best last minute halloween costume ever!

got some red plastic cups and plates? you got a (cooked) lobster costume, apparently.

small craft advisory

fantastic up-cycling of lazyboy love seat. comfy and romantic, too! from the always funny thereifixedit.com.

oysters for sale!

j&w seafood out of deltaville have york river oysters on sale just through halloween: they ship everywhere! i sent soft shells from j&w to the west coast in june: they arrived icy and were delicious. good stuff.

young of the year

for the past 50 years the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has sampled the same 22 locations in the chesapeake bay for the health of the "young of the year" striped bass survey. biologists identified and counted more than 35,000 fish of 49 species, including 1,039 young-of-year striped bass in this year's survey. DNR has monitored the reproductive success of striped bass and other species in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay annually since 1954. 22 locations in the four major spawning systems are visited monthly from July through September, collecting fish samples with two sweeps of a 100-foot beach seine. The index is calculated as the average catch of young-of-year fish per sample. the 2009 results were announced last week, and although the 7.9 catch per haul was lower than the long term average of 11.7, it is still within the 'normal' range. read the full report on chesapeake bay news.

i love local commercials

there are angry people every where...i think this guy forgot the purpose of a commercial is to entice people in to doing business with you. oh, well...painfully honest and funny.

million dollar fish ?

well, this big girl is definately a world record bass catch @ 25.1 pounds, but the question is whether the way the fish was caught qualifies her for the title. i guess we will see: dont go buying anything yet, boys.

chew on this 500 pound fish

that is a big fish...could feed an entire neighborhood. glad they released him though: the goliath grouper has been on the critically endangered species list since 1990.

sunday is for fishing

lonely day fishing for rock on the chesapeake

waiting for the storm

fished at the channel marker this morning...brought her in before storms blew down the Potomac river.
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text updates for blue crabbing regulations

Because there are so many changes in regulations for the commercial harvest of blue crabs throughout the season, Maryland Fisheries Service has set up a program that will send text message reminders to your cell phone. A day or two before a regulation change goes into effect you will receive a reminder about things like changes in the female bushel limits and closure periods as well as changes in male and peeler minimum sizes. There is no charge for this program from the Fisheries Service, but there may be charges from your cell phone service provider so check with them for details. To sign up, click this link and enter your name, cell phone number (numbers only, example 4431234567), select your service provider and then click the subscribe button - it's that easy and you can unsubsrcibe at any time.

monster pike

wow, that's a big one.

north east storm

crazy tides this weekend. decided to not drop the boat.

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st. mary's oyster festival

i had planned on getting the proline from the shop and driving it today across the potomac today or riding my new busa to the st.mary's oyster festival, but the flu combined with a nasty storm has made both impossible. think i will stay in and watch the speed channel...and nap.

no'easter causes super high tide

low pressure off the coast caused the boat ramp to disappear under a very high tide- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

1989 82ft Custom Cockpit - Motoryacht

this 82-foot custom motoryacht is so awesome, and its for sale right down the road in richmond. my boat-broker brother-in-law says i should offer half of the asking price from the bank.

the national data bouy center

its getting chilly and that means rock season is heating up! but boating on the bay and counting on good weather is a crap shoot, as noted in the weather channel's "epic conditions": 40 people die each year on the chesapeake bay. so the national oceanic and atmospheric administration set up the national data bouy center, which monitors weather and water data for water areas throughout the country. additional monitors have been installed in the bay to create a grid of buoys, 1.5 miles on center, to keep on eye on all micro climates the bay has to offer. use it in good health.

house, boathouse, boat

this is a sweet setup designed by Sluijmer & van Leeuwen Architects.
via contemporist

Wal-Mart Bass Fishing Lague Regional Championship on Potomac River

hats off for Steve Miller of Mechanicsville, Virginia who won the Walmart Bass Fishing League Potomac River Regional Championship this past Saturday with a three-day 15-bass catch weighing 48 pounds, 8 ounces. for his efforts he won a Miller Ranger 198VX boat with a choice of a 200 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha motor and a Chevrolet 1500 Silverado. he also qualified for the 2010 BFL All-American to be held in Davenport, Iowa, May 27-30, 2010, on the Mississippi River where he could ultimately win a top prize of $140,000 and a trip to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

done fishing

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chesapeake bay sunset

pro-line is still in the shop...too lazy to take out the zodiac...cast off the pier and caught the neighbor's pier...sunset was awesome.

st. croix saltwater rod

john's mom grew up near park falls, wisconsin. she made a visit back home last week and picked me up a new saltwater rod from the st. croix factory...john got three.

chesapeake bay clean up

the bay journal reports that u.s. senator ben cardin has introduced a bill to speed up the mandated chesapeake bay cleanup by five years earlier than the 2025 deadline. it would also make the executive order issued by president obama legally binding so it couldnt be overturned by a future administration. cardin's proposal includes stormwater system upgrades, construction and development regulations, a moratorium on commercial menhaden fishing in the bay, classification of asian oysters as "a biological pollutant" to prevent their release into the bay, and increased nutria eradication efforts, among other things. the final version is due out this month. anything for more (healthy) fishing!

record muskie caught!

i only know about muskie fishing from my ifishing iphone app and i know they get large, but damn: that is a big one! this michigan-state record muskie was caught last week near traverse city. they look a little toothy! can you eat them?

laptop and iphone skins

my macbook pro has a few scratches after two years of abuse, so i've been looking for a cool cover. my favorite -so far- is this awesome painting-turned-laptop skin by artist vinnie myers, via weburbanist.

cruising the zodiac

the big boat is at the shop having the trailer adjusted, so i took the zodiac out for a spin. it's a really great little boat! it's also for sale, if you are interested.

crabbing in october?

every year i can mark the advent of fall when i don't see crab pots anymore: this year most were pulled up by mid-september. no crabs=no summer, or so i thought! saw this pod on current tv (even though it is a couple of years old) and thought it was interesting and great: i like the size of those crabs!

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.

boat rearends taurus

how did this happen?

walmart bass fishing league weekend results

James Schneider of Watervliet, N.Y., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Empire Division tournament on Lake Champlain Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 20 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned Schneider $3,505 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Potomac River Regional Championship in Marbury, Md., Oct. 8-10, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck. Schneider said he caught his fish on a jig around shallow wood near shorelines.

did google earth find the loch ness monster?

i hope so!