Chesapeake Light Tackle

I thought I’d never get on the water today. Even if tropical storm Danny wasn’t offshore, a rainy day in August is hard to come by. Chesapeake Bay fishing is always at its best when skies are gray and there are big storms nearby. I lost sleep last night thinking about it. I had to work, but thought I might make the D.C. turn-around in time to get a half-day at least on the water. For a zillion reasons, that didn’t happen.  Nevertheless, I managed to get three quality hours in the rain at the Bridge.

The Bay was deserted. I never saw another fishing boat all evening; not one. It looked like January out there. Even the Matapeake Pier was empty. Instead of the usual Latino girls calling out “boat ride, boat ride,” I had to put up with these ugly dudes. I think they’ve been following me since that buzzard feather thing. Still, you know it’s going to be good fishing when you can see working gulls from from the boat ramp. Read More!

The bluefish blitzkrieg in the mid & upper Bay is full force with thousands of snapper blues in the 15-20 inch class invading all the usual rockfish hotspots.  Blues are among the most aggressive fish in the world.  They’re known to kill other fish just for the sake of killing and they will occasionally attack humans.   Pound for pound, only the piranha can match bluefish in terms of raw fury.  They’re voracious predators that will even eat each other at times.  To prevent cannibalism, they’re known to travel in similarly sized schools.  Their aggressive behavior makes them great fun to catch and their oily meat can be delicious.

When blues are actively feeding they’ll eagerly hit almost any lure.  They especially like lures with a lot of flash. In 1993 a woman who was swimming at a New Jersey Beach had both her ears bitten off when a bluefish attacked her silver ear rings.  Once hooked, they’re known for strong runs and acrobatic leaps that can make landing them on light tackle very Read More!