Summer has sped up and it is July already. Easy folks, we want this to last. The cooler mornings have been a blessing. As soon as it gets too hot out there, I head back to the shop’s A/C and do some work. Otherwise, we are loving the weather right now and the action is great, too.

The surf has been really good for spot and kingfish. There are so many kingfish some days we release most of the fish. If you can catch a lot of fish daily, there is no reason to keep a lot. Fresh fish is better than frozen. And kingfish are delicious fried, pan seared, broiled or grilled. They are a nice flaky whitefish and you can do just about anything with the meat.

Some days are a skunk fest of skates and dogfish, but you are still catching and standing on a beach. It’s the little things in life these days. Skate is good to eat, just annoying to clean. So are dogfish, but they have to be cleaned immediately as they are sharks. It is worth cleaning one once and trying a dogfish.
A lot of the summer fish make great table fare. You just need several to make a meal for a few people. Tacos, tacos, tacos are one of the best ways to serve up summer pan fish.

Chesapeake Channa are hitting all over the place. It’s going to be hard to get used to that name — just doesn’t have the same ring to it as snakehead. These fish are sought after more and more each year for the amazing fight on light gear. They are also getting larger and more numerous each year. Those state records will be broken again this year, most likely.

There are a lot of fish around to target: weakfish, striped bass, red drum, croaker, spot, kingfish, flounder, sand perch, cobia, bluefish gators and summer size, triggers and sheepshead to name a few. Spanish mackerel will show up soon, and maybe pompano will be early this year as it is so warm already. When I say target I mean either target a specific fish or just fish and see what happens.
You’d be amazed what you can land and pick up on the smaller top and bottom style rigs for smaller fish. Florida anglers land 20-pound black or red drum with DS Custom Tackle pompano rigs. They are not targeting the drum, it is bycatch while targeting pompano. Up here, we catch those big cownose rays and land them. That is some gnarly bycatch. The point is, a rig made with good line and worked just right with a surf rod or any rod can land some big fish — much bigger than most people realize the gear can handle.

Offshore action has been firing up when the boats can get out. Check your charters and local marinas for open boats to do some offshore angling.
Ther is more weakfish action this season than last. That is great to see picking up and I hope it continues. Most release their catches and that helps. Letting the larger fish go helps ensure future stocks.

Slot striped bass season started July 1 in the Delaware Bay and her tributaries. That includes the Lewes Canal to the Kings Highway Bridge. I think it should include the inland bays, too, because what would be the harm? The same fish run both bays all summer. You can see that in the catches at times. Fish pop up at the inlet, and then two weeks later are caught at the Cape Henlopen pier. Anyway, the creel size has been changed this year to 21-24 inches and only one fish per angler per trip. These are not daily creel limits; these are trip limits. Anglers can take more than one trip a day, much like charter companies do all the time. You just have to take your catch home, then you can go back out and fish and keep again because it is a new trip. Your cooler in your vehicle is not “at home.”

Have a safe holiday weekend. Keep all your fingers and toes, if you get my meaning. Your drunk uncle setting off fireworks is to be avoided at all costs.