Second summer has been a little toasty during the day. The morning fishing has abided in the surf for my daily trips. It is easier to wait until second summer to fish early morning then not fight traffic just to get home so I can work. Bluefish, kingfish, weakies, spot, croaker, pompano are all still hitting. Blue runners are being caught along the beaches — that always freaks out people not ready for that catch. They are small but look neat.

Flounder can be caught jigging or fly fishing. The bay side of the point is great for flounder fishing along the beach, much like the beach at the Cape Henlopen fishing pier. The Roosevelt Inlet and Lewes canal has been producing decent flounder.

Sections of the fishing pier in Cape will be closed for crews to repair some of the pylons. These will be encased in a sleeve with concrete for more strength. The pier will be open during all this work, but sections along the rail will be fenced off for the work. Crews just started setting up fence the other day.

The pier bite has been great for spot most days, then goes cold, then gets hot — the trials and tribulations of fishing. Flounder has been slow but catchable. More throwbacks than keepers. Mullet have been scarce but around. That should pick up soon enough. We are seeing a decent amount along the point beaches as well as other baitfish.

The short striped bass action is slowly picking up as the “schoolies” gather and feed for the coming fall. This time of year, the water temperatures will start dropping a little and that usually triggers the striped bass. There have been a few keepers caught at the Indian River Inlet and near the Roosevelt Inlet. The Ocean City Inlet and bridges are seeing their fair share of fun short striped bass action.

The bull drum (red drum) are starting to show in Chincoteague and Assateague’s surf. The Chesapeake Bay has seen some nice action along the Eastern Shore for boat and kayak anglers. That will increase as we get farther into fall fishing.

Water temperatures will yoyo for a few weeks as the fall and second summer battle it out for weather dominance. Who will win remains to be seen, but in the end it will be fall. The fun part is we will have all kinds of fish here mixed together depending on how long the warm temperatures hold. The inland bays has dropped as low as 72 degrees then moves back up to 78 degrees on the warmer days.

Crabbing is still excellent around the inland bays. Now with less crab pots in the way, that helps for better catches. Clamming is always good this time of year. The local oyster growers are producing a great deal of yummy oysters.

The Delmarva Outdoors Expo is Oct. 1, 2 and 3 at the fairgrounds in Harrington. There will be the Dock Dogs, outfitters, tackle companies, and all things related to the outdoors. More details coming soon about some of the attractions. I do know everyone’s favorite local tackle company, DS Custom Tackle, will be there with killer show specials.

Check your local charters and head boats for trips. There is a variety of places to go and fish to be had. Just depends on what you want to get into or what the boats are targeting. With the slower weekends, the crowds are down more which makes for less competition on the water and for spots on a boat. Get your trips in now, the fishing has been pretty good offshore when they can get out.

AIR DOWN, especially you Jeep owners. They are the one vehicle that owners claim don’t need airing down — “I have big tires” — but always are the ones catching on fire.

There was a fire a few days ago on the beach in Delaware Seashore State Park. A Jeep didn’t air down and caught on fire.

How does that happen? Jeeps run hot anyway in 4x4. When the transmission is overworked even more trying to push through deep sand, the transmission fluid will boil. When that happens, it comes out of the dipstick or a failed hose. Hits the exhaust manifold and poof, fire, which continues to burn, fueled by trans fluid and rubber and plastic parts in the engine. Then there is the obvious fuels, of oil and gas.

Every time I see a vehicle fire on a beach, I ask what kind of Jeep was it, or is it the infamous Ford Exploder?

Airing down is important because low tires equals no fires. Parks should require fire extinguishers as part of the needed gear for surf fishing vehicles. Not just for Jeep fires, but also the fact many have grills on the beach, too. You just never know. An ABC rated extinguisher is what is needed for vehicle fires. Parks should also require airing down. It would be a cheaper ticket than losing your entire vehicle. It takes all of 10 minutes to drop tire pressure. That is and should be the worst part of your day to avoid the car-becue. Also, airing down keeps the beach from being torn up so much.

The new cobia creel limit was set by an order from the Secretary of DNREC. It was issued Aug. 16, but I never saw a press release. Many have been asking us what the limits are now that more are showing up this time of year. The regulation was published in the September Register of Regulations and went into effect on Sept. 11. The new minimum size limit is 37” total length, there is a one fish possession limit per angler or boat, and no closed season.