Cold where it shouldn't be...

[ArtVandolay]

-I thought I'd share our little eco-disaster with you. With our freezing temps the last several days, we're experiencing a major fish die-off. I took a few pictures. They're not great because I shot them facing west.

You can see a few dead ones in the upper right:



There are lots and lots more dead ones laying on the bottom and quite a few washed out with the tide today...

We call these fish mullet - they're vegetarian (you can't catch them on a fishing pole) and lots of other fish live on them. Lots and lots of them have died.



Here are a few of the prime game fish down here - the common snook. I didn't see any of these dead on the bottom but I don't know if they're dying, too.



These fish are all in the shallowest water they can find because shallow water warms up the fastest. Otherwise, it's unheard of for the snook to be here in such numbers. We had all day sunshine today but over night we're supposed to be in the upper 30s. Hope with me that the worst cold is over! Thanks!

 

[tester]

let me know where that is art love to have a days fishing there lol

 

[the chef]

Oh man art i read the title and thought something else! :rofl:

 

[ozzydiodude]

That's global warming for you.

 

[The Effen Gee]

We are having the warmest winter here ever.

 

[BBFan]

Hey Art-

You know I like you but, it's hard to feel too bad for you . You lived here, so you know what I'm talking about.

How much longer they saying it's gonna last?

 

[ArtVandolay]

Hey, BB . I've really enjoyed being warm when all of you are cold, as you know . And I especially appreciate the overt jealousy :hubba:.

It's really tough to see the wildlife suffering, though. Iguanas are just falling out of trees!

We're supposed to be in the 40s overnight tomorrow and next few days. It will take awhile for the gulf to warm up, though.

 

[Locked]

Near me the pigeons wear parkas in the winter....the lake in front of my house has been frozen for weeks now...I can't wait to retire and head out to my wifes hometown in Arizona....

 

[dirtyolsouth]

Near me the pigeons wear parkas in the winter....the lake in front of my house has been frozen for weeks now...I can't wait to retire and head out to my wifes hometown in Arizona....

...until June comes along and it's 109º :hubba: Everyone needs to live in San Diego... Arguably the NICE weather capital of America, imo... It's been cold here in the mid south too but I cant complain cuz we get a really long spring and fall with perfect weather most years so at least half of the year is warm, winter on average is pretty decent and you only have 3 months of hell to get thru from Memorial Day til Labor Day when the heat and humidity are on stun... I'm sure the power company LOVES it... AND our hobbies too...

 

[Locked]

DoS that's true in some parts of AZ...but what most people that don't live there do not realize is AZ is a huge state and if you go north of Phoenix you can find paradise.... Up near Flagstaff and further north the summer is not as intense....Last time i was in Phoenix in early September me and the wife went to the zoo...it was 117 degrees that day...all the animals were pretty much hiding out...what a waste of money and time....

 

[nvthis]

Man, I love the summer. I love the heat. There is nothing more awesome to me then driving around with the windows down at night where the temp feels just right. Or hangin with my friends or my daughter on the deck at sundown in shorts and flip flops, classic rock on the radio, meat on the BBQ, cold beer in an ice chest and never once feeling under dressed for the weather. Nights when the party stays late and the only thing going in town is a midnight dip in the pool and the heat off the concrete radiating around my feet, still left over from the glare of the Summer sun.

Art, all this talk is bringing me down man..

Dang, I can't wait!!

Suddenly I am craving tomatoes and oranges... Oh, and fish. But not those nasty snook....

 

[SmokinMom]

Unseasonly cold here. I am so ready for spring....too bad its a precurser to summer, which is way too damn hot.

 

[BBFan]

Hey, BB . I've really enjoyed being warm when all of you are cold, as you know . And I especially appreciate the overt jealousy :hubba:.

It's really tough to see the wildlife suffering, though. Iguanas are just falling out of trees!

We're supposed to be in the 40s overnight tomorrow and next few days. It will take awhile for the gulf to warm up, though.

It is a shame that there are creatures that are just not equipped for the the infrequent bouts of intense cold that occassionally hit your part of the world.

Most creatures around here are equipped to deal with the frigid weather that hits us every year. I just don't happen to be one .

My wife just hates the heat and I can't convince her to move to a more moderate climate. She says if I go, she's not going with me. I'll sure miss that gal!

 

[ArtVandolay]

Man, I love the summer. I love the heat. There is nothing more awesome to me then driving around with the windows down at night where the temp feels just right. Or hangin with my friends or my daughter on the deck at sundown in shorts and flip flops, classic rock on the radio, meat on the BBQ, cold beer in an ice chest and never once feeling under dressed for the weather. Nights when the party stays late and the only thing going in town is a midnight dip in the pool and the heat off the concrete radiating around my feet, still left over from the glare of the Summer sun.

Hey, nv! That sure does sound like fun!!

Most creatures around here are equipped to deal with the frigid weather that hits us every year. I just don't happen to be one .

My wife just hates the heat and I can't convince her to move to a more moderate climate. She says if I go, she's not going with me. I'll sure miss that gal!

Hey, BB Plenty of pickins down here :hubba:

 

[PencilHead]

Hey, Art, see what's going on with our sea turtles over here? The more responsible folk on this side are nabbing them and transporting them down to Jupiter. Too bad because we're quickly running out of sea turtles to abuse.

Someone told me--yeah, pure hearsay--that you can catch mullet on dough balls or corn while they're in the hiding-under-the-dock phase. I've always found a cast net to be far supirior to a cane pole. Have you ever seen a mullet run? (No, not like with Adidas and those tight pants on) When I was in St. Pete, I lived close to the bay and would go down and watch the mullet guys herd them into nets. It looked like a piranha scene from an old Tarzan movie.

Stay warm--it's almost over. And shed a tear for our poor mosquitoes--I'm sure they're taking a major hit.

 

[ArtVandolay]

Hey, Art, see what's going on with our sea turtles over here? The more responsible folk on this side are nabbing them and transporting them down to Jupiter. Too bad because we're quickly running out of sea turtles to abuse.

Someone told me--yeah, pure hearsay--that you can catch mullet on dough balls or corn while they're in the hiding-under-the-dock phase. I've always found a cast net to be far supirior to a cane pole. Have you ever seen a mullet run? (No, not like with Adidas and those tight pants on) When I was in St. Pete, I lived close to the bay and would go down and watch the mullet guys herd them into nets. It looked like a piranha scene from an old Tarzan movie.

Stay warm--it's almost over. And shed a tear for our poor mosquitoes--I'm sure they're taking a major hit.

Hey, PH! I didn't hear that about the sea turtles.

I've heard the old timers talk about mullet runs here. I have seen them so thick in the canals that you could walk across, though. A few people eat smoked mullet but I hear they're still a heavy, oily fish to eat. I don't have any use for them except as cut bait :hubba:

We got up to 65 yesterday and while we were walking the dogs we realized that was the 1st day in 4 years we walked the dogs with getting bit by mosquitos and noseems . There's frost on the grass this morning and I haven't checked on the overnight fishkill yet. 70 today, though!

 

[BBFan]

Man, I love the summer. I love the heat. There is nothing more awesome to me then driving around with the windows down at night where the temp feels just right. Or hangin with my friends or my daughter on the deck at sundown in shorts and flip flops, classic rock on the radio, meat on the BBQ, cold beer in an ice chest and never once feeling under dressed for the weather. Nights when the party stays late and the only thing going in town is a midnight dip in the pool and the heat off the concrete radiating around my feet, still left over from the glare of the Summer sun.

Art, all this talk is bringing me down man..

Dang, I can't wait!!

Suddenly I am craving tomatoes and oranges... Oh, and fish. But not those nasty snook....

Hey NV!

Your description alone warmed me up.

You covered all the things I love about summer. I too am missing it already.

 

[cubby]

I'm with BBFan's wife, I can't stand the heat. I don't mind the warmth (as long as my central air is working), but heat, Real heat, just wipes me out. Anything over 80 and I turn into a first class crab. I've owned businesses in hot states (McAllen, TX., Dover, FL., Kingman, Az) and have noticed something they all have in common, the hotter the weather the nuttier the people.
Our weather hasn't rissen above freezing for the last 5 weeks, I'm happy. My brothers all live in New England and refuse to visit Mn. for more than a few days durring the winter, but would spend the whole summer if they could.
If the weather is too cold you can always put on more clothes, If the weather is to hot you can only take off so much (without being arrested or chased by a torch wielding mob)
You always hear people talking about retiring to FL, Az, or other warm climate places, not me, I'm heading for International Falls Mn., the coldest place in the continental U.S..

 

[ArtVandolay]

Hey cubby! It's true what they say - you do get used to the heat and once you do, it's very hard to go back . But I hear you - before we moved down here, International Falls (the Icebox of the World) was the second contender for location! We love to fish and we just loved Int Falls, at least in the summer :hubba:. I still remember the real estate agent told us IF was the suicide capital of the US in the winter.

 

[cubby]

Howdy Art,
It's nice to hear from someone else who can appreciate the great north woods. This past weekend I had a guest from Alabama come up for a 4 day weekend. He had never been north of Tenn. He wanted to try ice fishing so I told him to come on up to my cabin on Crane Lake. The morning he arrived he was blown away by the cold. He kept saying "it's 17 below, it's 17 below. I finnaly had to tell "17 below is the actual temp but with the wind chill the banks readout is 28 below". He spent the first 2 hours on the phone telling everyone he knows back in AL the temp, snow depth, ice thickness, ect.
The trip appears to be a hit. He caught all kinds of walleye and a couple of northern, and saw his first moose in the flesh, so to speak. He was heading out to the fish house and the moose just walked from the woodline, across my yard, and disappeared into the woods. He stood there mouth agape watching the moose.
I've already extended an invitation to him to come back this summer and I'll show him what fishings like up here. He's a bass fisherman and goes on and on about the fight of the fish so I want to get him hooked in with a muskie and see what he thinks.
Take care.