Ice flows & Offshore Temps

[Billfish715]

Bullet Bob's comment about the ice affecting the bay/river temps rekindled a question/theory that I've had for awhile. How does the added ice flow affect the water temps in the MudHole and farther out? It seems that it will change the surface temps substantially, but what about the bottom temps.? Since migrating fish follow the thermoclines and currents, I'm only guessing that there will be a late arrival of both forage and other fish. My feeling is that the strong currents from the NY Bight will push the cold water along through the MudHole and farther, forcing more of the migrating stripers and bunkers to swim closer to the beach. After looking at the Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers and the lagoons along Barnegate Bay choked with ice, it's going to be awhile before they warm up despite their shallow depths. I don't think there's any science on any of this but all of this ice has to affect the early starts to fishing we've had in the recent past few years. Take a ride and check out any of the major waterways that feed into the ocean in our area and see what you think.

[NoWorries]

Bullet Bob's comment about the ice affecting the bay/river temps rekindled a question/theory that I've had for awhile. How does the added ice flow affect the water temps in the MudHole and farther out? It seems that it will change the surface temps substantially, but what about the bottom temps.? Since migrating fish follow the thermoclines and currents, I'm only guessing that there will be a late arrival of both forage and other fish. My feeling is that the strong currents from the NY Bight will push the cold water along through the MudHole and farther, forcing more of the migrating stripers and bunkers to swim closer to the beach. After looking at the Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers and the lagoons along Barnegate Bay choked with ice, it's going to be awhile before they warm up despite their shallow depths. I don't think there's any science on any of this but all of this ice has to affect the early starts to fishing we've had in the recent past few years. Take a ride and check out any of the major waterways that feed into the ocean in our area and see what you think.Good day for this kind of stuff. I live very near Barnegat Bay and have for 30+ years. Water temps are key for early spring fishing. BB warms up quickly when the sun warms the shallows. 40 degrees is when I'll start fishing . Water temps are always up and down every spring but I try to fish outgoing tide with bloodworms on my early trips to the bay. Flounder and small stripers are the target species and I bring a pool thermometer to see how the temps are doing. It's going to take time for sure to melt everything.

[jmurr711]

ocean bottom will be warm by August

[JDTuna]

Bottom temps will likely be cold, since colder water is denser and will sink leaving "warmer" water at the surface. However, closer to the coast, freshwater runoff will remain at the surface because saltwater is denser than fresh.

[Capt. Lou]

If uve ever monitored temps eay season fresh or salt , u know the main ingeredient is the sun , lotsa sun temps pop . Clouds prevail & heavy rains could remain cooler longer.
Tides , wind all play apart in changing temps surface wise , while currents runoff mY affect deep temps.
Salt freezes @ lower temps than fresh but tides can dissolve ice faster .
There in my records never been more than a few weeks different in spring temps even in severe winters .
This late frigid weather will definitely keep temps down but if it warms fast then balances out quickly .
Best to monitor with temp gauge warmer water this time of year always deep , hence why surface freezes ! Take bottom temp as well in fresh usually hangs @ around 40 / 42 now , much warmer than topside.
No rule of thumb but sun will play big factor !

[bulletbob]

If uve ever monitored temps eay season fresh or salt , u know the main ingeredient is the sun , lotsa sun temps pop . Clouds prevail & heavy rains could remain cooler longer.
Tides , wind all play apart in changing temps surface wise , while currents runoff mY affect deep temps.
Salt freezes @ lower temps than fresh but tides can dissolve ice faster .
There in my records never been more than a few weeks different in spring temps even in severe winters .
This late frigid weather will definitely keep temps down but if it warms fast then balances out quickly .
Best to monitor with temp gauge warmer water this time of year always deep , hence why surface freezes ! Take bottom temp as well in fresh usually hangs @ around 40 / 42 now , much warmer than topside.
No rule of thumb but sun will play big factor !

very good stuff capt lou..

Here's what I remember about how important the sun is in early season.. Cold day, cloudy, water temps around 40 or so.. You might catch a flounder or two early season, an any given slow day.. Then you go out just a day later, water temp still at 40 but with bright sunshine, and the flounder are biting like crazy, all full of mud.. the sun made all the difference.. Brought the flatties out of the mud, and they were hungry.. I remember those fish well. They were big, but muddy and very thin. Also the meat wasn't as nice. . It was more watery or something.. They were probably spawned out.
Just a few weeks later the same fish were fat, full of fight, and very willing to bite.. It always confounded me, that fish that were full of mud, and lived right on bottom wanted sunny warm days.... bob

[Billfish715]

There are more and more occasions each spring when someone catches a fluke while chunking for stripers before the season starts. The water is still cold, but yet, the fluke are there. The cold water did not stop them from moving inshore. Their naturally imprinted migratory patterns keep them swimming toward the beach despite the temps. Water temps inside the rivers and bays are warmer than the ocean and that acts as a fish magnet which draws them in. This ice may slow them down a bit however. I'm more convinced that freshwater runoff has a much bigger influence on the migration patterns of some species than water temps. Lots of freshwater from floods and melt off reduces the salinity of the ocean waters as it flushed farther off the beach. It has to force some seasonal migratory changes from year to year. But, as sure as the tide changes, the fish and the fishermen still show up.......ice or no ice......cold water or low salinity. Any predictions on when the first keeper flounder is caught?