I try to be up on all the locations where they're catching the bigger fish. Intel from various contacts helps greatly. There's just something about the possibility of catching bigger bass or bluefish that pulls me from more normal summer pursuits like summer fluking.
During the dog days of summer, there are still big bass and blues to be caught if you're willing to travel around a bit and do your fishing deep in the night.
Fellow S&A member JustEd, a hardcore surf guy and skisher, has been catching bigger fish all this month.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...-Cow-Town-quot
If you live in PA or NJ and love to surf fish, you know the opportunities are limited if you want bigger fish during August:
-You can fish the back bay areas near Cape May where the extreme abundance of bait has the bass and bigger predators active through the night feeding near structure.
-You can hit certain surf areas for brown sharks.
-Or you can pack it in, and stay away from fishing until everyone starts bragging in late Sept and Oct just how great the fishing is, and "follow the herd" to fish the obvious spots.
Intensive studying of Google maps led me to realize that Cape May and certain S Jersey areas are 100-130 miles from where I live.
My experience fishing the LI Sound (from the Bronx to the Montauk/Rhody edges) tells me a few things...
1. The bait is usually more abundant there, and more varied.
2. Every harbor is like the inlets we have here, similar in features, but in sheer numbers,,,not many places come close to the LI sound in terms of harbors, creeks, rips, and drains.
3. Summer water temps are usually a bit cooler than NJ and SS LI back bays, holding bigger fish for longer.
4. Rather than making a 100-130 mi trip to S Jersey to get in on some good August bass action, it would be smart to scout the places in the LIS that are 100 miles or less, and see how those trips would stack up in terms of opportunity.
This thread will document an attempt to explore every fishable cove and drain in that crystal-clear connected chain of ecosystems and biodiversity.
I will be fishing either from shore or yak depenging on the weather and what it calls for to reach the fish.