Chesapeake Light Tackle

If you’re reading this website, chances are you pore over everything you can get your hands on about fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.  If you’re like me, you have favorite authors and preferred books or periodicals, and you can’t wait for the next issue to come along.  The work of one of my favorite Chesapeake writers can’t be found in newspaper columns or outdoor magazines, but I’ve read every fishing report he’s written since 2003.  Keith Lockwood writes for Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fisheries website.  I started reading his reports when I first started fishing the Bay.  After recognizing the historical value of this weekly chronicle, I spent a couple of weeks scouring through all the archived entries.   Through previous year’s dispatches I learned about angling techniques, behavioral patterns, places to fish, and a lot about the science behind our fishing regulations.  I was extremely disappointed when I found out earlier this year that Keith would be cutting back on his weekly articles in favor of reader submitted entries in a section called The Maryland Angler’s Log.  While I still miss Lockwood’s focused reports, I’ve been plesantly surprised by the new addition to the website. The Maryland Angler’s Log is a real winner.

According to a DNR press release, The Angler’s Log expands upon the popular weekly fishing report by DNR biologist Keith Lockwood, with real-time reports from avid anglers from all parts of Maryland. The posts are reviewed and edited to ensure useful, family-friendly content before going live on the fisheries site. Fisheries Service staff biologists regularly weigh in with backup information from the streams, lakes, rivers, bays and the ocean.   The log is designed to be a place where anglers of all ages can go to find trustworthy information and features an easy search function so visitors may narrow the reports down to species, places of interest, or a specific contributor.

While I’ve yet to sign up and post a report on the Angler’s Log, I plan to do so soon.  Joe Evans, another of my favorite outdoors writers posted about a trip we made to Mid Bay this past Tuesday evening.  You can read it here:  http://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/log

I’ve had the privilege this week to get on the water with some very good fisherman.  Monday, TidalFish guru Brandon White joined me and my regular fishing partners Jamie and Mike for a fun evening trip off the back side of Kent Island.  We found fish breaking beneath birds right away and stayed with them for a couple of hours until the bite turned off before dark.  I enjoyed fishing with Brandon, Mike, and Jamie and posted a very tongue-in-cheek report on the TidalFish website.  I’m a big fan of the TidalFish Chesapeake Angler message board and read it regularly. Although I took some literary license with the details of my report, the techniques and locations are accurate.  You can read it here:  http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/showthread.php/289172-Fishing-with-Non-Fishermen-in-the-Mid-Bay-7-5

The action south of Kent Island has been nothing short of amazing over the past month and a half and light tackle has really produced.  I’m in the process of editing some video which I hope to post soon.  The weather has been very hot, so we’re taking extra precautions by using barbless hooks, removing trebles, and keeping the fish in the water as much as possible.  I’m also fishing only in the late evenings when over-the-water air temperatures cool below 90 degrees.  There’s a lot of good fishing and a lot of good fishing information available right now on the Chesapeake Bay.  I hope you’re enjoying both as much as I am.