For me, this week has been a post long weekend, waves that are always off somehow, no real fish yet, air temperature is still annoyingly chilly kind of week. Not a bad week by most standards, but just kind of blah, like the doldrums. The doldrums, by the way, are an area of the oceans found beneath the Intertropical Convergence Zone where the trade winds are light. In the past era, before smart phones began making people dumber by doing brain functions customarily done by humans, sailors feared riding the trade winds too far and getting stuck in the windless doldrums. Placidity is the antithesis of sailing.
Biologically, after a very warm fall and winter and a record warm March, the moderation of temperature in April has confused me as to what season we are now sailing into. Unfortunately, it seems my nightmare of annoyingly chilly not too hot not too cold weather will continue for at least another week. I am very sick of lukewarm 50F air temperatures- the immediate beach mostly missed out on the March heat wave with fog and an ocean wind.
To add to the doldrums feeling this article will remain colorless with only the black and white of text. I did see something noteworthy today, though, amidst the annoying dumpy one thing always wrong swell that has been out there since the deluge on Sunday . . . the bunker are here . . .
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
A Perspective on Summer in Spring
I'm still not really into fishing yet, so before that begins, which may be soon since 80s are forecast next week, I will offer a perspective of one of the most historic atmosphere events ever. If you are into the weather, or just go outside once in a while- which is like the same thing- it is likely that you are noticing things are altered.
March 2012 was the country's warmest March on record. It was amazing the warmth this year beat the long standing and very anomalous warm record from 1910. 25 states over two-thirds of the United States set a warmest March record, including New Jersey. The only cooler area was in the West, due mostly to persistent precipitation and cloud cover from low pressures that kept getting stuck.
For a global perspective, notice the record warmth in the United States was matched by a similar area of warmth north of Europe. What do you think the people living along the Kara Sea have been saying since at least January? Probably the same thing we've been saying. "The weather is definitely messed up." That bubble of warmth and high pressure in the Arctic Ocean has been there for a few months, more or less, and was responsible for the cold spell in Europe this winter. The blocking of weather from the Kara Sea high was also a part in the cooler temperature in eastern Russia and Alaska that helped allow United States temperature to be so warm.
Now that it is April, the same areas that were record warm in March are now having freezes at night. It's like a desert in the cool season. The heat in March scorched everything but was generally dry. Since the March heat wave ended, and the atmosphere hasn't really shifted any air around, the excess heat in the heat wave area has been radiated off into space at night causing cool nighttime temperatures. It was 28F in my area this morning with a forecast high of 67F. Along with a pretty significant short-term drought, that is like desert weather. Maybe you've noticed the streaks from the clouds the past few days, known as virga, which is precipitation evaporating back into dry air before reaching the ground. Virga is a common occurrence in a desert climate.
So does this information mean anything? I wouldn't ever dare to make that decision for anyone else except myself. I like a lyric from Incubus that goes . . . Enough bowing down to disillusion, hats off and applause to rogues of evolution, the ripple effect is too good not to mention, if you're not affected you're not paying attention.
March 2012 was the country's warmest March on record. It was amazing the warmth this year beat the long standing and very anomalous warm record from 1910. 25 states over two-thirds of the United States set a warmest March record, including New Jersey. The only cooler area was in the West, due mostly to persistent precipitation and cloud cover from low pressures that kept getting stuck.
For a global perspective, notice the record warmth in the United States was matched by a similar area of warmth north of Europe. What do you think the people living along the Kara Sea have been saying since at least January? Probably the same thing we've been saying. "The weather is definitely messed up." That bubble of warmth and high pressure in the Arctic Ocean has been there for a few months, more or less, and was responsible for the cold spell in Europe this winter. The blocking of weather from the Kara Sea high was also a part in the cooler temperature in eastern Russia and Alaska that helped allow United States temperature to be so warm.
Now that it is April, the same areas that were record warm in March are now having freezes at night. It's like a desert in the cool season. The heat in March scorched everything but was generally dry. Since the March heat wave ended, and the atmosphere hasn't really shifted any air around, the excess heat in the heat wave area has been radiated off into space at night causing cool nighttime temperatures. It was 28F in my area this morning with a forecast high of 67F. Along with a pretty significant short-term drought, that is like desert weather. Maybe you've noticed the streaks from the clouds the past few days, known as virga, which is precipitation evaporating back into dry air before reaching the ground. Virga is a common occurrence in a desert climate.
So does this information mean anything? I wouldn't ever dare to make that decision for anyone else except myself. I like a lyric from Incubus that goes . . . Enough bowing down to disillusion, hats off and applause to rogues of evolution, the ripple effect is too good not to mention, if you're not affected you're not paying attention.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Getting There
You know, sometimes I get off track, but I just use that as an indicator that I need to get back on. Every day when my eyes open, I know it's another day to experience the dream of this great science non-fiction. That is, we have another year with the fish showing up very early in the surf and another April with desert-weather, so far, like New Mexico. When I experience the weather I see how askew our world is, but I also know each and every moment is a chance to make it less so, and the moments are infinite- or so it seems.
Donald and I cruised the beach on Tuesday and saw miles and miles of gannets dive bombing on what we assumed was herring. When we saw a sea gull pecking a fresh dead bunker on the beach, we changed our assumption to herring and bunker. We took a few casts with poppers here and there, mostly to stretch out and lubricate the gears, and all the while did not see anything pop on the surface aside from our plugs. The gannets would hit one area hard and then move on with no fish showing. Since gannets have the ability to work on their own- they don't necessarily need stripers or bluefish- we didn't try that hard and just called it a nice day outside in April.
So far I am continuing with my checking it with the rods ready approach- not really fishing yet. I mean, in my quarter century, I remember not really looking to fish the beach in April unless it looked like something was going on. I multi-tasked with that this weekend and did something I've wanted to do for some time- which is walk to the pier.
My mom joined me, and we had a nice afternoon getting some nice exercise while observing 'Easter people'. Easter people displayed some common behavioral traits. They would enter the beach as an obvious group, usually consisting of overdressed three generational members and a dog. They would strip to barefoot and walk down to the water, still as a unit, with the dog running around them in circles. Then they would break apart- one group, usually the members aged 30 or less would, for some reason, run out into the 50 degree water and the other group would walk head down looking for beach glass, which there isn't much of anymore since they slowed the dumping. It was all good, though, and it was nice to see people enjoying the beach in their own way.
On a more meaningful note, the foreshadow of the opening paragraph was for the passing of a great surf fisherman, Bob McGinley. The story of Bob does not need any explanation, for those who already know him, by family or from the beach, know. Bob was a presence- a fish catching machine and a great teacher to anyone willing to sincerely learn his mastery. I do believe Bob has moved on his journey- the sad part is the separation. I will miss his drawl, the way he talked, you got to put eeeyes awn it. Bob was a great man.
I don't want to be dark, but the hourglass is upside down for all of us. I picture life as being in a barrel. All around is chaos- the wave- but inside the roar is the space for calm. And all motion while in the barrel, every breath, every leg adjustment, the dilation of the pupils- all of it is directed towards getting to the light at the end of the tunnel. Don't stick your hand in the wave, wipe out, and have a fin slice your stomach open. Instead, enjoy the ride to the light because if that's where you want to go you're going to go that way anyway.
That is all. Don't rest Bob. You weren't a clam fisherman :) Keep fishing.
Donald and I cruised the beach on Tuesday and saw miles and miles of gannets dive bombing on what we assumed was herring. When we saw a sea gull pecking a fresh dead bunker on the beach, we changed our assumption to herring and bunker. We took a few casts with poppers here and there, mostly to stretch out and lubricate the gears, and all the while did not see anything pop on the surface aside from our plugs. The gannets would hit one area hard and then move on with no fish showing. Since gannets have the ability to work on their own- they don't necessarily need stripers or bluefish- we didn't try that hard and just called it a nice day outside in April.
So far I am continuing with my checking it with the rods ready approach- not really fishing yet. I mean, in my quarter century, I remember not really looking to fish the beach in April unless it looked like something was going on. I multi-tasked with that this weekend and did something I've wanted to do for some time- which is walk to the pier.
 |
| It was a great afternoon for a long hike in New Mexico weather |
My mom joined me, and we had a nice afternoon getting some nice exercise while observing 'Easter people'. Easter people displayed some common behavioral traits. They would enter the beach as an obvious group, usually consisting of overdressed three generational members and a dog. They would strip to barefoot and walk down to the water, still as a unit, with the dog running around them in circles. Then they would break apart- one group, usually the members aged 30 or less would, for some reason, run out into the 50 degree water and the other group would walk head down looking for beach glass, which there isn't much of anymore since they slowed the dumping. It was all good, though, and it was nice to see people enjoying the beach in their own way.
 |
| Easter people |
On a more meaningful note, the foreshadow of the opening paragraph was for the passing of a great surf fisherman, Bob McGinley. The story of Bob does not need any explanation, for those who already know him, by family or from the beach, know. Bob was a presence- a fish catching machine and a great teacher to anyone willing to sincerely learn his mastery. I do believe Bob has moved on his journey- the sad part is the separation. I will miss his drawl, the way he talked, you got to put eeeyes awn it. Bob was a great man.
I don't want to be dark, but the hourglass is upside down for all of us. I picture life as being in a barrel. All around is chaos- the wave- but inside the roar is the space for calm. And all motion while in the barrel, every breath, every leg adjustment, the dilation of the pupils- all of it is directed towards getting to the light at the end of the tunnel. Don't stick your hand in the wave, wipe out, and have a fin slice your stomach open. Instead, enjoy the ride to the light because if that's where you want to go you're going to go that way anyway.
That is all. Don't rest Bob. You weren't a clam fisherman :) Keep fishing.
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