Here we are, in the teeth of a new season, fish all over the place, including the end of my line. And I haven't written a single fishing report. Not a word. O guess my excuse is, put simply, I've been busy. But that's not really an excuse. Stripers have been all over the back bays. Some nights better than others. It's been easy some nights, and a mystery waiting to be solved others. Some nights they'd hit anything you wanted to throw at them. Other nights it had to be a certain color, specific size, and a perfect cast and retrieve. But, that's what keeps up coming back again and again. It wouldn't be much fun if it was easy. I hit the surf a few times, but haven't figured it out just yet. Haven't even had a bump. You'd think a stray doggie or skate, but nothing. We'll, unless you count the bait stealing crabs. There have been stripers caught, along with blues, and drum. Just not when I've been around. I really need to get back in the game. I did have one charter trip already. A really nice grandpop, his son, and the grandson. We worked the back bays for tog, flounder, weakies, and anything else we hoped might bite. It was just one of those days. We had a screaming current and dirty water. Tog wouldn't bite around any structure. We did manage to land and release a nice flounder. Missed a few others. We had all sorts of marks on the sounder, but couldn't get them to bite. Despite the poor overall bite, we had a nice time. On a recent trip out to the wrecks and reefs we got into some solid tog action. Skel came along for comic relief and ball busting. Our first stop was very productive. Skel pulled up a nice keeper on the very first drop. The action continued from there, hot and heavy with many, many tog landed. Then, around noon, the tide slowed and the bite died. We moved around the structures, but it was no Bueno. We moved to a wreck, but there were no willing participant's. We moved to another big chunk, found fish, but they were all small bait stealers. So, we ran back to where we began. Found more fish, and better sized. We ended up with seven nice keepers, but couldn't land the final two man limit fish. As luck would have it, on my very last drop, with the last piece of crab, I hooked a really nice tog. It pulled like a dump truck back into the structure and broke me off. So, it remained seven. On our way in we tried to find a striper, as there were reports of solid action off the beaches. We found bunker schools, but no bass. But no complaints. We had a great time catching, missing, and tossing back tog all day. As far as my excuses, you know, my lack of reports. I've been busy putting our veterans fishing trip together, finding donors, filing to become a corporation and nonprofit. I've also been planning on my impending retirement. It's just time. I'll miss teaching, but I will love fishing full time. Bittersweet, but mostly sweet. And the wife is onboard, so it's all good. Then there was my father's passing. That was, and continues to be a tough one. I miss our conversations. The fishing banter, comparing of lures and plugs we both made, bickering about rigs, baits, and whatever. His sense of humor. His support in the things I do. Still working through it. Then, to add to the fun, a good friend d passed away the other day. Another loss to the fishing community. Big John, of Big John's bait and Tackle passed on. He was always fun to talk to. He always laughed and made light of his situation, regardless of how dark it might have been. That's a rare quality these days. One that I will miss. So, there you have it. My excuses for slacking off. I promise to do better as we move along I to the season. And the season is shaping up to be a pretty good one. Stripers, tog, flounder, blues, weakies, and drum so far. Lots of good fishing to be had. You just gotta get out after them. Tight Lines!