The migratory schools of Whiting used to provide angling joy when other fish were a no-show. They used to be a staple along the east coast and could be caught in abundance. But since 2013 this
fish has been much less prevalent and not just along the NC coast. I fished the Florida coast during March 2014 during the heart of Whiting season there and everyone was remarking about how the Whiting hadn't shown so far in 2015. In 2013 I fished mid to late April at Surf City and the Whiting were basically a no-show. There were a few but nothing like one would expect in the heart of the Carolina Whiting season. Then today I was reading reports from Pier 60 in Clearwater FL from the past two years (Dec to March Whiting season) and they were remarking how people were disappointed in the Whiting. So it looks like we have had a shortage in Whiting not only along the southeastern coast but also along the Gulf coast for the past two years. It used to be that if you went Pompano fishing and didn't catch Pomps you would at least catch Whiting. Well, not anymore. The Spot were also much less prevalent in 2013. I spent a few weeks at Nags Head during the heart of Spot season and the water was perfect for them but I only got a few dinks. 2014 was a little better than 2013 for Spot. I would like to know what has caused this sudden disappearance of bottom fish. Was it the record warm 2012 or the very cold 2010 that hurt the populations? Are weather patterns the culprit and will this be a temporary problem or is the problem overfishing? I hope its not the later.
Thoughts?
fish has been much less prevalent and not just along the NC coast. I fished the Florida coast during March 2014 during the heart of Whiting season there and everyone was remarking about how the Whiting hadn't shown so far in 2015. In 2013 I fished mid to late April at Surf City and the Whiting were basically a no-show. There were a few but nothing like one would expect in the heart of the Carolina Whiting season. Then today I was reading reports from Pier 60 in Clearwater FL from the past two years (Dec to March Whiting season) and they were remarking how people were disappointed in the Whiting. So it looks like we have had a shortage in Whiting not only along the southeastern coast but also along the Gulf coast for the past two years. It used to be that if you went Pompano fishing and didn't catch Pomps you would at least catch Whiting. Well, not anymore. The Spot were also much less prevalent in 2013. I spent a few weeks at Nags Head during the heart of Spot season and the water was perfect for them but I only got a few dinks. 2014 was a little better than 2013 for Spot. I would like to know what has caused this sudden disappearance of bottom fish. Was it the record warm 2012 or the very cold 2010 that hurt the populations? Are weather patterns the culprit and will this be a temporary problem or is the problem overfishing? I hope its not the later.
Thoughts?
