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Ask any member of my family when they caught their first fish and you probably won’t get a straight answer. Why? Because our family fishing traditions run so deep that we were all too young to remember the first time we had a rod and reel in our hands. I know I was little because I have hazy memories of being on the boat with my dad before I was four years old. I don’t think that was when I caught my first fish though because I’m pretty sure (sniff) I was tying my own flies by that time. In all seriousness, I do remember making lures in elementary school because my third grade teacher punished my friend Curtis and I by keeping us in at recess when she caught us comparing patterns during spelling class. I remember my first trophy largemouth very well, a five-pounder caught on a crankbait when I was seven. I can easily recall my first top-water rockfish even though I was only twelve. I also remember a lot of big fish that got away – I think those are the hardest to forget – but pinpointing that first fish is dern near impossible. This week my grand-kids are visiting from Tennessee and we’ve been making memories with a new generation of anglers. My son Daniel had some time off from his busy performance schedule. Since he was slated to take care of the kids while his wife attended an out-of-town wedding, he decided to drive north to Maryland. With my wife out of town as well, we were all set for a bachelor weekend with the younguns. Read More!
Acelerar, usted está tambaleando demasiado maldito lento. That’s Spanish for “Speed up, you’re reeling too damn slow.” Spanish Mackerel, the fastest fish in the Chesapeake have arrived in good numbers. They’re only in Maryland waters for about a month, but their arrival is something to celebrate.Fishing for Spanish is one of my favorite summer activities. The easiest way to catch them is to troll fast with in-line planers. If I just wanted to put meat in the box, that’s what I’d do. But I prefer to honor these infrequent visitors by targeting them by casting. Mack casting takes Chesapeake Bay fishing to another level. To catch Spaniards you first have to find the blitzing schools of bluefish and stripers, then turn loose of everything you’ve been doing all year, and try not to catch them. Too slow are the words most often heard on Thunder Road when we’re targeting Macks. It means someone onboard has accidentally hooked up a rockfish or a bluefish. When casting for Spanish with light spinning gear, the second most successful cast is one that doesn’t catch a thing.
Spanish move up the coast from Mexico and Florida in summer months as water temperatures rise. Much more common and easier to catch down south, they reach the Chesapeake Bay in July and August. Some years they come up farther Read More!
08172010
19:34 – Cleared Matapeake Pier on Thunder Road. Winds 15 kt from south, 2′ seas. Water temp 80.2. Building incoming current.
19:35 – Birds and breakers over 8 – 16′ contour drop. FF shows blues and small rock. Noted and ignored.
19:47 – One other boat in sight at Bridge. Tied on 1 ounce jig head with 6″ chartreuse BKD hotrodded with orange garlic dye.
19:53 – First fish. 26 inch striper released boatside
19:58 – Multiple low to mid 20s fish at intermediate depths of 18-22′. Occasional snapper blues chasing.
19:59 – Sunset. Noted birds working and small blues breaking over Sewer Pipe, ignored.
Almost all I know about fishing I first-learned by casting in mountain streams. Tactics like swimming a lure with the current, casting to the deep side of cover, matching the hatch, looking for the dark water, minimizing terminal tackle, and the importance of stealth are all stream fishing techniques that translate easily to fishing in the Chesapeake Bay. If you’ve followed CLT, you know that as much as I love the Bay and targeting the many species that live here, there are times when the call of the stream is so great that I have to drop everything and go. This past weekend my wife and I found ourselves with some time to kill en route to see friends and family near Jackson, Michigan. We stopped at several streams along the way, and I even got in some still-water pond fishing north of Lansing. Read More!
We’ve seen some dramatic weather in the mid-Chesapeake Bay over the past couple of weeks. Extremely warm temperatures spawned strong low pressure systems that buffeted our region with storm after severe summer storm. The challenge around Kent Island has been less about locating fish and more about fishing around the weather. There are still some summer trophies around the Bay Bridge, and we’re starting to see breakers including bluefish and Spanish mackerel off the beach at Matapeake and across the Bay at Hackett’s Bar. My fishing time has been limited. In one recent trip I got out with a couple of Navy guys, Mark & Mark off Kent Island for a bridge jigging excursion. Tossing multi-colored lures to match the sky, we managed three fish over 30 inches and had at least three more hooked up in that size range. That’s good fishing for summertime in the Chesapeake. Yesterday I managed a trip out with my fishing buddies Jamie and Mark. If we were fishing for keepers, we would’ve had a limit in the first ten minutes. Read More!
The world rolls along
Unaware of the dance
Except for a few
Who venture a glance
Toward those down below
Who’re casting upstream
Waltzing the current
In search of a dream
I wave when they blow
Or hold up a fish
I know how it feels
To look down and wish
