Gannets

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

Fishing in the Fog

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