Spring Rockfish

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

First snow of 2007

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

Cutest bug in the ocean?

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

What I've Learned & Some Resolutions

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

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

Busted on New Years Eve!

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

So I took the wife fishing .....

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

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!

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