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I’ll never forget the first sonar unit I ever saw. I was only five or six years old when my dad installed a Lowrance Fish Lo-K-Tor. I was fascinated by the technology. It took two big six volt batteries with springs on top. There was one knob on the front to adjust the gain and a diagram behind the dial to show the cone angle. The transducer attached with two suction cups and could be taken on or off anytime. Not only could we read the bottom depth, but with a little practice we could interpret the red flashes around the dial to find fish. There was nothing more exciting than seeing that dial light up. Quick sparks meant bait, solid lines meant fish, wider solid lines meant big fish. The “Little Green Box” revolutionized fishing. My dad was always ahead of the game when it came to technology, but I admit I haven’t always kept up with the latest and greatest in gadgetry. In fact, I was still using a Lowrance flasher on my small boat when I first started fishing the Chesapeake four years ago. When color graphic screens came out I thought they were nice, but I didn’t see them as a giant leap forward. Even though I bought one for my big boat, I still trusted the flasher to put me on fish. Things changed when side-scan sonar became affordable for amateur fishermen. Just like those Fish Lo-K-Tors in the early 1960s, side-scan has opened a new chapter in 21st century fishing technology. Read More!
Early spring means unsettled weather in the Mid-Atlantic. One day it can be 45 degrees and pouring rain while the next it’s 75 with bright sunshine. This is the time of year when the Bay creates its own conditions. It’s not unusual to see 30-knot winds over Kent Narrows while it’s dish calm with blue skies off Poplar Island. Savvy fishermen look forward to the unsettled weather of early spring because it brings the best fishing of the year. Light tackle anglers become storm chasers, but we’re looking for something other than rain falling from the Chesapeake skies. Our April showers are gannet storms. Read More!
I have a confession to make. For the past two months I’ve been participating in a clandestine activity that I’ve kept entirely to myself. If word got out, it would certainly mean thousands of anglers descending on one small patch of revered real estate and result in certain chaos. Once revealed, I would expect half the fishermen to cheer on the activity and the other half to try and ban it. Even though it’s already restricted to 40 anglers, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was brought up before a Department of Natural Resources advisory commission or if someone submitted an unnecessary compromise to further reduce the effort! Okay, before there’s too much of an uproar, I’ll reveal that my secret isn’t cold weather catch & release fishing at a warm water discharge in an obscure region of the Chesapeake Bay, I’m referring to the Boat Yard Bar & Grill’s Tuesday night movie series called “Angler’s Night Out.” The brainchild of Boatyard owner Dick Franyo and maritime media guru Joe Evans, Angler’s Night Out was an every-other-Tuesday-evening event that included a get-together followed by a cult-classic fishing flick. I say “was” because sadly, the series is over for this winter. Fortunately, our fish are back in force so there are other things to do on a Tuesday night, but it was fun while it lasted.
Spring, glorious spring has made her eloquent arrival to the snow-weary Mid-Atlantic. The peepers are peeping, the red buds are budding, and yesterday, through the morning fog, I caught a glimpse of an osprey soaring high above the Bay Bridge. There are a lot of reasons why fishermen look forward to the arrival of spring. A big one is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time when clocks spring forward to give us one more hour of treasured after-work daylight. Fishing and spring go together like, well like fish and fries. Have you noticed how all the fast food restaurants put their fish sandwiches on sale this time of year?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard the “Give me back my filet-o-fish” jingle so many times I want to rip that Billy Bass off the wall and put a gaff through its gills. Despite the annoying commercial, I bet I’m not the only one who’s waited in line at a drive-thru recently for a “supersized #4, add Chesapeake Sauce.”
In my opinion humans are hard-wired to eat fish in spring. It’s been in our DNA since the first hunter-gatherers put away their flint-knapping, wandered away from the warmth of their winter hearth, and fished with a hook and line in springtime streams teaming with spawning fish. For many fishermen the urge is so strong it’s nearly impossible to stay away from the water in March and April. This is the time of year when fish are easiest to catch, and the time when we most want to eat them.
If the tail slaps of big rockfish can be compared to the rumble of a Chesapeake storm, I spent this past weekend riding on thunder road. We’re seeing the first signs of spring on the Bay resulting in some fun fishing. The good times this weekend were especially sweet because I just took delivery of my new Judge 27CC. If you’ve followed my website you know I’ve been looking for a new boat for some time. There are several reasons why I chose the Judge. First off, I’m used to a long boat. Having fished out of the Sea Ray for three years, I wanted something of similar length and handling so I could continue to go out in rough weather. I also needed a boat with a relatively narrow beam so I can trailer to where the fish are without worrying about permits. My other priorities included a bass boat style casting platform, a place to duck in out of the weather or sleep in emergencies, a shallow draft for fishing the near-shore top-water spots, and a long comfortable warranty. Of course price played a major role. I narrowed my decision down to three brands and Bill Judge made me the best deal even after the modifications I needed. There’s a lot to be said for cutting out the middle-man and buying directly from the boat builder, especially when it’s a local Eastern Shore guy.
We interrupt the Mid-Atlantic’s snowiest winter on record with a tropical interlude in hopes it might at least warm a few spirits while we wait for spring. Dianne and I are just back from a week aboard the good ship Norwegian Dawn, cruising to Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico. Like any respectable redneck honeymoon, we took the kids, or at least one of the kids, or to be more precise, he took us. Daniel, who plays bass with the hot new rockgrass band Larkin Poe, was invited on this year’s Cayamo Cruise. Cayamo is the hillbilly equivalent of hawg heaven considering the number of talented roots music musicians involved. With artists like Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earle, and Emmylou Harris on board, we jumped at the opportunity, especially since I had the not-so-secret ambition to jazz up our musical journey with some fishing. I decided to post a report in an attempt to illustrate our methods for finding fish in totally unfamiliar territory. Here’s our story: Read More!
