Adventures in the Chesapeake

Where'd he go! - Lauching Chesapeake Light Tackle.com

2007-10-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Since the blog has been mostly about fishing anyway, I decided to make it more official and open a website devoted to my angling adventures. Please check out http://www.chesapeakelighttackle.com Comments and feedback are highly encouraged! See you there.....

"One Bourbon, One Scotch, & One Beer"

2007-08-25T10:29:00.001-07:00

Just to prove it ain't always fishing, last night we were invited by up-the-river friends Rich & Helen to join them in the VIP box at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore to see George Thorogood. Thorogood and his hard-rocking bar band the Destroyers were on top of the charts when I was in high school. I'd forgotten how many of their songs I knew. Inspired by a text message from Daniel, I timed my drink order, Jack Daniel on the rocks, McCallan straight up, and Fordam Lager, to arrive at the moment he kicked off one his best known songs. Thorogood has some age on him, but the show was still entertaining and I had a big smile on my face throughout. Thanks for the memories.

And just in case anyone gets the wrong idea about my pasttime priorities, I fished Thursday evening with Rick Long out of Solomons, MD. Rick has made a name for himself in the fishing world by inventing The Fish Off Glove. It's a velcro, plastic, and rubber combo that makes removing lures from fish much easier. We gave the gloves a good workout, catching over 60 rockfish and blues up to 5 pounds on top-water plugs. We saw spanish mackeral jumping among the breakers, but couldn't catch them. The water is extremely clear and very salty that far down in the Bay. I'd like to fish there more often.

Confirming earlier reports.....

2007-08-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

That the top-water bite is still hot, Mike R. joined me last night for a stormy weather fishing trip over to the east side of the Bay Bridge. Mike and I have been fishing together for a few weeks now and I'm enjoying his company. There was rain and a sustained 17 kt northeast wind all day yesterday. I wouldn't have given us a 2 cent chance at catching fish when we left the dock. But when we reached the pipe, we started marking fish. Miked hooked up right away on a homeade jig. I saw fish high on the FF so started throwing my 6" top-water lure. The waves were so big I couldn't see the plug most of the time, but I did see this fish attack! I thought he was going to be a lot bigger than he was because he fought so aggresively! I've had my best fishing on the Bay in crappy weather. Glad to see the fish are still there!

Montana Stream Fishing Interlude

2007-08-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

I do my best to keep this blog pertinent to the Bay area, but I can't resist sharing this. If you’re inclined as I am to read fishing reports from places you might have been or hope to someday visit, written by a neighbor you barely know and may never meet, you might find it somewhat interesting. Despite all the fun I’ve been having on the Bay I've been going through hot-weather stream fishing withdrawals. I’ve yet to make it up to any of Maryland’s cold-water creeks, but I’m reporting a cool blue fix in and around Montana’s Glacier National Park this past week. Since this was my first time in that area, I considered hiring a guide, but they were extremely expensive with most recommending floating the lower streams or hiking into the high lakes. I wanted solitude and moving water, so I rented a 4X4, bought a guidebook, and set off into the backcountry. Dianne joined me the first day and we spent most of our time exploring and getting our bearings by driving across the park.

I stopped at what is probably an over-fished stream just off 'Going to the Sun Road' and got my feet wet. I didn’t bring a flyrod. I was spin casting a gold 1/16th oz Panther Martin with micro-light gear. I wasn’t sure what I’d caught when I landed my first Glacier fish so I had to look it up in my book. It turned out to be a mountain whitefish. They’re in the trout family but have bigger scales and less color. Based on my hillbilly creek fishing experience, they look like a cross between a redhorse sucker and a creek shiner but with one primary difference - they are delicious!

Looking for less-traveled waters, I found a promising stream just west of the Continental Divide at Marias Pass. The ‘Skyland’ forest fire is burning nearby, making my pictures somewhat smoky. I passed the firefighter's base camp looking for a stream on my map callled 'Bear Creek.' I found a trail disappearing into the woods and followed it. The creek was wide enough to jump across in spots, but there were some deep holes. After a few casts I was rewarded with what back in the warm-water Tennessee hills is considered the holy grail of trout fishing – brookies. The fish were not big, no more than 9 inches, but they were extremely colorful and hard fighters. Bear Creek lived up to its name when I encountered a young black bear on the way out. I didn't stay around long enough to find his mother.

The next morning while Dianne went off dutifully to a conference, I got an early start on a stream I had spotted the day before. Paola Creek on the map, it was off the Middle Fork of the Flathead River just outside the park’s southwest boundary. I hiked up a steep unmarked path about a mile before I found an area level enough to fish. I switched over to a mini red & white Mepps beetle and ducked beneath the pine bows casting toward the mid-morning shadows. Paola Creek paid off when the first little fish went airborne. I thought I had found more brook trout, but on closer inspection the fish was pinker with fewer spots. Beneath its chin was a bright red blaze. Cutthroat. It turned out the tiny stream was loaded with them. I don’t think the area had been fished much judging by how aggressively they attacked my lure. My guidebook says this variety of cutthroat was once endangered, and they remain a protected species inside the park.

The next day brought the smokiest skies yet. Big fires raged on both sides of town, but not close enough to be threatening. I started by driving north into the Stillwater State Forest. My plan was to hike into a creek I’d circled on the map, but along the way I happened upon a small lake that I couldn’t resist trying. It was too warm for trout, but not for neds. The still water was crystal clear and I could see the fiesty yellow perch darting for the lure long before the strike.

I opted to follow the stream back down toward the river instead of fishing the lake, always looking over my shoulder because of the bear and mountain lion warnings posted on the way in. This is the first time in my life that I’ve fished where there was no visible evidence of human presence - no beer cans beside the trail, no milk jugs floating down the creek, no camp fire rings, nothing but fresh bear & deer tracks in the sand beside the water. The fish were bigger here, but surprisingly non-native rainbows, evidence of stocking earlier in the park’s history. I believe keeping non-native fish is encouraged, and it might even be forbidden to return them to the stream, but I wasn’t equipped to keep them and I didn’t want to encourage the wildlife. I fished until way past sunset.

The next day I revisited some spots I had found earlier along the river. Casting into a deep blue-green pool, I picked up something heavy and started dragging it in. I was surprised to find that I had caught what looked to be a brand-new fly-rod, complete with reel, floating line, leader, and no-longer-dry fly. It had probably been dropped by one of the rafters I’d seen floating downstream earlier. I was happy to find the rod, but a little disappointed that others had recently visited my corner of the wilderness.
Another surprise came later when I added a 5th species to my Montana catch list. With the colors and markings of a rainbow but flashing a red-orange blaze on the lower jaw, this fish is known as a Cutbow. It’s a hybrid, but obviously native and protected like the Cutthroats.

If you’re ever out that way, I highly recommend Glacier and the surrounding area. The town of Whitefish is still somewhat quaint and uncrowded. There are good local brews and most of the saloons have a cash poker game in the back room. The highlight of our wildlife viewing came on our drive out through deep forest in the Flathead Indian Reservation this morning. I was dozing while my wife drove just after daylight. We were about 20 miles from the closest house when she called out, “Look, there's a kitty!” My first thought was bobcat or lynx, but there was no mistaking the cat's long tail as it scampered quickly across the road and into the undergrowth. That kitty was a young mountain lion. I slept most of the way back to the Spokane airport still smiling with memories of picturesque mountains, pristine forests, clear water, and colorful fish. The contrast of arriving back to our area’s asphalt jungles tonight was almost smothering. I’m not certain there’s much real wilderness remaining in this country, but of what’s left, I’m pretty sure I got right up ag’in it!

Bay Fishing Update

2007-08-21T04:43:00.001-07:00

I'm getting grief for not updating the fishing reports, so here are a few of the recent highlights. The top-water bite at the east side of the Bay Bridge has continued into mid-August. I've yet to get anything close to the 40" monster Daniel pulled out of there, but we've caught some in the 28-30 inch range. Here's a shot of Dianne with some fish she caught recently. These two fish, 20 & 21", were caught at the same time on a Heddon Super Spook, one on the front hook, one on the back! She got a 24" fish that evening as well.

I've switched from using the classic Heddon top-water lures to a locally made plug by the Stillwater bait company called the "Smack-It." I prefer the bigger model which goes nearly 6 inches long including the feather tipped back hook. It floats high and chugs hard, so I can really rip it through the water. My choice for jigging remains a gold stringsilver, but I'm also using my home-made rockfish bombs which have been producing some pretty nice fish.

Crockett is getting better at finding fish. I started getting him excited when I got on fish last fall, and really urging him on in the breaking fish this summer. He's just now getting to where he'll go on point when he senses fish. He's good down to about 20 feet, but he's not picking them up much deeper. Still, I expect he'll be more effective than my fish finder soon! Here's a shot of him in his classic fish pointing pose & another of his "no fish around" look.

Wish-A-Fish Annapolis, 2007

2007-07-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

I heard about the Wish-A-Fish Foundation last year about this time through the Tidal Fish web site. (Read about it here.) I didn't know enough to volunteer then, but this year when the call for captains came out, I jumped at the chance. The Wish-A-Fish Foundation's mission is: "to provide a little relief for a family from the daily stress of having a child with “special needs” such as a live-threatening illness, or a mental or physical disability, by taking the entire family out for a day of fun and fishing on the water."

My "family" included Camden, an 8 year old cancer survivor, and his father. His mother and brother were also there on another boat. I think there were more than 30 boats in all. After getting our gear at the headquarters at Sandy Point, we followed the rest of the fleet out to the oyster beds for some bottom fishing. Camden caught his first fish, a 6 inch spot. I had two hooks on his line and he caught a little perch at the same time. I showed him how to use the radio, and he announced to the rest of the fleet, and the world that "Camden is catching them two at a time!"

We had some fun with the little fish for a while, then I asked if they wanted to try for rockfish. Both Camden and his dad yelled a big "YES," so we turned toward my fishing hole north of the Bridge. Fortunately, there were a few fish around, and Camden landed a healthy 20 incher. I never saw a kid so proud. When we got back to the dockside picnic, he carried that fish around to show everyone. The Maryland DNR had a table set up to give the kids a certificate for their first fish. I think they were surprised when Camden told them about his rockfish. Everyone involved seemed to have a great time. I know I'm hooked on Wish-A-Fish now, and I'm sure to be doing it again next year.

Drink Canada Dry

2007-07-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

My buddy Mike from Knoxville was in town last Thursday. He was visiting relatives in DC, but decided to skip a baby shower in favor of a few hours here on the Bay. I was happy to see him. I picked him up at the closest Metro station and we were out on the Bay within the hour. Unfortunately, the Bay was a bit choppy that day. We ran into four foot swells just North of Sandy Point. We were soaked from the waves and spray, but couldn't resist casting a few times. When it comes to fishing, Mike's one hell of a tennis player. Still, he served up a pretty nice sized rockfish. It was really too bouncy to fish, so we scooted in to Annapolis, picked up a couple of cans of Yuengling, and cruised the city dock and surrounding harbor area. Afterwards, we met Dianne at the bar at Deep Creek for dinner, then topped the evening off by sitting on the deck with a bottle of single malt and BSing until 3:00 AM. Neither of us were too happy to see morning roll around, but I had to work so I loaded his limp body into the truck, and kicked him out back at the Metro. I looked in my rear-view to see him stumbling toward the train. I'm not sure what happend after that.... Hope he survived!

Rockfish Breakfast

2007-07-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here's another report from two weeks ago...

My nephew Jake flies back home this afternoon. Last night before we went to bed he asked, "Uncle Shawn, do you think I can catch one more rockfish before I leave?" He didn't have to ask twice. I looked at the tide tables and decided our best chance to match the low light/high current pattern was daybreak this morning. The tide turned at 5:40 AM, so we were on the water by 5:00. There were some small fish around the sewer pipe but we found some bigger schools up near the outside edge of the dumping grounds. A few fish started breaking just about the time the sun came up over Kent Island and the charter fleet arrived. We chased the breakers for a little while, but they were skittish and scattered, so we settled-in to jigging a school of 16 to 20 inch fish farther inside. We had fun for a while, but I hoped for something a little bigger so we moved even farther back to the 12' mark and found better fish. Jake wanted to keep a couple so we threw a 23" and 24 incher into the cooler. The current waned, so we headed back. We were off the water by 7:30.

When we got home, Dianne had the grease hot and the biscuits started. Jake asked to learn to clean a fish, so I showed him how to handle an electric filet knife.

I chunked up the rockfish, egg washed it, then rolled it in a dry batter of white grits & Martha White corn meal mix seasoned with salt & Old Bay. It fried up nice and golden brown.

Our tomatoes have come in good now, and they went nicely with Dianne's biscuits & gravy. Breakfast was delicious. We used to have fish in the morning a lot when I was a kid. I don't know if it's a Southern thing, or an Appalachian thing, or just a fishing thing, but it's a tradition I hope to renew. Now, I'm gonna take a nap.

From the farm to the Bay

2007-07-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm way behind in blogging. I'm still fishing as much as possible. I've been lucky enough to stay on the fish pretty much all season except for two weeks in May. My nephew Jake was in town a couple of weeks ago. He's never fished for rockfish before, most of his fishing experience has been in the ponds around his farm in Michigan. He took to jigging right away and landed some very nice fish including this one which went about 28 inches. I caught a couple that day too! -S

Interlude - Sunrise, Sunset

2007-07-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

We interupt these fishing reports to bring you another reason why I love spending time on the water. The first shot is sunrise over Kent Island taken Saturday morning about 6:00 AM. My nephew Jake and I were almost too busy catching fish to look up when the sky started getting light. But I'm sure glad we did. The second is sunset behind Sandy Point Lighthouse. We were heading back home after a Wednesday evening fishing trip when the sky just lit up. The oranges and yellows framed the red lighthouse perfectly. I shot about a dozen pictures but I think this is the best. I think the water looks like pure gold.

Topwater Smackdown! - One for the record books.

2007-07-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

I worked on July 4th so I had Thursday off. Both Daniel & I did a little too much Independence Day celebrating, and we weren't feeling great, but we couldn't resist what looked like a windy but decent fishing day. We've been on the fish pretty good this week, so we started about 11:00 where we caught fish Wednesday afternooon. There were no fish where we left them, so we hit some pilings, then the eastern shore bridge rockpile.... nothing. Time for plan B which was livelining. We scooted over to the oyster beds, anchored up and grabed the bloodworms out of the cooler. Uh oh, they spent the night under ice water and were ruined. I had some FishBites and Gulp strips, so we tried them. I caught one spot in 15 minutes and he was too little to use. Daniel looked at me and said, "Let's go. I'd rather be not-catching rockfish than not-catching spot." He had a good point, so off we went to explore.

After hitting several humps and ledges between the BB & Love Point we still couldn't find anything but little fish. We headed back south in 3 footers and it's a good thing we did. It was raining a little but rock and bluefish were breaking in an area about a half mile square. They weren't all over the place, but here and there. Daniel started walking a pink headed Zara Super Spook, and I chugged a red & white Heddon Lucky 13. (I love the tried-and-true classic plug styles.) Slam! A 20 incher nailed Dan's lure on the first cast. I hooked up right away too. From then on it was non-stop. The fish were hitting our lures so hard they sometimes knocked them 3 feet into the air! On several casts we'd have a fish on, and we could see two or three more swirling around trying to take the plug away! Better yet, they were almost all keeper-sized rockfish! There is nothing more exciting than top-water when the fish are very agressive. My hands are still shaking just thinking about it!

The action slowed a little so we moved in to where we saw some birds working in shallower water. Since it was only about 7' deep I expected the fish to be smaller. Boy was I wrong. Daniel slung his Super Spook out about 50 yards and had just started walking it back when, WHAM.... biggest explosion I've ever seen on a top water plug. He set the hook into what he said felt like a shark! He was using one of my lighter rigs with 15lb test line and the fish was taking line like crazy. I thought it might be a ray, but then I noticed the head shakes on his medium lite rod. He tighted down on the drag a little, and fought the fish to the side of the boat where I netted her. My Golden Rule wasn't long enough to get an acurate measurement on the fish, and I don't have a scale on the boat, but I put her in the 25 to 30 pound range. She holds the record as Daniel's personal best, and the biggest fish so far to come over the side of my boat. After we took the pictures he put her back in the water and we watched her swim away. We finished the day with about 40 fish between us, at least half would have been keepers. Did I mention I'm still shaking!!

Hooked Up!

2007-07-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

Daniel fights a nice fish on the bow of Crockett's Reel against an indigo Chesapeake sky.

Fishing with the kinfolks

2007-07-06T20:41:00.000-07:00

This week my cousin and her family came up to visit. Kris, Danny, and Colten are from Social Circle, Georgia. They like to fish and spent quite a lot of time catching perch and spot off the dock. It was windy all week but we managed to get them out for a couple of rockfishing trips. The first day we tried livelining and caught a few. Danny caught two and hooked a big fish but it broke off after tangling around the sharp rocks. The next day Kris went out with us just "to watch" as Daniel and I fished. We found a big school of fish near a pipeline north of the Bay Bridge. After we caught a few, Kris decided to try her luck. She promptly landed the biggest fish of the day, along with a couple more keeper rockfish. She held it up for a shot with her camera, but we couldn't get her to hold it for any more pictures. Here's Daniel with 4 of the fish we kept.

Making a rockfish jig

2007-06-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

I'm way behind in my blogging, but I'll try to get caught up in the next couple of days. I recently learned that it's relatively easy to make rockfish jigs using an in-line lead sinker. Since trolling is very popular on the Bay, all the tackle stores sell them. Even though I'm not much for tying flies, I have carved a few top water plugs back in the day, so I know how satisfying it is to make your own baits. This afternoon I stopped by Anglers Bait & Tackle on Rt 50 and picked up some one and two ounce in-line sinkers. Anglers sells them for 25 cents an ounce. I also got some Mustad hooks, split rings, powdered lure paint, and stick on eyes. I checked in my old bass box and found some Colorado blades and crappie jigs. Here's my experiment:

1. Arrange supplies on wife's copy of Sunday's New York Times.

2. Heat sinker with butane lighter.

3. Dip in charturse paint powder (available at Bass Pro and many bait shops).

4. Atttach hook with split ring.

5. Add accesories. I got a little carried away and included stick-on eyes, a Colorado blade, and crappie jig for hook dressing.

6. Admire finished product.

7. Drop in Bay, catch fish.

Okay, so it's not a very big fish, but I swear he hit it on the first cast. It was a tough bite tonight. Water levels in the upper Bay are still very low and there's virtually no current. I managed 4 fish in about 90 minutes fishing the outgoing from 7:00 until 8:30 PM. The biggest was barely 18 inches. By the time the water started moving the light was nearly gone. I missed a lot more bites. In review, I need to revisit my hook dressing as those crappie jigs slide off the hook too easily. I used a 3/0 hook which may be too small. The Colorado blades are purty, but didn't make any difference in the bite and increased instances of the hook tangling with the line. Nevertheless, I have to say the experiment is a success since I only had about a buck a piece and less than 10 minutes invested in each lure, and by-gawd, they work. In the future I will look for gold and silver paint, and I'll experiment with different types of in-line sinkers. I'll keep you posted on how they work out.

Rock n Rollin' @ the Rockpile

2007-06-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

The sky looked threatening, but I'm out of town for the next few days, so couldn't resist heading out about 6:00PM last night. 4 ft rollers met me at Sandy Point Light and I had to slow to 5 knots. First time my little Sea Ray actually climbed up swells. I put on my PFD. (To a formerly landlocked hillbilly, those are dern big waves.) Outgoing was rolling pretty good, and the wind was coming up the Bay, so I could hang over the sweet spot fairly easily. Crockett climbed up on the seat and went on point right away. Maybe he just liked the wind and the waves, but I dunnoo........ I'm just sayin'. First drop produced this 21" and I was bailing them in the 17 - 22" range for the next 20 minutes.

Two boats using "bent rod radar" headed my way when they saw the fish, and one guy even pulled up and asked what I was using. He had his kid on board so I was happy to help, and I showed him where the fish were. He hooked up right away, but then the rain blew in. Everyone left, but I didn't hear thunder so I hid behind the big concrete piling and waited it out. Crockett got down in the cabin, but I had to stay out and keep the boat from hitting the bridge.

After it slacked off the wind got up, so I had to do more drift fishing. There were still bites on every pass. If anyone was around listening they probably thought I had Tourett's Syndrome because I missed or lost a lot of fish. I think Crockett felt sorry for me, cause he gave me a big kiss when I landed this 26 incher. Then, he decided to kiss the fish too! I lost count, but probably had 25 or 30 fish. I think there were only two that wouldn't have been keepers, but they all went back. This was the best night I've had yet at the rockpile. I've caught bigger fish, but not consistently this size. For someone who loves to fish like I do, this is about as good as it gets!

They're still biting!

2007-06-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

I've made a couple more trips to the Bay Bridge rockpile. Can't say that it's every cast, but there are some good fish hanging in there. Here's my report today:

I got out in time to catch the end of the outgoing this afternoon. Tide was ripping when I arrived at the bridge, it looked like class III rapids swirling past the rock pile. Got a good strike on my first drift, then hooked up on the next three. Fish were in the 17-20 inch range. Mostly keeper size but nothing to sell the farm over. I thought I was gonna tear 'em up, but it slowed down for a while, then picked back up a little as the tide waned. Actually, I think the fish were always there, they were just holding on a spot the size of a truck bed and it was nearly impossible to hit it consistently in that kind of current. Once again, I hooked and lost way too many fish. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, this is something that just started - lost all the heavy fish I hooked. I ended up with thirteen, the biggest about 22". They all went back. I met a fellow TFer from Chestertown, and saw my friends in the coast guard. This time they just waved. Either my boat is a police magnet, or they're racially profiling hillbillys, because last night I got checked twice by two different DNR officers in 5 minutes!

Big Fish at the Bay Bridge

2007-06-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

Friday, I got back out to the Bay Bridge to try some of the things we learned last weekend. The bite was red hot. The best lure was a gold stringsilver with the treble hook removed and replaced with a chartruse feather-dressed single hook. I bounced it off the bottom on the current side of the rockpiles. I caught 6 or 8 fish including a 23" & 24". I had a lot to do yesterday, but still found a two hour window to fish. I was wondering if it was worth it because it was fairly windy and the Bay was crowded with pleasure boats. I fought four foot waves near Sandy Point Light but was pleased to find no other boats on my fishing spot. The first drop produced a nice 24" fish. A few minutes later I hooked into this fat 28 incher. He tested out my 12lb test line pretty good, but I had the drag set loose and just let him run until he was tired. I ended up with about 10 fish in those two hours, all but one were over 18". I was so excited to be on big fish that were biting so welll that my hands were shaking and I could hardly feel my lures. The action was so hot at one time that I got crapped on by a seagull, but waited through two more hookups before I wiped it off! I'm going to wait until the weekenders get off the water, then go back after them this evening.

Fishing & Cruisin' with the Family

2007-06-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have several things to catch up on. All three boys along with Tiffany & Ella came up last weekend, staying until Tuesday night. We spent nearly the entire time on the water. They had a late Friday flight and Saturday was very windy, so we slept in, then decided to bounce across and cruise up the Chester. There was a 3' chop on the main channel, but the trip was fun after we got into sheltered water, and we saw two bald eagles. The Chestertown dock is under construction, but we found a place to tie up. We got kicked out of the first restaurant we walked into in Chestertown. The lady said it was after lunch hours, but I think she was worried she didn't have enough to feed us big ol' boys. After lunch in Chestertown we headed back and found some late-afternoon birds over breaking fish. We caught 30-40 little ones before finishing the day with Ella's first crab feast at Waterman's in Rock Hall. I think Ella liked the wooden mallets more than the crabs. She also liked the band and even tried out her moves on the dance floor before we pointed the boat west for a moonlight crossing of the Chesapeake.

Sunday was a better fishing day. We went down to the Bay Bridge and fished hard before we finally figured out a pattern, the right combination of location, depth, current, presentation, & lure. The bite wasn't red hot, but we managed a few fish. Not bragging, but there were several other boats around that were not catching. We hit a few other spots, then finished cruised back home where Dianne had cooked up a delicious rockfish dinner.

Monday, we decided to cruise up to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. We stopped at the knolls for a while where we saw lots of marks, but couldn't catch anything despite many bites. I downsized to a Gotcha Lure and jigged up some nice perch. We docked right downtown after hailing the harbormaster for permission. On the way back we trolled over Snake Reef and snagged a big cow nosed stingray. I don't care who you are, it's hard not to get excited when one of them big ol' winged critters makes a drag scream. After a 15 minute struggle we were able to get it boatside and retrive our trolling lures.

Tuesday took us over to St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore where we visited the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. I was very impressed by the quality of their material and the hand's on nature of the displays. I decided to purchase a membership thinking we were likely to go back, and because it comes with docking privleges. I also might take them up on their offer to apprentice for a day on one of their boat building or restoration projects. The kids seemed to enjoy it and we all took turns watching Ella as she climbed aboard as many boats as she could. By the time they caught they're flight late Tuesday night, we were all exhausted. All in all, a very fun weekend on the water.

Squalls & Rainbows

2007-06-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

I'm fishing pretty hard this week looking to find some promising spots for this coming weekend. The boys are coming up from Tennessee and I hope to put them on some fish. Here's a couple of pictures from Monday evening. I got caught in a rain squall up near the Seven Foot Knoll area. Visibility went from about 5 miles down to 50 feet in just a few seconds. I was underway at the time but had to stop and wait it out because the rain was so hard I couldn't even see my GPS screen and I wasn't far off the shoals. Afterwards there was a nice rainbow down near the Bay Bridge.

Dinner with Barry

2007-06-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry made it's way up the coast. Our weather forecast was for light rain and 10-15 mph winds. So far we've had 40kt gusts and nearly 3 inches of rain. You'd think I would've learned by now to do my own storm and tide prognosticating. They've recently posted coastal flood warnings, but I don't think we'll get too much of a surge. I just hope Barry isn't a harbinger of worse to come. We made the best of it by watching Pirates of the Carribean DVDs and steaming up the crabs we caught yesterday. They were DELICIOUS!

Deadliest Catch - Chesapeake!

2007-06-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

Despite the risk of falling into 4 feet of churning 74 degree water, I donned my protective clothing and stepped up to the edge of the dock to haul in the traps. A lesser man might have used mechanical assistance, but I toughed up the crab traps with raw muscle power. No guts, no glory, and my rewards were great. Maryland Jimmies are going for about 60 bucks a dozen right now. I caught 14 the first day I dropped the traps. I also managed to land this nice Jumbo softshell which, when dressed and fried, could make one manly man-sized sandwich. Softshell crabs are classified by some interesting names. From small to largest they are Mediums, Hotels, Primes, Jumbos, and Whales. Tonight, I may take the risk of dropping my deadly catch into a red hot kettle of steaming Natty Boh laced with Old Bay. It's a Dirty Job, but someone has to do it.

Refining the perfect margarita

2007-06-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

Warm weather has finally arrived to Maryland's western shore. Through the winter I've been refining my margarita recipe. Here's this summer's original version which is dry and refreshing. I think this drink needs a name because I'm not sure it still qualifies as a margarita. Don't diss it 'till you've tried it!

Juice of 2 limes
Juice of 1 grapefruit
6 oz club soda
1 tsp superfine sugar (or to taste, I often skip the sugar)
8 oz Cuervo Gold
2 oz Grand Mariner
Squeeze juice into large cocktail shaker, add other ingredients and shake lightly (you want it to froth, but not bubble over). Rub a lime slice around the rim of a pint or highball glass and dip in salt, then add cracked ice. Pour frothy liquid over ice. Drink responsibly! (Make two drinks.)

Angels over Annapolis

2007-05-31T20:04:00.001-07:00

I'm just getting around to posting last week's photo of the Blue Angels show over Annapolis. They're in town for the U.S. Naval Academy graduation. It's a good show. The planes fly right up the gut of the Severn River, sometimes just over the masts of the sailboats. There are literally thousands of boats anchored in the river to watch the show. As usual, there are plenty of accidents among the boaters, but the air show went off flawlessly. I kept "Crockett's Reel" well out of the way, but still close enough to see all the acrobatics.

Pirates of the Magothy

2007-05-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well, not quite. I was surprised today to look out our guest room window to see an 1812 era dual masted clipper privateer. She's the Pride of Baltimore II, and can usually be seen at her anchorage in the Inner Harbor. She is returning from the Richmond area where she met the queen and helped celebrate the 400th aniversary of the English landing at Jamestown. I guess she arrived a day early and decided to spend the night with us here on the Magothy. It's a beautiful ship and I hope to see her under sail tomorrow.

Topwater Bite

2007-05-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

I've been catching a few fish at Mountain Point, the mouth of the Magothy River. The conditions have to be right, but on a calm evening with a good tide, there are usually some pretty good fish hanging out around the rocks and pilings at the point. It's a lot of fun to see them hit a topwater lure. I've also found breaking fish across the Bay at Love Point. So far, they're all pretty small, and all rockfish. I haven't caught any bluefish yet, but I've heard that there are a few around. We've had an algae bloom or something in the river which has turned the water orange. It was a deep chocolate brown earlier in the week. I haven't seen any crabs so far, but that might be because I haven't put in my traps yet. The water temperature is still barely 70 at the dock.

Cruisin' with the Vol Navy

2007-05-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

The ship in the photo is the Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas. She sails now out of Baltimore Harbor for Bermuda and points south. We usually see her, or one of her sister ships, on Sunday nights, but I shot this picture last Friday while Perch fishing over the Oyster beds near Baltimore Light. All she needs is a big ol' Vol Navy flag on her bow!

Rollin' Across to Rock Hall

2007-05-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

Almost due east of us, near the mouth of the Chester River is the town of Rock Hall. Rock Hall claims to be the "Pearl of the Chesapeake," and touts it's unspoiled fishing village image as unique to the region. We finished our yard work Saturday and decided to cruise the 10 miles to see if it lived up to it's reputation. The trip across was beautiful. The water was smooth as glass. We kept the RPMs low so we could talk and enjoy the scenery. When we arrived we found the advertised commercial fishing fleet, but it was surrounded by a few hundred sailboats and cruisers. With new condos lining the harbor, it seems the pearl of the Chesapeake has been discovered. That's a little surprising because, by road, Rock Hall is a long way from anywhere.

We docked the boat at a very inviting waterfront bar/restaurant called Waterman's. After ordering drinks, we quizzed the bar maid about the town. She told us to walk up the street a "good little hike" to find the town center of Rock Hall. On the way we passed a historical marker proclaiming the founding of the town in 1706 and the many visits by George Washington and other founding fathers. The town itself was pretty much closed up even though it was barely after 5:00 PM. We were the only window-shoppers on the street. Dianne shot a picture of my reflecton in a t-shirt shop window. I would've bought that t-shirt, but I'll settle for the unique photo! We crashed a party on the porch of the one place in town that was open, an antique shop off the main drag. My favorite thing about Rock Hall is the giant rockfish painted on the water tower. I'm not sure the town is named after the fish, but it's fitting given the proximity to some of the best fishing in the Bay. We walked back to Waterman's for a delicious seafood dinner, then tried to race a storm back across the Bay. We didn't make it and got soaked. The high waves ripped the transducer off my fish finder, but we docked the boat before the worst of the lightning started. I hope we'll find time to explore Rock Hall when more of the shops are open.

There's no place like home

2007-05-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

I traveled from Virginia to almost Delaware last week looking for fish, so after an evening of yard work Thursday, I decided to head out into my other backyard Friday night for some light tackle trolling (LTT). I got on the water about 4:30 and dropped my LTT spread into the channel just south of Baltimore Light. Gave a shout out on the radio, but only heard of a few marks, nobody catchin' much above the bridge. Trolled over toward Love Point, then down towards the bridge, but I wasn't marking anything, not even much bait. Finally decided HECK WITH THIS MIGRATORY BS - water temp is up to almost 70 in spots, calm warm day, lots of current - everything is right for the summer pattern on the ledge off Podickory Point. So, that's where I goes. Three seagulls sitting right over the dropoff just north of Sandy Point Light seem to say "try here". FF shows bait on the top, fish on the bottom. (FF is zoomed 2X in the photo, bait is at 15' with 4 fish beneath them at 25 to 29 ft deep.) Dropped over two rigs, you know the deal, 1 oz bucktails pulled deep by crankbaits, and started zig-zagging over the 31' to 19' ledge. My lures are running right in the red zone. First fish within 5 minutes, about 18 inches or so. Turned up two more local yokels about the same size before finally hooking one big enough to keep... 28 inches on the dot and dripping milt. I dunno why, but I guess the baitfish hang right over that ledge, and the feeding fish lay just out in the deeper water waitin' to munch on 'em. That's where they were most of last summer given similar conditions. Dianne calls, says she got some ribs and is firin' up the grill. I suggested she put 'em back in the fridge as I had a better menu item in the cooler. While waiting for the coals to glow, I landed a couple of perch off the dock and one purty little catfish. There's no place like home, there's no place like home......

Arrival of the White Perch

2007-05-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

The water temperature in the Magothy reached 70 degrees this week. The white perch have finally moved in. They aren't in force yet, but there are a few to be caught off the dock. These fiestly little panfish hang out in the deep water of the Bay in mid-winter, but move into the upper reaches of the rivers in early spring to spawn. They eventually make their way back down the rivers, where they hang out around dropoffs and docks. There seems to be thousands of them, and they're relatively easy to catch once they come in good.

On a different subject, still smarting from getting my butt kicked on the relatively unsuccesful flounder expedition, I took off Thursday afternoon to drive up the the Susquahanna Flats to look for spawning rockfish. It's a nice area, but I didn't catch many fish. Here's my TF report:

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Decided on the spur of the moment to haul my little EldoCraft up to Havre de Grace Wednesday evening. It was my first time in the area, so I drove around for a while before finding the boat ramp below the railroad bridge. Loaded the dog and a cooler of natty headed bohs, opened the throttle, and ran about 20 feet before nailing a big log. Decided to slow down and be more carefull. I had my handheld Garmin but decided to rely mostly on my hillbilly radar. Saw a couple of boats off to the left of the channel about a mile going out so headed over that way. Pulled into about 3 ft of very clear water and saw baitfish scatter so started casting an opening night BA. Wham, right away a little 16 incher. Thinks to myself, this is gonna be fun. Casted another hour and didn't get another bite! Looked around to see the dog chewing the rubber top off the GPS. Argh! Finally got it working again by inserting a cable tie into the on/off switch, and decided to explore.

The 50HP short shaft only draws about 12 inches, so decided to head straight across. Was surpised at the sandy bottom. Found some big algae plumes in 4 ft and started walking a redheaded SuperSpook. I was suprised again when a little largemouth grabbed ahold and held on until he got to the side of the boat. I think he just wanted a ride. I gave up and tied on a spoon to troll on across, sometimes just 18" deep, to where I saw about a dozen boats on the lower east side. Water was muddier here. Lots of people casting, but nobody catching. I foul hooked a couple of shad on the BA. A big explosion over near the point caused me to nearly piss myself. Noticed many more boats down that way so hit the starter. Dead battery! Charger showed "go fishing" before I left. Not much time to swith to the trolling motor battey, so decided just to wrap a chord around the flywheel. Whirred on the first pull. Many fishermen when I got there, and FF showed lots of bait and a few fish. Crockett went on point right away and started barking, so I thought things were going to get good. Alas, zilcho on the BA. Current was very strong and pulled me past a buoy. Decided to run back up and noticed the buoy said "catch & release line." Oops! I fished until sunset, didn't see anyone else catch anything, then decided switch back to topwater. I got one blowup between then and dark, that was it. So not counting the little largemouth, my first fish was the only one (unless you count the foulhooked baitfish, which I often do!) Seemed like the perfect evening. Still and calm as can be, but the Flats kicked my hillbillly butt last night..... I probably won't drive back tonight so maybe next year!!

Floundering in Wachapreague

2007-05-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

This week, I decided to make the trip down Maryland's Eastern Shore to the "Flounder Capitol of the World." I've heard many stories of big flounder caught on the tidal flats around Wachapreague, Virgina, which is just north of the Bay Bridge Tunnel. Unfortunately, a pre-season tropical depression decided to form in the area just before the trip. Two fishing partners, Dave & Ernie had rented a house in the area and planned to fish all week. After getting blown out over the first couple of days, they were anxious to get on the water. Despite the small craft advisories, we set out Tuesday morning with high expectations. Unfortunately, our hopes went mostly unrealized, as almost all our fish were sublegal size. We were drifting along the edges of tidal canals using minnows on top & bottom rigs. The bottom is pretty clean so you can just drag along the bait, hopefully passing it in front of the occasional flounder. Dave managed this nice 26 incher, but that was easily the highlight of the day. Conditions were rough, windy and cold, and it was very tough to stay on a consistent drift. Despite the poor fishing, I still had fun on my first time targeting these flat aliens.The weather is better now so I'm sure I'll hear better reports from Dave & Ernie as the week goes on.

Happy Fisherman!

2007-05-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

The spring rockfish migration is well underway. The fishing was starting to heat up before the Nor'easter, but the storm really put a damper on things, dropping the water temperature back to mid-March levels. We're slowly starting to see big fish again. Here are some pics of some fish caught with a new fishing buddy, Francis, down near the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. The plant discharges warm water from a large pipe about a quarter mile off shore. Baitfish are attracted to the warmer water, so the big bubbas come in for breakfast. We jigged large bass assasins (BAs) just after dawn and caught some of the nicest fish I've seen yet. We left them biting because I wanted to see Francis' trolling spread. He uses all light tackle, no broomstick size rods and reels, my favorite kind of trolling. It wasn't long until one of the lightest spinning outfits on the boat hooked up. After 20 minutes of drag-screaming action, I landed this fat 38 incher. It's the biggest fish I've caught so far in the Bay. -S

Cruising Again!

2007-05-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

It took longer to get the boat off the lift and to the shop than it did for Tim at Fiberglass Unlimited in Baltimore to fix her up. After the Nor'easter, we had strong north winds for three days. It blew away most of our water, so I couldn't float the boat off the lift. I finally got her trailered up to the shop on Thursday, and had her back the following Monday. Unfortunately, our insurance deductable was higher than we thought, so all the expense was out of pocket. Ouch! I took her out on a shakedown cruise right away and was rewarded with one of the prettiest sunsets we've seen yet. The picture above is an osprey nest on a channel marker at the mouth of the Magothy River. Of course this one is the Bay Bridge. Click to see them full size! -S

Ouch! Fiberglass repairman needed

2007-04-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

We're smack in the middle of a nor'easter. We've had high winds and driving rain since I got in from fishing last night. When I arrived back at the dock the tide was very low. I couldn't get the boat on the lift far enough, and since it wasn't seated in the bunk properly, I didn't want to raise it up all the way. I went out several times, once after midnight hoping to get her raised, but there still wasn't enough water. This morning Dianne woke me up about 7:30 AM. I could tell from her tone of voice something was wrong. The storm brought the water up very fast and the strong winds washed the boat over the lift and up on to one of the dock pilings. It ate her up pretty good. The only positive I can see is that the hole goes through to the anchor well, and the lower hull isn't damaged. I'm obviously looking for a good fiberglass repairman. I'm just sick about it and feel like a real idiot for not setting a clock to get up and check on it. -S

Good news & bad news

2007-04-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

My idea about using a parachute instead of a bucktail (fly) didn't work. The plugs don't run right. But the good news is, I caught some very nice fish this afternoon on the 1oz flies. Two of the fish were even bigger than the ones I caught Thursday. Here's the report I posted to the Tidal Fish bulletin board:

I started at Matapeake but couldn't find much happening late this afternoon so moved on down to Bloody Point just as it started to rain. Heard some guys on the radio say they got 6 before they moved out. Thought I was gonna get skunked until the wind started blowing and I guess it moved the bait up or something 'cause the gannets started going nuts, a group of 30 or so diving just north of the lighthouse. Fish started hitting my bucktails. I had a devil of a fight on my hands with my light outfits and the wind. Boated 5 fish and lost two more, all within 2 hours during the rain. It got too rough to setup my camera on the console to take pictures. Got two fish bigger than any I've caught so far on the Bay. The bigguns hit the smallest lures, 1oz bucktails with a twister tail trolled with a Bagleys DD22. This is FUN!!! -S

Spring Rockfish

2007-04-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

I have a lot to catch up on. I'll try to do that over the weekend but first wanted to report on Thursday's fishing trip to the area around the Bay Bridge. I dropped my 4 rod light tackle spread in just above Sandy Point Light, just me and Crockett. I saw lots of marks on the fish finder, but no fish. Moved on about a mile below the Bridge and saw gannets diving near Matapeake. Picked up two fish right off the bat, but they were small. I wondered if my light tackle might be resulting in smaller fish and was thinking of changing, but moved up to shallower 65' water when another rod went down with a much heavier fish. Probably 38" or so. I was sending a cell phone message to my boys when, boom... another hook up, this one maybe just a little bigger. Storm clouds were building but the fish kept biting, all above red buoy number 88. Hooked and lost one, then got two more over the side before lightning got too close and I had to run north where I hid out below the Sandy Point side of the bridge. After the rain, I headed back down toward a nice rainbow, but there was no pot of gold. Gannets were still there, but I couldn't catch another fish. I ended up with 6 fish, 4 of which were the biggest I've pulled into my boat so far.

My spread is two Bagleys DD22/bucktail combos, one small daisy chain/parachute, and one parachute/bucktail tandem. I stagger them at 20-30 yard intervals behind the boat. I'll sometimes add another rod but it's a lot of work for one person. Crockett's job is to drive the boat, open the Natty Bohs, and take the pictures... The forecast is for wind, rain, and snow this weekend. If I can get out next week I'm going to try tying a parachute above the DD22s to see if they run true. It it works, I think it'll be the secret weapon for trophy rockfish season. My personal best rockfish is a TVA lake fish about 30lbs. I hope to break that record this spring -S

Neds

2007-03-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

If you know what the title of this blog entry means, you're probably a Maryland fisherman. A year ago, I wouldn't have had a clue, but thanks to Dave & Ed, a couple of Eastern Shore fishermen, I now know that "neds" are what the old-timers call yellow perch. Our plan was to arrive at high tide Sunday morning to catch the white perch run in the skinny water of a tidal river, but the tide was falling when we arrived and the whites were hard to find. Ed pointed us downstream where we found a productive deep pocket holding Yellow Perch. Apparently they're on the downside of their spawn but as you can see in the first picture, the ones we caught were still full of milt. After throwing back a few we decided to keep some of the bigger ones, most over 12 inches. With a limit of 5, it doesn't take long to fill a creel. The bait of choice was a 1/32oz feather fly tipped with either grass shrimp or a twister-tail. I have a buddy back in Mooresburg, Tennessee who ties these flies for me. I haven't seen them here. They're also great for catching crappie. This was my first experience targeting yellow perch, we don't have them in East Tennessee. We also caught several sunfish and a half dozen small largemouth. -S

Patapsco Permit

2007-03-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

It seems like it's taking Spring forever to arrive to our corner of the Mid-Atlantic. We had another weekend of ice and snow followed by two very windy days. I'm itching to get back on the water but it might not be too soon. There are small craft advisories posted for the rest of the week. I managed to get out one day last week, cruising from the Magothy up to the Patapsco River just outside of Baltimore Harbor. There is a large power plant there which discharges warm water into the river. Rockfish sometimes move into the area feeding on baitfish, which are attracted by the 60+ degree water temps. I managed a couple of small rockfish and snagged the biggest gizzard shad I've ever seen. This is the same baitfish we catch by the hundreds with throw nets to bait trotlines in the Southeast. The biggest I've seen on Cherokee Lake was about 6 inches. This one went almost 2 pounds! Folks around these parts refer to the bigger ones as "Patapsco Permit" after the ocean Permit that they somewhat resemble. They're still smelly and slimy though, Crockett would only sniff it and walk away. -S

Return of the Ospreys

2007-03-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ospreys migrate south for the winter, either to the Carribbean or South America. They mate for life and return to their same nesting sites here in the Chesapeake year after year. Most nests are on channel markers along the rivers, but they can build anywhere, I've even seen them on TV antennas. I didn't know to look for them last year, so I'm not sure when they arrived, but I can tell you exactly when they arrived this year.... today. With the warmer weather I expected them this week and was looking forward to the first sighting. When I got home from work this afternoon I heard a call and looked up to see a pair flying over. I fished for a little while tonight and watched them stake out their perches at the mouth of the Magothy river. -S

Naming the Boat

2007-03-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

We've tossed around name possibillities for almost a year, but couldn't make a decision. My top pick was "Knoxville Girl," after the bluegrass murder ballad, but Dianne would have none of that. She thinks the song is too morbid and there's also that unfortunate line, "go down, go down you Knoxville girl." Her top suggestion was "WolVOLrene" after our respective college teams. When our little dog took to the boat right away and got so excited about fishing, the name became obvious. Now, I need to write the fiddle tune to match the title! -S

Oysters & Scallops

2007-03-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

It's the time of year when you can get Bay oysters for a couple of bucks a dozen. We stopped by Annapolis Seafood Market tonight and picked up a dozen along with some sea scallops and seaweed salad. We ate out a few times last week, but you just can't beat fresh home-cooked seafood. -S

To catch a sunset

2007-03-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot, even though we couldn't reel in a fish, we caught a beautiful fisherman's sunset at the Bay Bridge Saturday. I call them that because you have to be at water level to get this kind of perspective - one of the things that makes me love fishing. My nephew Jacob Faist is spending his Spring Break from Michigan State with us, and Cory came up for his Break as well. We've had fun despite the rough weather. -S

Winterizing Again!

2007-03-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Last week it appeard Spring was about to finally arrive. We had
a couple of days with temps in the 60s and 70s. I've recently been working through some boat repairs I put off. In addition to a few little nagging details, I took the twin Bravo III props to the machine shop and had them refurbished, and replaced the tilt/trim motor that has been acting erratically. With the pretty weather and the boys coming this weekend, I thought it was the right time to spash.....

Boy, was I wrong. We managed to get out for just about an hour between fronts Saturday evening. It was more of a trial run than a fishing trip, but we couldn't resist jigging around the Bay Bridge a little. No luck, although we marked a few fish on the depth finder. Since then we've had 30-50 knot winds with temps steadily dropping. It's too windy to take the boat off the lift, so today I drained all the water out of the block again, and replaced it with antifreeze. Tonight I'll put a light bulb in the engine compartment. It looks like we might get into the 50s next weekend so maybe I'll give it another shot. Yes, cabinfever has definitely set in! -S

Fishing Hurts

2007-03-01T05:38:00.000-08:00

You might have noticed that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has been occasionally running an ad in the Google Ads section of my blog. Titled, "Fishing Hurts," it depicts a distressed dog with a fishhook in its mouth. Now I've never really had anything against PETA. In fact, I'm a big fan of their "naked women in cages" campaign, but they're barking up the wrong tree with this ad. I really hope they didn't hook that pup on purpose for the picture, but I've heard they've done worse. At the very least the photo itself is evidence of cruelty because it would've taken about 5 seconds (less than the time required to get a camera and take the picture) to snip off the barb and pull it back out of the dog's mouth. But the bigger point is that most fishermen I know are strong advocates for conservation and the environment. I'd easily wager that more animals have been saved by conscientious recreational fishermen than have been harmed. Nevertheless, I've decided not to block the PETA ads. It exposes and confirms the over-zealous and reactionary reputation the organization has earned. It's unfortunate, because if not for that, I might even be a member. -Shawn

Slush Fun

2007-02-26T15:31:00.000-08:00

About the only thing interesting here on the Bay lately has been the weather. Every time I think it's about to break, we get another cold front with snow and ice. We've been doing some traveling including a fun snowmobiling trip with Dianne's parents on Drummond Island in Lake Huron, and a trip to Tennessee to see Daniel's Senior Recital. It snowed 3" yesterday, but temps were in the mid-40s today so I walked around and fished from the banks some. The ice is melting into slush and I was casting to holes of open water or thin areas of slush, wherever I could get my lure to sink. The Chain Pickeral must like the weather because they were biting. I caught six including a nice fat one that gave me quite a fight on ultralight gear. Crockett doesn't mind the icy water at all. He went right in after the fish. I need to break him of that before he winds up with a hook in his lip! -S

The Ice

2007-02-14T20:10:00.000-08:00

The ice was here
The ice was there
The ice was all around

Brackish Water Clams

2007-02-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

One of the little-known secrets of our part of the Bay is the Brackish Water Clam. A glance at the Maryland DNR website will tell you that they don't survive water temperatures below 32 degrees. Don't believe it. I discoverd that we had a large populaton of these clams around our dock last year while watching seagulls. Then, I blogged about how they would dive in the shallows for the clams, then fly up to drop them repeatedly on the dock until they broke open enough to eat. I decided to try catching some myself last year, and found them to be delicious. After some research, I found that they were eaten by native americans, and are considered delicacies in some parts of the world. They're filter feeders, so obviously should be cooked throughly. They're less salty with a smoother consistency than their better known littleneck clam cousins. I prefer to collect them when the water is coldest and cleanest. Today, Jacob and I put on the hip-waders and dug up a few dozen for dinner. Sprinkled with Old Bay and steamed, then dipped in drawn butter and chased with a cold Yuengling, it doesn't get much better. -S

Frozen Magothy

2007-02-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday morning, February 7, the Magothy River froze all the way across here at Lake Placid. We had a light snow over night, only an inch or so, and winds were calm. Temperatures were in the low teens all day yesterday. Later in the day the wind picked up and broke up the thin layer of ice. -S

Ice Ice Baby

2007-02-06T18:23:00.000-08:00

With forecasts for below freezing temps through the next ten days, I'm wondering if the Magothy river could freeze all the way across. As of this morning at sunrise, the ice reached about 150 yards into the river. It gained another 100 yards during the day today. They're calling for snow tonight and more low temperatures. It sure doesn't look like the same water as when we were tubing last summer! -S

Hillbilly Dishwasher

2007-02-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

Socializing the pup

2007-02-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

One of the best discoveries since we got Crockett is the Broadneck Dog Park. The park, sponsored by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, looks like most surburban recreation complexes with the usual soccer & softball fields and playgrounds. It also includes a 2+ acre fenced area created just for dogs. The rules are posted and most people follow them. They include cleaning up after your pet, watching them at all times, and no aggressive behavior. That last rule is obviously open for interpretation. Crockett was intimidated on his first couple of visits. Some of the dogs picked on him because of his size. But he's now learned to hold his on with the big dogs. He's even made some friends that he likes to play with more than others. We try to go most evenings. As soon as I pick up his leash he starts jumping and barking happily. Once we get there he goes nuts trying to get out of the truck. We usually stay 30 minutes or so and he runs until he's tired, then walks up to me as if to say, "I'm ready to go home now." One of the fringe benefits is that I'm meeting some of the other dog owners and enjoying the conversation. -S

First snow of 2007

2007-01-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

Not much more than an inch, but Crockett loved it. It's still snowing a little so it might be a little messy getting to work tomorrow. Temps are predicted to remain cold all week. I'm glad now that I got the boat pulled when I had the chance. Yesterday, I went to the Chesapeake Sport Fishing Show in Upper Marlboro. I sat in on a couple of seminars, one that really got my blood boiling for spring fishing. Fishing equipment was relatively inexpensive at the show so I stocked up. I tied up a few umbrella rigs today as the snow was falling. -S

Gannets

2007-01-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

I can't resist another blog about last weekend's mid-Bay fishing expedition. Although we had a rough idea of where the migratory rockfish might be, we had some help pinpointing them. More visible than marks on a fish finder and probably better at identifying subsurface bait schools, we followed the gannets. Gannets are relatively large migratory birds, somewhat bigger than a seagull with a wingspan of up to 6 feet. They have dazzling white feathers with black tipped wings. They only visit the Chesapeake in winter and spring. Gannets appear very aerodynamic and look extremely graceful in flight. Because of their size, they searh for big baitfish to eat. Not suprisingly, so do trophy rockfish. Sometimes gannets hunt independently and other times in flocks. Gliding just above the waves until they spot their query, they climb straight up, reaching heights of 200 feet or more, then dive straight back into the water like a missle. One of the guys told me that expert fishermen could guage their trolling depth by how high the birds climb or how long they stay under the water. He also told of gannet "beehives," which are large circling flocks visible on radar. While we didn't see any beehives, we sure saw lots of independently feeding gannets, and sure enough, they were in the area where we found the big fish. -S

Winterizing

2007-01-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

Last night's cold north winds whipped fresh water out of the river into the salt water of the Bay making a frothy foam. With low tides, the foam washed up onto the beach and froze creating a winter playground for Crockett. Dianne took him out at dawn this morning to play in the ice. I pulled the boat out last night and did what I could to get it prepared for this stint of icy weather. I opened the plugs on the block and risers and drained all the water. Then, I pulled the thermostat and opened the hose to drain the water pump. After I was satisfied that most of the water was out, I closed the system and refilled it with Marine/RV antifreeze. I already added antifreeze to the freshwater system a few weeks ago. This weekend I hope to remove the duo-prop and get the dings machined out. Then, I'll change the oil and filter and whatever other fluids and filters I can find. Hopefully, that'll be adequate to survive the cold. It shouldn't be too difficult to get things ready to go as soon as the weather breaks. Let's hope that's not too far away. -S

Southward HO

2007-01-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before how I've learned a lot of what I know about fishing the Bay from a group of fishermen on a mailing list called "Tidal Fish." One of the things I like about the Chesapeake Angler section of the TF board is that many of the people who post there are my neighbors. Yesterday I met and went fishing with a some of the guys I've been talking to through the mailing list. Occasionally someone on the list will post a message seeking "HOs" for an upcoming fishing trip. HO stands for "hand onboard," or at least that's what they tell us newbies. As a HO one is expected to chip in on gas and other expenses, and share the work of preparing the boat, loading gear, etc. When one of the guys who I've come to respect as a good fisherman posted a message seeking HOs for an all-day Sunday trip, I jumped at the opportunity. We fished way down south in the Bay, putting the boat in at the mouth of the Potomac River and trolling the area between there and the Rappahannock River. It was one of the nicest January days on record with temps in the high 60s and calm winds. We fished from daylight 'till dark but only had a couple of hours of hot action. That was enough however to give me my biggest fish yet since moving to the Chesapeake, a beautiful 36' migratory fish caught on a chartruse umbrella rig. I'll let the pictures tell the story. All our fish went right back into the water so maybe we'll catch them again when they're even bigger! -S

Cutest bug in the ocean?

2007-01-15T08:11:00.000-08:00

You might not agree, especially considering the unattractive name, but there's something that makes this little Atlantic crustacean adorable to Chesapeake Bay fisherman. It's the taxi he rides in on, usually a very big female rockfish migrating into the Bay from the deeper waters of the ocean. They're called "Sea Lice" by fishermen. Apparently they aren't harmful to the fish and they drop off immediately when it comes out of the water. Less than an inch long, big ocean rockfish will sometimes have dozens on them. There isn't enough salinity in Bay waters to support the natural life-cycle of Sea Lice. It's exciting to catch a fish with Sea Lice on it because it's an indicator that you're in a school of migratory stripers. Migrating fish are usually much larger and stronger than the native rockfish of the Chesapeake. I'll say more about this little fellow's taxi in a subsequent post. -Shawn

Mr. Crockett Goes to Washington

2007-01-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

Monday evening we took Crockett with us to Washington. After visiting the Air & Space Museum, and picking up Dianne at her office, we walked down Pennsylvania Avenue by the White House. Crockett is doing much better on his leash. We missed the picture of him taking a leak at George Bush's front gate, but I was sure to give him a yummy doggie treat. They'd put me in jail if I did that! -S

Homeland Security... again!

2007-01-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess we weren't the *only* boat on the water this past weekend. These guys stopped by for a visit. Obviously, they're very protective of the big ol' bridge we we're fishing under, so close to Washington. We had a good conversation. They seemed about as interested in the fish we were catching as homeland security, but they made sure we were legal. Daniel, Cory, and Jacob found their inflatable boat very interesting, especially the M-60 machine gun on the bow. They were nice enough to pose for a picture before blazing off into the sunset. -S

January Ice Fishing

2007-01-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Not hardly, unless you count the ice in the cooler. With temps near 70 degrees, it was one of the nicest fishing weekends of the year. The boys flew up early Saturday morning opting to spend the last few days of Winter Break on the water. After breakfast in Washington, we were fishing beneath the Bay Bridge by noon. The fish must have liked the weather too, because they were biting. We probably caught 60 between us with Daniel landing the lunker, Cory catching the most, and Jacob continually hooking up creatively with lots of double-plays. We fished again Sunday and caught about as many, but they weren't running quite as big. As has been the case lately, there were only a couple of other boats around so we had the Bay all to ourselves.... well almost. -S

Wolf Moon with Dropper Fly

2007-01-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

My friend Dave told me that the January full moon is called a "Wolf Moon." I think he liked the name because Dave's last name is Wolf! The shot above was taken from the dock looking out toward Gibson Island. I got out on the water for about an hour tonight and bounced down to the bridge in the 2 foot waves. The fish were just where I hoped they'd be. I got this nice 18" double just at sunset. On the way back I shot this picture of the moon just coming up behind Baltimore Light. When I got back to the dock, the moon was still rising over Gibson Island. I liked the way the florescent dock light illuminated the fly I had been using against the reflection of the moon on the water. (Click on the pics to see them full size.) -Shawn

What I've Learned & Some Resolutions

2007-01-03T05:29:00.000-08:00

Continuing in the series, the onset of a New Year brings me to reflections of our first 365 days on the Chesapeake Bay. I think I've accomplished my goal of immersing myself as much as possible in the culture of the region. From the house on the water to the many hours spent on the Bay (Over 120 hours in the boat!), from visiting Civil War battlefields to enjoying the pagentry of our nation's capitol, even down to the food we eat and our selection of the Bay's own breed as our puppy pet, we've nearly covered the bases. But there's still much to learn and I think I'm just now starting to get past the suburban shells to uncover the real pearls of Chesapeake living. In addition to some personal & professional goals, here are some resolutions for 2007:

1. To get involved in conservation efforts. The Bay has, and will surely continue to give us a lot. But there are very big problems. It's time to start giving back.

2. To meet more people, make new friends. I've made some friends and found some people I really like. But I really need to get out and mingle more. I'll start by attending some of the local fishing club meetings. That should also help get me started in conservation.

3. To revisit and reevaluate my music interests. I'm not doing the band justice because I'm not promoting. I need to get a product together that I can really get behind and push. Part of the reason is that I need to better understand the local culture before I can really be a part of it as a musician. To me, music must demonstrate a sense of place, otherwise it's just dull and generic. When I really find myself here, that should be reflected naturally. I haven't been at all impressed by the local acoustic music community. I've always heard it was very good here, but while there are some amazing musicians and a couple of "A" list bands, the rest I'd put in the category of "C" list groups. To be complete, a music scene has to include "B" bands. These are ensembles made up of professional or semi-pro musicians who don't necessarily tour, but push the envelope of innovation and provide influence for better-known artists. In other words, a band needs to be part of the evolution, not a mimic of the status quo. That's where I want to go and what I'll work toward this year.

I'll keep you posted! -S

2007 Rolls In With The Fog

2007-01-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on

Carl Sandburg's poem is usually running through my head anytime I'm in the fog. Just as with snow, fog makes everything seem new and different. I especially like the way it insulates from noise. After Tennessee lost to Penn State today, I needed to console myself with some time on the water. I felt more confident after my last excursion in the fog. I had to navigate by GPS the entire time. I was sure to pay attention to my compass headings just in case my instruments failed. The water was very quiet and still. I was happy when Sandy Point Lighthouse showed up just where I was hoping it would be. I turned off the engine and just sat for a while listening to the whiteness.

I received some good advice from one of the charter boat captains about crossing the shipping channel in the fog. He said to hail any traffic near my crossing point on VHF Channel 13 which is the one the commercial ships use. It made me feel a little better about it, but it's still seems scary! I never saw any ships today, but I felt a lot of big waves so I know they were out there. There were still plenty of fish to be caught at the bridge, so despite the Vols poor showing, the day turned out pretty good. -S

First Night Annapolis

2006-12-31T23:56:00.000-08:00

A musician should probably be playing on New Year's Eve. Last year I spent the weekend gigging with Mountain Soul in Ohio. I've yet to do any promotion for the new band, so this year Dianne and I found ourselves sitting home watching football. I think we both needed a change so we jumped in the Miata (much easier to park than the big red truck) and crossed the Severn River into Annapolis. The downtown area was roped off and there were entertainers in the streets. We opted for a quieter window seat at Joss Sushi. This is the sushi bar we discovered one weekend last summer when the boys were here. On that visit, we were plesantly surpised with the best toro we've had anywhere. (Including some top-rated sushi bars in New York City and on the West Coast.) The toro wasn't as amazing this time, but it was still excellent. In fact, the entire meal was great. Afterwards, we walked around on the street for a while, but decided not to wait for midnight fireworks since it was starting to rain. When the clock struck 12, we stood at our sliding glass doors where, in the distance we could see the fireworks at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Happy New Year! -Shawn

Busted on New Years Eve!

2006-12-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

Well, not really, but I was boarded by the Coast Guard. I guess one of the winter trade-offs to having the best fishing spots all to myself is that I'm also the only game available for law enforcement. I saw them coming and got a quick cell phone picture, then fired it off to the boys and kept fishing. They pulled alonside and asked if I was anchored. I thought it was a dumb question since I was only about 30 yards off the rockpile at the bridge in a raging current. I told them that I was just drifting and fishing, then they asked when was the last time I was boarded. I told them that I'd been checked by DNR two days ago, but that wasn't good enough. I don't think these guys have been on the Bay too long because they wanted to jump right on, but we would've drifted into the rocks in less than 30 seconds so I asked if we could back away. They agreed and came aboard after we were clear of danger. Fire extinguisher, throw cushion, life jacket, flares, stickers, horn, registration, driver's license, oil discharge sticker, and engine compartment all checked out okay. They gave me a copy of their report with the box "No Violations" checked and told me to keep it with me and they probably wouldn't board next time. I was curious about the process so I asked a lot of questions. About that time my son Cory responded to my cell phone message with, "hope they don't find your meth lab." I couldn't keep from laughing, but thinking they might not see the humor, I quickly clicked off the phone! They left me with a cheerful, "be careful, captain," and went on to other pursuits. Despite the 20 minute delay to my fishing, I don't begrudge the boarding at all. I know those guys are just doing their job and I may need them sometime. -S

Fishing in the Fog

2006-12-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

I left the dock today at 1:30 under clear, sunny skies. When I reached the Bay there was a thick fog bank beginning just upstream from the Bay Bridge. I plunged ahead since I've learned to navigate by GPS and compass. The problem was that I had to cross the shipping channel to reach my favorite fishing spot at the east rockpile of the bridge. Visibility at water level was about 20 yards at best. This was the first time since I've been navigating the Chesapeake that I've wished for an onboard radar. My GPS is accurate within a few feet, so it wasn't too difficult to stay just west of the channel until I reached the bridge. I slowed to an idle and waited a while, straining to see into the dense gray. That seemed futile so I turned off the motor and listened. I don't think I could've heard a ship because of the bridge traffic, but they usually sound their fog horns when approaching the bridge. I didn't hear anything, so I dashed across. The current was really ripping and as I expected, the rockfish were biting again at the rockpile. I landed at least twenty 12-15"
fish as the fog burned away into bright sunshine. -Shawn

So I took the wife fishing .....

2006-12-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

I asked Dianne to go fishing with me today. It was cold and a little windy, but she agreed if I promised not to stay out all afternoon. She did everything wrong. Used the wrong lure, fished at the wrong depth, casted to the wrong places, held the rod wrong and worst of all, completely out fished me! She hooked a fat 14" rockfish on her first cast and didn't stop until she'd also landed one of the biggest white perch I've seen lately. We stayed for about an hour then she decided to make the proverbial, "one last cast." Sure enough, she reeled in another nice rockfish. -Shawn

More Holiday Rockfish

2006-12-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

I'm still finding rockfish down at the Bay Bridge. This post is actually recycled from a fishing report I just did for the Tidal Fish message board. I'm a big fan of that discussion list because it's where I've learned a lot of what I now know about fishing the Bay. I decided to post the report in its original form here. -- A light day at work put me on the water by 2:00PM. I was at the east rockpile at 2:30 with a waning incoming tide and water temp around 45 degrees. Nothing on my FF so I motored over to the west pile and caught a little 12" rockfish right off. No other bites so back to the East rocks I went. Don't ask me what changed, but this time my FF looked like this!

Obviously, this time I remembered to take the camera. I also had the cam on my cell phone so shot the same pic as the one above and fired it off to my wife since I'd said I might be home early to join her for a shopping trip. Her text message response, "I'll see you after dark." There was only one other boat around, a couple of guys perching out of a Carolina Skiff. Looked like they were having a blast, doubling up almost every cast with their top & bottom rigs. I stayed on the rockfish verticle jigging a redheaded/white Gotcha Lure. I'm really liking this lure lately. Replacing the trebles minimizes the tangles and snags and, unless the current is really ripping, it'll get on down to the bottom. It reacts erratically when jigged which is what I think generates strikes. I hooked up a fat 15 incher on my first drop and the catching was on. Crockett's barking let the guys in the other boat know whenever I hooked up.

At 3:45 sharp the tide turned. I had been motoring down to the lower end of the pile and drifting back, thanks mostly to the wind, but now there was hardly any drift at all. Things really slowed down and the FF showed no marks, but I was still managing a fish once in a while. As the current began to pick back up, I moved up to the north side of the rocks. Fishing the pressure side of the structure is a tip I learned here on TF and it almost always pays off. More marks on the FF told me you guys were right again! About one out of three fish were over 15" with the biggest of the day about 20". I hooked that fish just as a DNR boat pulled alongside. I didn't hear her coming and must have looked startled. I showed her the fish before dropping it back in. She was very nice, asking questions about the size of the fish and making sure I wasn't keeping anything since rockfish are out of season. She even had a dog biscuit for Crockett! She motored off and I got back to fishing. By this time Crockett wasn't too excited about the fish, but couldn't resist an occasional sniff if I brought one over the side.

The bite continued until dark. Actually, as the current increased, even more fish moved in. Unfortunately, that increased the dink ratio. I thought it might be fun to get out the fly rod some evening because, when the currrent started ripping, smaller fish began feeding on the surface. I stayed until well after sunset and left them biting. Cruising by the Christmas lights at Sandy Point I thought how I'm having just as much fun now as I did fishing the breaks back in the Fall. I sure hope this winter action continues! -Shawn

Winter Solstice and the fish are still biting!

2006-12-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

Since I'd finished my workday and the sun was still up on the shortest day of the year, Crockett and I decided to go fishing. There was no wind and temps were in the low 50s when we fired up the Sea Ray and motored toward the mouth of the Magothy. There was strong current at Mountain Point, but no fish, so we headed out into the Bay to the shelf at Podickory Point. Once again, no marks on the fishfinder. I decided to cruise on down to the Bay Bridge.

The water was beautiful, very flat, clear, and smooth with not another boat in site. I pulled up beside the big rockpile that anchors the suspension cables on the East side of the channel. The incoming tide was ripping around the rocks. I idled into the current and let the boat drift back while watching the fishfinder . It marked fish everywhere, from top to bottom in the 53ft channel. I dropped over a redheaded Gotcha lure and started jigging. I hooked up in a matter of seconds.

Crockett noticed my excitement and jumped up in the backseat for a better view. He barked as I landed a fat 15" rockfish . The current had swept us off the spot, so I fired the engine and repositioned the boat. Once again, as soon as I dropped the lure over, wham, another nice rockfish . The pattern of idling up and drifting back kept up until dark with two or three fish on every pass. The biggest was 22" with most in the 12" to 15" range. Rockfish are no longer in season here, so it was all catch and release. Crockett really enjoyed the trip. He'd jump up on the edge of the boat, then start barking in anticipation as soon as I hooked up - just the reaction I was hoping for. It won't be long before it's too cold to keep the boat on the water, so I felt lucky to get in this trip before the holidays. -S

Crockett Crosses the Chesapeake

2006-12-16T14:55:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful December Saturday on the Chesapeake Bay. My son Jacob and his friend Daniel drove up from Tennessee this weeekend to see a concert in Baltimore and spend some time with us. With temps in the 60s and the water smooth as glass, we couldn't resist taking the boat out. We turned south out of the river, cruising beneath the Bay Bridge and on down to Annapolis. It was Crockett's first long boat ride. Jacob has a way with animals, and helped him to feel comfortable on the water. He even coaxed him into sitting with him on the bow of the boat as we toured Maryland's historic capitol city. Just off the pier at the Naval Academy, Crockett decided to sit up straight and tall to pose for this photo. Dianne calls it, "Crockett Crosses The Chesapeake." I think it will be his definitive puppy portrait. -Shawn

Rockfish with oyster sauce and german potato salad

2006-12-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

Since I'm usually home from work before Dianne, I've taken on most of the cooking chores. I've always enjoyed cooking and I look forward to trying new ideas. Tonight, I decided it was time to start depleting some of those bags of frozen fish in the freezer. I found a couple of nice rockfish (striper) filets we caught over the summer, and thawed them for a couple of hours in cold water. I've decided that we like the taste of fish too much to marinate it in anything strong, so I put together what I thought might be an interesting oyster sauce. Here's my recipe, made up mostly on the spot with some inspiration provided by a show I once watched on the food network.

Oyster Sauce
1/2 can oyster stew
2 oz enoki mushrooms
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp horseradish
1/4 stick butter
dash of salt
sprinkle of dill
Bring oyster stew to slow boil (use at full strength, do not add water or milk), add seasonings and lower to simmer. Stir in lime juice and enoki mushrooms 5 minutes before serving.

I've tried a lot of different ways to cook rockfish. I usually just season and broil on low heat, but decided to try something different this time. I melted a stick of butter then brought it to a rolling boil. I dusted the filets with a little bit of flour before putting them in the pan. I didn't turn the fish until right before they were ready to serve, but I leaned the pan sideways over the heat and continually spooned the hot butter over the filets until they looked done. I turned them just as the flour became golden-brown. I think there's a french name for this method of cooking, but I don't remember what it's called.

I accompanied tonight's meal with a chilled german potato salad which I made with sliced potatoes, chopped onions, chopped celery, chopped dill pickles and lots of seedy brown mustard. I also chopped up a few cherry tomatoes and marinated them in balsamic vinegar and dill. Finally, I had a few left-over asparagus stalks in the fridge which I sauteed lightly in the rockfish butter. I stacked it all in the center of the plate with the potato salad on the bottom, then the rockfish, next the tomatoes, and last the asparagus. I drizzled a little of the oyster sauce on top with more around the plate. I thought it tasted pretty good and Dianne was very complimentary. -S

Learning to fetch!

2006-12-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

Now, here's your stick.

Hey, turn loose!

C'mon boy, bring it back....

Good dog!

Winter's Chill

2006-12-09T18:43:00.000-08:00

We were nailed this weekend by a cold blast of arctic air. The north winds have kept the tides very low, so I still can't get the boat off the lift. Not that it matters because the lake at the boat ramp is frozen over. It's taken a while for winter to arrive, but when it came, it was with a vengence. -S

Yule Moon

2006-12-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

I took Crockett out to the beach last night to watch the full moon rise over the Bay. Dianne called to ask if I was watching. She was just leaving Capitol Hill. Her view looked a lot like this! -S

What I've learned....

2006-12-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

About living in the Mid-Atlantic. I've been here nearly a year now, so I thought it might be fun to post some random observations about our corner of Southern Maryland. Of course, these are all generalizations and based solely on my own experience. I don't mean them to be negative or insulting. In fact, I really like it here and have no regrets about moving. I'm still learning and I expect to think of more as we pass through the Holidays, so I'm sure more observations will follow:

1. You can't buy beer at gas stations! In Tennessee, it's not surprising to see a big stack of 12 packs beside the Pilot Station checkout, and a barrel of iced-down tall boys by the door. In Maryland, they don't even sell it in grocery stores. It's a liquor store with limited hours, or nothing.

2. Fishermen are friendlier than musicians! I've found hardly any of the camaraderie and sense of community here that so comfortably characterized the East Tennessee acoustic music scene. I really miss WDVX and all the good things the Knoxville station does for musicians. On the other hand, I've yet to meet an unfriendly Chesapeake fisherman, and several complete strangers have given me outstanding advice and personal assistance. You don't see that near as much in the Southeast where fishing secrets are carefully guarded. My best friends here enjoy both fishing and making music.

3. Get in the turn lane early, and speed up! People will actually cut over into the breakdown lane just so they can beat you to the exit ramp and cut you off. I've never experienced that anywhere else before. Add to that that there are way more cars than there are roads to hold them here, along with a sense of entitlement to the left lane, and you have a recipe for driving misery. The traffic-jams of Knoxville's "Malfunction-Junction" pale in comparison. A 1 hour drive to work here is considered an "easy commute," and a turn-signal is sometimes seen as a sign of weakness!

4. Don't get above yer raisin'! At first, I tried my best to blend in with the faster, less personal lifestyle. When I quit that nonsense and resumed my hillbilly sensibilities, life got easier and I started getting along with people much better. Not too many people who live here are from here, but when I meet a native Marylander, I usually like them.

5. Most good-ideas work anywhere! I've found that especially true with fishing. My tried-and-true fishing techniques, most handed-down by my father, have resulted in lots of fish in the freezer this year. I've also adopted many local techniques, adding the occasional Tennessee twist where appropriate. In fishing, so in life. (See #4 above.)

6. Marylanders know how to eat seafood. Simply put, the best crabcakes anywhere, and at almost any local restaurant. I wouldn't dream of ordering a crabcake in Tennessee now. Steamed crabs and Yuengling at a dockside crab-shack may be the finest eating experience in the world. The sushi rivals that of the West Coast or Hawaii. Also, Old Bay generally makes *everything* taste better.

7. There are many funny place-names! I guess that's true anywhere, but "Pohick Hollow" and "Assawoman Bay," are two names that crack me up every time I hear them!

8. Everything costs more! From food to taxes, hardware to fishing tackle, and especially housing, it's just expensive to live here. The house we lived in back in Tennessee would probably cost a million bucks here. That's not an exaggeration. There's no such thing as a $150,000 house in Southern Maryland (a respectable residence in Tennessee). Don't expect to eat out anywhere for less than 30 bucks. The excuse is usually, "salaries are higher here." Don't bet on it.

9. There are still lots of fun free things! For me, that means the Bay. In the summer, I can bring up a hundred bucks worth of seafood nearly anytime I want. (That doesn't mean I haven't spent way too much on tackle and gear!) Also, the museums on the Washington Mall are all free. There are free concerts there, free movies, the monuments are great, and most of the cultural events don't cost a dime.

10. Many good things come from the Eastern Shore! That's the part of Maryland between the Chesapeake and the Atlantic. There's a different attitude there. It's way more relaxed and laid-back. You can feel it as soon as you cross the Bay Bridge. It reminds me more of South Georgia than anywhere. I like it there.

More to come...... -S

Ella May

2006-12-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

Dianne stopped by the Moto-Foto tonight and picked up a picture of me and my grand-daughter when we were down south for Thanksgiving. Ain't she a doll! I think our interest is centered on granny Dianne as she rakes leaves. -S

Meet Crockett Lee

2006-12-03T18:22:00.000-08:00

A 10 week old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, the latest addition to our family. We drove over to Marydel on the Eastern Shore today to pick him up, my early Christmas present from Dianne. Technically, his name is Chesaloosa's Crocket Lee Kimbro, but we've taken to calling him "Crow." After giving him some time to adjust to the house, I took him out to the beach. It was the first time he'd ever seen the water his breed is named for. He romped right in, then stood dumbfounded as he tried to figure it out. After a few seconds he started jumping and splashing. I think he's going to make a good fishing partner.

The Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed originated in 1807 when an English ship with two Newfoundlands on board wrecked off the coast of Maryland. The dogs were saved and bred with local retrievers for hunting waterfoul and guarding boats . They're strong and muscular, resembling Labs but with a slightly longer, curley brown coat. Here's a web site with more info if you're interested. I'll keep you updated on how we progress with his training. I expect it will be quite a challenge! -S

Worth getting up for....

2006-12-03T18:10:00.000-08:00

It's the time of year when the sun gets to the right position to give us amazing sunrises. They rival the ones I enjoyed in Hawaii when I was stationed there in the Army. Dianne shot this picture from our guest room balcony last week. I like the panorama from our boat on the left, across the Magothy river to Gibson Island, then out to the main channel of the Chesapeake. The water was very still providing a perfect reflection of the technicolor sky. -S

Float your boat keys!

2006-12-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

One of the first things I did when we bought the SEA RAY was get a floating key chain. I got the kind that opens so you can put your registration inside. I learned to do that as a teenager when I managed the boat dock at Fall Creek on Cherokee Lake in Tennessee. I was always dropping keys over the side, and it doesn't take too many dives into murky, 35 degree water to teach you that keys should float. Since its always good to have your registration with you on the water, the most obvious place is with the keys. That lesson-learned-the-hard-way paid off this week. Since returning from our Thanksgiving holiday, I've turned our house upside down looking for the boat keys. I haven't seen them since the storm of two weeks ago, the one that flooded our dock and yard. I've been sick, so I couldn't fish, but it was driving me nuts not to find the keys. Today, we awoke to find a message on our home voice-mail. It was from a nice-sounding lady named Joy who lived on the Pasadena side of the Magothy River. Her husband had found the keys on their beach! Apparently, they fell out of my pocket after I docked the boat a couple of weeks ago and floated the 5 miles upstream and across the river to their house. I'm very fortunate that the keys were found, especially since it was by someone who knew to open the float to find the paperwork inside, then cared enough to call us. Whew! -Shawn

Calming Down

2006-11-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

We've been in our little house by the Bay for 11 months now. This is the time of year when we first looked at the area and made our decision that we wanted to live here. Our neighborhood is now very quiet. There's very little boat traffic. With calm winds so far this week, there's hardly a ripple on the water. I still haven't winterized the boat. It's still on the lift because I'm holding out for one or two more fishing trips. I think the Chain Pickerel might be biting and there still should be some native rockfish around. We spent last weekend in Tennessee, then on down to see our folks in Atlanta. I'm hoping to get on the water some this week. -S

Here we go again!

2006-11-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

With another big low pressure system cranking up the East Coast, we're expecting more high tides over the holiday weekend. On the graph, the black lines show the predicted high marks. As long as it doesn't get higher than 3 feet above normal, I think we'll be okay. -S

Coastal Flood Warning

2006-11-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

A big low pressure system moved south of us and generated strong storms today. It pumped lots of water into the Bay and the high winds blew it over to the Western shore where we live. At almost 11:00 PM we have about a 3.5 ft surge. That's the second highest tide we've had since we've been here, the first being during tropical storm Ernesto. I'm still somewhat concerned because it's actually the lunar low tide right now with high predicted about 4:00 AM. If the wind continues, we could still get another 6 inches or more. I don't think that's enough to get into the house. Unlike during Ernesto, I don't plan to stay up tonight minding sandbags! The pictures are of Dianne's car in our driveway, and the street in front of our house taken with my cell phone camera in the truck headlights. -S

Last Harvest

2006-11-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, the weather here stays warmer longer into the Fall than it does in Tennessee. It's the way the jet stream dips into the South before it blows back up toward the Northeast. We've only had one light frost so far. We'll pay for it next Spring when it's sunny and warm in the Southeast and cold and snowy here. Today, we finally pulled up what was left of the garden, then raked and weeded the rest of the yard. For lunch we finished off the last of the vegetables. The tomatoes are small, but they still taste great! The crabs are gone now so I stacked up the traps against the fence. Even though they've moved to deeper water, they're inexpensive and plentiful at the seafood shops and restaurants. My buddy Dave suprised us with a bushel of steamed crabs at his bluegrass jam Thursday night. We spent about an hour cracking crabs before we cracked out the instruments. Just one more reason why we called it the Old Bay String Band! -S

Acres of Rockfish

2006-11-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

After the Seattle weekend we had to wrap up some business in Tennessee. It was a lot of fun hanging out with the kids. I spent some time down on the strip before the LSU football game and even worked in some brief time with friends. This week I've had time to do a little fishing, getting out a little before dark both Thursday and Friday evenings. Thursday, I caught fish trolling up above Baltimore Light. I've noticed that I sometimes inadvertently call the lighthouses "silos" because they remind me of fishing around silos in the TVA lakes. I found some big underwater humps there that are holding fish. Someone told me the area is called "Snake Reef," which is appropriate considering the winding shape of the submerged structure. Friday, I cruised around a while before finding lots of birds working the area out from Love Point. Beneath them were acres and acres of breaking rockfish. Most of them were small, in the 8 to 10 inch range. I bet there were 10,000 fish breaking which makes me think the future of fishing in the Bay is bright. I fished by jigging a Gotcha Lure at first, but switched to my topwater plug and fly combo and caught bigger ones. When I first switched, I made 17 casts before I *didn't* catch a fish! The weather has changed this weekend, so I don't expect much fishing. -S

Weekend in Seattle

2006-11-11T16:07:00.000-08:00

I try to keep this blog relevant to things pertaining to the Chesapeake Bay area, but I thought I might sneak in a few pictures of our trip to Seattle last weekend. Dianne had to go on business, so I tagged along. I really like the sailboat pic. I shot it from the stern of a tour boat in Puget Sound. It isn't digitally enhanced at all. It was a stormy, rainy day, but the sun came out just as we were leaving the harbor. It lit up the sailboat like a spotlight. -S

Flying Blind

2006-11-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

I never did much navigating by GPS until I started boating on the Bay. Sometimes, it's the only way! -S

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.....

2006-10-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

my son Daniel, blazing across the Bay at the helm of the Sea Ray on a windy evening two weeks ago. The bouncing boat made it impossible to hold the camera steady, but I kind of like the accidental effect. We've had a strong west winds all this week. Small craft advisories and gale warnings have kept me off the water since last Sunday, and I think I'm going through withdrawals! Tonight, with the World Series in rain delay, I started looking through the pictures we took when the boys were here on their Fall Break. I posted some earlier. Here's a couple more of my favorites. This one is Jacob fishing from the bow of the boat, silhouetted against the sunset as he sets the hook into a nice rockfish down near Bloody Point. The one below is Cory and me jiggging for spot at sunrise near the mouth of the Choptank. -S

Solving a relic mystery?

2006-10-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Gettysburg last weekend rekindled one of my old passions. You can't grow up in the South without absorbing a lot of Civil War mythology. It didn't matter that the South lost, it was the nobility (and perhaps the futility) of their struggle that captured our imaginations. A few years ago, back in Tennessee, a boyhood fascination grew into a mid-life obsession as I became an avid collector of Civil War relics.

My buddy Curtis and I located some of the 1863-64 winter encampments of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia near where we grew up. The Division, commanded by General James Longstreet and still over 30,000 strong, had moved south into Tennessee after their loss at Gettysburg. Almost 150 years later, our metal detectors turned up the things they left behind: military items such as bullets, buttons, a handful of rare and valuable belt plates, and those routine items of everyday soldering.

Being a musician, my very favorite finds were musical instruments. Curt and I probably found 50 harmonicas, a dozen jews harps, and a handful of another curious musical items that we still haven't positively identified. At first, we thought these small brass bars, pictured in the top of the photo above, might be a rifle site of some sort because we dug one up between a Confederate artilleryman's button and some Spencer rifle shell casings. After we found more of various lengths scattered around the camp, each marked with a letter that corresponds with a note in the musical scale, it was obvious they were parts of an instrument. We suspected they might be reeds to a wind instrument of some sort, but we've never been quite sure.

At the Gettysburg Visitor Center, next to the "Drinking" display, was an exhibit of Civil War musical instruments. I was instantly drawn to a paper accordian in the display case, probably sold by Civil War sutlers and easily available to the troops. The accordian was fitted with small brass reeds that look very similar to the ones we found in Longsteet's camps. There are some differences, including the attachment holes in the one pictured, but otherwise they look like they are the same size and shape as our relics. Curtis isn't sure, but I think we might have solved the mystery!

What do you think? -S

Gettysburg - Biking the Battlefield

2006-10-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of a windy but sunny Fall weekend by driving a couple of hours north to Gettysburg, PA. Since all the hotels in the area were booked, we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line and spent Friday night in Chambersburg. I was very surprised along the way to learn that US Highway 11 - the storied "Lee Highway" that I grew up next to in Tennessee, and that was once the primary North-South motorway before the introduction of the high-speed interstate systems - becomes "Molly Pitcher" highway once you cross the Pennsylvania Line...... Yankee bastards.

We arrived in Gettysburg Saturday morning. We brought along our bicycles thinking it might be a good way to tour the National Battlefield. Our first stop was the Visitor Center where we paid four dollars each to watch the 1960s era "Electric Map" show. The kitchy, low-tech blinking lights -- orange for confederate, blue for union -- are still an adequate orientation to the 3 days of gruesome warfare that signaled the beginning of the end of the Confederacy. Having received our battlefield introduction, we jumped on the bikes and coasted down through the prim and quaint little town of Gettysburg. Our destination was Lee's headquarters and Seminary Ridge. After we passed through town and headed up toward the rebel camps, it became immediately evident that there was a reason why this ground was considered so strategic. It's because it's very hilly, so not at all an easy trek on bicycles. We eventually made it up the ridge, stopping at Lee's Headquarters, now a Quality Inn, before making our way to the rebel camps. After stopping at some of the more interesting monuments, we peddled back down through town, across the campus of Gettysburg College, and up to Cemetery Ridge where the Union troops made their historic stand. It was much more crowded here and we dodged motorcades and tour buses as we made our way past Bloody Angle to the Stone Wall, the high-water mark of the Confederacy. After stopping for a while at the camp of some Yankee reenactors, (where I found a pewter button - unfortunately a modern reproduction) we peddled all the way around the field where Pickett made his heroic charge, and back to our starting point at the Visitor Center. Now somewhat sore and tired of cycling, we toured the rest of the battlefield in the truck, finishing at Little Round Top. Dianne noticed that some fellow tourists had brought along a Rebel Flag which she borrowed so I could proudly wave it on this high-ground so futilely fought for by my confederate ancestors.

After our battlefield tour, our interest turned toward more modern struggles, NCAA football, so we finished our day at a sports bar in Frederick, Maryland, where we topped-off our perfect fall day by watching both our teams, the Tennessee Vols and the Michigan Wolverines, win their respective games. -Shawn

300 + Fish Weekend

2006-10-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

The boys came up this past weekend. We spent nearly every waking hour, and even some sleeping ones on the water. Between an amazing charter trip with Captain Brian Sutton out of Chesapeake Beach, and independent explorations around Bloody Point and the Eastern Bay, we easily caught over 300 fish. Most of our time was spent under working birds casting spoons or other jigs. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the weekend. Click to make them larger. -S

Light tackle trolling

2006-10-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

When it comes to fishing, I've done a lot of watching and learning this year. I've found the standard trolling techniques on the Bay very interesting. Back in the spring, I signed on to a charter fishing trip where we trolled for rockfish. I was a little surprised when they used rods the size of broomsticks, 50lb test line, and sinkers that looked like hand-gernades in order to get bucktails down where the fish are. It's not too much fun reeling in fish, even big fish, with rigs that size. So, sticking with my theme of adapting the techniques I learned fishing the TVA lakes of Tennessee, I'm having great fun catching big fish on very light tackle. I talked about the top-water/fly combination earlier. Here's another tandem method - once again, taught to me by my dad - for getting a bucktail down deep without using the heavy sinkers. Tonight was my best rockfish evening ever since moving here last January. With calm winds and a ripping current at 5:30 PM, my plan was to buzz across to Love Point and look for breakers, but a few flying Seagulls and diving Turns at Podickory Point cut me short. Marking a few fish on my depth finder on the outside ledge of an long, underwater shelf, I picked up a spinning reel and tied on a 3/4 oz bucktail above a chartruse Bagley's 20+ deep diving lure and started trolling at idle speed. Just as I set the drag and started to tie up another rig, WHAM! The first rod went down. Heavy fish. Thought I had a 20+ pounder at first, but laughed when I got it up close to see a double-play with two nice keepers, 24" and 26". I had fished 30 seconds and caught my limit. I kept fishing, doubling up twice more, and releasing another 9 fish before the sun went down. They were all big fish, and great fun on my medium action spinning outfit and 14lb test line. -S

Top Water Action!

2006-10-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

Someone told me a while back that at times, rockfishing in the Chesapeake Bay is very similar to fresh-water bass fishing. I've found that to be true in some regards, primarily in that they relate to underwater humps and structure. But most of my keeper fish this year have come from more traditional striper techniques like trolling, jigging, and casting to breakers. That is, until last night. It had been a very breezy day, but the wind laid a couple of hours before dark. With still water, overcast skies, and a big cold front moving in, I decided to put some of my fresh-water tactics to work. I tied on an old faithful Heddon Lucky 13 and started drifting down a bank near our house. It was a little tough casting off the bow sprit of the Sea Ray, and I was sure wishing for a trolling motor, but it felt very comfortable chugging along that classic old top-water lure. Still, I wasn't really expecting much action. The first blow-up scared the crap out of me! A big fish exploding on a surface lure is one of the most exciting experiences in fishing. He measured 24". I got 5 more before the rain started. It's illegal to cull rockfish on the Bay, and the limit is only 2, so I ended up keeping two smaller ones. A lucky break with all the right conditions, but I still idled home in the rain thinking that maybe I've turned a corner on fall fishing here. -Shawn

Backyard Pond Update

2006-10-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

If you've followed my blog you know that one of my major projects last Spring was building a pond and waterfall in the backyard. (I consider the side facing the Bay to be the frontyard.) I'm happy to report that we're now reaping the benefits of all that work as the pond looks great. We added a bench so we could sit out there and enjoy the many new birds, butterflies, and other insects it attracts. I know it'll only be a few weeks before the first frost, so I wanted to get some pictures now while the flowers are blooming and the grassses and other plants are at their peak. (click the images to see them full size) -S

Cruising the Chester

2006-09-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

Almost due East across the Bay from the Magothy River is the mouth of the Chester River. The Chester is deep and navigable for more than 30 miles through historic Kent County. Settled in the mid 1600s, Kent County was one of the first two counties in Maryland. Our gig last weekend was at Conquest Beach on the banks of the Chester. I thought then that it might be fun to explore the area by boat because it looked so pristine and historic. We left our dock about 3:00 PM today. Within 30 minutes we had crossed the Chesapeake Bay and passed Kent Narrows to starboard, making our way northeast up the river. At its lower reaches the Chester is very broad, but it's still important to stay near the channel because it gets shallow fast. After about 5 miles the river becomes more narrow and winding with rolling farmland on both sides. A careful glance through the trees reveals colonial mansions, many built by retiring English ship captains who made their fortunes transporting goods across the Atlantic and up the river before America was a country. There's surprisingly little modern development along the Chester. Much of the area is protected as a wildlife and nature preserve. We spotted two bald eagles but were unable to get close enough for pictures. By 4:30 we had wound our way up to the dock at Chestertown, one of the oldest and best preserved towns in the nation. We tied up beside the schooner Sultana. A tour of the rebuilt revolutionary war era ship was just finishing, so we had plenty of eager hands to help tie up the boat. I wasn't sure we were docked legally, but no one seemed to mind. We secured the boat and walked the same cobblestone streets that George Washington tred up to the historic distric. According to a marker, Chestertown was once the busiest port in Maryland, which is surprising considering its distance from the Bay. Apparently it was the primary entrance point for trade in and out of Maryland. There was even a "tea-party" tax revolt here mirroring the one in Boston. After exploring around the nicely restored colonial houses and visiting a couple of gift shops, we decided to have dinner at a restaurant by the water. On the menu was a kind of oyster pot pie that was delicious. Dianne took the helm for the return cruise, navigating perfectly along our previous GPS track, back down the river toward the sunset. -S

Chasing Birds

2006-09-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

"To everything there is a season" sings the Byrds, and Fall must be the season for the birds of the Chesapeake Bay. For the past three evenings I've been chasing them around the western shore as they identify the location of breaking schools of rockfish and blues. The gamefish chase pods of bait into shallow water, then corral them on the surface and attack. With amazing eyesight, hundreds of seagulls and faster flying Turns dive into the feeding frenzy. It's almost impossible not to catch fish if you cast into the carnage. My fishing method is the tried-and-true technique my dad taught me for catching breaking fish in the lakes - a top-water "chugger" with a fly tied on behind (they call hair-flies "bucktails" here). The only difference now is that I'm using bigger lures and stronger line. Sometimes, the seagulls will hover six inches over the chugger watching closely as the fish attack and hoping to dive in and catch the smaller ones. There are so many birds that you almost can't cast for fear of fouling one in your line. A couple have become tangled as I cast, but escaped before the hooks pulled into them. I'm not looking forward to catching one, but I'm sure it's bound to happen soon! -S

First Dance by the Bay

2006-09-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about being a musician is getting to share some the most important moments in the lives of the people for whom we play. Today, the Old Bay String Band played a wedding gig at Conquest Beach beside the Chester River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. We set up our sound-stage facing the party and looking out over the water. Jason and Carrie's first dance was a Joe Cocker song that we translated to bluegrass. Then, we played "Rocky Top," and "Fox On The Run" while the wedding party cracked crabs and ate barbeque. After the party, I asked the groom where they were going for their honeymoon. He laughed as he replied that their destination was the NASCAR race at Dover Downs. Yup, these are my kind of people! -S

Crabs, crabs, crabs

2006-09-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

I remember wondering last winter if I would ever figure out how to catch crabs. In fact, there was a time when I almost gave up because it just seemed too difficult. I know now that the problem was not really lack of knowledge or experience, but lack of crabs. They just don't come in good here until late summer. One night just before tropical storm Ernesto, I caught a dozen crabs in a couple of hours off the dock. After the storm the water temperature dropped about 10 degrees, and the crabs slowed down, but they're back now. I steamed up a dozen tonight and we had them for supper. Although not huge, these crabs are just loaded with sweet, white, delicious meat. We came away from the table stuffed. There is something very satisfying about eating with your hands, especially when it's your own catch. Considering the crabs and fish in the summer and the ducks, geese and shellfish in the winter, I can see how Native Americans must have thrived along the Chesapeake. Here's my method and recipe for steaming crabs, admittedly still in the process of perfecting.

- In large pot, bring a solution of 4 parts water to 1 part beer to full boil
- Add one half cup Old Bay seasoning and liberal dashes of sea salt
- Put a wire basket or something in the bottom of the pot so that crabs don't touch the water
- Remove crabs from traps & immerse in ice water for 5 minutes (this stuns and imobilizes them for the next step)
- Layer in circles around pot sprinkling liberally with Old Bay before starting the next layer
- Steam until crabs are bright red, usually about 15 minutes
- Serve with drawn butter, broiled new potatoes, hushpuppies, & cold beer

Eating Blue Crabs also requires practice and patience. Dianne is always happy to demonstrate her refined crab cracking method. I think it might be pretty complicated to type out. Suffice it to say there is very little resemblance to cracking the snow crab legs which are much more common in the Southeast. -S

Happy Hour on the Hill - Arrrrrrg!

2006-09-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Dianne was co-sponsoring a reception for New York Agriculture this evening up on Capitol Hill. I tagged along. That's Maurice Hinchey, Democratic congressman from New York and her old boss on the left. The lady in the middle needs no intro! In case you're curious about what a Tennessee baybilly talks about with a congressman and a senator, I'll just say note the empty wine glass and remember, it was "National Talk Like A Pirate" day. Aye, me heartys, so shiver me timbers and pass the grog!! -S

The Honga River

2006-09-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

I met Dave Wolf yesterday for a Sunday fishing trip to the Eastern Shore. We drove down through Cambridge and put his Twin-Vee in on the Honga River. I like this area. The geography reminds me of South Georgia or Florida with lots of pine trees and swampy marshland. After navigating through a maze of canals, we did a some exploring and running around to known fishing spots. We caught a few while bottom-fishing including some small flouder, then finally found breaking fish in the main part of the Bay upstream of the the Hooper's Island Lighthouse. I caught this nice bluefish casting a big Rattletrap into small breakers and letting it sink down to the bigger fish. It was about 24 inches. Definitely the hardest fighting fish I've ever caught of this size. -S

Feels like home!

2006-09-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

Went fishing with Dave Wolf yesterday. As we were driving to the ramp we spotted this sign at a little country restaurant over on the Eastern Shore. I hope it's an apology and not a description! -S

One fish, two fish, red fish, .....

2006-09-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Bluefish... That was the name I wanted for the new band, but it was already taken by about 50 other bands in all kinds of music styles. So I'll settle for catching my blues with rod-n-reel. Went out with my fishing buddy and fellow band member Dave last night, and found some nice blues and rockfish breaking at the mouth of the Chester River. Tonight I cruised up to an area called Seven Foot Knoll near the mouth of the Patapsco and caught a few. Got a few more coming back home at Mountain Point. I'm thowing a top-wather plug (chugger) with a fly tied on behind. The only modification from my tried-and-true freshwater setup is that I'm using a thin wire leader. Those Bluefish have very sharp teeth! -S

Introducing - the Old Bay String Band

2006-09-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

Speaking of Old Bay, check this out. Our first gig is this weekend, a convention at the Mariott Ranch in Virginia. The Old Bay String Band is a class act and I'm proud to be a member - excellent musicians with many many years of stage experience between us. We're booking some fine gigs that are not only financially rewarding, but promise to have a very high fun factor. Hopefully, we'll have some real sound samples up on the site soon. Let me know what you think of the Oldbaystringband.com web site. I'm also playing with some guys I like down near Fell's Point, and that band is coming right along. -S