heat up.
Sounds pretty good.
Oh, but don’t shut the door just yet.
Saltwater catches this year have been dominated by some insane runs of bluefin tuna – some within a mile of the beach and couple caught from piers and kayaks. Yellowfin catches are quickly on the rise and jigging has been producing equally good numbers of blackfin.
Shark catches have been increasing noise, with fish taken both from the beach and near-shore from boats. As many shark species roam north from the south – including several great whites – the action goes to prove that shark numbers are seriously good.
All that is just a start.
While puppy drum have provided good action all year long, these yearlings have now been joined by their bigger – a lot bigger – moms and dads. Catches from Ocracoke Island, north past Hatteras Island, along the shore and into the Chesapeake Bay have been getting better and better.
A few cobia also have shown, and that scene will only get better.
Speckled trout survived the cold stun waters of the beginning of the year and are also showing well throughout the region.
Flounder have started to play and are being caught around coastal wrecks, the backwaters of the Eastern Shore southerly islands and at a few locations along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
Wrecks also are yielding triggerfish and tautog, and big sheepshead have started to move in.
So instead of fussing about the stormy weather outside, use the down time to make sure you have everything ready for action.
To read more of my work, go to:leetolliveroutdoors.com
