Mild Winter Weather

After a brief cold snap over the Christmas holiday, the weather has moderated nicely. As January moves along, it looks like we will have another week of milder winter weather.

It seems that, so far, it has defied the earlier predictions. Even the Farmers’ Almanac predicted temperatures to be 3 degrees below normal and precipitation to be 4 inches above average. As we have been lucky, other parts of the country have suffered extreme weather conditions.

Even though we are off to a good start, only time will tell for the rest of the season.

For all practical reasons, the fishing season is over. You can now turn your attention to other pursuits. It’s a good time to be servicing your tackle and to take inventory of what you might need for the upcoming season.

To accomplish replenishing the tackle box, there are numerous tackle shows on the calendar for the next couple of months.

January 15 is striper day at Ward Melville High School, 380 Old Town Road, Setauket-East Setauket. There will be all kinds of tackle, fishing equipment and plug builders.

On January 29, there is the Route 110 Fishing Flea Market, located at Camelot Hall, 585 Broadhollow Road, Melville. This is a great place to find new, used and antique fishing tackle.

I will keep you updated on more fishing shows at a later date.

There are still a handful of boats chasing those highly sought after bay scallops. They still seem to be available. Peconic Bay and local East Hampton waters are both producing some scallops.

There are also some seafood markets that are selling scallops from Nantucket. The prices range from $45 to $60 a pound.

If there is a good low tide, there are hard clams to be caught. It’s the perfect time of the year to make a good clam chowder.

It’s a great time of year to get in some birdwatching. There are plenty of bald eagles and other birds of prey, with lots of waterfowl to see on the bays.