The constant pop-up monsoons have been fun. I don’t know whether to dress for a dry day or kayaking to my front door. Add the electric rain to that and it gets real interesting. Stay safe out in these pop-up storms, they can get ugly fast. As Captain Ron said, “It’s just a little squall.” They come on you fast and leave you fast.

Watching a storm clear a drive-on beach is always entertaining, as well as the boat ramp follies on a busy weekend. People in panic mode do entertaining things. Knowing that is half the battle, not being that guy is the other half. Back that trailer up like nobody is watching.

The fishing is summertime conditions. Use small baits or Fishbites and DS Custom Tackle top and bottom rigs, pompano rigs, kingfish, fireball or spot rigs. There are random bluefish around, spot, kingfish, weakfish, sand perch, puffers. I am still waiting for a pompano, and looking forward to that meal on the sand. The fireball rigs are great for cut bait and the smaller bluefish. The J hooks’ shank works well keeping those razor teeth off the line.

Kingfish, also called whiting in the south, make great fish tacos. Spot are good to eat when they hit panfish size. Who doesn’t like weakfish? You just need a decent size. A spike trout isn’t much of a meal. Northern pufferfish are known as chicken of the sea, delicious. There are all kinds of fish to catch and eat in the summertime.
The waters are bathtub warm on the hotter days. Fish are a little farther out in the surf on the warmer days in the cooler water. The shallow bays warm up fast and fish tend to avoid the lower oxygen areas.

Maryland has put out an alert for a couple years about striped bass fishing conditions. The season is closed right now but when it is open again they will recommend not fishing on very hot days. Released fish do not recover well, or at all, in hot, low-oxygen-level water. Maryland DNR announces this daily on their website and social media.

Evening into night fishing is preferred. The fish are closer to the beach in the evenings, hunting for food, especially on an incoming tide. The sharks are in close doing the same. Nighttime fishing is fun, the hard part is watching your line. There are many options, and I have used them all over the years. I have been looking for an alternative that is easy to use and environmentally friendly. A friend of mine sent me some rod wrapping thread that glows under black lights or UV light. It’s perfect for my rod tips for night fishing. I don’t need any kind of light on my rod now for a strike indicator. Those glow stick ones drive me nuts. We used to find hundreds of them on the beaches when we did beach cleanings. Using a solar yard light is one of the best, just shine it up the rod holder and your rod. You can see the tip of the rod easily enough. But you are looking at light all night, which makes it harder to see anything else in the dark and work a fish. I am thinking this thread method and a black light will be easier and less intrusive.

Congratulations to David Moore, of Salisbury, Maryland. He won the Maryland DNR Master Angler Award. He caught 10 different trophy-sized species, reaching the highest milestone of the FishMaryland awards program. Way to go Dave, it is well deserved. He is an exceptional angler.

Crabbing has been great around the local waterways. It’s rough running lines on a hot day but that cold beer and picking crabs at the end of the day is a bonus. I clean my crabs before I steam them. I like to cook them different ways. Pan seared in wine is delicious smothered in butter and garlic. When you have access to crabs on the daily, you tend to play with recipes. I’ve been eating 20 pounds of Coho salmon for the past week and a half. Eventually you have to cook it different or try something else.

Clamming has been good. The oyster farmers are seeing some incredible growth rates around the inland bays. They are great oysters. If you haven’t tried a Delaware farmed oyster, you need to treat yourself. There is a place in Maryland raising bay scallops now. I get to visit them in a couple of weeks for a “business” trip.

The Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier has seen some decent slot striped bass action. A few a day come over the rail and home in the cooler. That season lasts until Aug. 31. They are the best eating-sized striped bass you will ever have in Delaware.

Check with Breakwater Bait and Tackle for the latest fishing report. I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t, but wait until you see what the bait shop is adding next. I am going to need a ruling on shooting fish, just saying (hint). Also check out the DS Custom Tackle Float station at Break Water, and the one at Icehouse Bait and Tackle. These stations are perfect for anglers making their own gear who want to buy floats by the piece instead of packages.

Freshwater anglers, the grass on land is getting really tall and crabby around the ponds. Am I the only one who takes a weed whacker fishing? A machete is usually in the truck for annoying brush, but that electric trimmer will fix an overgrown spot real quick. Top water is fun in the evenings. I’ve been using my fly rod more. It’s a lot of fun on bluegills and small bass.

Stay hydrated out there. It has been brutal. Fall is coming.