Do we need a good day of rain?

[kanvery]

That was awesome! Thanks! So going off of what you said Bill, is there a better chance of a few flounder at the baybridge this year? A friend of mine caught one while drifting in front of Sandy Point one year. That could be really cool if they were there in any sort of numbers.

[jffoley]

Marine Biology 101....good stuff

+1 Good stuff, Bill! I get some of that. I went to college to be a marine biologist but washed out. Hurt my brain. That or ADHD! Or maybe too much partying. Switched to computers and have been able to pay the rent/mortgage since the late 70's. Go figure...

Now, if we can figure out the environmental conditions that affect weakfish...

Very late 70's by the way. :-)

[ictalurus]

Glad I could help.

When I mentioned flounder, spot, etc surviving better and coming into the Bay in higher numbers, I meant the larvae and juveniles. Flounder and spot grow pretty fast, but the ones that are hatching now won't be keeper sized this year. If this year turns out to be a good year for coastal spawners, we'll have a lot of the little, finger-sized spot around during the summer like we did a few years ago. This year's flounder might be catchable by the end of the summer, but they'll be hand-sized. It would take a few years for them to get to be keeper size.

I don't know of any research that focuses on the abundance of older fish with regards to salinity in the Bay, but it may exist. It's a little more complicated for bigger fish because they can go where they please based on environmental conditions, food, etc. Larvae depend on the wind and currents for transport for the most part. The salinity in the Bay and tribs increases when it's dry, which allows fish that prefer higher salinity to move farther up the Bay. I think it was 2007 and 2008 that were really dry, and I caught a number of almost-legal redfish and flounder during the summer of those years. It was even drier in 2010 (I think I have the year right), and I was licking my chops in anticipation of clobbering some flounder and maybe even getting a slot red in Maryland. I didn't catch a single redfish that year, only heard of one or two that were caught, and even the flounder gurus at the Tackle Box couldn't find any flounder. I have no idea why that happened. It could've been that the reproductive success for flounder and reds might've been low 3 or 4 years prior to that. I also heard that there might've been a winter kill in North Carolina that year, but I couldn't find anything definitive. So I would guess (barring a wet summer) that it would be possible to get some flounder farther north this year than usual, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

[ronaultmtd]

Thank Goodness it is raining right now in Southern Maryland- my allergies are killing me-