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.