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| The high reached 67F on Saturday under the most benign weather. This was calm weather warmth- there was hardly any wind, swell, front, or weather change. Calm weather warmth is more typical in the tropics or during summer- not halfway to the North Pole in January. |
Donald took advantage of the warm weather on Saturday and hit the beach for the dusk bite. Not too surprisingly he actually found one, and scored two bass to 25 inches on a crystal minnow. He told me the first fish hit just at the right time, at the beginning of dusk, just as the water starts to turn pink. After a lot more casts with nothing, he started towards home, but saw someone else hooked up. Scooting around far enough away to give the guy some space, Donald nailed one on his first cast at the new spot, again with the crystal minnow. After a few more casts with no more action and with the impending darkness he wrapped it up. Not too bad for January 7th.
So as long as we are snowless and mild, and since the bait this year has been sand eels which like to hang around, it might be possible to keep picking fish for a while if you so choose. One thing that is interesting is looking back into the past because people say that's how you can learn about the future. Even better, I think, and it's something that people do a lot less, is to learn about the present first. Then you look back at the past. Then you look into the future and people will think you're a psychic. Really you just eliminate your ADD so you can recognize more of what is going on around you.
Here's what the ongoing warmth in New Jersey during December looked like nationally:
Notice that for how unusually warm it was in New Jersey it was even warmer in the High Plains and Canada, which is not on this map. Usually when it's really warm up north, especially during a winter month, it forces it to be colder and snowier here (like the last two winters when it snowed a lot here and was record warm in Canada) but that didn't happen this year. Pretty cool, or hot, right? So we may go on to have a "Year Without a Winter" this winter here in New Jersey even with a lot warmth to the north of us. The first third of winter has been that way so far anyway.
But what do you think the January fishing was like in the real "Year Without a Winter"? The winter of 1932. I get the chills thinking about how it was 87F in Virginia Beach in February during that famous winter that no one knows anything about. There was never a winter like it before or since in the Eastern United States.
See, if you ever get real focused on the present, then look back at the past, you will find the weather was really screwed up in the 1930s, like out of nowhere. Now, look at the map above and the December 2011 map and notice the different positions of extra heat in each year. During the 1932 winter it got cooler as you went north and it was colder than normal in Canada. This winter so far is rivaling the warmth of the 1932 winter locally, but it's even warmer up north. The past two years in Canada have featured winters like 1932, but there aren't as many people there to talk about it, and if they are talking about it they must have a hard time getting into our bubble since most people here probably didn't think about that when it was snowing last year.
Since it has been and continues to be so warm in Canada right now on the short term and long term, we're probably not going to have another 1932 winter locally, but that doesn't mean it won't continue mild. I still wonder what it would have been like to have fished during that historic winter. Someone has to know. The thing is there may have been more south winds during that winter, like the weather wasn't as calm, and that would have kept the water cool even though the air was warm.
So if you're still fishing now in January, know it's not the first time you could do this, but it's still not the average. Unless 30lbers crash the beach on herring again, the next update will be a summary of 2011's action while I work on tackle maintenance and other projects . . .
