South Carolina officials and anglers are cautioning that the severe winter weather might have taken a bite out of the inshore speckled trout population in their state and southern NC.
Trout kills during freezing temperatures were reported in North Carolina and the state has already closed the speckled trout harvest season for recreational anglers until at least the middle of June. But the effects in southern NC and SC got less attention, although early indications are that the speck population in the lowcountry is down.
"It doesn't look like (water temperatures) got lower than the die-off we saw in 2000-2001. But it's lower than we hoped," said Mel Bell, SC DNR fisheries management director. His comments and those of other SC officials were reported in The Post and Courier.
Anglers in southern NC and on the SC coast are reporting that they are catching fewer speckled trout than usual as the season begins.
"A few here and there, small ones. That's about it," said Graham Able of Haddrell's Point Tackle & Supply in Mount Pleasant.
"There is a little bit of a double whammy because water temperatures dropped to that critical point for the second winter in a row,” said Steve Arnott, SC DNR biologist.
"The fish generally are moving into deeper water and are lethargic. We won't know until May," said Phil Maier, DNR coastal reserves director. "We need to wait and see for a couple more months, until the waters warm back up."
Brunswick County, NC anglers have also reported only small specks, despite solid catches of redfish throughout the winter.
Currently NC is still allowing a bycatch commercial fishery, and things will be reassessed by the NC Marine Fisheries Commission in June. Recreational fishing advocates in NC have begun calling for gamefish protection for speckled trout, which would prevent any commercial harvest. Trout are already protected from inshore netting in SC waters.
A lot of eyes will be watching the Carolinas speckled trout population as spring moves on, considering how much protection this valuable fishery needs.
For more fishing articles see my blog A Dash of Salty and my website Surf and Salt.
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