It was warmer this winter than the incoming beginning of spring. Whoever sprung us forward all the way into winter needs to calm down. Summer is coming, it will get here eventually, but we want some spring first. And preferably not this arctic spring. At least the bugs aren’t annoying yet, and those fun marsh flies.

Wednesday, DNREC started spraying woodland pools for mosquitoes. This will be done by helicopter over about 10,000 acres. So if you see a chopper with a weird-looking array on the bottom, don’t freak out. If you are in need of the mosquito service, call the following Mosquito Control field offices:

Glasgow office, 302-836-2555, serving New Castle County and the northern half of Kent County, including Dover;

Milford office, 302-422-1512, serving the southern half of Kent County south of Dover and all of Sussex County.

Assateague Over Sand Vehicle passes have to be purchased online then picked up at the ranger station. It is an easy system and if you don’t have internet access, they have a computer at the station you can use. I know that sounds a little off, but it really saves the folks in the ranger station a great deal of time.

Another time saver is the new, free lifetime pass available for military veterans and Gold Star families to access public lands. This program was started on Nov. 11, 2022. Every year, folks could get these passes. It was changed to a lifetime pass which makes perfect sense. Vets don’t lose their veteran status, so why make them sign back up for a pass they get free every year anyway? The rangers at the station told us it has been a great time saver. Just search the National Park website for the free Gold Star military annual pass and you will find the right pages with all the details.

If you haven’t been outside this past week, the best description for this weather is just right ignorant. I don’t like wind, and I seriously dislike gale force winds. It is blowing cold air through every layer I can find. Even the fish are like yeah, nope. I always say put in the time or you will never know. I’m not even going to bother right now. No thanks. The workshop is warm, and the woodstove is set to inferno.

If you can get out of the crazy conditions, fish are feeding but it is much like winter right now. Use bloodworms or grass shrimp for white perch. The schooling bass slowed down a lot and aren’t moving around as much, but only until this passes. Crabs were being caught in crab pots around the inland bays on the warmer days, but not right now.

Any day now, we keep saying in the workshop. Any day now, we can blow this work thing off and go fishing, which we can do daily but it is frowned upon to blow off work knowing we won’t catch. It’s funny how that works because as soon as the fish really show up, we won’t be able to blow off work.

A few local shops are opening for the first of the season this weekend. Matt at Fenwick Bait and Tackle in Fenwick Island is opening Friday and so is Buck’s near Assateague. DS Custom Tackle has been busy: “We are expanding throughout Delmarva this year and have been busy stocking new (to us) shops,” according to owner David Okonewski.

The surf fishing is slow for dogfish and skates. There are large pompano showing up in the OBX, northern puffers and the like. As we warm up along our coast, we will start seeing more fish. Old man winter needs to calm down, but let spring roll in nice and slow. Also, just because the weather turns above the water for a few days, doesn’t mean the activity below stops, it just “shifts.” One other thing, fish don’t know what water is and don’t even know they are wet. Think about that the next time you are trying to outsmart a fish … take all the time you need.

Any day now, we keep telling ourselves. When it is that that time, meet me at Buck’s.

If you are paying attention to fishery issues, the annual report from the ASMFC is out: “The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is pleased to present you with our 2022 Annual Report. In the report, you will find a quick guide to stock status for the 27 species and species groups the Commission manages; a fisheries management section, which focuses on species which had the most significant management or stock assessment activities in 2022; and sections highlighting our major accomplishments in 2022 in the areas of fisheries science and fishery-dependent data collection and management. Please visit the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org for additional information on any of our programs or activities.”