Wrapping up November 2013

My last November trip to Deal Island did not exactly start as I had planned.  I had intended to burn a little vacation (crab and/or fish) and also work on Skipjack Kathryn.  Well, my oldest Deal Island friend Mellanie passed away earlier in the week (she was only 51, bit I had known her since I was 16), so things changed.  I'd like to talk more about Mellanie right now, but I think I will save that for a later post.  I came down mid-day Thursday Nov 7 and attended her memorial service.  I awoke Friday to a chilly and blustery (25-35 mph NW winds, or course) day.  Needing a mental health day, I didn’t make it over to Scott’s Cove and instead focused on some simple chores around the camper.  Crabbing was out of the question, as it was in the low 50’s and with the stiff wind my little electric motor would have been useless.  So, I rigged up the center console for one last 2013 trip and pushed out of Wenona harbor around 3 pm.  Since it was way too windy to navigate Tangier Sound, I used my newly learned cut-through and moved directly through Little Deal Island.  I’ll make this brief- I anchored, and braving the wind and cold in full coveralls, bottom fished with the last of my bait for nearly 2 hours.  Nada, nothing.  I had been told that trolling shallow water was the way to go, but I was not up to exploring this solo, in shallow water, and with the wind blowing as it was.  The next morning I pulled the boat back home to Millsboro, and of course Tangier Sound was slick and calm (slick cam) as I crossed the Deal Island bridge.  And it was even a nice warm day, but it was time to return to home and family.  I spent the remainder of the weekend preparing the boat for the winter, draining out some of the old fuel in the in-deck tank, winterizing the motor, and waxing the hull.  Lastly, after I secured the cover to her it was done, and so was my fishing for 2013- unless I venture out on someone else’s boat.

My next Deal Island adventure will be to deer hunt.  I plan to come down Sunday Dec 1, set up my blind and be out on the woods early on Mon Dec 2.  Plan A is to hunt all week and return Saturday.  I am hoping to have some success earlier, wrap things up and return before then.  Prior to this, we have had an unusually cold November, with frequent hard freezes.  I have guarded against my camper plumbing freezing by leaving the heater inside and a lamp in the well-pump box connected to electric with temperature-controlled switches.  However, on Nov 24 it was forecasted to bottom out at 22F, so I came down the Friday prior and winterized the lines.  My approach this year was different however, and I eschewed the typical application of anti-freeze for use of an air compressor to blow out the lines, with the intent of a quick re-hookup upon return.  I believe it will work, as I think I got all of the water out of the lines.  One area I forgot however was to our some anti-freeze into the drains.  Hopefully this will not be an issue when I return, but I guess I will have to deal with it if it is.  So, I’ll repot back sometime in December.

The DNR totally fouls up my crabbing,... Nov 2, 2013

Time to talk about November, before it slips away.  The month started on Saturday 11/2 with a quick trip down with Blair to do some crabbing.  It was a decent warm (68F) day and we got out into the marsh at about 11 AM, only to discover that it had been nearly drained.  So now, I am restricted to using an electric motor, and also there is only about 1 1/2 feet of water tops in the impoundment- just GREAT!  Well, we launched and had no sooner set anchor in the canal (100 yrds away from the ramp) and the DNR pulls up along the road and engages us.  Here’s the deal- I had brought the gas motor also on back of the boat.  It turns out that a new drainage device had been installed, which had required them closing the marsh for two weeks and dropping the level 1-2 feet.  I was also informed that although the new motor restrictions did not specify such, it was not permitted to even have a gas motor onboard the boat.  Again- GREAT ! So, they let me slide since this had not been posted and we proceeded to crab.  After about hour and a half I had a half dozen, and we needed a change of venue.  So, I pushed the boat down the canal painfully slow with my 17 lb thrust motor (so glad I had just sold my 35 lb thrust motor, right!) all the way to the first dike.  And wow I was surprised to see just how badly this had silted in from water coming over the dike into the impoundment.  Anyway, we found a worthy spot on the point about 2 feet deep, and anchored.  Here we proceeded to round out our catch to just over 3 dozen decent crabs.  They were not quite the quality and size of the previous trip, but they would do.  And combined with some fresh oysters, fried of course, they made for quite the feast.

I am totally not pleased about these new motor restrictions, which now limit me from using a gas engine during my peak time of the year for crabbing.  I took the opportunity to communicate my position on this back to the DNR- they had a place online to submit comments on the Wildlife Management Area rules and restrictions.  And here is the text of my comments:

Hello,

I would like to comment on item 28.B. of the proposed WMA Regulations.  First, let me start by saying what a great overall job DNR has done at being a good steward of the Deal Island Wildlife Management Area.  I have enjoyed using this resource for the last 34 years.  My primary uses have been diverse- fishing, hunting, crabbing, biking, hiking, and waterfowl observation and photography.

I am strongly not in favor of the restriction on use of gasoline-powered outboard motors in the impoundment between October and March.  This time of year is historically an optimal time for recreational crabbing in the Deal Island WMA impoundment area.  It coincides with the various waterfowl hunting seasons, and has peacefully coincided with them in the 34 years I have used the impoundment.  The new guideline, which now only permits use of vessels propelled by electric motor, severely limits the range of vessels to a very short distance from the impoundment launching ramp at end of Riley Roberts Road.  My understanding is that this recent restriction was implemented to increase the overall waterfowl hunting experience and to improve waterfowl habitat.

In my many years in using the impoundment during the fall for recreational crabbing, there is minimal overlap between waterfowl hunters and recreational crabbers both geographically and temporally.  Particularly in the cooler weather of the fall, crabbing is only effective beginning late morning  or even early afternoon as the weather cools.  Also, while the waterfowl hunters usually seek more secluded areas where they can lay decoys, etc, the recreational crabber is typically using either the main channel or the area immediately surrounding one of the dikes.

In terms of waterfowl habitat, I do not believe the use of gas-powered outboard motors is dramatically affecting the silting-in or sedimentation of the impoundment salt marsh.  These processes are occurring both by natural growth and decay of marsh grasses and also by past use of the impoundment by waterfowl hunters using “mud-boats”. 

Lastly, the restriction on gas outboards seems unfair to the public at large, as the impoundment is public land managed for a variety of recreational uses and not solely waterfowl hunting.  If the Maryland Waterfowl Association has provided funding toward the Deal Island WMA, that should not buy their interest group preferential treatment in the designation of policies meant to manage this public resource.  Thank you in advance for consideration of my comments.