Quote:
Originally Posted by dales529
OK but I am going to need for my feeble mind a better explanation on this?
We know that offshore Seabass wreck trips are producing bluefish and sometimes weakfish. This is COLD water fishing in the lower water column for seabass , fish come up cold, bait comes up cold and sinkers come up cold.
Are you saying weakfish and bluefish hit these baits in elevated water column temps that vary by a few degrees in Nov / Dec?
How are they searching for warmer water in deeper depths off shore in this timeframe?
Again I am naive to this but would appreciate more info,
Thanks
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I'm not at all saying that weakfish and bluefish eat baits in the mid to higher water columns on offshore sea bass wreck trips as a majority of these fish, when encountered, are caught right on the bottom so the water temperatures must be of a level they not only can tolerate but are comfortable with. I'm saying in between seasons water temperatures inshore are affected much differently than bottom temperatures offshore.
The attached article is a good read, one of many, on the impacts winds and seasonal changes have on the ocean bottom water temperatures along our portion of the coast. Note the impacts fall currents, wind and storms have on upwelling and bottom temperatures offshore.
https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/adv...sad190/7462579
Why do blackfish move further east as water temperatures inshore drop? Why do porgies and sea bass move further east, and to a degree south, into deeper waters when water temperatures get colder inshore? For the same reason, why do fluke move east 40 to 70 miles offshore when water temperatures start cooling down in the fall and stage offshore throughout the entire winter in deeper water? Is it because the water temperature is too cold? I doubt it otherwise their migration patterns would probably change. My post was questioning whether or not the same thing is happening to bluefish and weakfish with the larger specimens of these stocks migrating further offshore in the fall which, based on articles I've read, could be due to lower bottom temperatures offshore than inshore waters which get colder faster at that time of year.
Maybe I'm wrong and it's something else but many fish which inhabit our inshore waters in the spring and summer actually migrate further offshore in the winter months to deeper waters. My post was questioning if the same is happening with bluefish and weakfish as evidenced by catches we routinely see in the fall and other summer species we don't typically associate with offshore waters which apparently have no problem acclimating to deeper water climates that time of year.
Drop a sinker in December at the Shark River Reef and I'm sure it will come up ice cold as well. Maybe the deep water temperatures in the fall and winter because of upwelling and the thermocline breaking down due to currents from Nantucket Shoals and wind and weather conditions as the article points out causes offshore temperatures to actually be warmer than inshore causing some of our traditional stocks to take a more easterly track during their fall migrations. That's all I was throwing on the table. Hope that provides a better explanation of my post. Whether it's true or not who knows, just a question based on articles I've read I was throwing out.
