Give early fishing a try during dog days of summer

Recently, my family travel schedule has been hectic. However, early Saturday morning, the schedule for Elliott (my son), Brody (the amazing fish-finding and stock-trading dog), and myself aligned for an early morning fishing trip.

We pushed away from the dock just after sunrise and planned to fish the first half of the incoming tide.   

On the ride to the Wando River, the air temperature was comfortable, but we knew it was going to get scorching hot. We agreed to catch a few fish and get back to the dock before the heat became unbearable. 

In the heat of the summer, an early morning incoming tide is the optimal time to fish. The return of cooler ocean water drops the water temperature in the rivers and creeks and triggers predators to feed. It is also Brody’s favorite time to fish. He says fishing in a fur coat in July is not much fun. With a heat index forecast to be in the triple digits, Brody wanted to be off the water and in air conditioning by 10 a.m. Elliott and I agreed. 

We stopped at a shallow oyster point. Elliott deployed the trolling motor, and we began our search for redfish. Elliott cast his Z-Man Finesse TRD to the oyster point. I cast mine into deeper water. After a few casts, I caught and released a flounder and a trout. 

About then, Elliott located a school of decent-size redfish. We could easily see them milling around an oyster bar. Elliott carefully positioned the skiff to give me a good cast to the school. Bam! Inshore slam complete. 

For the next hour or so, we consistently caught and released trout and redfish. When the temperature got too hot for Brody, it apparently got too hot for the fish as well. With our mission accomplished, we called it a day. 

The dog days of summer are upon us. To beat the heat, give early morning fishing a try – especially if there is an incoming tide.