Rise in water temperatures means drop in production
This marks an eventful week in the great out-ofdoors for Pennsylvania’s fraternity of hunters as our increasingly crowded outdoors calendar swings into midOctober. Let’s take a look at the veritable cornucopia of outdoors options that kicked in Saturday, Oct. 14, starting with a few “one week only” specials.
This year of unusual weather and water conditions here at the Jersey shore continues.
The wind finally has relented, and we have had several mid-July type days recently. But all is not bliss for fall anglers because the water temperature is more like July than October.
Early this past week, that temp was registering at an amazing 75 degrees. On that same day a year ago, the water was a much more seasonable 63 degrees.
What that means is, the prized striped bass are much more lethargic, and the striper reports are few and far between. We do have to commend Mark Palarmo, of King of Prussia, who made his very first striper expedition ever pay off when he pulled in a legal 29-inch bass.
That fish fell for an offered live spot. Mark was fishing up in the Great Egg Harbor River at the time.
Not all fish are deterred from biting by the warm water. In fact, some southern fish are being pulled from the surf and Delaware Bay.
Anglers are reporting red drum and pompano. As far as I know there are no limits on pompano but in New Jersey red drum must be at least 18-inches long but not greater than 27-inches and you can keep just one.
And speaking of Delaware
For waterfowl fans things will be just ducky this week thanks to our early (but very brief) duck season that opened Saturday and runs here in the South Zone through Oct. 21. Stage two of our mourning dove season also reengaged on Oct. 14 running through Nov. 25 with shooting permitted all day long, not just starting at noon as in the first stage.
If you’re a black powder buff, this is also your week Bay, the Fortescue boats are turning up some pretty good weakfish catches.
Don’t get me wrong. This Fortescue weakie bite is nothing like the “old days” when you could bail giant weakfish all day long. But, it is good to see that perhaps they are beginning to make a rebound in the big bay.
While there are several theories on why that big weakfish run disappeared almost overnight in Delaware Bay, I personally believe the beginning of the end came when the big commercial draggers would join up and pull a massive net that scooped up everything in its path. This socalled “pair trawling” took place at the height of the breeding season, and it all but wiped out the popular fish in the bay.
In a normal season, we should be catching stripers in the area of Delaware Bay known as The Rips. But probably, because of the warm water, I have yet to hear any reports of fish being there.
Elsewhere in the back waters, anglers continue to catch the now out-of-season summer flounder and some of these are almost doormat size. Of course, they must be returned to the water unharmed.
Along with the flatties, there are hordes of small bluefish, and the various jetties seem to be awash with tautog and triggerfish.
Several nice bluefish because our early muzzleloader season on whitetailed deer (antlerless only) began on Saturday and runs through Oct. 21. This statewide season permits the use of all muzzleloading rifles from classic primitive flintlocks shooting patched roundballs to modern inline rifles fitted with scopes and loaded with state-ofthe-art sabot bullets.
Since this narrow season overlaps our ongoing ar- have been weighed-in during the Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic. The largest came in at just under 13-pounds.
Action in the Atlantic City Surf Tournament has not been as good.
In Delaware, where there is no closed season on summer flounder, the bite on them remains very steady. Some are reporting the flatties slowly are making their way into the surf, joining the small blues and kingfish in the wash.
Some of the kingies are of nice size, up to about 13 inches.
The Wall is being hit hard by anglers who are enjoying a great taug season there. Most are not giants, but there have been some weighing up to six pounds.
There also are some small stripers hooking up; but like Jersey, there probably will not be any steady action on them until the water chills.
One thing not being deterred by the bathtub water is blue claw crabs. It sounds like some of the more prolific crabbers will have enough meat in the freezer to allow them to enjoy crab cakes at least once a week until the start of next year’s run.
A few boats have left the inlet and headed into the ocean and they have been finding false albacore or little tunny. They have little or no food value but they are certainly a workout to catch. chery deer season, there may be some confusion about the fluorescent orange regulations affecting deer hunters this week so here’s some clarification: Early season muzzleloader hunters are required to wear a minimum of 250 square inches of orange on head, chest, and back combined, visible 360 degrees. Bowhunters, who normally favor a camouflage wardrobe when afield, must also wear a minimum of 250 square inches of orange on head, chest, and back visible 360 degrees but only when moving. Bowhunters may remove their orange trimmings once on stand and stationary. However, they then still need to post 100 square inches (visible 360 degrees) of orange within 15 feet of their location. Once the muzzleloader season ends after Oct. 21, archers may return to camouflage-only mode.
Joining those deer, dove, and duck hunters afield are small game hunters. The state’s early small game season also opened on Saturday when rabbit, squirrel, bobwhite quail, and ruffed grouse all became legal game. The first segment of this season runs through Nov. 25, but there’s a possibility that the season on ruffed grouse, whose numbers have been seriously impacted by West Nile Virus, may close earlier than scheduled. Small game hunters are also required to don 250 square inches of orange. No orange is necessary for dove and duck hunters.
For pheasant hunters, the main event won’t begin until Saturday, Oct. 21. There’s some controversy about the state’s pheasant hunting program this year since, for the first time ever, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has imposed an extra $26.90 fee for a special pheasant permit that must be signed and carried while hunting for pheasants. These permit fees are intended to help the PGC defray the costs of raising and stocking those long-tailed birds. Lifetime senior license holders, some of whom may gripe that they’ve been blindsided by this new requirement, are also required to purchase these permits if they plan to hunt pheasants. Most of these hunters (like yours truly) began their hunting careers back when wild pheasants were plentiful. But now, with wild Keystone State ringnecks as scarce as passenger pigeons and dodo birds, Pennsylvania pheasant hunting is 100 percent putand-take, an operation that creates an expensive proposition for the PGC.
Even though pheasant production has been trimmed, hunters heading afield this fall shouldn’t notice much difference in the number of pheasants they flush. The PGC still plans to release about 170,000 pheasants, a reduction from the goal of 200,000 pheasants in recent years. And, due to the new fee, we’re likely to see far fewer pheasant hunters afield this fall.
In the meantime, to maximize the pheasant harvest, these birds now will be stocked primarily on game lands and other public lands that have the best hunter access, good pheasant habitat, and high harvest rates. These properties are showcased on an interactive map now available on the Game Commission website.
The PGC’s interactive map not only shows the properties where pheasants will be stocked, but it allows the user to zoom in on properties to view potential pheasant hunting areas, even parking lots. By clicking on the property, users can learn the total number of pheasants released there last year, as well as the number of releases, to get an idea of what’s happening there. Here in the southeast, public lands targeted for PGC pheasant stocking include State Game Lands 43, 220, 234, and 280; Chester Water Authority, Marsh Creek State Park, French Creek State Park, Blue Marsh Lake, Muddy Run, and Nockamixon State Park.
“It’s a valuable tool for pheasant hunters, especially those looking to explore new areas,” said Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans.
Go to www.pgc.pa.gov/ Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/RingNeckedPheasant/ PheasantAllocation/ Pages/default.aspx) to find the map online.
What’s good for bowhunters can be a major headache for motorists this time of year. It’s the white-tailed deer’s annual ritual of the rut (aka breeding season) and it’s picking up steam right now. Lovesick bucks are on the move, throwing caution to the wind while chasing does all over the countryside and scattering clueless fawns and yearlings. You may have already noticed an uptick in road kills caused by deer playing in traffic. Expect the mortality rate to accelerate as the rut approaches its peak in early November. Motorists should be aware of this risk and keep a keen eye out for whitetail activity. Remember that when one deer runs across the road, others are likely to follow. As I’m fond of saying every year at this time, don’t be that unlucky driver who puts the “bam” in Bambi.