A friend and I needed our fix of a real Chesapeake crab cake so we flew down to Tangier Island for lunch yesterday. It’s a great little island with some fantastic scenery. I took my camera along and took some shots that I thought you might enjoy from the ground and air. You can click on each image for a larger version of the image. Enjoy!

Welcome to Tangier Island

Home of the future Tangier Island airport terminal

A sign of the times

Tangier Seafood Restaurant

Cabbing is the main stay of industry on the island

Shot from where we ate overlooking Tangier harbor entrance

Continue Reading »

This is a picture of Randy with his Uncle and the 39 inch rockfish Randy caught at the mouth of the Choptank River (Chesapeake Bay) while trolling recently.  For those reading this not from the Chesapeake Bay area, we get a spring run of these trophy stripers every year. The season usually opens in the middle of April and it’s game on in search of these beautiful monsters. While some light tackle and fly fishing anglers chase them, the most effective method is trolling umbrella rigs, bucktails and spoons.

The Lateral Line hat Randy has on is cool, but it pales in comparison to that trophy striper. Way to go Randy! (click on pic for larger version)

Our friend Nicole Darland  recently hit the airways with co-host  Jed Fiebelkorn with a fishing show that is a comprehensive instructional fly fishing series. Nicole is based out of Seattle, WA and is a outfitter/owner of Xclusive Xpeditions, an adventure travel and fly fishing business specializing in trips to Patagonia.  Jed is a  former professional hockey player and is now a full-time flyfishing guide on the waters in and around Missoula, MT.

Nicole and Jed  take you to fly fishing locations through out the world and teach you what you need to do know to flyfish freshwater, saltwater, tidal and non-tital waters. The show airs on the Sportsman Channel several times a week. The series will also be aviable on DVD.

And hey, while you are watching the show you might recognize Jed’s fishing shirt as Lateral Line’s Crisfield Shirt in a few episodes, thanks for the airtime Jed and Nicole!

You can check show times on thier Fly Fisherman TV hompage here.

Tons of fishing reports this week from all over the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake. Reports from different tributaries around the Maryland bay region suggested a large amount of spawning activity took place. Once these striped bass “do their thing” in the tributaries, it generally means the stripers are hungry and heavily feed as they make their exit out of Chesapeake. This most likely is what we can account for the hot bite that has been happening up and down the bay.  We received our first reports from some light tackle jiggers who found good concentrations of stripers below the Choptank River. Trolling anglers have been having their best luck with fish hitting in the upper part of the water column and fishing in less then 40ft of water.  (in the pictures Paul S and his friend George took their daughters fishing. They fished out of Breezy Point and managed to catch some nice fish and as importantly had a great day on the Chesapeake with their daughters. Click on the image for a larger version. Check their full report.)

Weekend/Upcoming Fishing Events
The MSSA Spring Fishing Tournament is in full swing this weekend with over 600 boats entered. Also this weekend is the Rod and Reel Fishing Tournament.

Maryland Fishing Reports

Upper Chesapeake Bay Region (Susquehanna River/Flats to Bay Bridge Waters)
The Susquehanna Flats season is winding down ending on Sunday May 3, 2008. There were many reports that the stripers were spawning south of the flats area in the main part of the bay in shallower water on the western shore and the eastern shore in the Elk River all the way down in and around the Sassafras River. Usually this is good news in that after the fish spawn the males will return to the flats to feed for a day or two to fuel up before heading back to the ocean. The females on the other hand will also head to the flats to feed, but generally only stick around for one or two tides and then head back out to sea. This pattern has not played out as much as anglers have hoped with some slower then expected catches. There have been moments of excitement with anglers catching a good pod of fish they have been able to catch with plastics, swimming plug, flies and in some cases top water lures.  Remember, fishing on the Susquehanna Flats ends on Sunday when it is no longer legal to target striped bass.

There are reports that the hickory shad are in and around Deer Creek and up ni the Susquehanna River. I had lunch with a friend yesterday who has been going up to Deer Creek on a regular basis and he said the shad have really been thick, so thick that he said it was hard not to snag them. Small flies in chartreuse, rootbeer and off white have been the trick.

Striped bass fishing just above the Bay Bridge has been steady. Most anglers are fishing the Continue Reading »

I have had Lenco Trim Tab trolling motors installed on my boat (Parker 21SE) for about eight years now. A lot of people ask me my feedback and I have answered many emails with a lot of questions so I figured I would post a list of questions with my answers here for those that might be looking to purchase them. To be fully disclosed I did receive a outdoor professional discount on them when I bought them, however I am not paid by Lenco or anything. In addition the Lenco company has changed hands since I originally bought them so I can not comment that much on the new ownership other then to say when I needed a part here or there or needed my transformer box replaced they were very nice and resolved the situation.

I am currently selling my Parker 21Se and replacing it with a Jones Brother 23 Cape Fisherman. I am not sure if I will be going with the Lenco’s or trying the new Minn Kota Trim-n-Troll package. I like to try new products so I may go with the Minn Kota’s, but I am still doing research. When I make a decision I will post.

Questions I have been asked with my answers. If you have other questions feel free to email me.

1. Are you satisfied overall? Continue Reading »

Well the weekend is about upon us and for many that means it’s time to go fishing! The weatherman is calling for temperatures in the 80′s here in the Chesapeake Bay region which means the bay is sure to be packed with anglers chasing the elusive monster spring striped bass. For those that make it out fishing this weekend, good luck!

If you read the Lateral Line blog from time to time you know we call it like we see it. When it comes to out stance on fisheries, we believe in sustainable fishing. When a fish is in trouble that means that if fishing needs to be curtailed we’ll vote for the reductions of both recreational and/or commerial harvests, whatever makes sense to make sure we have fish for the future. We are not against commerical fishing, although we do believe certain methods that commerical anglers use can and are destructive. If you want to see the long version of our stance on sustainable fishing see our past blog post titled Anti Sport Fishing or Smart Sport Fishing.

When it comes to striped bass we believe that the big stripers are being harvested at much too rapid rate and are in fact, probably in some trouble (when we say big stripers are are talking about striped bass bigger then ten pounds). The reason is that we and a lot of other recreational anglers as well as fishing guides up and down the east coast who hunt and chase these big stripers, are all seeing the same thing, less big stripers. In addition, fisheries management has no real way of telling how many of these striped bass are really out there because of the way they sample the fish. We’ll save that discussion for another day. Now to the point, today we received a note from Stripers Forever. We have supported their organization because we like the grass roots effort they represent, we think making stripers a gamefish is not a bad idea, and we like the tight ship they run in the way of managing and raising money; really their idea is to put themselves out of business by accomplishing their goal. However Continue Reading »

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 »

The spring season for striped bass, known locally as rockfish or stripers, opens tomorrow Saturday, April 18, at 5 a.m. in the mainstem of the Chesapeake Bay, stretching from the mouth of the Patapsco River south to the Virginia line and including the waters of Tangier Sound. Because densities of striped bass can be very high, especially during the first two weeks of the spring season, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is encouraging anglers to place extra emphasis on practicing responsible angling ethics.

“Based on current water temperatures, the conditions this year are ideal and the expectation of anglers is high as they countdown to Saturday’s kickoff,” said DNR Fisheries Service Director Tom O’Connell. “We ask all Maryland anglers enjoying what is sure to be an exciting weekend to minimize the catch and release of stripers when possible, and to carefully follow protocols when releasing fish to provide the best chance for survival.”

Anglers on private vessels, charter boats and those fishing from shore in the mainstem of the Chesapeake (tributaries excluded), including Tangier Sound will be allowed to keep 1 fish per person per day, 28 inches or greater in length. There are also specific striped bass catch and release areas that will remain open in order to provide additional opportunities to anglers.

DNR recommends minimizing the catch and release of striped bass once anglers’ daily bag limits have been achieved to minimize stress on striped bass. If anglers must release a fish, efforts should be made to release the fish at the side of the boat with a dehooking device, and avoid removing the fish from the water. If a fish has to be removed from the water, handling should be minimized and out of water time should kept to 15 seconds or less.

“Maryland fishermen look forward to the start of another exciting spring striped bass season on the Chesapeake,” said Ritchie Gaines, Chair of the DNR Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission. “At the same time, sports fishermen need to be mindful of their actions and continue to practice good angling ethics to provide adequate protection of the striped bass resource and ensure that our traditional spring fishery remains available to future generations of anglers.”

Striped bass begin spawning in April when spawning reaches the Bay’s tidal rivers. Spawning occurs when water temperatures are between 54 and 66 degrees Fahrenheit. The majority of stripers that are caught during the spring season are fish that are migrating down the Bay after spawning.

To view a map of regulations, please visit this link . For further information, contact Martin Gary at 410-260-8289 or by e mail mlgary@dnr.state.md.us.