Fall slips through the side door

The last few weeks have seen monarch butterflies by the hundreds. We have had the first of the big seasonal storms roll through, not with as much rain as we need, but enough to get us thinking about the transition of the seasons.  Geese are staging. Different sea birds are appearing.  It has the baitfish and striped bass thinking about it, too.

Each day it builds as the days progress. We tend to observe things differently, however. Wrapped up in our lives, we don't see the subtle cues. Instead there is an marked event or an observation that makes us realize the transition has occurred, past tense, done.  However, fall does not arrive with a turn of the calendar page.

Gray skies and blue fish

Summer slowly yields to crisp mornings. Fishing at sunrise is no longer painfully early. Each day is a grab bag of opportunity. Old cliches ("find the bait, find the fish") ring true.

Fall is the harvest time, and many cultures celebrate this time of plenty. The sub-culture of fishermen is no different. There are striped bass, false albacore, fall trout, salmon and steelhead to be had. Enjoy.