Over the last three days I’ve caught fifty speckled trout. That’s forty-eight more than I’ve caught in the previous five years here on the Chesapeake Bay. I’m sure I could have caught a few in years past had I targeted them, or if I fished farther south in the marshes, but that isn’t necessary right now because, for whatever reason, the trout are here in force. This week, Maryland fishermen have reported speckled trout as far north as Matapeake Pier and well into the Eastern Bay rivers. Also known as spotted sea trout, or simply “specks,”  these colorful fish were once plentiful throughout the Bay.  Their numbers have been down in recent years, but if this season is any indicator, things are looking up. Adult specks are migratory, usually moving into the Bay in late April to spawn before swimming farther north toward Maryland.  Since they prefer warm, salty water, they’re usually gone by mid-November. They aren’t true trout but are related to croakers and drum, and will sometimes make a groaning or grunting sound when caught.  Here’s what they sound like  CLICK HERE and here’s how to catch them.

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The main channel of the Chesapeake is currently closed to most fishing due to dense, muddy water. Debris fields containing trees, logs, railroad ties, even 55-gallon drums and partially-submerged refrigerators make it nearly impossible to navigate anywhere near the Bay Bridge.  The Susquehanna River remains near flood stage, so there is more bad water and trash to come. What’s a light tackle fisherman to do?  Go east, young man – go east and go shallow.  If you aren’t fishing the shoreline right now, you’re missing some of the most spectacular top-water action of the year.  September is almost always a great month for top-water fishing, and it’s even better now since fish have been pushed out of the muddy waters of the channel toward the shorelines.  Better yet, the high water makes it even easier to get our boats in tight and fish the current swept banks. Read More!

In my book, fishing and music go together like blue crabs and Old Bay seasoning.  It’s hard for me to imagine one without the other. I’ve been singing, playing, and writing music for as long as I’ve been fishing. Here’s a shot of me with my best friend Curtis Seals from back around 1979 picking and grinning on the deck of the houseboat I called home.  You can’t tell it, but Curtis is steering the outboard with his left foot while he picks his banjo. That takes talent!

Many of the songs I’ve penned relate to the water in one way or another.  My songwriting has slowed in the past few years because, in my opinion, a good song needs a firm sense of place.  After moving away from my home in the Appalachian Mountains to this Chesapeake Bay country, I needed to thoroughly steep myself in the culture before trying to translate local images into songs. A few verses have been showing up in my head lately though, and my old Martin D-18 guitar is coming off the stand a little more frequently than it used to.  My son Daniel has a gift for immediately capturing the spirit of the places he visits. He recently turned out a chilling ballad about the ghost of a barge captain who haunts the waters around Cape Charles, Virginia. I’m excited about the song because it’s laced with images of hurricanes, lighthouses, oyster bars, diving gannets, and blitzing rockfish. I hope he’ll record it soon. Read More!

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. Read More!

Temperatures have cooled dramatically in the past couple of days after Tropical Storm Danny pushed on up the coast and a strong cold front moved across the Bay. I wanted to see what change the cooler weather might have made to the Mid-Bay bite we’ve been following since March.  My buddy Rich and I launched at the Shipping Creek ramp into a very strong outgoing tide and ran south about ten miles until we caught up with the leading edge of the current.  Along the way we encountered about 25 boats, many from the charter fleet, livelining and chumming on the north end of Poplar Island.  Considering how good the casting bite has been this summer, I wondered if they know what they are missing by sitting in one place and soaking bait. Read More!

Just when I thought the western shore was going to turn into the Summer striped bass hotspot, the fish showed up back over on the east side last night.  Tim & Mike joined me on Crockett’s Reel for a 5:30 PM launch from Shipping Creek on Kent Island.  We buzzed the Eastern Bay stopping only once when a flock of diving least terns alerted us to bait, then continued through Poplar Narrows south to an area that occasionally holds fish this time of year.  My original plan was to cruise on across to the oyster flats off Chesapeake Beach, but it was soon apparent we had traveled far enough.

A few seagulls over a steep drop-off put us on a some small bluefish.  As we were playing around with them and watching the fishfinder, bigger marks showed up.  Stacked fish near the bottom is usually a sign of rockfish.  We all three hooked up about the same time with some respectable summer fish.  Read More!