So alot of doings goin' on, of course on a Saturday.
In two hours, not fishing all that spacific, and just tossing some Shrimp out on the bottom for two 7 year olds. We caught a whopping 2-3 small Croakers. That was it!!
So, after a little roaming around we ended up at the jetties. The tide was smoking in on the bottom, and stagnet on the top.
Jus' wonderful. Nothing but a few tap-taps at the jetties, also.
After I got home at 10:30am, I made the effort to go get a new Hydrometer. (my old one broke) aka: Salinaty Gauge. The Instant Ocean brand, from Pet Smart (for all of you that'll ask where do you get one...DOH!)
Step 1- Slowly fill the Instant Ocean Hydrometer by dipping bottom corner fill port below water surface until water flows up and over inner weir.
Step 2 - Dislodge air bubbles by gently tapping hydrometer or pointer. Air bubbles on the pointer may result in inaccurate results.
Step 3 - Place the hydrometer on a level surface and read specific gravity (inside scale) and salinity (outside scale).
Care:
Rinse thoroughly in freshwater after each use to prevent mineral/salt buildup which can affect accuracy. Salt and calcium deposits that accumulate on the pointer will result in incorrect results. If crystallization occurs inside the unit, soak in lukewarm water or vinegar for 30-minutes, rinse with freshwater and air dry.
I believe, from my sample tastings. Yes, "Tastings". I was fishing in fresh water today. Here's always a GENUINE hint.
Take your hand and run it all over your boat. Do you feel the grainy ocean salt all over it?
TODAY, I COULDN'T FIND DRIED SALT GRANUALS ANYWHERE ON MY BOAT!
(that's only if you wash your boat completely after each use)
Hence the fishing in a fresh water river, on the falling tide? I believe so.
With my new Hydrometer, I'll start giving actual readings in future reports.
Oh back in the day......I used to find anything around 4-10 parts per thousand of saltwater from a surface test, and that meant one thing. T-R-O-U-T, were gonna be in the area. The ocean outside the jetties would usually be a 32 PPT.
So, as you can see. The Trout loved that "Lesser" salinaty.
In Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. The average salinaty is 5.1-10 PPT on the eastern side of the lake, closest to the Gulf.
And the Trout fishing there is through the roof! Partly because they just have so many more fish, then we do here. They easily live and THRIVE in non-salty water. Which we have way too much of, usually in the summer. And lesser salinaty from my research means a better SPAWN. (Trout spawn in the summer months) Now, that's why we don't have the Trout populations here! Too much salt water intrusion into the estuaries during the spawn?? That's what my research (unoffical of course) reveals.
Saltwater intrusion, IE: dredged to China River which equals, allowing for too much Ocean tide. That's why in the summer, alot of Trout find thier way all the way down, to Doctors Inlet! Plus that's usually where the shrimp are.
Itr's all about HABITAT, and successful spawns, year after year after year.
So far this year, after all the storms/Rain. I have failed to find a 50-100 count Trout day, and have basically given up on them. But, given the right customers in the next few weeks we may have to go hunting down some Trout, again.
Maybe since all the storms and rain it's gonna take forever and a day for it to be like it was YEARS ago. When a 50 Trout day was not unheard of after a summer time Tropical Storm and loads of rain fall. Here in that thing we call a river. It just may take a while for all that fresh water to do it's thing. But, I wouldn't count on it. Every storm with lots of rain seems to do it's own thing. You'd think it could be measured and relied upon. But not from what I've seen.
