On Saturday April 18,2008, the opening day of the Spring Rockfish/Striped Bass season I flew from the top of the Chesapeake at the Susquehanna Flats almost all the way down the bay to the Maryland Virginia line, making our turn to head back home at the Cove Point (aka the gas docks). What we witnessed was an incredible sight of the Chesapeake Bay filled with fishing boats chasing the elusive monster spring striped bass. It was an amazing sight. The pictures tell some of the story, but even they do not do the incredible amount of boats we saw justice. I shot over 500 aerial shots and a bunch of HD aerial video. Below are a sampling of some of the aerial photos. I will post more over the next two days as I get time to edit them. All the pictures are geocoded, however it was hard to be able to show you them in that format, so I took my handy Spot GPS tracker up and our entire trip is mapped as the last picture so you can see our route. Enjoy the sights.

* You can click on the photos and they will pop up in a new window. Each photo is 1200 pixels wide.
**Please note that all the photos are copyright of Brandon White and may not be used with out his express written permission.

The picture below is a view looking north up the Susquehanna River. Havre De Grace is on the left below the first bridge and extending left. The Rt95 bridge is the far bridge in the background. When you enlarge the photo by clocking on it you will see all the boats at the top of the flats easier.

The aerial picture below is a view looking northeast across the Susquehanna Flats. The point in the upper right is Continue Reading »

North Carolina has paved the way to build a first-class public waterfront access site in Manns Harbor for anyone who wants to fish or play in the Croatan Sound.

On April 1, the State Property Office closed on the purchase of a 13.45-acre tract at the foot of the William B. Umstead Memorial Bridge that has in the past served as a vibrant working waterfront.

“I am so pleased to see the Manns Harbor purchase finalized so that it will be a working and accessible waterfront for generations to come,” said state Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight. “This is exactly the type of project I envisioned when we set up the Waterfront Access and Marine Industry Fund. Protecting access to our waterfronts, and developing ways to support those industries that depend on water access, will preserve what has meant so much to our economy and our people throughout our history.”

The tract was purchased for $4.3 million, one of several waterfront properties the state has bought with a $20 million Waterfront Access and Marine Industry Fund created by the General Assembly in 2007 and administered by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

Future plans call for Continue Reading »