We enjoyed some great trout fishing in 2013…. The spring time offered up great numbers, and the fall provided some nice fish in the sounds.  It was finally coming together for the Outer Banks trout fishery.  A couple mild winters, the numbers were there, and more and more solid fish were being caught.  I was starting to have high hopes for 2014.

Unfortunately, those dreams were all but crushed after the second major snowfall in 1 month.  The Ocean plummeted below 40 degrees, and the sounds were covered in a thin layer of ice.   We all talked about the freezes, but without reports of stun kills yet, we were still pretty hopeful.  That was until yesterday…..

Many significant stun kills were reported once the roads cleared and the fisherman got back out to there favorite winter trout holes.   I can imagine the reports were pretty bad since the Fisheries put an immediate closure on all Speckled Trout fishing until June 15th.

I hope those slot sized puppy drum we enjoyed last year are drag screaming over slots this year, and my charters can enjoy some pullage from them.  Still looking forward to a great season, and I can only hope the trout population didn’t take as big of a hit as it may seem.  We can try all the conservation efforts in the world, but Mother Nature always has full control.

I guess I’ll be filling the coolers with sea mullet, and the Outer Banks is back to its normal trout nursery status.