extreme kayaking in the chesapeake bay

as i reported earlier, this past weekend was too windy and rough for fishing...or boating, so i thought! those crazy kayak guys are at it again!

giant jellyfish invasion

i thought we had it bad in the chesapeake, but japanese fishermen have been overrun by Echizen jellyfish who are taking advantage of the over-fished waters.

stormy skies

it rained really hard this weekend, and the wind continued to blow resulting in muddy water and white caps equalling no fish. i put the boat and trailer in the shop for a few days. a random torential downpour popped up west of smith island.

not fishing today

super windy today: not going out. tidal fish reports that once the wind dies down, i can look forward to spot, speckled trout, and puppy drum. say "good-bye" to summer favorites such as flounder, cobia, and red drum as they stage to head out.

how to eat soft shell crabs

the wife is a great cook! last night she made soft shell crabs for dinner, and thought they looked so good, she snapped a photo. nice work!

planning for bass fishing...

we booked the cabin at kiptopeke for our 2nd annual end-of-season fishing competition (amongst friends and family) for large rockfish. brutally cold last year...someone shot a video: here it is.

endless bluefish

no fishing til the weekend, but my neighbors caught blue all day.

2009 Maryland Fishing Challenge Grand Prize

i wasnt at the 2009 Maryland Fishing Challenge awards presentation on friday @ sandy point state park because i was working...i wouldn't have gone anyway, but the winner of the grand prize (from perryville) is sure glad he showed up this year! he took it all with a 40.8" striper hooked near calvert cliffs on mother's day weekend: that's my hood, and i havent caught one that size since may.

breaking news: diamond jim is still on the loose!

raw oysters

the oysters i caught(?) last weekend were finally eaten today and they were delicious! i did not rinse them after capture and i kept them in an open plastic baggie: super fresh!

no fishing this weekend!

no fishing this weekend: headed to ocean city bike weekend in the morning...i mean delmarva bike week.

gender bender

i love to fish for bass, and you can catch different types of them in any number of rivers and streams that flow in and around the chesapeake bay. i have been catching and releasing for the last couple of years as reports are released not only on the continued poor health of our waterways but also, the genetic mutations in the fish caused by this pollution. this week, the u.s. geological survey released the results of their nine-year study on fish from 111 different sites across the country: the results are very scary, with a huge percentage of male large and small mouth bass showing female characteristics. they say these morphed fish are not harmful to eat, but i will wait for the next study to verify that! lab experiments reveal "estrogenic compounds" derived from birth control pills, agricultural runoff loaded with pesticides, biodeisel fuel production, as well as an ingredient in plastic as the culprits. simple thought: reduce these chemicals in the waterways.

celebrate 375 years of maryland with the lighthouse challenge

looking for something cool to do this weekend? why not drive (by land) maryland's lighthouse challenge? the award winning driving tour takes you through ten of the state's historic lighthouses, including Chesapeake Lightship, Concord Point, Cove Point, Drum Point, Fort Washington, Hooper Strait, Piney Point, Point Lookout, Seven-Foot Knoll and Turkey Point. weekend participants receive a commemorative charm of each light visited, and a 375 birthday charm if they visit all participating stops. i might visit by sea at another time.

baby evicted from home

i cannot remain angry when i see this guy's face!

but the story is sad, about a people loving monk seal pup being evicted from molokai. aahhh!

kayak fishing in the chesapeake bay

a little more on the kayak fishing: here is a trailer for an upcoming dvd from kayak kevin about fishing from a kayak, and these guys stand up in their boats: crazy!

kayak fishing

i kayak every weekend, and even a little chop makes me feel a bit tippy in my 17' perception 'eclipse'. ! i keep reading about fishing from your kayak and couldnt imagine what it was like: they are always talking about standing up...or kneeling: what? i would be upside down! then, i saw this great video of kayak fishing under the chesapeake bay bridge. the fishermen dont stand up in this one, but they have cool foot-powered boats: hardcore!

oysters away!

i am very happy to see the oyster bar across from the cabin continuing to produce product! from my kayak, i only took these two out for "testing", but there were a lot in there!
this was a year we did not see many cownose rays up the creek to devour the crop.

the world's most expensive sailboat

the maltese falcon has been parked down the street from my in laws. i heard two guys on a 30' footer t-boned it dwi: they were hauled off in handcuffs by the coast guard!

creel limit doubled with pink rod?

i bought the wife a pink fishing rod and reel with l.e.d. lights: thought she would love it and i could double my striper creel limit. not so much:

she still hates fishing and the new piece is hanging in the rack.

how to make a fish trap

this could work...i'll try it for live lining.

how to tie knots

knot knowledge comes in handy for both fishing and boating. instructables shows a few easy lessons on useful tie methods.

boat on the beltway

more with the boat vs. car theme: at 6:00am this morning a boat fell off of its trailer on the american legion bridge. nobody hurt, but traffic was messed up til noon.