harbor seal spotted in chesapeake bay

my pal jetski brian shot this photo of a harbor seal chilling near the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel islands recently...looks like brian woke him up! i didnt know any seals were around here: very cool!

rock fishing

i dont think im going to enter the largest rockfish tournament in the country on friday. the weather  is supposed to be great though, so i do hope to drop the boat in at some point. great photo of fresh fish from governmentality's photostream on flickr.

the jellyfish are here!

little rain and above average temperatures have brought in an early crop of jellies. fresh water creates a natural barrier against the gelatinous sea creatures, so i hope it rains a lot on days i am not fishing.

supersonic earth day

today is earth day and the navy introduced  a partially bio-fueled version of it's gas hog f/a-18 super hornet called the green hornet. the twin engine jet made its test flight to break the sound barrier today from pax river naval air station filled with 50% bio fuel derived from crushed seeds. the hornet could see my house from there.

trolling for rockfish

i usually troll for rock by myself early in the morning, or late in the afternoon. but this weekend-opening weekend for trophy rock and flounder-the water and the wind were brutal! i put my boat in where the potomac feeds into the bay, and 40 mile an hour wind gusts combined with a high tide to produce relentless 3 foot surf. i was worried about getting back  in on the boat ramp, so i took the kayak out...it was a tough paddle. 

largest rockfish tournament in the country

the 27th annual championship on the chesapeake- april 30-may 2, is the largest rockfish tournament in the country: did not know that. last year 560 boats carried 3,000 anglers, the trophy fish weighed 47.2 pounds, and over $180,000 in prize money was handed out: this year the total payout will be $200,000! you can register on line and attend one of many captain's meetings held at various spots throughout the maryland bay. last year, i caught a 54"-the haters say it was 44"...wonder how much it weighed?

pollen and spore count

i went out to hook up the truck to the boat trailer and found everything enshrouded in a thick layer of pollen...maybe i should get a mask.

octopus attacks paparazzi

octopus appear to be too smart to eat.

national saltwater angler registry

i don't know if i did this or not, but as of the first of this year, all recreational fishermen (in my area) must register with the new national saltwater angler registry. the registry is part of the marine recreational information program and is administered by noaa fisheries service to collect and distribute data on all things related to fishing and fishermen, both nationally and locally. the information collected through angler surveys will aid policy makers and government officials in making-or not making-decisions concerning the health of the chesapeake bay...specifically, fishing creel amounts, recreational areas, reserve and preserve locations, as well as data about the amounts and types of fish and fishermen. its the law and i hate breaking the law, so i guess i will do it.

super low tide

this week we have had several super low tides. i could barely get my kayak in and out of the creek. hopefully this weekend will be deeper as i would love to put the big boat in and do some spring rock fishing: trophy season begins this saturday!

damn, it's hot!

last year at (about) this time, we had snow: not today, though.

@tacos el gringo

must be sunday
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big fish face

bob caught a big fish while on vacation. he sent me these great photos but gave me no info...i think it's a tarpon.