For most of this year, it seems fishing is running about two weeks behind schedule. Unseasonably cool nights are to blame, along with some northeast wind.

Most of the water temperatures we have checked are lower than this time last year. For most saltwater fish, temperatures in the 70s trigger the height of the spring run. Upper 60s are the general rule at the coast during the first week of June.

This is the second straight year we have noticed cooler water temperatures well into the spring. The change is not necessarily bad. Last year was the best fishing year any of us can remember in decades.

We all hope this summer does not bring the same drought we experienced in 2007. The lack of rainfall severely affected the Pamlico Sound and all of its tributaries.

Last year, the slack rainfall and the influx of water salinity into our coastal rivers drove the speckled trout far upstream. Our mild winter provided prime fishing conditions for these fish well into the early spring.

It is very unusual to catch trout in these waters under normal circumstances. Limits were common for fishermen on the Pungo, Pantego Creek, and at Blount's Creek, and great fishing lasted through the winter and ended just a few weeks ago.

The trout we caught were much larger than usual, and some of our coolers were quite impressive. On almost every trip we caught some nice flounder.

The cooler water has really started to affect our trips to the northern shores of the Pamlico Sound this spring. The predictable patterns of years ago are not working in 2008. Although most of the speckled trout we have taken are large, their numbers are less and they are wildly scattered along the grassy banks. Flounder are running small, and the puppy drum are non-existent.

We are starting to hear good reports from our southern shores. The cooler waters of the Atlantic Ocean are producing some fine catches of Spanish mackerel just past the breakers. Gold and silver Clark spoons are the baits of choice, and the mackerel cannot seem to resist them.

The week of Memorial Day is usually the peak of the run, but just like almost every other species, the mackerel are running behind because of the cooler climate.

This is the best year of the three-year cycle for flounder along the Atlantic Coast. Some really large flounder should be landed beginning this month, and culminating in October and November.

The legal size limit has changed for flounder this year. The fish must be 15 1-2 inches long in the ocean, as well as the eastern-most parts of the sounds, to be legally kept. The size limit for the western parts of the sounds and our coastal rivers remains at 14 inches.

We are hoping our reaction in a couple weeks will produce a good catch of flounder. The cooler water might be just what they need to come closer to the shore in the search of their minnows.

Cooler waters in June can be a really good omen. We are always at Emerald Isle when spring finally gives way to summer. We are able to witness the transition of the water temperature first-hand. When the sand burns your bare feet, water temperatures warm rapidly.

We are hoping to catch some quality fish. It will be interesting to see what the cooler water of 2008 has to offer at the coast.