It is really hot out — you have to go to the beach just to sit by some cooler water. The breeze off the water is delightful on days like these and cools you down while fishing. The water is warming up faster too and the much warmer water is not far away. Next week we are looking at a heat wave — this is just a warm-up. At least it isn’t supposed to rain this weekend. That is a welcome change.

Anglers are out and about fishing for many options now and in many locations. Everywhere you can think to drop a line probably has someone there, on the way or who just left. It is the summer season. A lot of kids on bikes are heading to their favorite fishing holes.

The bait shops are keeping longer hours. I’m into the evening mode and early morning predawn trips and staying indoors for the afternoon. It makes for a fun work day — fish before and after. Crabbing has been excellent in my back water area.
Anglers should carry a 10% bleach solution with them when fishing these bathtub temperature summer waters. Cuts can get infected quickly. A spray bottle of bleach water can help control vibrio issues. If you are using clam for bait, you definitely need to wash your hands before you consume any food, especially if these are surf clams collected in warm low-flow water areas.

This leads us into a reminder to keep the shellfish you collect on ice. This includes clams, crabs or oysters. Vibrio will not grow out of control when it is cold. Keeping anything you consume cold and on ice before cooking is always recommended in summer. I don’t worry too much about crabs once I have cleaned the crabs for cooking, they get iced anyway to keep the meat fresh.

Surf fishing is in summer fish mode, and most anglers have switched to smaller hooks and Fishbites to catch the smaller summer fish — kingfish, croaker, spot, sand perch, weakfish and bluefish. Of course skates, sharks and dogfish are always around. If you don’t even catch a skate, you know the fishing is going to be bleak that day. When it gets hotter, the fish will be a little farther out. Depending what beach you are fishing will depend where you need to cast to find fish. Delaware doesn’t have a lot of pronounced structure, but we do have some areas with better cuts than others. Most of your fish along the beach are constantly on the move but will hang around structure that produces food. The trick is to find that structure and hope it holds fish or some drop by while foraging. If you want some serious surf structure, go to Assateague, and you can fish up to three sand bars and two troughs. Just reading the beach at Assateague can be a lot of fun. There’s so much structure, to the point it can be overwhelming. Probably for the fish as well.

Bluefish are still being caught in the surf using mullet for bait on mullet rigs. Silver spoons are always fun to cast for bluefish.

Red drum are at Assateague, and night action seems to be the better time for the big bulls. There is the occasional black drum catch as well.

The Delaware boats haven’t seen much drum action either, I heard tell. Striped bass action has died off but there are plenty of resident schoolies to catch.

Flounder action has picked up drifting minnows or jigging Fishbites fight club or Gulp. The surf is producing some flounder jigging along the surf zone along the ledge.
Cobia should be around soon if not already, and there are triggers showing up on the reefs.

There are a lot of options to fish for so get out and drop a line. It’s hot the next few days but it will be brutal next week so get some of that afternoon fishing in this weekend. I’m sure the beaches will be packed with the nice weather. Good “fishing” weather on a sunny day, bring the cornhole.

By the way, there aren’t any lifeguards at Assateague National Seashore this year due to budget cuts so plan accordingly. The state side will have full staff. You would be surprised how many people don’t realize how fast things can get bad at the beach when a wave takes them down. Then they are under, gone and no one saw it. That’s why lifeguards watch everyone, especially at the beach. We have all seen some stuff like this while fishing. Rip currents can be some of the worst for bathers. Be careful in any area this summer that may be working with less staff and funds.

Maryland has started their striped bass advisory program for summer. From the DNR website:
“The department will monitor temperature forecasts and announce a general recommendation each day during the summer months, from mid-June until Labor Day, using the following advisory system:
Red: Air temperatures are forecast at 95 degrees or higher. Anglers are encouraged not to fish for striped bass after 10 a.m. and should target other species of fish.
Yellow: ​Air temperatures are forecast at 90-94 degrees. Anglers should use extreme care when fishing for striped ​bass; fish should be kept in the water when caught and released on these days.
Green: Fishing conditions are generally normal. Proper catch-and-release practices are encouraged.”