Northern lights expected to put on a show tonight

Old man winter is making his way to the party. I turned the heat on in the shop this morning. These metal buildings hold whatever heat or cool air you feed them but they will match the outside temperatures in under an hour on their own. This year the split is taking care of the shop, I’m not dealing with a woodstove this winter. That split spoiled us last year; we don’t have to gather wood on the daily. I’m still cutting down dead trees and using the wood for the cook fire pit instead. I still love my woodstove heat though. This weekend the woodstove gets installed in the garage for the woodworking shop, with a nice hot stove for those long winter days. It better snow.

The fishing has been heating up for bull red drum at Assateague on both state sides, and in Delaware. The word is out and anglers are headed to the island or you can stay local and hit up the beaches below the Indian River Inlet. Spot has been the bait of choice. Buck’s at Assateague has had an ample supply of spot all week. Mullet are thick along The Point beaches for cast netting.

The fishing along the beaches has been slow but anglers are catching more than scavengers. We saw some small flounder in the surf the other day. They are hitting baits close to shore when we check our lines.

Jigging along the ledge will produce flounder right now. This time of year they start leaving the bays and start feeding heavy to head offshore for the winter. Some specks have been around too. Sand fleas are still abundant in the surf for catching to use for bait, but you will have to find them and probably dig more than usual.

Sheepshead are being caught on structure near shore and inshore on structures such as the inlet jetties or the fishing piers. They will feed off the reef like growth on structure eating crustaceans and shellfish. They are great eating fish and put up a fun fight. If the water is clear enough, you can see them around the pier poles at the Cape Henlopen fishing pier.

If you are setting up to fish the surf, put out rigs for small and large fish. It is that time of year but you will pick through some scavengers. Fishbites sandflea and the new ghost shrimp is working well for all of the local species.

Striped bass are schooled up and feeding rather heavy. Start casting along waterways and moving water. When you find a school, sit on them — it is a lot of fun on ultralight gear. Bloodworms will work well too.

Big blue cats are being caught around the area. The snakehead, or Chesapeake Channa, Delaware state record set two weeks ago was already broken. Captain Bones logged in that catch as well. I figure at this point we are going to keep seeing the record broken by a lot of huge Chesapeake Channa.

If you are looking for something different to do this fall, take a cruise out of Lewes. Cape Water Tours and Taxi has some fun trips this month. This is the best time of year to take the lighthouse cruises — less people here and the weather is nice and cool. The sunsets hit different in the fall too.

The northern lights put on an amazing display a few months ago. The picture I shared is from the other night while sitting in my backyard. The display was brief but intense. But that’s nothing like what is coming as you read this. Tonight, you should go outside and look toward the north in as low light an area as you can find. There was a massive CME (coronal mass ejection) and we are about to get the same conditions we had recently. The “lights” come in waves and can be seen with the naked eye when it is this strong. Your cameras will pick it up better. Cell phones in night mode will pick up the red very well. Enjoy the show, bring the kids. They could learn a thing or two watching this display. It is truly awe inspiring to watch colors dance across the sky. When you see the pillars, it is really amazing. If you want live updates for waves, look up Aurora Alerts from Soft Serve News. This site will show you the strength of the incoming waves in real time.

Prayers to all in the path of Milton and the folks still dealing with Helene. If you have the time, go and help or send what you can afford.