A Cold Front is Coming . . .

The hiatus, or rather the transition of how I will be with the water, was a success.  I drove home from work without any haste or urgency that I will 'score'.  I took a very slow walk up to the beach and when I saw the water, there was a fun little 2-3ft swell that must have just 'come up'.  So this is how it works.  Ok.  I guess I'll go surf.  Instead of thinking about going surfing on the walk home, I just went surfing.  Instead of feeling rushed to get in the water, I was only aware of my breaths and of putting one foot ahead of the other on the walk to get my board.  When I got in the water, it was orgasmic.  The wind, the sky, the color of the water, and the short period swell.  Instead of surfing for three hours and beating my body to feel satisfied, I was surprised when I looked at my watch and only 50 minutes had gone by.  So that's tiiiiiiimmmmme distooooooortiiiiooooonnn.

The number of days before the fall season begins is finite.  It might start tomorrow, next week, or at the end of the month.  For a fortunate few who got into some fish it has already started.  Last year, it went from a sterile October to a red hot night bite in less than a day.  What would be great is for some big bluefish to crash the beach and wake everybody up.  Like full on birds, bait flying out of the water, frantic fisherman.  I love those kinds of days.  A classic blitz.  Yeah stealthily catching bass at night is great, but there is nothing like the abandonment that comes with fishing a blitz.  Until that happens, it's the classic "got the bait, not enough fish" scenario.

The weather forecast looks excellent for the second half of the weekend and next week . . .

A blocking high over the Pacific Northwest means a push of colder air into the eastern United States.  The temperatures at home look absolutely excellent for Columbus Day and next week.

Unfortunately for the Pacific Northwest, yet another stubborn high pressure system means more dry weather in an area that suffered from horrendous wildfires in September.  At home, that blocking high is having a good effect by encouraging cooler temperatures.  It's kind of a chincy way to be cool, but after the heat of the last few years I will accept it.  Almost anything is better than those miserable summers and the non-winter last year.  The thought of having another overly warm season is not something I want to experience.  If the actual temperatures are close to what is forecast, there is a good chance that next week may be the week.  If the temperature stays moderate and cool this fall, I have a feeling this will be a classic year.  Any by classic I mean like 5 or 7 or 9 years ago.

The first of at least 60 sunrises. 

This morning had a standard pre-season look with flat surf, clear skies, and a light west wind.  There were mullet and maybe rain fish lined up just behind the bar, but with an only occasional small fish going through them.  I also spotted some big bunker a ways out.  Will it be a sand eel year or a peanut bunker year?  There hasn't been peanut bunker since I don't remember when, but I have a feeling they may finally show up.  What I really want is for the big bluefish to come in.  Columbus Day is known as a 'day' for big bluefish.  As always, it all depends on the weather, and fortunately the weather is looking very good.