The Bays are Covered With Ice

Over the past few days we have been posting pictures of the bays covered with ice on our Delaware Surf Fishing Facebook page.  The Delaware bay and Chesapeake bays are a mess for watermen and ships.  The Coast Guard and even the pilot boats have been helping cut paths and keep them clear or open for the Cape May Lewes Ferry system.  The Chesapeake bay is a huge mess for  of the work boats.  The upper Delaware river is a flotilla of pancake ice.  There are chunks of ice washed up on the Delaware Bay beaches of Cape May and our Delaware bay beaches, that look like small islands or mini glaciers.  They literally look like something you could float on and drift for winter flounder.  I am kidding do not try that, but if you do send me a picture.

The inland bays are frozen over for the most part and everyday during the outgoing tides you can watch the flotilla head out into the ocean and now wash up on the beaches.  The surf yesterday looked like a giant Slurpee at the south side beach at Indian River Inlet.  The rock Jettys are coated with thick ice giving them a surreal appearance.  There is a satellite map of how much of the bays are frozen over.  It was created by the National Ice Center, which is operated by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Navy.  They are creating ice condition charts for the Chesapeake Bay and as long as the data is available they are making these charts on an as needed basis by using multiple satellite sources. You can check out more maps at www.natice.noaa.gov/products/ches_del.html (be sure to select “all” in the “Sub Areas” column).  Really interesting site with a lot of cool information.  Stay warm everyone spring is not far away, it seems like it is taking forever to get here.  Don’t worry we will all be back to complaining how hot it is soon enough.

Fish On!!

Rich King