By Bob Marshall

No news was good news for Louisiana's estuaries last weekend when Tropical Storm Bonnie fell apart.

Instead of evaluating the worst-case scenario feared since the beginning of BP's oil disaster - a storm surge pushing oil deep into coastal wetlands - sportsmen Monday were getting back to fishing. And fishing has been great.

Flying out to the Deepwater Horizon site Sunday I spotted only tiny patches of weathered oil. There was thin sheen in some places, but the Gulf from the drilling sight from the delta of the Mississippi River looked like it always does after a weekend of windy weather.

But nervous times are far from over. We may have dodged another bullet, but the opposition has plenty of ammo left. We're only just approaching the peak of hurricane season. Water temperature in the Gulf is above the average, hitting about 85 degrees, which means there's plenty of raw material for storm development. And two unusual atmospheric events that have kept storms at bay probably won't last much longer, meteorologists say.

The first is an upper level low pressure system that has been sheering the tops off thunderstorms in the Gulf; this is what turned Bonnie into a nice lady. The other is the positioning of a high pressure cell - the so-called Bermuda High - a little farther west than is normal.

So it's back to catching specks and reds, flounder and drum, and preparing for teal season -- until the next scare. Because with more than 150 million gallons of oil released into the Gulf over the last four months, no one is sure what to expect when that first storm surge rolls in.

Comments (4)

from santa wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

I went both crabbing and fishing this weekend. I went crabbing by the Battleship USS Alabama. The crabs were plentiful and the water was good. I left there and went down to the mouth of Fowl River and caught my limit on specs as well as a pretty good bunch of white trout. I also caught one legal flounder along with an ample amount of croakers. So the oil prevention must have worked in Mobile bay. I hope that the damage to the Louisiana estuaries turns out to be minimal in the long run.

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from country road wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

My concern is what will happen in the next few years as a result of the toxic stew that was poured into the water, mainly the dispersants. We don't know what the effect will be on the bottom end of the food chain and that won't show up for some time yet. We don't know what is under the surface---what has happened to the coral and other marine growth. The Gulf has the capacity to overcome the crude eventually, but we don't know about the other stuff. In the meantime, I'll be thankful that the big slick is mostly gone and will take advantage of whatever fishing opportunities come my way.

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from jamesti wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

only time will tell but i think it is far from over.

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from libertyfirst wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

I don't believe that this is anyway near over but what I'm hearing here is better that I ever expected this soon. I really am praying for all of you that live near this disaster.

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from libertyfirst wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

I don't believe that this is anyway near over but what I'm hearing here is better that I ever expected this soon. I really am praying for all of you that live near this disaster.

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from santa wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

I went both crabbing and fishing this weekend. I went crabbing by the Battleship USS Alabama. The crabs were plentiful and the water was good. I left there and went down to the mouth of Fowl River and caught my limit on specs as well as a pretty good bunch of white trout. I also caught one legal flounder along with an ample amount of croakers. So the oil prevention must have worked in Mobile bay. I hope that the damage to the Louisiana estuaries turns out to be minimal in the long run.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from country road wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

My concern is what will happen in the next few years as a result of the toxic stew that was poured into the water, mainly the dispersants. We don't know what the effect will be on the bottom end of the food chain and that won't show up for some time yet. We don't know what is under the surface---what has happened to the coral and other marine growth. The Gulf has the capacity to overcome the crude eventually, but we don't know about the other stuff. In the meantime, I'll be thankful that the big slick is mostly gone and will take advantage of whatever fishing opportunities come my way.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jamesti wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

only time will tell but i think it is far from over.

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