You know it's time to go.....

......when you start catching the same fish twice.    The last big drum that I caught in the Neuse this season had a tag in it.  It was a fresh tag and I looked at the tag number,  then over my shoulder to the dash where I write my notes.   I had caught the same silly fish three days ago in the same location.  The only difference is this time he didn't have 7 or 8 of his buddies with him.   # 90301 was a big male, 115 cm to the fork of the tag.   He was the first tag out of a 25 tag card that I may finish if I run into the big drum this fall in the ocean, otherwise, numbers 90318-25 will have to wait until next year.  

All in all it was a pretty good year.  I tagged a couple hundred fish, about half of a normal year.   Fishing was good and I can say that for all but one or two days, we got what we needed.  

It's good to have things put in perspective.  Maybe next year when we are back into easy double digit days and the corkers are catching the same if not more, we will better appreciate the spectacular fishery with which we are Blessed.

There will still be some drum around for the next week or so, plenty of pups and yearlings, trout firing off and striper season opens on Oc.t 1.   By then I'll be on the way back from 3 days of tarpon fishing on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.   Hope to have some pics and reports.