So winter is back, or was, or is, or ... I gave up trying to follow. Just leave already. We have all these activities to do.

The weather inbound for the weekend is what we call right snotty down here in Sussex County. That would be nautical conditions for you folks that use the King’s English. So what to do in a gale-force blow and you just want to fish? You go fishing until your head pops from pressure. For me, that is about 30 minutes.

There are some out-of-the-windy-way places to explore and do some perch and short striped bass fishing. Getting below tree lines and even grasses along marshes helps a great deal.

Bloodworms and grass shrimp are the best baits, or the small perch jigs under a bobber with or without bait.

Fly fishing will be easy — just hold it up and let go.

I wouldn’t bother trying the surf, but you never know. The bonus is the free exfoliations you can receive. Driving on the beach might be tricky depending how much the wind pushes the waves around.

I have all this foul weather gear, but wind hurts my head from the pressure eventually. Sitting in the truck rod-watching while drowning bait is no shame in my surf game. The only problem is, you get really comfortable, like nap comfortable. I put the rods in the rod rack holders at that point. That Moby fish is going to have to take me and the Tahoe if he wants my gear, while I’m checking my inner eyelids for holes.

Large black drum catches have been more frequent around Chincoteague, using sand fleas to Fishbites, or both combined. We hit Assateague last weekend for a day of soaking bait and windy exfoliation. It was a beautiful day watching the pop-up storms roll across Ocean City.

The structure in the surf at Assateague is completely different than Delaware beaches. Lots of options for surf fishing and the catching is decent to better. Being on a beach with only 149 vehicles is wonderful. There were 17 last Saturday, 18 including us. That gate system is so simple and easy. It solves many problems we constantly have here in Delaware. Mostly the gate protects the resource.

The Delaware shad anglers are getting antsy watching the water temperature gauges daily. Some are catching, getting that early time in, while others are still preparing their gear.

The shad run in the Susquehanna has been a roller coaster, according to Bill Gordon: “Shad season WAS in full swing in Maryland this past week with water temps up to 57 degrees on 3/21. Bio-indicators (Dutchman’s Breeches) were right on time with the hickory shad showing up, as always! The forsythia is (my opinion) the bio-indicator for American Shad ... enter the cold front. Water temps dropped to 51 by Saturday, which turned on the hickory shad like crazy and big numbers were caught with catch rates up to 15 caught per hour per person, dropped to 46 yesterday and the bite remained decent with a couple dozen caught. This afternoon I foolishly went back and managed ONE hickory shad in 41 degree water (16 degree DROP in a week) with snow squalls, ice in the guides and 31 degrees plus 25 mph wind … probably the lowest water temp I have attempted to catch them in … The shad are still migrating but realistically the water temps will be below 40 for the next couple days. Stay home and warm and get ready for next weekend with improved temps.”

When Bill says stay home, he really means he is going fishing anyway, your choice. Most likely it will be a skunked trip, but one must try.

Youth in Conservation, the Delaware Ducks Unlimited Greenwing event, is this Saturday at Owens Station Sporting Clays in Greenwood. For more information, go to greenwingde.org. This is a great event to take the kids. There are a lot of fun activities for all ages involving the outdoors.

The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve will reopen for the season Saturday, April 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., April through September. There are a few holidays with different hours. Call ahead or check their website.