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BayFly

Is there a positive side of the fish kill, such as bumper crab crop, etc.? I would imagine it will take quite a while for the abundance of bait to be replenished, thus effecting the game fish for a couple of years? If someone with experience of what happened after the '83 freeze could shed some light on this subject it would be appreciated. I plan to go back through my periodicals and see what was reported at the time, but I seem to remember it took a couple of years before fishing returned to anything near normal.

Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 01 May 2008 Posts: 3974

speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

I have to agree with Becky, nothing positive came out of any of the freezes that
effected the Texas coast and it seems like it takes forever to recover.
There is another negative that could follow this freeze. Both the '83 and '89 were followed by the brown tide.

ST

Donnie · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 6:42 pm Post subject:

Like most all of yall, i love the fishing, the catching is great when it happens, but i go for the fishing.
_________________
Don - permanent prescription of salt water therapy.

Central Scrutinizer · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:54 pm Post subject:

Not positive, but it's one of the primary reasons blamed on the 10+ years of Brown Tide of the 90's...... Wait, Did I say that outloud???? Shocked

[Edited... Sorry speckled.trout - you got to that one before I did]

speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

Just a friendly reminder. I don't think a lot of people want to remember or didn't remember that long lasting issue. A positive note.....it took the fishing pressure off the Laguna and Baffin for a number of years. But when the water started to clear the trout fishing was epic.

ST

LagunaFisher · Finger Mullet Joined: 19 Nov 2014 Posts: 23

I was hoping this might benefit Flounder, but a biologist friend told me it was probably a little late to benefit the larvae survival. He said it will help with the Male/Female ratios probably. He also said the highest trout recruitment historically came after the freezes ....due to less predators.

Dr. Trout · Finger Mullet Joined: 07 Sep 2017 Posts: 15

If this fish kill is as bad as we think it could be...and the pressure on trout is much more than it was in the 80s...Do you think we could see TPWD make it catch and release only for specks? Perhaps for a year? Maybe at least for the hardest hit regions. I think they lowered the limits after the fish kills in the 80s.
I am not opposed to this if it

IrishSharker · Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:41 am Post subject:

I know "the speckled truth" has started a movement with a lot of bigger guides to release all trout for 2021 and finish the day by catching a few black drum for the dinner table.

I am 100% on board though and hope others will choose to follow with releasing all speckled trout for 2021!

Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 01 May 2008 Posts: 3974

BayFly · Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 9:44 pm Post subject:

One of my relatives said some enterprising young farmer should scoop up all of the dead fish for fertilizer! I guess there is a lighter side to all of this sad situation. Sad

Shalor · Horse Mullet Joined: 28 Apr 2006 Posts: 180

I watched a podcast with a Harte Institute scientist... I believe it was Greg Stunz A year or so ago. He was saying that after the 89 freeze the water was super charged with nutrients from all the dead fish. They think that Is why the fishing was so good in the mid 90s. Also they aged James Wallace state record trout in 96 at only about six years old. A 13+ pound trout should have to be significantly older than that. But this one grew really fast in good conditions. Hopefully our small trout will grow quickly with good conditions. Also I believe we should take management steps to protect the trout that survive. Hopefully the redfish and drum did better and people can still harvest them this summer if they want to. I personally do not think we should keep many trout over the next couple years while they recover. That is the only positive spin I can put on it.

Jiggyz · Pony Mullet Joined: 11 Apr 2013 Posts: 57 Location: Austin

I have no way to scientifically back this up, nor do I think the means are there to do it right now, but I would think there are variations in fish genetics that allow certain fish of a species to tolerate cold better than others.

If this is true then, in theory, the surviving fish of that species would in turn breed more cold survivors, so perhaps we will have a more hardy adaption going on for cold weather.

I realize there are other factors at play and there may be downsides to such an adaptation, but I am a glass half full kind of guy.

Also, perhaps the raccoons back in Yarborough won't be quite so aggressive after fattening themselves up on fish carcasses.

BayFly · Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 10:51 pm Post subject:

I found a positive element in all of this fish kill and it's the talk of conservation and catch and release for the next couple of years by so many fishermen. I love it and I'm encouraged for the resource.