Will the snow and salt runoff from roads affect river/bay fishing this spring?

[Flukinator]

I know spring seasons following snowy winters generally have lower bay and inshore water temps due to snow melt, but this year I've seen more salt and chemicals put on the roads than I ever recall seeing, and we've got more coming. For the first time ever, the tap water at my home and work have a salty taste to them, and I live and work right near the Raritan River. There was even a site-wide e-mail at my company saying that the tap water at work has a salty taste and higher-than-normal salt content, and it's a result of the road salt seeping into the underground aquifer our local drinking water comes from. Since we're so close to the Raritan River, I assume it will affect the big water, as well.

So, I'm assuming we'll have a spring season marked by low water temps in the bay, but will the increased salinity maybe cause problems for inshore stripers, who spawn upriver in more brackish water? Think any other species might be affected by this?

[bulletbob]

Personally, I doubt the salinity will affect the fishing much.

What will affect the fishing is the fact that the N Jersey tidal rivers, Hudson/Raritan/Passaic/Hackensack will be spewing miles of ice into the bay and NY Harbor for quite a while this year the way things are going.. I have a feeling that stripers will be later than recent years, flounder as well... I recall years ago when we had tons of ice in the bay and rivers, it took much longer for flounder to get started coming out of the mud than years when the ice wasn't an issue.. Everything tidal is frozen well upstate in NJ and NY, and unless we get an early warmup of some type, we will be dealing with very cold water in the estuaries for a long time this year.. We'll see, maybe this March will be a warm one, but I have my doubts... bob

[Capt Sal]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

Personally, I doubt the salinity will affect the fishing much.

What will affect the fishing is the fact that the N Jersey tidal rivers, Hudson/Raritan/Passaic/Hackensack will be spewing miles of ice into the bay and NY Harbor for quite a while this year the way things are going.. I have a feeling that stripers will be later than recent years, flounder as well... I recall years ago when we had tons of ice in the bay and rivers, it took much longer for flounder to get started coming out of the mud than years when the ice wasn't an issue.. Everything tidal is frozen well upstate in NJ and NY, and unless we get an early warmup of some type, we will be dealing with very cold water in the estuaries for a long time this year.. We'll see, maybe this March will be a warm one, but I have my doubts... bob

NO!!Secondly we want the bass to run in late April,May and June.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Capt Sal Cathy Sea Charters

NO!!Secondly we want the bass to run in late April,May and June.

Sal, I guess you are saying that you would prefer the fish to start biting later, as opposed to an early run, like we had a few years ago...
I can understand that...

[Capt Sal]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

Sal, I guess you are saying that you would prefer the fish to start biting later, as opposed to an early run, like we had a few years ago...
I can understand that...

The earlier it starts the sooner it is over.May and June are warmer and that is the way it should be.Last year we had bass in the bay thru June!In the past we fished for winter flounder in April and then switched over to stripers in late April or early May.Close ,easy and warmer is what makes it enjoyable.We are all anxious to land some stripers but let's not push itIf you chunk it they will come

[loosescrews]

Stripers are one of the few fish that spawn in fresh water and live in salt. Since there's no fresh water in our rivers, I'd imagine that could be a problem for them down the line. Between all this salt/ calcium chloride in the winter and all the fertilizer runoff the rest of the year, our water is going to be in bad shape and only getting worse

[Dino]

YES. absolutely.. chemicals spread on our roads, lawns and parking lots end up in the rivers through runoff, which dump directly into the bays and estuaries.

[torchee]

Originally Posted by Dino

YES. absolutely.. chemicals spread on our roads, lawns and parking lots end up in the rivers through runoff, which dump directly into the bays and estuaries.

Runoff is always an issue. I never like to fish the bay after heavy rain.

I think the water temps are going to take a while to rise this year. Last year I was out looking for bass in Raritan Bay in early March.

That is in 2 weeks!

This year it'll be pushed back a month - minimum.

[fishguy]

Bass spawn in fresh water and the Navesink and Shrewsbury used to freeze almost every year and they have native populations of stripers. The cold may cause a delay but they will come. As for all the salt I imagine it will have some kind of effect but what really worries me is all that s**t on the snow by the side of the road. Look at how filthy it is with road dirt/exhaust/oil/god knows what. That's all going right into the water as it does all year long but now I can see it and it's nasty.