2017 Fishing/Hunting Wrap-up

In re-cap, 2017 has proved to be a great year for me both fishing and hunting.  I killed a few deer (which you’ll read about below) and my freezer is full of venison. I killed my first turkey back in April, and that was an awesome experience I’ll never forget.  Fishing, well- it was completely different than any year preceding it.  The bottom fishing in Tangier Sound which I had come to know and love, and become a master at, had dried up.  Yeah, there were a few fish to be caught, but really nothing worth spending lots of time pursuing.  So, I was forced to completely change my game.  And throughout the year, I learned a lot.  I started to become good at casting for and catching speckled trout, which behave completely different than the sea trout I caught years ago by the scores.  I also became better at catching rockfish by casting.  In all this, I discovered many new spots, found a new fishing buddy, learned a lot of new techniques, can came to trust some new gear, lures, and tackle.  In fact, I’m slowly having to re-equip myself with rods and reels, as the trash I formerly used for bottom fishing didn’t work so well casting.  I fished a lot more up into the Fall than in the past, as the fishing really just started to get really good in September.  I plan to explore this more next year. 

My last reported fishing venture on Nov. 12, 2017 would prove to be the final fruitful outing of the year.  The following weekend I would travel to West Virginia to initiate my efforts with deer season.  Lots of guys spread their deer season from September through January.  There are many opportunities, with different seasons for bow, shotgun, muzzleloader, and my favorite- rifle.  For me, right now I like to compress this to about 2 weeks total, and using my favorite weapon, rifle.  Maybe this will change in the future, but for right now this works for me.

Monday Nov. 20, I was ushered out to a really nice stand that my friend Pat lets me hunt on his land in south central WV.  I’ve done this the last couple of years and loved it.  I really only have 2 days to hunt, with the Wednesday before Thanksgiving being my travel day for the 8 hour ride back home to Delaware.  Nov. 20 proved to be a nice cool morning, just below freezing and conducive to deer moving to feed.  At 0740, a nice doe walks in to the food plot about 100 yrds below my stand.  I had sighted in my Remington 30-06 the day before and trusted it to be within 2 inches of where I pointed my scope, so as soon as the deer came broadside into my cross-hairs, BLAM !! deer # 1 down, and it turned out later to be a spike buck.  I stayed in my stand just in case any additional deer were following it.  Exactly 35 minutes later, at 0815, a nice spike buck came walking up the exact trail I had used 2 hours earlier to get to my stand.  BOOM !!! The 35 yard shot was too tempting.  I am allowed to take two deer here, so as quickly as it had started, my hunt was over.  I spent the remaining time there skinning, butchering, and processing the deer.

After Thanksgiving and a few days at home with the family, it is off to my camp at Deal Island to close out the year hunting deer in Maryland.  Again I’m using my Remington 30-06 semi-automatic, a rifle I have killed many deer with.  This hunt would prove to require a lot more patience than needed for WV.  My basic plan is to start hunting on Monday and hunt all week (until Friday) if necessary.  I skip the 2^nd week, returning to work instead.  There is always a 2-day season in early January if I need it, and I usually do- but not this year.  Monday morning comes, and it is cool, still, and extremely foggy after I hit the woods.  I’m hunting on public land, so hunting in the fog always spooks me a little bit.  I try a spot I’ve hunted many times, but have had success at only in the evenings.  However, I’m playing the wind and I feel it’s the correct call.  Right at day break I see a nice deer emerge from the fod at about 150+ yards and walking toward me.  It’s now seriously foggy, and I can’t even ID whether doe or buck.  It never presents a good shot at the vitals, so I hold off on taking a shot.  Next thing I know this deer has done a 180 and I never saw it again.  Next day, same morning scenario except the forecasted breeze has changed direction and so I’m set up in a different spot, one that I’ve not yet had success in but one in which I feel has great potential, right along the marsh and with unpicked corn in the field in front of it.  I had heard two bucks sparring right before dawn, so I’m pretty excited.  I see this large ghost emerge out of the fog, a nice buck walking toward me and because I am so anxious I fire.  It is so foggy I cannot even see whether or not I hit the deer.  I didn’t.  Every once in a while I take a shot that I really wish I could get back, and this was one of them.  If only I had waited another 30 seconds,… I would see another deer for three more days.

Fast forward to Friday.  I return to my favorite spot where I saw a deer Monday morning.  I’m still faithful that deer move through here in the mornings, with the right wind, and today it was right.  At 0715, a really nice spike walks out of the woods on the opposite side of me.  I watch him carefully walk the wood line toward my field of view.  I know that I can maybe hit him as he is walking, but it’s going to be a tough shot.  My good senses prevail and I choose a spot for him to walk into and wait for him to walk there.  The danger with such patience is that the deer could easily choose to re-route or disappear back into the woods all together.  Luckily, this one walked right into my scope, and I had been waiting, poised and aimed.  This deer became #3 in my harvest, and he had a really neat palmated spike.  Really for me, 3 deer are plenty. My family isn’t too keen on eating venison.  I make and share a TON of jerky, so with that, some ground for different dishes, and the tenderloins (straps), 3 is really plenty.  Also, I’d really rather have good eating deer, which means doe or younger bucks.  Anyway, the 4^th one was a bruiser and I’m not going to go into much detail other than to say he had 9 points.

November Wenona Rockfish Madness 11/12/17

I haven't been fishing as much in the last month as I would have liked.  In fact, I haven't been at all in over 2 weeks.  Sad because it can be so so good this time of year.  And today was one of those days.

My fishing buddy Dan and I launched off Wenona around 1115 AM . It was cold- in the '40's all day but the 54F water was nearly as smooth as glass, a.k.a. slick cam as they say on Deal Island.  We started off doing what I had been successful with just a few weeks prior- casting bass assassins off Little Deal Island and also off the jetty outside Wenona.  We caught a couple but soon conceded that things had changed.  The next plan was to troll swim shads around South Marsh Island, so we jetted off NW.  About half way out we noticed that birds were working small pockets of areas in the deeper water, and upon closer inspection noticed balls of bait fish with fish breaking the water.  Perfect- just what we were looking for. Low tide was at 3:15 pm, and we thought we'd now catch some rock while the tide continued to roll out.  So, mostly keeping the motor idling, we maneuvered from place to place chasing the birds who in turn were chasing the bait fish being demolished by the rockfish.  We picked our way among quite a few spot- there was not really any pattern. We caught some in 70 ft of water, some in 30, using metal jigs with and up & down motion, as I had learned from Capt. Larry Tawes. One thing for sure- we had to chase and we had to work hard for the fish we caught, maybe 30.  

This eventually slowed down by 1:45, so we decided to finish our journey to South Marsh and troll.  This proved to be a frustrating venture, as first the grass (which I had thought would be gone by now) fouled our rigs repeatedly, and then we lost a 4$ swim shad to a stump.  Since this did not bear any fish, I made the call to return to the jigging ground near Buoy 12.  Actually, we ended up stopping about 1/2 mile north of there.  The tide had slacked and fish were jumping everywhere.  Now it was really game on.  This went on in a fury for the next hour, and it just kept getting better. We probably boated 80 fish total, the majority in that last hour.  Many fish in the 17-19" range, even more 15-16" or smaller, and only one keeper at 21".  I had not pounded rock fish like that, ever.  Unfortunately, just after 4pm I knew I had to return to harbor and head home.  I'm hoping I get at least one more day like that on the water this year- maybe during Maryland deer season (rifle).  Thanks for reading.  This is #DealIslandRandy.

October rockfish roundup, #DealIslandRandy

So, with the boat engine now repaired and running well, I've been out a couple of times.  Nine were anything to write home about, but I'll certainly write about them.  First up was Friday October 6, my fishing buddy Dan, his friend Brian, and I headed across the Manokin river out of Wenona on a gorgeous but windy afternoon.  Happy to say that the boat ran great after my repairs (water pump, thermostat, heat sensor and exhaust manifold) but it was a choppy ride, with Dan taking a piloting lesson from yours truly. After much searching, we finally found the spot at mouth of Teague Creek, where buddy Bruce had slayed the rockfish the evening before.  We anchored up on the falling tide and just after peak high, and we fished it hard. Unfortunately, not much to show but a few undersize rock, one 6" speckled trout, and one angry turtle.  Note to self- location from Wenona is just beyond the red channel marker heading up the Manokin toward St Peters Creek.  2nd note to self: this is a good 30 minute ride back to Wenona in a decent chop on my boat- we got in just at dark.  The next day I spent at the Deal Island Peninsula Project meeting on shoreline erosion, which was fine because it was too windy to boat Tangier Sound.

Oct 13 I took a trip to Mountain Grove, VA to meet up with the WVU college boys and do some serious squirrel hunting. We shot 70 squirrels among us I believe, in 2 days. Using my trusty Remington 1100 16 gauge shotgun, I only took 3 each day.  These guys are serious sharp shooters, and I got seriously schooled in the woods, but had a great time.

October 20, and its still 75F out, good reason to take a 1/2 day VAC and go fishing.  Dan and I headed over to South Marsh. I was certain we were going to troll up some keeper rock.  Unfortunately, the warm weather and accompanying 70F water temperatures had kept the region full of eel grass.  Our trolling rigs were quickly fouled, and we soon switched to casting bass assassins on jig heads.  Also, the forecaster 9 mph winds were more like 19 mph, we got beat.  We managed to get 4 small rock to the boat, all within a brief amount of time.  One bright point was the new Yeti cup holder Dan gave me, customized with the WV logo on one side, and my trademark Deal Island Randy on the other.  Thanks Dan- super cool and I love it !!

Lastly, my buddy Bruce called on Sat Oct 21 and invited me to launch out of Wenona with him the next day.  He had caught nearly 60 fish, and I was anxious to repeat that.  We launched at 4 pm, with only 2 1/2 hours of fishing time, but it was so gorgeous out and high tide had been at 4 PM.  We alternated between the outside of the jetty just outside Wenona harbor, and the shoreline of Little Deal Island just beyond the stumpy area.  After catching a small rock on my first cast, I thought it was going to be game-on.  Unfortunately, things fizzled after that.  We brought probably 20 fish to the boat, all undersize. Some we caught on bucktails trailing a 5-6" white Mr Twister-style plastic.  Bucks had green hair of course.

Busy the next two weekends, next time out will be November 11 if the weather cooperates.  May finally catch some crabs too.  Until next time, this is #DealIslandRandy.

Back to Rockfish, 9/23/17

With the outboard motor on my center console currently down and out, I was happy when my buddy Bruce called Saturday afternoon and asked me to go fishing with him.  The WVU football game I was watching wasn't all that interesting, and it was drop-dead gorgeous outside.  Besides, I always catch fish when I fish with Bruce.  He's a real student and technician when it comes to figuring out how and where to fish, sort of the direction I've also been going lately.

This trip was nearly a carbon copy of one we took exactly two weeks prior.  Same place in the Manokin River, same tide, same time of day.  Only two weeks later.  And, the results were nearly the same, only better.  We started casting 4" (not 5" !!) chartreuse bass assassins as soon as we got there, and we caught a couple.  It wasn't until the tide really started flowing out hard that we anchored at the mouth of that same creek, and proceeded to whack the fish all the way until dark, probably 90 minutes straight.  We caught somewhere between 30 and 40 rockfish, mostly between 15-18" (I think one was 18.5", a "heartbraker" as Bruce calls them).  And just like that, it stopped.  Pic below is of Bruce catching one of his many fish that night.

I've got a handle on the outboard woes.  Replaced the water pump and thermostat last week, only to discover the real culprit- a temperature sensor.  Hoping to be able to complete that repair next Friday and maybe get some fishing in on my own boat next weekend.  This is DealIslandRandy- see you next time !

Speckled Trout Season, 9/16/17

I've caught more speckled trout this year than in all previous years combined.  However, it was always one (or two), here and there.  This past weekend, that all changed.  I launched at 1:30 pm on the most gorgeous afternoon in the world- light winds from the west, blue skies, upper '70's. Forecasted low tide was 5:30 pm.  After fishing with my buddy Bruce the week before, I had decided to no longer use bait for the rest of this year.  It would be artificial only.

I tried a few spots prior to heading over to South Marsh Island.  I tried a few spots on the north side, first back in the coves, then finally on one point where I had seen a man and his boys catching small rock earlier (Gunbarrel Point).  

I was rotating with 3 different rods. all rigged differently- trying to find what the fish wanted.  One rod had a scented Berkley powerbait (4-inch white mullet with a chartreuse tail) on a 3/8 oz jig head with eyes.  The 2nd rod had a green similar bass assassin-like fishy of some sort, same jig head.  The 3rd rod was rigged with a small swim-shad Storm Lure.  I casted, and I casted, and I casted for 3 1/2 hours- nothing.  Then at 5pm, as if someone had flipped a switch- WHAM, fish on.  Planning on seeing a rockfish on the other end, I immediately realized the telltale fight of a speckled trout, and was delighted to land a keeper of nearly 15 inches.  Next cast- WHAM, same thing except this one came on board at over 15 inches.  Next cast- WHAM. Wow, this was getting fun, and the fish were getting bigger as #3 in 3 casts came in at 16.5 inches.  I quickly got my rig back out again in search of my fourth and last allowable fish (legal limit is 4).  Dang, my first cast in the last 4 with no strike.  OK no problem.  Next cast-WHAM!  Thought I was done only to have this fish flip off the hook as I was swinging into the boat (note -fishing by myself and with no net).  Next cast- WHAM, again, only this one vacated his spot on my line about 2/3 of the way in.  For the next half hour plus, as the tide wound down and poised to turn, I casted fruitlessly.  Finally as the tide was just getting ready to switch, fish #4 hit and gave me a good fight, measuring in at 16 inches.  Actually there were a few strikes prior to number 4, but none full force.  

I think that the days where I could drop anchor (or drift) with some simple cut bait and reliably catch legal fish are gone, maybe forever, I'm not sure.  I'm having to invest a lot more time, with a lot more planning and thought into what I am doing, just to catch some fish.  Nothing ever stays the same, does it?

Filleted my trout the next day, took them home and cooked some for dinner. Without a doubt, speckled trout are the best tasting fish that come out of Tangier Sound.  Had hoped to fish the next day but ran into a little bit of engine trouble.  Hoping to get  this squared away soon !!

August wrap-up, end of summer and into September

August gave me a few more fishing opportunities, but nothing remarkable.  I'll summarize it here pretty quickly.  Got out two more weekends, caught a few fish bottom fishing deep water (some decent spot, kingfish, tiny croaker and speckled trout). Also, caught plenty of small rockfish, mostly around points behind deal island, and costing me plenty of soft crabs. A venture out to Pry Island (south of South Marsh) was a bust. The point north of Rumbley at the mouth of the Manokin yielded a few fish, including a couple of nice white perch, all on bait.

Labor Day weekend was a no-go, so I'll fast forward to the following weekend, Fri Sept 8.  My buddy Bruce had nbeen telling me of all the rockfish he had been catching out of St. Peter's Creek. Intrigued, I got him to agree to take me with him.  We launched out of St. Peter's Creek, in Champ, MD (across the creek from Oriole).  I knew this boat ramp was there but had never launched there. We launched Bruce's nice new boat and headed out into the Manokin.  We ended up fishing the mouth of a creek, probably 200 yrds from where I had been fishing all summer. We were casting abotu a 4-inch bass assassin, chartreuse, on a 3/8 oz jighead (round).  WE were timed right with the outgoing tide, which was rapidly draining the marsh into the river.  We had decent depth water too
(3-4 ft +). No dice for awhile, so we moved along the marsh bank for awhile. Just at sunset, we returned to the creek mouth, and within 5 minutes it was game-on.  We caught small rock steadily for quite awhile.  Then they got a little bigger, 16-18".  Finally, Bruce landed one 21", and that would turn out to be the only keeper of the evening.  We caught a bunch more fish, even after dark and up until 8:30, but no more keepers.  Will return here again,... One thing I want to capture is the abrupt cooling spell we experienced immediately after Labor Day. Actually it had started teh week before, but set in in earnest this week.  Evenings in the mid-50's turned the bay water temps quickly to the low '70s.  Bay fishing is changing quickly.  And for the first year that I can remember, I'm glad to be done with summer, and am eagerly welcoming fall.

Weekend after Labor Day is also the Skipjack 5K, which I have run every year since it started 5 years ago.  This lightly attended race is the only one I run each year, but I love that it is held at Deal Island and will continue to run it each year.  It gets me off the couch each February and motivates me to run throughout the rest of the year.  This year, I won 1st place for all male runners.  And so what if there were only a few of us, a win is a win.

August 11, 2017 update

Still looking for that great bottom fishing- looks like it is not happening this year.  And it isn't just me. As I launched my boat on a beautiful Friday afternoon (8/11), there were only 3 other boats on the parking lot at Wenona, and none of the charter boats out fishing.  That speaks volumes.  Anyway, TJ and I launched at 2pm and headed to the west side of the channel north of Wenona, armed with bloodworms ($15/dozen foe the big ones) and softcrabs.  I was marking a lot of fish at the interface between 25 and 15 feet, so we set up a drift starting in about 17 ft.  After making a few depth adjustments, I had caught total of 4 nice Spot and one nice 13.5" kingfish, but it was slow going as this took 1.5 hrs plus.  The drift was fast as tide was racing in and the south was blasting 15+ mph straight out of the south.

The plan was to relocate back behind Deal Island for the peak high tide and the first 2 hours of falling tide at 5pm.  This has produced nice rock fish several times this summer, although the last time all fish were undersized.  Sure enough, just after high tide we started whacking rock fish.  We stuck with this and exhausted our entire dozen of soft crabs.  I don't know what the final catch was, I would estimate 20 rock, the largest were in the 15-17" range. 

I'm convinced that there is no rock fish shortage in the Chesapeake Bay as the state of MD would like for you to believe. In fact, I'm catching more rockfish than ever before.  And, I'm wondering whether this in fact doesn't have something to do with the disappearance of the Croaker.  Are they connected? Where are the Croaker? Are they being caught elsewhere?  The MD DNR fishing report indicates they are being caught near the mouth of the Potomac.  Is that true, and of so why not on the eastern shore?  Hoping to get back out soon, I have so many different things I want to try.  Also hoping for some calmer waters, as the wind has limited my options most of the summer.

Update, July 2017

The story continues to be more of what "is not biting", rather than a happy brag on what I'm catching. Monday July 3, I spend 3 hours drowning squid and soft crab in deep water of Tangier Sound.  Tide is coming in, everything is right- except there is not one croaker to be found.  I hear tales of nice catches of keeper spot, but they are biting on bloodworms only, and I'm not holding any.  At 7 pm just at high tide, I move to north side of South Marsh and drift eastward across the large creek mouth, tossing my popping cork with a Gulp white mullet behind it, hoping to nail a big speck or maybe a red drum.  At the same time, I'm drifting soft crab across the 4-5 foot flat.  At about 8pm, WHAM! Rockfish attacks the crab and puts on a nice show in the shallow water.  I won this battle, and he goes in the cooler.  AT least I don't go home empty handed.

Fast forward, Friday July 14.  Surely, the croaker must arrived by now.  No dice.  My buddy Dan and I brave the 90F+ heat at 3 pm, frying in my boat in deep water.  Oh, and its rough too, so options limited.  Three hours of this fruitless effort, we head for protected water behind Deal Island to catch the fall of tide from peak high.  We enter Laws Thorofare through the north end harbor, and I show Dan my historically favorite deep hole fishing spots back in "the Gut".  We anchor in an absolutely spectacular place, deep water with a ripple  from a cut-through feeding into it.  We aren't there 5 minutes, and I grow concerned about the storm clods that have quickly mounted just to our west.  Dan has cell signal, so I get him to pull up the radar of the area.  When I see the radar image, I advise Dan that we have to leave RIGHT NOW!  He heeds my caution and concern, and we motor as fast as possible back to the ramp at Wenona.  Boat back on the trailer, it looks as though the storm has passed off to the north.  Boat back to the yard, things looking scary again.  We unload the essentials, I unhook, and prepare to meet Dan at his house for dinner.  As I leave my fish camp, there is water blowing across Deal Island Road, being blown by the sudden 40-60 mph winds that came seemingly out nowhere.  This water is from Tangier Sound, as it's not even raining yet.  That's how quickly things can change .  We watch the storm unfold from the safety of Dan's House, 10 feet away from Tangier Sound, in Chance.  It was an amazing sight, and I am so glad we got off the water when we did.

Next day I take my daughter Kara and her boy friend TJ out.  One of the local charter captains was kind enough to post pics of his coolers full of Spot.  So, I know that if I can locate him, I stand a reasonably good chance of catching some or at least know where he has been catching them.  West side of the channel, between bouys 12 and 14, and in 17 ft of water.  We drift near where he is anchored.  The wind and tide are opposed, so we are almost standing still.  I don't have blood worms, but I have fish bites, soft crab, and squid.  In three hours we manage to put 2 really nice kingfish (13.5-14") in the cooler, as well as one nice Spot.  Just before the 1830 peak high tide, we move to a nice little pocket behind Little Deal Island, exactly where I had caught a nice rockfish earlier in the summer under almost the same conditions.  We anchor and soon it is game on.  I think we caught probably 8-10 nice but small rockfish in pretty short order, all on soft crab.  The kids are happy we caught some fish, and so am I.  I still would like to know where the hardhead are.  The only plus about their absence is that it has really pushed my to get better at catching some other species.  Until next time, probably in 2 weeks,....

Late June re-cap

First things first- a very brief detail on what I caught last week.  This would be June 17.  I caught some nice but windy (or course) weather, the right tide, and one free day, and I didn't waste it.  I kept things pretty basic and fished on the back side of Deal Island.  Target species: Rockfish and Speckled trout.  A blistering south wind made it necessary to find some protected shallow water, challenging on the south side of the island.  I spent 2-3 hours throwing soft crab, only to be frustrated.  Last move was back toward the dock. On the way back I found a protected little pool, and since the tide was now high, figured I would give it a shot.  Boom!! The 22-inch rock put up a nice thrashing fight in 4 feet of water.  After following this with a few smaller fish, the day was done. 

Next up, the family joins me for fishing June 22 and 24.  This time we dodged really crappy rainy and windy weather, and late day low tides.  June 22 with Von and Darko yielded a few small rockfish and lots of skates and rays.  June 24 I fished with my daughter Kara and her bf TJ.  This was in the Manokin at high tide, middle of the day and hot hot hot. Kara caught a nice 15" speckled trout, and TJ put 2 really nice big white perch in the cooler.  I can't count how many small rock they caught and threw back. 

The lack of croaker is really concerning.  Looks like 2nd year in a row they will be a no-show through June.  This is seriously a bummer, and downright disturbing to me.  I remember how back in the '80's they were scarce, but back then we had plenty of sea trout.  Sigh,......

More shallow water action- Memorial Day, and June 9-10, 2017

Quick recap of Memorial Day first.  It was cool and rainy, like most of our spring. I got the boat out once- on Memorial Day, with my buddy Dan.  It was a bright sunny day, rather warm, and we launched at noon.  We fished the waters all around South Marsh Island, using soft crab exclusively. Two rock and two speckled trout, but nothing to brag about.

Fast forward to June 9.  Opting for a change of scenery, I thought we would fish the shallow waters of the Manokin River, looking for speckled trout.  I've heard in years past that a lot of specks are caught here in the spring.  Dan was once again my co-pilot.  We launched at 2pm, just preceding the peak high tide (at Chance).  I knew there was a creek just north of Rumbley, which actually cut back behind Rumbley.  My thinking was that this would be a good place to fish on a falling tide, as the bait fish should be pouring out of the creek, with rockfish and trout ready to ambush them.  Turned out to be a pretty good calculation, as we turned 3 hours of fishing into a pretty good meal. I absolutely love sea trout and speckled trout, so I was thrilled that we could take home 2 decent trout.  Dan caught the larger at 17", mine was 15",  We threw a fair number of sub-14" trout back, in addition to countless small rock.  The next day, I figured we would get out a little earlier and catch some more of that first part of tide, since day before we had started catching them immediately.  Well, as most fishermen know- no two days are the same. The fishing was far slower than the day before.  Notable is that the water was also 3+ degrees warmer, jumping from 73.5 to 76.5 F.  Still we managed to put a 15" trout and a nice white perch into the cooler after releasing a bunch of schoolie rock, so no skunk. Pic is a proud Dan displaying his first keeper speckled trout on June 9.

Shallow water rockfish and magic Fridays- 5/19/17

There is just something magic about Fridays- can I get an "Amen"?  It's typically the end of a long week, and also the gateway to the weekend- that in itself is cause for celebration.  And for me- this was the 2nd Friday in a row where I simply "got it done".  So like many other folks, I'm at work in my office on a Friday morning.  I got the bulk of my work done early, and now I'm looking out the window of my cubicle, amazed at the sun, which has been rather scarce lately.  And finally, the wind had laid down too.  As is typical of many springs here on Delmarva, the wind has blown consistently for over a month, and rain has soaked us almost every weekend.  Coupled with some technical issues with my boat trailer, which I corrected, I had managed to get out fishing on my boat so far- exactly one time. Tic-toc, tic-toc, about 11:15 AM and I simply can't take it anymore.  That's it- the half day was now declared.

I was on the island by 1:30, and had the boat in the water at Wenona by 3:30 (waiting for the tide to flip). A short cruise later (3-4 miles) and I am anchored off the north end of South Marsh Island.  I had previously outfitted my trip with large trolling rigs, until one of my neighbors advised me to put them away, go get my bait rigs and buy some soft crabs- which I did.  After cutting up the first crab and hooking pieces to the bottom rig with 2 ozs of weight, I threw it toward the shore, maybe 15-20 feet away.  I was in about 7 feet of water, just right.  I know that the rockfish cruise this shore looking to ambush bait fish, particularly after the falling tide had just kicked them all out of the creeks, nooks and crannies that spanned the island. After less than 5 minutes I had my first strike and it was game on.  I could see how the fish were going to bite today- picking up the bait and slowly cruising with it, providing me ample opportunity to power-set the hook.  I was hoping for speckled trout but I'll settle for rockfish as a nice consolation.  This pattern went on for probably an hour and a half, it never slowed.  I put some nice fish in the cooler, threw many more back overboard, and then I noticed it,... Yes, the clear signs of a distant storm forming west of the Chesapeake Bay.  It was an all too familiar sight, and I knew my time was probably short.  Turning on my marine VHF I picked up the NOAA weather station, and they were reporting a really vicious storm threatening the mouth of the Potomac. Great, exactly due west of where I was sitting.  By this time, the storm was visibly growing on the horizon.  Next, I pulled up a radar app on my phone, nearly amazed that I had any signal at my location (usually I don't).  Wow- that was one focused, tight and ugly storm- and it was definitely headed my direction.  Having been smacked by a waterspout a decade before, I had learned my lesson and knew it was time to bail.  And my timing was good- I had enough time to zip back, trailer the boat, get the boat back to the yard and unloaded, and call my wife, just before,.... BOOM!!! The storm hit, and it was a doozy. Until next time.  I'll likely be looking for rockfish, speckled trout, or maybe a drum. Hoping the croaker arrive soon too.

Crossing an item off my bucket list- Spring Gobbler, 2017

In 2013 I decided to finally try my hand at turkey hunting.  Unlike deer hunting, this is not a sport that I had opportunity to learn from my friends.  Rather, it was sort of "figure it out as you go along". I already had the basic tools. A box call my Dad had given me years before. A full camo 12 gauge Remington shotgun I had actually won by raffle. And some camo clothes.  However, I didn't understand turkey's behavior where to find them, or how to call them in to get a close shot.  This all slowly began to change through the next several years.  I began reading on-line about turkey hunting, reading articles, watching videos.  I also spend some time in the woods, under the guise of turkey hunting but hardly any threat to our local turkey population, even with a loaded shotgun.  My wife thought I was out doing anything but turkey hunting, when actually- I was trying. And I was definitely learning.

Things really opened up for me this year. It finally started to click in terms of habitat, and I made some changes to at least put myself in good proximity to turkeys, and lots of them.  First day of the January 3-day season, I managed to call another hunter right up to me. Scary thought actually, both of us armed and wearing full camo, and he didn't even see me. However, I realized I was getting better with my calling. Second day of January season, I repositioned to a more remote area, and this time managed to call some birds in to about 125 yards out- out of range but now I was hooked.

Spring season rolled around, and I got out once in April for two days.  This time I saw birds both days, and both times it was two hens and a gobbler. But again I was not able to coax them in close enough for a shot.  Then the magic day arrived- May 12.  I got out into the woods plenty early- 5:10 AM and was surprised to see the day already breaking from night.  I hastily made my way to my spot- about a 1/4 mile from where I parked. Almost immediately I was hearing gobblers in front of me, behind me, and to my left. I'm working the call pretty hard.  At 0645, I spot 2 hens and a gobbler probably 350-400 yards away- I had to see them through binoculars to know there was a gobbler in the threesome. Was it the same threesome I saw in April? Maybe,... I continued to watch these birds for the next hour and a half, and then suddenly something changed.  The hens started running my way in response to the yelp calls I was offering.  And they were yelping back as they ran, with the gobbler hot on their trail.  I kept calling, mixing in some clucks with the yelping.  And they continued right at me.  Finally, the hens are within 50 yards with the gobbler about 15-20 yards behind them, and I start to mentally prepare to take the shot.  I was in my gillie suit and pretty well camouflaged, plus I was hiding behind a small cedar tree, sitting on my camo bucket.  I knew that I would have to break my mannequin-like motionlessness, stand up and almost instantly sling some #4-shot lead at the gobbler. The hens continued closing in until they were literally 10 yards away, with the gobbler 15 yards behind them.  They were so close and I was so amped up, I knew I was shaking.  And then it happened,... It had to happen right there, not a moment sooner or later.  I stood up and raised my shotgun, previously resting in my lap but already with the safety switched off. As soon as I had the front sight on the gobbler's head, which didn't take but a split second, I pulled the trigger, and BAM! The gobbler started thrashing all around, and 10 seconds later it was all over.  I had dreamed of this moment for years, even before I started turkey hunting.  It was a great feeling, and one certainly worthy of being on my bucket list.  

Mr. Gobbler was huge.  I didn't get a weight, but he was quite a load to carry in one hand on my way back to the truck.  I can say that he had an 11 1/2 beard (which is pretty long), and a sharp spur measuring 13/16".  I think I'm hooked, and I can;t wait until next year.