Why it's best not to launch a new boat at low tide .. just sayin'.
Friday, March 18, 2016: Wildfire danger is approaching extreme. Enough said.
I did a short Holgate walk today and came across what is now a horribly sick seal. I contacted the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in hopes it might rush to the rescue. Unfortunately, I came across the seriously sick seal right as the tide was rising. There is now no getting to it until tomorrow.
You can see from the photo this is one sick pup.
Soon bayside activities will return to LBI ... Oh, boy.
There are small stripers in the bay. I’m sworn to not disclosing more than that. That is the tradeoff for guys continuing to get info to me. I can say that bloodworms seem to have it over clams and bunker chunks. Plugs are working up the Mullica. Although I’ve seen photos of some big-ass bass, I haven’t gotten a direct report about anything more than just-keeper fish. Oh, I did hear of shedder crabs pieces (thawed) nabbing schoolie bass.
BOOM! ! 29 incher this is my second of this week:
First day at Homeland Security Covert Special Warfare Training Center ...
FUN SCIENCE READ ... SORTA.
I know I have a goodly number of scienceheads in here so I'd like to offer some insights into the insidious wash-over process taking place in Holgate. I don't like to call it erosional on the bayside, though it is definitely erosional on the ocean side of things.
I've been taking a closer look at the creeping sand migration that has fully crossed ocean to bay on the first one-third of Holgate. You'll have to look at the photos kinds closely to see the effects I'll be mentioning.
I'll start with the most significant observation, at least by my rating.
In just the past few months, a rapidly-building shoal ... now out of water at low tide ... has formed in the bay; in an area that had water five feet of water (mean tide) as recently as last fall.
This shoaling is taking place west of the the first stretch of Holgate washover. I'll guess the 1,500-foot zone, though all the refuge measuring posts are long gone in that area.
Check the photo below. It is taken at low tide but, as noted, the shoal has grown to where it is barely under water even at high tide.
At the current rate of sand being accrued there, it might seem it'll become an island. But not really. To explain, I'll have to offer some less-exciting photos, though they're apropos to how Holgate's westward migration will likely play out.
Still looking at the photo above, you'll see almost 40 yards of water between Long Beach Island and the shoal. I've shown many photos and videos of just how vast the washover zone has become in Holgate. That is obviously the source of the sand for the shoal. However, the source sand is actually coming from slightly further to the south. In fact, this shoal is forming a bit like an isthmus.
The reason the shoal's sand is not coming from the washover area directly to its east is because that stretch of water between the Island and the shoal is too deep. Also, the washover zone east of the shoal has not fully reached the bay ... yet.
Below: This photo will show what I mean. Here is the bayside shoreline on Holgate, across from shoal. You can see where the washover has broken through to the south, while this stubborn stretch of what might be called natural shoreline -- sedge and ribbed mussels -- remains in place.
Below: Here are closeups of the last stands of grass meadows east of the shoal. This area had long been dominated by saltmeadow cordgrass. Now, a solid two-foot wall of migrating sand is moving westward, a bit lava-like. It will soon to suffocate this last piece of long-established saltmeadow.
Also soon to be lost are some long standing baywater creeks. Below: Holding on until the last minute. I actually recall this narrow waterway from years back. The sand is as close as it looks. Next washover spells doom for this creek.
But back to that shoal. As I alluded to: it will not become an island, per se. Eventually, the washover of the meadows will be completed to the east. Then, the sand will rapidly fill the watery gap between LBI and the shoal. The shoal will become part of Holgate -- in fact, the most westerly part of that portion of Holgate.
I believe this odd type of leapfrog migration, via shoaling, has surely taken place in the distant past, as barrier islands migrate westward. It shows it's not a simple sand push westward but a complex series of steps whereby the first breakthrough/washover area inserts sand into the bay. In the case above, the sand moves northward -- unlike the north-to-south lateral drift of the nearby ocean.
OK, that's plenty enough for now, though I want to leave with one more significant look, via a photo taken further south. Look closely at the photo below and you'll see the exact same isthmus-like shoaling taking place in the bay, west of the 4,000-foot mark of Holgate. That is the 113 Buoy in the bay, meaning it's a solid quarter-mile further south than the above-shown shoal. Note the similar deeper water east of it. While this area is not as acute as the other shoal, it soon will be -- as long as sand keeps being supplied by the adjacent erosion of the oceanfront and the related westward migration of sand.
What does all this mean? Mainly, the odds of a breakthrough channel is not in the offing. As quickly as the ocean erodes the beachfront -- and meadows -- sand is filling in the water to the west.
That said, at any time a catastrophic storm could cause a Holgate breaching of channel-making proportions. However, such a channel would not stand a chance of surviving the far more powerful long-term effects of the westward migration process being seen in Holgate.
Next comes the largest (possibly unprecedented) study of all: What happens when millions of cubic feet of sand arrive in Holgate via lateral drift after the replenishment? What an eyeopener that'll be.
Below: Last meadow piece standing.
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I see these as much for sun protect ... even inside a boat. I'm on a campaign to get folks to be far wiser than I have have been regarding skin cancer.
Above via Carl HartmannHudson River Fishermen's Association Annual Surf Fishing Tournament
Something similar:
Fishing Tents & Shelters | eBay
Fishing Shelter Sunshade Tent Waterproof Sun Protection Compact Angler Caperlan
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That is one serious Pa. bass Tucker!!!!
I knew she was big when my rod bent down so far that I thought it was going to break. I quickly loosened the drag and luckily landed her on 4lb line
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Blue-winged in the rain !
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Finally made the cover of Rolling Stone. Gonna buy 5 copies for my mother...
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Catching and releasing bass on st patricks day!
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Arsenal Lures
See this plug I designed years ago, I'm not changing anything, I'm not backing up and will stay the way it is so be it, all this years ain't changed and is not going to, I'm giving a break to it so other ones can be introduce and the Suicider will be back liking or not !!!
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Proper sealing of the wood is the most important part for a long lasting effective plug! 2-1/4oz Polaris poppers heading to Harborview Bait and Tackle. Will keep everyone up to date when they will be delivered
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BY OTW STAFF | MARCH 17, 2016 | SALTWATER, STRIPER CUP, STRIPERS & BLUES, STRIPERS & BLUES, SURFCASTING.
2016 Striper Migration Map
The striper migration has begun! A mild winter has water temperatures much warmer than the same time last year, and striped bass are on the move, heading from overwintering areas several miles off North Carolina and moving toward their spawning grounds in Chesapeake Bay.
Chesapeake Bay
In the main stem of the Chesapeake, water temperatures are slowly creeping up and presently holding around 47° on the surface and about 40° on the bottom. Smaller male striped bass are moving into the spawning tidal rivers and the larger females are entering the bay and working their way toward the major spawning tidal rivers. Water temperatures in the Susquehanna Flats area are bouncing around 50° or so, and there are some male striped bass in the area.
According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant warm water discharge has been a popular spot to jig for these fish. Anyone wishing to give trolling a try is reminded that each boat is restricted to 6 lines, barbless hooks and no stinger hooks while trolling during this catch and release period. The spring trophy striped bass season opens on April 16.
New Jersey
Absecon Bay Sportsman Center has reported stripers in the backwaters from Great Egg to Great Harbor, in the Tuckahoe and the Mullica. Keeper-sized fish have been caught at Gravelling Point. Soaking clams should being to turn up some stripers in Raritan Bay any day now.
New York
Backwater areas on the West End of the island have started to give up some schoolie stripers. Anglers have also reported impressive amounts of bait for the early season, including herring and bunker.
Connecticut/Rhode Island
The holdover striper fishing has been particularly good in the tidal rivers. The Housatonic remains a hot bed for schoolies, and also continues to put up the best quality fish of all the rivers. Better numbers are starting to come from the Connecticut and the Thames. The Providence River and Narrow River typically holds some holdover stripers, but reports from these areas have been dismal. Anglers are predicting that the first sea-lice covered schoolies will likely show up along the Rhode Island coast by the first week of April.
Cape Cod/ Massachusetts
Holdover striped bass have been reported in tidal waters on and off the Cape, along with the first few scout herring. Boston Harbor, and particularly the Mystic River, have also given up a few holdover schoolie stripers.
Tags: Striper Migration Map
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