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

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"

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.....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.