I’ve been lying low over the past couple of weeks waiting out the craziness. Most of my fishing has been in out-of-the-way places far from the madding crowds. Radios blaring, airplanes buzzing, stereos thumping, outboards droning, helicopters whirring, sirens wailing – Wow! Boat shows, trolling tournaments, and sailing regattas make the main stem of the Chesapeake very noisy. The Bay is fully awake from her winter slumber and the crowds are back in force. While we each enjoy the water in our preferred ways, to my thinking fishing should include elements of solitude and stealth. I’ve mentioned before that I’d rather pick up aluminum cans at rush hour along I-95 than try to pick off rockfish in the main channel on a busy trolling weekend. I prefer to look off the beaten path for places where I can tune-in to something a little more pleasing than the clamorous dissonance of the masses.

Since the striped bass spawn is winding down on the Chesapeake Bay, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some post-spawn patterns.  When stripers come off the spawning grounds, they’re usually hungry. If you can find them, they’re pretty easy to catch.  Ah, but finding them, there’s the rub.  Where should you look?  Read More!

April showers bring cherry blossoms and tourists to the Mid-Atlantic. Since cherry trees were first planted around the Tidal Basin in 1912, people from all over the world travel to Washington D.C. to welcome the arrival of spring. This is also the time when fishermen look forward to other visitors making their way up the Potomac. In late March, the hickory shad run begins bringing some of the most exciting fishing of the year.

Hickory and white shad are anadromous species that spend the vast majority of their lives at sea, but enter the Chesapeake region in the spring. They swim through the Bay and up the rivers looking for the fast water they need in order to spawn. Shad hold an important place in American history. The Native Americans fished for them extensively and used them to fertilize their crops. George Washington was known as a prolific shad angler and caught thousands near his home on at Mount Vernon. It was the spring shad run in Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River that saved Washington’s army from starvation at Valley Forge. You can read about it in the Shad Foundation’s Shad Journal. Read More!

Why make resolutions you know you aren’t going to keep?  Statistics show most resolutions are forgotten by the end of January.  I think the problem is that most fishermen try to bite off more than they can chew. I thought I’d take a shot at a few resolutions that are easy and achievable. Don’t disappoint yourself.  Try these:

1.  Fish with your shirt off.  Especially if you have great pecs, a six-pack, and enticing body hair.  Also, double-fist Bud Heavys whenever you get the chance. Extra points if the temperature is below 30-degrees Fahrenheit.

2.  Don’t be a dick.  Too difficult?  Okay, then don’t be a dick on more than three occasions on the Internet or to your wife when she says, “Instead of fishing, I really want you to visit some yard sales with me Saturday.”  Go fishing anyway, but be sure to compliment what she bought when you get back home and don’t leave your dirty socks on the floor unless they’re close to the washing machine and promise her you’ll take the garbage out tomorrow.  Plan on less sex in 2013. Read More!