This past week-end I discovered something I already knew. Has that ever happened to you?

I entered the Surf City Pier’s fishing tournament and arrived bright and early Saturday. Ready to catch fish and hopeful of winning one of the top prizes, I set-up my gear and began to fish. I did plenty of fishing, not a lot of catching mind you, but a lot of fishing.

I didn’t know any of the folks in my general vicinity but it wasn’t long before several of us struck up a conversation. This repeated through out the day as people would come and go. I noticed the same thing happening all over the pier, strangers meeting each other and making new friends.

That’s when the revelation hit me. You know -- the thing that I already knew but just discovered. Fishermen and women are nice people. Every time I go fishing in a place where there are other anglers near by (like the pier), I meet new people, nice people. Helpful people too – need to borrow a net or a pair of pliers, no problem there will be several willing to lend them to you. Need advice on how to tie that rig, you count on someone nearby that will be eager to help you.

As I pondered this idea, it also occurred to me that another group of people are like anglers. Campers! My wife and I enjoy camping, both on the beaches near by and in the mountains. We always meet very nice people camping too.

As I discussed this idea with a friend I had just made on the pier, he says to me “maybe it’s because being in the outdoors helps people relax and relieves the stress”. Ah – I think he’s on to something! Fishing, camping and many other activities where we enjoy God’s creation helps us to relax. Then the best in us shines bright!

So my conclusion is this, if you are feeling stressed out or just need to meet some new friends, go fishing!

Catching report

On the piers the early morning bite seems to be the best overall with some nice fish also being caught in the evenings. The hot weather has slowed down the inshore bite but anglers are catching flounder, black drum, blues, spots, some nice pound plus pompano and a few croaker, just not a lot of them. There also have been some nice Spanish caught but mainly on live bait.

In the creeks and waterway the puppy drum continue to feed near the marsh banks and docks. Some very nice flounder are being caught near the inlets with the first two hours of the rising tide be the most productive for many anglers. The gray trout have started to show up on the nearby ledges and live bottom. To target the grays, try bouncing a diamond jig or sting silver near the bottom.

With the very warm near shore waters, the king mackerel and mahi have moved back out into the 10 - 20 mile range and can be found on the ledges in 70 -90 feet of water. The best king action seems to be coming from live bait slow trolled on the downriggers. The sailfish are still in close but the bite has slowed down.

Off shore some nice catches of grouper, black sea bass, snapper, and grunts are coming off the bottom. Wahoo and billfish remain favorite targets in the Gulf Stream for those days when the seas allow anglers to get out that far.

Tight lines to all!