My son Ric, my wife Barbara and I have all had skin cancer. My dear friend and talented artist Paul Scarborough died from the effects of skin cancer. My hero Jimmy Buffett also died, much too young, from the same disease. 

Paul and I had been fishing not too long before I heard he had skin cancer on his foot. Then I heard it was his leg. And then they had to amputate his leg below the knee. Barbara, who is also an amputee, and I planned to visit Paul, but before we could get up to New Castle County, he had died. All of this occurred in a very short time period. I was shocked to think that skin cancer could take someone in such a short time.

Fortunately, in my family, the form of skin cancer we had was not the aggressive type. I go to my skin cancer person every six months. She checks me over from top to bottom and burns off any pre-cancerous cells she finds. The burning off is a just a wee bit uncomfortable, but I endure it because the alterative is so much worse.

I also take every precaution when out in the sun. I will confess I am not out there as much as I was before I broke my hip, but when I go, I wear a long-sleeved shirt that is made to protect the wearer from the sun. I still can’t stand to have my face covered with one of those masks, so I apply SPF-50 sun lotion liberally to my face and neck. I wear a wide-brimmed hat. I apply the same SPF-50 lotion to my legs.

My son Ric goes the whole enchilada. Long-sleeved shirt, long pants, face mask and hat. No doubt that is the safest route to take.

For those of us who enjoy the outdoors, it is a sad state of affairs when the sun we seek turns out to be bad for us, but with the depleted ozone layer allowing in more harmful rays, that’s what we have to endure. I don’t see any chance the ozone layer is going to heal itself, so all we can do is protect ourselves and our loved ones.

Go early or late

Now that summer is upon us and midday temperatures may hit the upper 90s or even 100, you should plan your fishing trips for early morning or late evening when the air is cooler and the seas are generally flatter. I personally prefer early morning because thunderstorms are less likely to occur then. When I say less likely, I don’t mean never.

On one early morning run from Indian River with Larry Weddin, my young son Ric and myself in my 21-foot StarCraft center console, we were headed to B Buoy when we spotted not one but two thunderstorms converging toward us and Indian River Inlet.

I made a 180-degree course correction, but to no avail. Both storms and our fishing party arrived at the inlet simultaneously.  

The only damage was to our pride as I docked the boat in my slip at Bayshore. Three drowned rats came ashore. I drove Larry back to his trailer, and his wife Joann was not too pleased to have him come home so early and interrupt her sleep.

Most early morning trips are more successful. If you fish the ocean, don’t expect to catch tons of big fish inshore. Reef sites 10 and 11 along with the Old Grounds, B Buoy down to A Buoy should provide you with a mixed bag of flounder, sea bass, croaker, spot and blues.  

Move on out to the DelJerseyLand Reef and you may find dolphin waiting for you. I have found live minnows fished on a circle hook without any weight to be deadly for these fish. Take a minnow bucket full of said bait with you. Use some for flounder and save plenty for dolphin. Start by tossing out a couple of handfuls to get the dolphin excited, then feed them ones with a circle hook. We have caught dolphin to 15 pounds using this technique.

You can try bottom fishing here, but my attempts have been less than successful in the summer. You may mark plenty of fish, but for whatever reason, they won’t bite.

If you have a boat that can run safely to the canyons, summer is the time to go. At my last report, yellowfin tuna were being caught out there and Ocean City, Md., had recorded its first white marlin of the season.

Leaving at first light is a regular part of canyon fishing because you want to run out with the best possible sea conditions. Coming home, the seas will build the closer you get to shore.