During the dog days of summer, fishing at sunrise is beautiful

The dog days of summer arrived early this year.

 

For most of last week, the heat index was in the triple-digit range. It was uncomfortably hot for anglers and fish alike. So hot that Brody, the amazing fish-finding and stock-trading dog, refused to leave the house.

 

With water temperatures in the creeks consistently above 86 degrees, the daytime fish-feeding window is short. The most optimal feeding conditions are early morning with an incoming tide.

 

On Saturday, low tide was at 5:29 a.m., and the wind was forecast to be calm. Perfect conditions for targeting redfish and trout with topwater lures. So I called my longtime fishing buddy, Jonathan Anderegg, and he agreed to meet me at 5 a.m. on Saturday.

 

It was still dark when we launched the skiff and made the short run into the Wando River. When we started fishing, it was slack tide, and the water temperature was 86 degrees.

 

The bite was slow, but we knew the incoming tide would drop the water temperature and trigger the fish to eat. At least we hoped it would!

 

A few minutes later, the incoming tide lowered the water temperature by half a degree. Like a light switch, the bite turned on.

 

I spotted a couple of redfish feeding on shrimp and positioned the skiff so Jonathan could make the cast. 

 

His Zara Spook Junior lure landed a couple of feet in front of the fish. One of the redfish followed the lure but did not strike. Jonathan made another cast and just let the lure sit. 

 

The strike was vicious. As Jonathan fought the fish, I noticed the sunrise behind him and thought to myself that would be a good picture. The redfish was not particularly large, but the sunrise was beautiful. So, we took the time for a quick photo before releasing the fish.

 

In the dog days of summer, it is hard to beat an early morning incoming tide. Especially when you share it with an old friend.