Would You Rather Be Hot Or Cold

[DaubsNU1]

I've always run hot...don't mind the cold much. Once sat on a hillside waiting for deer in 9 degree temps...thankfully there was not much wind (a rare day here in Nebraska). 

 

95 degrees is not horrible...but if the humidity is high, and there is no wind, or access to shade...well, that is the epitome of hell. 

 

Give me cold...I can always layer up, bust out the handwarmers and get through it. 

[clayton86]

Heat, I tolerate both especially with coyote hunting I upstate NY it get cold with the wind and snow at 0200. While can layer up it’s uncomfortable with all the layers or take a leak 2” of pecker out of 6” of layers is not an easy task haha. 

[casts_by_fly]

Ignoring the specific temps for a sec, I’d rather the air be colder than hotter. I can always add a layer and I also tend to run hot. You can only take so much off before it becomes a misdemeanor (or a felony if you live in a school zone!).

 

That logic only holds to certain levels though. We had -8 last year and that’s pretty miserable. Also the coldest I’ve ever experienced I think.  I’ve also been in 110 and dry in Palm Springs and it was equally intense. If I had to choose between the two, I’d take -8 if it’s only for a week or so. Any more than that and I’m moving somewhere else. 

[gim]

13 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Once sat on a hillside waiting for deer in 9 degree temps...thankfully there was not much wind

About 10 years ago on the 4th day of the season here, it was -7 when I crawled into my stand. 20 feet up in a tree, exposed to the elements. Once I got up there, I lasted about 90 minutes before I got too cold and had to leave. That’s the coldest temp I’ve still hunted in. It’s a lot harder to stay warm while sitting and hunting. When I am walking around pheasant hunting, I work up a sweat even in single digit temps.

[volzfan59]

95 with a reasonable humility level gets my vote. 

[Bankbeater]

I'll take 95 over 10 degrees.  The heat has never bothered me.

[padlin]

Can I choose neither?

If it’s 95 I don’t go out, that’s what I have AC for. 
If it’s 10 I don’t go out, that’s what I have heat for. 
Thankfully we rarely see either.

[N Florida Mike]

 Yeah I’m going with B. I’m used to it at this point. 😉

[Columbia Craw]

Call me Goldie Locks

[J Francho]

Hot. It's easy for me to cool off, but impossible to warm up. Some are completely the opposite, like my wife. She's a human furnace. 

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Ignoring the specific temps for a sec, I’d rather the air be colder than hotter. I can always add a layer and I also tend to run hot. You can only take so much off before it becomes a misdemeanor (or a felony if you live in a school zone!).

 

That logic only holds to certain levels though. We had -8 last year and that’s pretty miserable. Also the coldest I’ve ever experienced I think.  I’ve also been in 110 and dry in Palm Springs and it was equally intense. If I had to choose between the two, I’d take -8 if it’s only for a week or so. Any more than that and I’m moving somewhere else. 

-8 the coldest you’ve been in? I think we had that in January. 
 

We went to the in-laws in Ohio for new years probably 4-5 years ago, I think we were there almost a week. The high would be like -8 and the low -11 and it really didn’t change the entire trip. With wind……. Now I realize why the population of their town is 90 something humans 

[casts_by_fly]

48 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

-8 the coldest you’ve been in? I think we had that in January. 
 

We went to the in-laws in Ohio for new years probably 4-5 years ago, I think we were there almost a week. The high would be like -8 and the low -11 and it really didn’t change the entire trip. With wind……. Now I realize why the population of their town is 90 something humans 

yeah, that’s the coldest I can remember. I grew up in Pittsburgh so I know snow, but not frigid cold. We were in the UK for 12 years and the coldest I know of there was -8 Celsius (17F). Last Christmas it was -8 (not counting wind chill) when we drove back to Pgh and the sunroof frosted on the inside of the truck. 

[TnRiver46]

@casts_by_fly, I thought England was colder than that, doesn’t sound too bad ! 

[casts_by_fly]

10 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@casts_by_fly, I thought England was colder than that, doesn’t sound too bad ! 

 

So while England is WAY further north than mainland USA its nowhere near as cold.  The gulf stream is the reason.  Even by the time it makes its way across the atlantic its still bringing warmth.  Ever see the shots of the coast of Ireland being bright green?  That's why.  Some years the main stream of the current goes south of the UK and that really heats things up (and chills scotland) but for the most part it just carries on like the picture below.  Speaking about England only (Scotland is a bit different), an average day in winter will be 35 for a low and 45 for a high.  It occasionally drops below freezing, but generally not.  The further north you go and if you go inland (as much as there is 'inland' on a small island) you lose the moderation a bit from the gulf stream.  Even when we lived up north practically on the North Sea (the body of water between England/Scotland and Norway/Denmark the north sea would modulate wintertime.  The sea would be 40 degrees in winter which meant it rarely got below freezing there also until you went far enough inland that hills started to block the ocean breeze (roughly 20-25 miles).

 

In the summer is also doesn't normally get so hot either.  Being that far north you get a little less direct sunlight.  On top of that, you have the ocean temperature moderation just the same as in winter.  A normal british summer day would be 75-80 degrees for a high.  The past couple years though the weather patterns have started to shift and they have had extreme heat events in the 100+ degree range.  Considering most houses don't have AC (or window screens for that matter) it was actually dangerous.

 

 

The one thing water can't moderate though is day length.  Being so far north the extreme ends of summer and winter meant the sun barely set in the summer and barely came up in the winter.  In December you'd drive to work in the pitch black and get home in the pitch black.  The sun would rise after 8 AM and set around 345 PM. And it never really got bright for most of that time.  It was always low on the horizon.  In June it would be 430 in the morning and 930 at night.  Then it would be pretty twilight the rest of the night.  Look at the sun graph for the summer below (we lived outside of Hull).  Three full months of summer where you never actually hit 'dark'.  Its all astronomical twilight.

 

 

 

The extreme ends of light and the lack of significant heat and cold in the winter and summer meant that there weren't as firmly defined seasons.  The tree leaves just kinda browned and fell sometime in November.  The flowers would start blooming in February and keep going until October when they just stopped. Summer didn't really feel like summer when you always had to keep a hoodie handy just in case.

[cheezyridr]

i lived in canadia for 11 years,  i HATE the cold. one year we had a polar vortex, i was working outside in -34°F.  it was so cold, i couldn't think straight.  it went on for 2 or 3 weeks. just brutal.   i'll take the heat over the cold any day. since i've been back in the states,  the last 5 years have been pretty mild winters here in delaware.  i ain't complainin about that at all.  being on a peninsula,  i know all about humidity, i can handle it though.

[J Francho]

Humidity doesn't really get to me until around 90 F. Don't get me wrong, I like a dry, sunny, 75 F day like anyone one, but I can tolerate the heat AND the humidity. 

[Bird]

We really don't have extreme humidity here but man, basic training in fort McClellan Alabama in August was brutal.

Was born in Georgia, I like warm 🥵

[dave]

On 3/9/2024 at 1:04 PM, MN Fisher said:

I can't live in a warm climate - I can't even visit warm places...told my MIL that I wouldn't visit between May and October (SE Florida). I suffered heat exhaustion twice during AF Basic Training - San Antonio, TX...mid August to end of September.

 

Despite not enjoying the cold - I'll take it any day over the heat.

I remember one storm while living in Bemidji - standing air temp was -30, wind chill was -70

I did my stint at Lackland from late July through late August... I can commiserate.

[islandbass]

I’ll choose hot over frigid cold when possible. When it’s cold enough that the water dripping on your guides during the retrieve instant freeze and crystallize right in front of your eyes, no glove or mittens will keep your fingers warm enough and simultaneously allow you to turn the handle or control the spool. 

 

If you take a break from fishing because it’s too hot and the sun is burning you, make yourself some shade and relax. No matter how hot it gets, your hands will never be numb from being cold.
 

If you are already frozen despite having a gazillion layers on and you decide to take a break, forget that. You will start to feel even colder and more miserable. 
 

 

[Captain Phil]

I have lived in Florida all my life.  We rarely see freezing temperatures, but I do own a snow suit that I wore when I fished tournaments. I looked like the Michelin tire man in that thing!  There is a whole new level of hot here in Florida.  The humidity will sap your strength like nothing I have seen. All that said, I would much rather fish in the heat.  First, the fish are much more active.  Cold water turns off Florida bass like a light switch.  If you fish Florida in the winter, you will be dodging cold fronts.  One day the fish bite everything you throw at them, the next day it's like someone poisoned the lake. Mostly, it's the later. 

 

Fishing comfortably in hot weather is all about how you are dressed.  If you wear long pants, you are asking for trouble.  Your pants will trap the heat and you will roast like a Christmas turkey.  I wear shorts and long sleeve shirts made for flats fishing. This material is light and it breathes.  Sun screen and hats are mandatory.  I have caught big Florida bass in three feet of 93 degree water.  Despite what you may think, there are always bass in shallow water cover.   Some of the best bass fishing I have ever experienced has been on a blazing hot summer Florida afternoon.  

[FryDog62]

I’ve lived in extreme climates - Minnesota and Florida. Extreme temps on either end sucks. But I will say this - when the high temp is 95, you can still get out early am and at sunset in the 70’s… just avoid mid day. But when the temp is 10 degrees, you can go out early, late or even the middle of the day it always sucks. 

[Bluebasser86]

We get both extremes here in KS. Had a day last summer with heat indexes over 130, and we had wind chills down below -20 this winter. I was catching big catfish on the river the day it was super hot. I was doing everything in my power to not go outside the really cold days. Anyone that fishes where your line freezes, knows how miserable that is to try to deal with. I'll take the heat all day, any day.