Today is officially the middle of summer — the midpoint between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox is Aug. 7.
The summer cooled of a wee bit but the heat is coming back. It reminds me of fall so we started making striped bass rigs for the fall fishing.

There was a pompano caught on a Delaware beach the other day — a nice-sized specimen for the grill. Fishbites sand flea, bloodworm chartreuse color, and the blue crab or shrimp formulas work well up here for pompano. So do live sand fleas. Use one of the bullet float rigs manufactured by Custom Tackle for a little razzle dazzle and you’ve got a killer fishing combo for pompano. The candy corn pattern, sand flea, blue crab and watermelon are popular colors. The mini bullet rigs work well too if you want a lower profile float.

Red drum are still hitting off Assateague. Spot and kingfish make great bait for drum, as do clams or sand fleas. The Fishbites formulas work well too with the same flavors — sand flea, crab or shrimp. I think the new mullet formula would interest a drum too. The action on red drum is the usual: Put in the time and catch a bunch of other species in the process. Because it is fishing and not very selective catching. You can refine the catch with targeted baits and the like but at the end of the day you have a hook out there with food on it. Just about anything will hit it. The fish can’t read the sign on the hook that says “red drum only, no skates.”

Triggers and sheepshead are hitting on the wrecks, reefs and walls. Find structure — you will find these fish even inshore off piers and inlets. Try using blue crab knuckles for bait if you can’t find sand fleas or green crabs. The sheepshead jigs work well too from Lead Pot.

Offshore action has been great for anglers when they can get out. One thing I like about rough weather is it creates less company in fishing areas, and it takes pressure off the fish. Bad weather that is poor for anglers is great for a fishery. I’ve seen many a fish run missed because of bad weather only on weekends. On the weekdays the pressure is limited because many aren’t fishing. Mostly the locals to that waterway will fish it, if they aren’t busy with other things. I fish while running errands and making deliveries. It makes for a fun day and a variety of spots to try.

There is decent action at the Cape Henlopen State Park fishing pier. It is still closed off in many sections, especially the end. Kayak fishing the end is great action with little competition from above. I know an easy way to get money to rebuild that pier. Just look into the current businesses running in parks and make sure everyone is paying their fair share, especially in rent. Bait shops pay nearly ten grand a month for a retail space on Route 1. That is $120,000 a year in rent. Take that times 10 and we have our pier money. I’m just saying, there are sources of money to completely rebuild that pier to its original footprint. It’s embarrassing that Ocean City has two piers and if they get hammered in a storm they are fixed immediately. It’s almost like the town understands the economic impact of pier anglers and visitors. I heard the hot dog machine at the Cape pier is outselling the bloodworms.

Spot and kingfish are hot catches in the surf. That pompano has me fired up to go catch dinner. Just clean the fish out, the guts, etc., no need to scale it. Slice the sides a bit into the meat. Season with salt and pepper and grill that up right on the beach. I eat them right off the grill.

The flounder action has been good for this time of year. The inland bays, offshore and jigging the surf is producing nice keeper fish. In some places you have to pick through more short fish than other places. Crabbing is great in many waterways. These little cooldowns help a little, but the heat is coming right back.

The White Marlin Open has been going on all week. It’s fun to check out the scales live, but I still prefer doing that online. It’s much less crowded in the office watching the scales until Sunday, Aug. 10.

Freshwater action has been fun on my fly rod around the corner in Millsboro pond. That bridge looks like a giant pier and it is giving me some ideas. I think I can cast across the pond from the top of the bridge with my surf rod. The rest of the office is just looking at me like I’m nuts. Everyone needs a goal.

Have a great weekend. It is going to warm up now back to the 80s. That fall teaser was nice.