Jaymann's Blog – January 2011 Archive (24)

Monday, January 31, 2011: For the second day in a row, I’m going to go south to get into some warmer air. Florida? Perish the thought. I instead journey southward out the backdoor of my Ship Bottom home and cozy up to a small wind-protected enclave next to my shower stall. The sun beats down there even in winter. Yesterday I took an air temp of a balmy 61 degrees – under that solar battery-charging sunlight.

Today my house will block what is a mighty raw north wind – in…

Saturday, January 29, 2011: Very little of note out there. But since I have your eye (or ears) I want to offer a quick political science lesson. This has to do with fishing in a huge way. Please take a second to look at this. We’re learning the hard way that all things angling now go through D.C.

Our jumbo-sized congressman, Jon Runyon, R., has just been assigned to a very prestigious committee: the House Committee on Natural Resources, a.k.a. Natural Resources Committees –…

Wednesday, January 26, 2011: We meet again -- as storm troopers. I had hoped this wintry go’round we’d be talking in terms of normalcy – and pure raininess. We even got the normal onshore wind flow right along the coast. In fact, here on LBI we didn’t get so much as a dusting of snow – and plenty of rain. As near as Manahawkin, there was an inch or two of whiteness. Again, that’s usually a sign things are right in the wintery weather world.

Now, the freakiness might be set to pounce…

Monday, January 24, 2011: The critical coldness continues. I was asked about the possibility of Collins Cove, Mullica River, freezing solid. It’s sure cold enough – and I’ve heard that folks were seen atop the ice. Those sightings were from motorist going southbound on the GSP. If anybody has tried hard-water fishing down there, please let me know. Mainly, I want to get some photos for The SandPaper.

Fishing-wise, I doubt I’ll…

Sunday, January 23, 2011:

It’s ranging from cold to wicked cold. With the next storm now slowing down, it looks like we’ll be inside the Frigidaire until midweek. After the rainy stiff midweek, we’ll first see normal winter temps then, possibly, the expected thaw.

I tried to melt my frozen moods by stopping by to visit former bayman and now artisan carver Alfie S. in Tuckerton. Despite being a dyed-in-the-wool stump-jumper (old time term meaning backbay mainlander),…

Saturday, January 22, 2011:

Damn cold. And the worst is yet to come. You heard right. The latest computers indicate that tomorrow night will get down as low as 8 degrees. That means that during the day today will be all but balmy as 25 – and light winds. Beach weather if ever.

I got a call from Jim G. who says that initial feedback for a possible St. Francis Center fishing flea market is very good. I really think this could be the “flea market” type event that many of…

Friday, January 21, 2011:

Spent a good chunk of the afternoon, into evening, doing metal detecting. Not much to talk about, short of the steady dip in temps. It wasn’t all that bad out there but by tomorrow a.m. we’ll feel the worst this winter will have to offer, temperature-wise.

The problem for me – and my treasure hunting efforts – is all this moist ground, from the recent melt and rains. The ground is going to go solid, fast. Making matters worse, the…

Wednesday, January 19, 2011:

Pretty nice in the woods today. I headed over toward Chatsworth to get away from the snow cover. There was some patches of snow but just as many open areas. What there wasn’t was activity. Short of deer and a few rarer birds it was unusually quiet out there. I put in a few miles worth of walking and ended up grabbing my metal detector to check an area I had hunted a few hundred times in the past. No lighting. All that sounded off…

January 17, 2011:

A little blog gap there due, mainly, to next to nothing really happening. Thanks to those who sent in some story ideas to carry me through winter. I’m working on a number of them.

It seems the big wash-off may be arriving via an arriving rainstorm. Such a gush of runoff isn’t good news for the bay but it’s not the worst thing for those of us desiring to see good…

Saturday, January 15, 2011:

It’s sure no bargain out there today but it’s not quite as bitter as it has been of late. We’ve gone over to very brisk south to southeast winds, so the Island sure doesn’t feel any less frigid those onshore and sideshore winds. However, the mainland is decentish – and calling so me. I’m going tracking near Pinewood Estates.

I want to check on the report of a “huge” coyote seen down “the trail” from the Estates toward Warren Grove. The…

Above, top : A 63-pound bass taken near Oregon Inlet, N.C. by Chase Furlough, here with dad. It was a state record -- for 2 days --  before many-year-old Keith Angel, below, bested it by a pound at the same fishing hole. …

Wednesday, January12, 2011: Well, that might be it for the nasty winter. You heard right. This grazing blow of snow –1.5 inches on LBI – might be enough to take us to a suspected warm-up.

I choose the word“suspected” as a way to avoid the word…

Black Birds RainDown;

Fear the Ruinousrun-ff

Well, I’m back. Myvacation time was studying, first hand, what bears feel like when theyhibernate. I did that against…

Above: I have no idea how many folks are taking credit for catching this monster sturgeon but it’s sure one helluva hookup.  

Sunday, January 09, 2011: Hideous. Pure unadulterated hideosity. I just got in fromoutside and this simply sucks. It’s not only bitterly cold…

Saturday, January 08, 2011: We gotta quit meeting like this. Talking snow is not mything. If fact, I’m an avowed no-snow person. Obviously, the skies are forcingme into hostile territory, very whitehostile territory. While this fall-age is not even in the ballpark with theholiday blizzard, for me it’s a bit like still being shell-shocked and then havinga firecracker thrown at me.

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