‘Tis winter, the fall fish are here and more are arriving. The summer fish are pretty much gone. There might be a few confused about the water temperatures and still hanging around. At Millsboro Pond the other day when it was nearly 70 degrees, the turtles were all out on the logs. The occasional flounder can be found along the surf. Otherwise it is skates and dogfish. But wait, what about those striped bass?

A lot of short striped bass are being caught in many of the waterways and along the beaches. These are the local fall schooling bass, which we also call surf rats. There are keepers among these shorter fish. Many are bigger than last year’s schoolies. We call the smaller bass under keeper size, shorts. It doesn’t really matter what size, anything under the keeper length (28 inches) is a short striped bass. Well, except those 27.5 inchers, we call them “almosters.” There are a lot of those to pick through and it is fun.

“Is it a keeper?”

“Almost!”

The local waterways are seeing a lot of schooling striped bass mixed in with the white perch. That citron has been good and there are almoster to keeper striped bass in those schools as well. I mean, if you are a large fish and there is a school of edible fish letting you hang around, where are you going to hang out and eat? Fish are not very picky when it comes to food and will eat their own. It just is what it is, once you leave the “nest” in nature, you’re fodder for the food chain.

North Jersey and lower is still on fire with surf blitzes of striped bass on peanut bunker schools. It would be nice to see that action here. If you aren’t out trying and that action shows up, you’re just gonna read about it later.

Tautog action has been good around the local waterway structures. The inlet walls are producing. Winter came in kind of chilly this year to these weird off mild days and I just can’t get adjusted. The buck stove abides in the shop. I need to just get out and let the cold take hold. Nope, back in the shop. Keep in mind on warm days, that water is still cold. We have reached hypothermia temperatures, so make sure you are protected for any activity if you are getting wet. Especially you kayakers — this time of year can be deceptive still.

I’ve been watching a paraglider near my house on weekends. Dude can really get up there. These are those big wing parachutes, and then you have a giant fan strapped to your back, with an engine on it. Read that again. A running engine, strapped to your back with a giant fan to push you around the sky, like a boat. Nope. Might as well give me a leaf blower and a beach umbrella. It looks like fun, however my affinity for heights is not having it.

We saw a Blo-kart at Cape Henlopen State Park last weekend. Essentially it is a high-tech go-kart with a sail attached to it. These guys were running it in circles around the parking lot. It was pretty neat. They said on a good west wind day and dead low tide, it would do well on the beaches. They prefer the flatter beaches of Wildwood. These are raced on the salt flats out west and can reach speeds of 70 mph. After he told me that and offered to let me try it, I declined. I already knew I would be sending that over the dune into town, or wind up in Cape May.

Winter clamming has started around the inland bays. It’s a great time of year to clam in areas that are not open during the summer. The bacteria, etc., are gone and all is well. I know, sounds a little crazy but that is how it works and always has in nature. Get a clamming rake, waders and a floating bucket or basket and you are set. There is a map in the Delaware fishing guide designating the open areas. It is fun. Pro tip: Don’t reach down while wearing chest waders to pick up a clam your foot hit because you got excited like it was summer. Because now you are a very cold, wet, drift sock. What had happened was ...