coal burning power plants

doesnt matter how cold it gets: clean burning coal powers through...killing the bay.

winterizing the boat

had new rear lights added to the boat while it was in the shop...picked it up today: it was filled with snow and ice.

digging out

the big dig continued all day. we have received a total of 45" since last weekend's blizzard, phase 1. three vehicles have been dug out: the old white pick up truck is stll parked in the neighbor's driveway, covered in snow; the motorcycle trailer appears to have collapsed under the snow's weight.

our street finally saw a county plow at about 5:00pm today.

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jet ski brian does it again!

congrats to jet ski brian who was featured in today's saltwater column on espn.com

boat yard fire

now that the flames are out, tiffany yachts will start the rebuilding process. a total of four boats were lost as well as two buildings. such a tragic interruption of tiffany's 70-year old-plus great american boat building tradition. above is 'miss nancy', renovated and rebuilt by tiffany's and owned by some friends on the great wicomico river, directly across from tiffany's boat yard. here is some video from the fires with the owners of tiffany yachts.

tiffany yachts blows up!

one of the finest boat builders on the chesapeake bay, tiffany yachts burned yesterday. most of the buildings and -i think- all of the boats were saved by the quick actions of droves of volunteer firefighters from all around the northern neck. the fire burned for over four hours reports the woody boater, and a cause for the blaze has not been determined as yet. a friend reports that debris from the explosion was found on his property about a half mile away, on the opposite side of the great wicomico! glad no one was hurt. photo above by tom ryals of reedsville.

snow on the chesapeake bay

big snow storm saturday...we got fifteen inches in heathsville, i heard: i wasnt there this weekend. this photo from st. mary's, across the river from us, shows they got a little!

dog vs. killer whale

friends?

boat crash flips captain onto beach

Boat Crash Flips Captain Onto Beach - Watch more Funny Videos

not sure what this guy was thinking...or doing.

how to catch a world record catfish

apparently, with halibut pellets!

it is reported that the lady in the above photo caught this 214 pound catfish while on vacation in spain. the big fish measured over 8 feet long and took 30 minutes to land. after a photo session, the beast was released back into the ebro river.

wow.

old wooden boat

drove past this great boat under restoration last weekend.

how to winterize your boat

i dont know how to winterize my boat...well, i do. but i dont feel like doing it: its been bitter cold. so i dropped it off at jett's marine where they work indoors. i drove by last saturday: it was still in the yard, but had moved closer to the garage doors.

mid-atlantic rockfish shoot-out

jet-ski brian is so crazy: he entered the mid-atlantic rockfish shootout on his super-modified yamaha pwc...with passenger in tow: his brother. they covered 84 miles, burned 27 gallons of gas (the jetski holds 21) and caught one sweet 33" rockfish.

more photos and details on atlantic anglers.

super foggy

after the rain, the fog moved in to melt the rest of the nasty snow.

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waiting for rain

nice day for now

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taco stop

a quick taco stop: I really wanted fish tacos... but what about tongue? or tripe!

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now that's a house boat!

after henry ford's boat, the benson ford was decommissioned late in the 1900's (remember them?), a couple purchased it, separated the front from the rest of the structure, and made it into a house on south bass island.

high tides

the chesapeake bay's tides have been a little out of whack this year, with some really high ones and others crazy low: different from what my tide app says it should be. everybody knows the tides are regulated by the gravitational pull caused by the rotation of the sun and the moon: their interaction with the earth have caused these tidal anomalies. 

chesapeake bay clean up conference

the baltimore sun reports The Environmental Protection Agency is moving to enact new rules to curb pollution from development and large-scale animal farms to help restore the Chesapeake Bay, the agency's chief announced today. EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson said the rules governing storm water and farm animal waste would serve as a "backstop" to pollution control measures that Maryland and other bay states are expected to take over the next two years. She made the announcement in Washington at a bay cleanup conference that ends Tuesday.

While the storm-water rules would apply nationwide to new development, Jackson said the agency would consider writing even more stringent requirements for the six-state bay watershed because storm water is a significant and growing source of pollution fouling the estuary's waters. EPA will weigh imposing new mandates to reduce storm water in existing communities and on redevelopment projects as well as new construction, Jackson said.

EPA already regulates waste handling at hundreds of large-scale chicken and animal farms in the bay watershed. Jackson said the agency may expand its oversight to smaller farms and demand even more stringent controls of polluted runoff from them. But the agency will hold off on imposing those rules, she said, as long as states enact equivalent measures to reduce farm pollution.

The storm-water rules are expected to take two years to draw up, and the animal-farm requirements three years. The time lag bothers environmentalists, who otherwise hailed the agency's move to expand federal regulation. "The bay needs immediate attention," said William Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Jackson noted that EPA may well act sooner. The states have to submit draft plans by this summer for reducing bay pollution, and then must spell out by the fall what they intend to do to meet their cleanup goals. EPA has warned it may impose sanctions on the states, including possibly blocking permits or diverting federal funds, if they fall short.

jones brothers marine

drove to morehead city to drop off a boat at jones brothers marine. we took a tour of their nice facility. had hoped to drop a line, but it was only 37° with a stiff wind...

headed back to dc.

marine recreational information program

State officials say all Maryland recreational anglers must register with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before fishing in 2010.

The requirement is part of a federal initiative to help ensure the long-term sustainability of America's fisheries.

Although the survey is focused on saltwater species, some ocean fish travel between salt and fresh waters, so anyone fishing in the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries and coastal waters must register.

Anglers must provide their name, birth date, address, telephone number and the regions they plan to fish. Registration information is available online athttp://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov.

State officials say they expect to make the annual registration part of the Maryland fishing license application process starting in 2011.

happy birthday, elvis!

the king loved a boat: happy birthday, elvis!

video of Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil rammed by Shonan Maru

back in august i reported on the earthrace bio diesel boat that broke the round-the world record by over 60 days. after the race it was renamed the ady gil and employed by sea shephard to pester whale hunters the whole world over. today one of those whale hunting boats split the vessel in two. apparently, nearby boats did NOT rush to save the 8-member crew as the boat sank. they were eventually rescued by another anti-whale hunting boat. whoa!

war ships

the naval war ships from oceania naval base cruised past us as they headed out to sea.

last days of rock fish season

the last days of striper season proved to be fruitful. john caught this (legal) specimen while i worked the pilings down at the chesapeake bay bridge and tunnel week before last.

ultra light craziness

my neighbor is seriously crazy: he flies around under a kite with an ultralight backpack engine keeping him aloft...super bird's eye view of the northern neck!

three old dogs on new year's day

new year's day has gone to the dogs.
this year has started with cold-but nice-weather.
i should have put the boat in,
because today is crazy-cold with 40+nph winds.

happy new year?

how can I be happy this new year's day when fishing season is over? that's why all the boats are sitting in the yard this foggy day...happy new year?
I don't think so.
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merry christmas 2009

i hope everyone had a merry christmas!

fishing during blizzard 2009

here is a shot of me on friday...and there i am sunday: what a difference. john and i barely made it home alive from kiptopeake friday after some crazy good fishing: it took us 12 hours to get back to maryland and was the scariest ride of my life! thank god we dumped the boat in heathsville before heading up the road. but what a mess! when we arrived at 2 am, john realized his car keys must have been in the jacket that blew overboard. so here his car sits...iced in for the duration.

guilty or not?

i got this misdemeanor ticket for illegal fish possession while down at kiptopeake state park on the chesapeake bay a few weeks ago. my fishing license is issued by the potomac river fisheries commission, and according to the website, is accepted in the southern portion of the bay and allows me to catch two striped bass with a minimum size of 18" and one over 28" during this late fall season...so wtf? why don't they standardize the fishing laws so i don't have to waste an entire day+, not to mention gas and taxpayer $ for court costs. epic fail!

the angry fisherman busted!

this past week I headed down to cape Charles, Virginia with two of my brothers and six friends for some serious rock fishing. first day out: we caught our limit quickly and headed back in at sunset...we were met at the boat ramp by the marine police who asked to review our catch: happily, we opened the coolers. sadly, we had misinterpreted the winter catch limits and all six fish fell into the 'illegal' category- between 24 and 36 inches. as captain, I was ticketed for a misdeamenor and will have to drive the six hours back for a court appearance in February. now I am angry!

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oyster stuffing

the wife does a great job at thanksgiving...sometimes i like to lend a hand: im making oyster stuffing for the turkey she's grilling. yeah: she's going to try grilling the turkey this year. im going to run up to faunce's to pick up fresh oysters: you can order them from j&w seafood.

Saturday riding

no fishing this weekend...I'm headed to meet the boys for some Saturday riding.

maybe we will head to kent island for some crab soup.

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bass pro sale

john's mom brought me this rod a few weeks ago...still havent picked up a reel. headed to the bass pro shop sale to see if i can find something.

bay splash

baysplash magazine is a new discovery, covering lifestyles in virginia's chesapeake bay. some great photos and interesting essays.

tidal potomac fly rodders

im not that into flyfishing because im impatient. but john forwarded this link to tidal potomac fly rodders group on google. seems interesting.

Sunday fishing

we still had really high tides on the Potomac today, despite the calm weather compared to Saturday. I trolled from here down the river then up the bay to the patuxent using chartreuse...tons of fish on the fish finder: not a bite today! should have listened to the wife: she over heard at rw's that people were hitting on white in 50 feet. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

pocket tug boat

saw this mini tug boat while on the way to rw's. the little boat is all metal construction with a stamped steel deck: it's in pretty good shape! reminds me of popeye's boat: very cool!

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rw's sport shop

like a need another rod!

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52-foot buddy davis

you can buy this 52-foot buddy davis from commonwealth boat brokers if you have the $.

taxidermy squirrel fish

the wife sells her jewelry on etsy, who's archrival is regretsy. regretsy found this insane taxidermist on etsy, and the wife did a post on it last night...i will let her do the talking this time because i really have nothing to say.

how to cleanup the chesapeake bay

the environmental protection agency's draft on how to clean up the chesapeake bay (this time) is due this week. sediment samples from the 180-mile long estuary are being analyzed to pinpoint dead zones and help determine where actions need to be taken first. above is a photo of the vessel rachel carson carrying out research for the project by locating dead sediments, which are basically mud with little or no oxygen. Clams and worms and microscopic plants at the bottom of the food chain — down in the mud — need that oxygen and it isn't there. in oxygen's place is extra nitrogen and phosphorous, mostly from sewage, cars and fertilizer. The nitrogen and phosphorous act as food for algae, which eat them and grow into huge floating blooms. oxygen is removed from the water when the algae die and decompose: that's deadly.

read more or watch the video here.

f650 super truck

do i really need to upgrade the f450?

then i might have to get a bigger boat!

gone fishing

heading out to smith point light...looking for rock.
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futuristic boat

futuristic boat built for one of the siberian govenors. hmmm....im sure there's nothing corrupt about that!

fishing from a jetski

last night i did a post on tog caught from a jetski . nice photos, but later i began to think about this: where did he store the fish? how was this jet ski rigged? who was this guy? so, i checked jetski brian out. he came up with a truly custom pwc that can do most any fishing duty.
read his interesting story here.

jetski fishing on the chesapeake bay

these are sweet tog! caught on the bay near the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel yesterday, this guy fishes from his jetski. he also caught some rock...check his photos at the hull truth.

clearing skies

yet another stormy weekend...clouding up the water: the fish remained hidden...and it gets dark so early these days! looks like its clearing up for the work week, though: figures.
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nomura's jellyfish capsizes fishing boat

a japanese fishing trawler capsized when its three-man crew tried to haul in a net containing dozens of huge nomura's jellyfish: they were rescued by another trawler. the local coast guard office reported that the weather was clear and the sea was calm at the time of the accident.
relatively little is known about this huge jellyfish, such as why some years see thousands of the creatures floating across the sea of japan on the tsushima current: 15,500 reports of damage to fishing equipment was reported in 2007. in 2008 there were virtually no sightings. experts believe weather and water conditions in the breeding grounds, off the coast of china, have been ideal for the jellyfish in recent months. they also believe that one contributing factor to the jellyfish becoming more frequent visitors to japanese waters may be a decline in the number of predators, which include sea turtles and certain species of fish.
hope they dont make it to the chesapeake anytime soon!