Chesapeake Light Tackle

The world rolls along
Unaware of the dance
Except for a few
Who venture a glance

Toward those down below
Who’re casting upstream
Waltzing the current
In search of a dream

I wave when they blow
Or hold up a fish
I know how it feels
To look down and wish

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Summertime,
And the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’
And the cotton is high

If I could add a line to George Gershwin’s song, it would be “and the piling bite is on.”  This week marked the start of the summer pattern around the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge.  The migratory fish are long gone, the bluefish are moving in, and the resident rock have set up shop around the pilings.  This is the time of year when it’s well-worthwhile to make a sunset run out of Matapeake to drop a jig around the rockpiles or toss a top-water plug over the Pipe.  Go, even if there’s only a few minutes to fish.  It’s the closest to a sure thing the Chesapeake has to offer. Better yet, the big white perch are out of the rivers and hanging out in the shallow water around the bridge. My wife and I ate fresh fish three times this past week.  Back in the South, we’d call that steppin’ in high cotton.  Here, it’s just a summer week on the Bay. Read More!

I admit it, I dread the opening day of rockfish kill season like a vampire dreads a tossed salad.  In my book, it’s the beginning of the end of good fishing on the Chesapeake Bay.  With one stroke of the clock our tranquil miles of open-Bay solitude are overrun by frantic hoards of  frenzied fishermen.   The meat fleet is out in force on boats bristling with rods the size of rake handles and dozens of lines spread out hundreds of feet using planer board rigs.  Lost somewhere in the melee is the concept of one-man-one-rod sportsmanship. To make matters worse, the Department of Natural Resources sets the opening of the kill season while there are still pre-spawn fish in the Bay.  Big cows are routinely killed before they have a chance to spread the millions of eggs they are carrying. Maryland, we are sucking the life-blood out of the sport we love by killing our spawning fish. Read More!

If the tail slaps of big rockfish can be compared to the rumble of a Chesapeake storm, I spent this past weekend riding on thunder road.   We’re seeing the first signs of spring on the Bay resulting in some fun fishing. The good times this weekend were especially sweet because I just took delivery of my new Judge 27CC.   If you’ve followed my website you know I’ve been looking for a new boat for some time. There are several reasons why I chose the Judge. First off, I’m used to a long boat.  Having fished out of the Sea Ray for three years, I wanted something of similar length and handling so I could continue to go out in rough weather. I also needed a boat with a relatively narrow beam so I can trailer to where the fish are without worrying about permits. My other priorities included a bass boat style casting platform, a place to duck in out of the weather or sleep in emergencies, a shallow draft for fishing the near-shore top-water spots, and a long comfortable warranty.  Of course price played a major role.  I narrowed my decision down to three brands and Bill Judge made me the best deal even after the modifications I needed. There’s a lot to be said for cutting out the middle-man and buying directly from the boat builder, especially when it’s a local Eastern Shore guy.

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I’ve mentioned in previous reports that there are an extraordinary number of striped bass in the Bay this winter.  It’s never been unusual to find a few big fish here and there during cold weather, but each year there seem to be more nice fish wintering over.   I’ve managed a couple of trips this week with very good results as you can see in the photos below. Curious about why there are so many January rockfish, I put the question to Maryland Department of Natural Resources Senior Fisheries Biologist “Rockfish” Rudy Lukacovic when I ran into him at the Boatyard Bar & Grill in Annapolis one evening this week.  Rudy thinks it’s all a part of changing migration patterns.  He also noted that there have been fewer fish in the usual wintering grounds off the coast of the Carolinas in recent years. Read More!

Gone are the fair-weather boaters with their blaring radios and boats bristling with broomsticks.  No more planer-board trollers claiming 300 foot right-of- ways, or obnoxious broadcasters insulting everyone with a VHF radio within 50 miles.  Catch & release season is the time of year when the one-man-one-rod concept reigns supreme.  It’s when you can run on-plane for miles in the wide-open Bay and never see another fishing boat.  A time when there’s very little competition for prime fishing spots, and a small but tight fraternity of hard-core fishermen brave the elements to jig the cold-weather hotspots.  I anticipate the start of C&R season like a kid waits for Christmas.

My sons Jacob and Daniel are visiting from Tennessee this week.  We’ve been trying to work a fishing trip into our schedule, but we couldn’t get it all together until today.  Read More!