Dog Days

They refer to the "dog days of summer" because Sirius, the dog star, is visible in the sky.  Most striper fishermen, however, think it's because the fishing is for the dogs.  I had a nice long dry spell from July 3 through August. Admittedly it was partly due to lack of effort at the right times of time.

The determined fishermen go nocturnal or log many hours in the car heading to points east. For me it's a chance to catch up on sleep lost during early morning outings in May and June. Don't get me wrong-- being able to play on Long Island Sound while the water is warn is terrific. Family outings become more of the focus when the fish aren't around. We go sailing. The kids have a blast on snapper blues.

Happiness is a tug on the end of your line.

This summer it does seem that there were fewer big fish around. There were some stripers around for people making the effort. We had a few fun outings casting small flies to 12-14" bluefish blitzing on the surface, but they seemed to average on the small side

What's nice to see is the quantity of bait. Schools of adult menhadden stuck around all summer, and they've grown fat while enjoying respite from harassing schools of big stripers and blues.  This gives hope to fishermen hoping for a good fall run.  The calendar and morning temperatures in the forties tell us that it's fall. The fishing is getting interesting again.