Wet a Line!

I've been passionate about a lot of things in my life, but other than the people I love, my two most passionate subjects have been music and fishing. Oh, I still go occasionally nuts about indian artifacts and Civil War relics, but I never would've found those passions if not for fishing. I've lived here on the bay for two months now, and I haven't wet a line.

Until Today!

A cold but sunshiny day, I hurried home from work in time to replace the 8lb test on my medium action spinning reel, and tie on a chartreuse Beatle Spin. I pulled on a blue fleece over my scrubs and set out across the little beach to the rock jetty beside our house. My first cast landed just short of the rocky point on the far side of the canal that leads from the Magothy River into Lake Placid. I clicked over the bell spring and gave the rod tip a little jerk to activate the blade on the Beatle Spin and started a slow steady retrieve. About halfway back I felt a little bump. I didn't set the hook thinking I might have been reeling too slow and bounced the lure off the bottom. Still, it seemed worthwhile to cast again to the same place. The lure had just started to sink when, WHAM! This time there was no mistaking the strike of a fish. Excitedly, I set the hook way too hard, but fortunately felt familiar resistance of a fighting fish on the other end. The fish fought pretty hard and I grimaced thinking I might lose it before I knew what I'd hooked, but fortunately my tackle held up and I landed a long thin greenish-brown fish.My first thought was Walleye, but it looked more like a small Musky. I took a picture with my cell phone camera then released my first Chesapeake Bay catch back into the water. After a few more casts I hooked another one, this one a bit smaller, and reeled it in to my perch on the rocks. Even though the days are getting longer, it still gets dark early here. Much earlier than it did in Tennessee. I had some reel problems and missed a few more strikes before it got too dark to fish. I'm sure I had a new swagger in my walk as I headed back across the beach to rinse off my reel on the front porch. Later, I identified my fish as Chain Pickerel, a hard-fighting game fish known for an early spring spawn in the brackish areas of the Bay. It's ON now! It's no longer just a hope. I have the smell of fish on my hands. I am a Chesapeake Bay fisherman. FEAR ME! -Shawn