How Will A Warm Winter Impact Bass, Flounder, Trout And…Snakes?

While looking through some of my old notes, I came across something I wrote in January 2014 called “Implications of a Cold Winter”.

That year it was brutally cold (for us at least) and here in 2024 things are radically different. We’ve had some cool weather but nothing really cold so I thought we would look at some implications of a warm winter on the great outdoors.

#Spawn Time: Many anglers do not realize the largest bass spawn first and in Texas, during warm winters we get bass that spawn as early as late January. That could very well happen. In Dallas last week the temperature was 94!. There are no doubt some bass on the beds now. That does not mean there will not be any spawn during the typical March-April period but that possibly some of the fish, maybe even a decent portion of them will be spawned out.

#Flounder Trouble: Warm conditions could spell trouble down the road as flounder spawning in the Gulf tends to be less successful when water temperatures are high. It will not be something we see until a couple of years down the road but it could lead to low recruitment for this year’s class of southern flounder.

#Snake Encounters: Texas outdoors lovers have been surprised to encounter snakes over the last few weeks. Snakes are not true hibernators and in Texas, I have personally encountered cottonmouths when the temperatures were in the upper 30s. If you find yourselves in the woods or swamps be careful where you step and put your hands. Snakes are typically calmer in cool weather due to their cold nature but they can still bite. They are not out to get you so if you use common sense in their habitat chances of a bite are extremely low.

#Spring Speck Patterns: During winter most big speckled trout are caught on shallow flats near the ship channel on the Upper Coast. Extra warm weather can send those trout further into the bay system and even put trout in some of the same locations you would expect to find them in March or April. This is what happened on the Middle and Lower Coast in 2021 ahead of the big freeze.

Let’s hope we don’t get some kind of big arctic blast all of a sudden. It would not be good for trout.

Try looking for specks beyond their normal winter haunts and even consider fishing some of the areas you fished last spring.

It’s another unusual year for weather in Texas but I think we’re getting used to that.

Chester Moore