Unfamous Places

Posted on June 23rd, 2011

I drove by this spot a million times when I ran these waters by boat for 12 years. There are boulders on the outside, known as elephants, that hold fish well enough and in any event don’t take kindly to molded fiberglass. By land, I came across it by accident–on a walk, of all things. You don’t want to go there, it’s all schoolie bass anyhow (in the 16-24 inch class) but for me, it’s worked out just fine for now. There are times when a bent rod is a bent rod.

Tagged: striped bass

Stripped

Posted on May 26th, 2011

Just a guess that everything usable has been taken and sold. Once maybe part of a suburban soccer convoy until somebody rolled it into the salt marsh where it stands rusty sentry over early season striper water.

Tagged: nyc, spring fishing, striped bass, urban fishing

Kicking It Across Centuries

Posted on June 10th, 2010

Fly-fishing fishing for bass, however, is the perfection of the sport, and infinitely surpasses in excitement all other methods of killing these noble fish.” –Robert B. Roosevelt, Superior Fishing; or the Striped Bass, Trout, and Black Bass of the Northern States, 1865 (A sportsman’s contemplation well before catch and release.)

Tagged: 19th century fishing book wisdom, striped bass

My Life As A Hand Model

Posted on May 3rd, 2010

You can see a few more close-ups of my digits in Tosh Brown’s gallery here. There are actually a lot of pictures of better fly anglers, as it’s the second wave of photos from our in-progress book project. It ain’t about me. It’s about guys like Bob Popovics and the Salty Flyrodders and Jason Puris and John Page Williams. Guys who drop what they’re doing and alter their life patterns around the migrations of fish. And also the guides and conservationists who make it all their life’s work. We’ve got a couple of more legs to go, and some of us have a couple thousand more words to write, but it’s all good.

Tagged: bluefish, book projects, Departure Publishing, striped bass, the blitz, Tosh Brown Photography

Landing Striped Bass In A Muskie Cradle

Posted on April 25th, 2010

My colleague John Page Williams, who works for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, is also involved in the Maryland CCA. He turned me on to Careful Catch Maryland, which is promoting the use of catch cradles used by muskie anglers to keep big bass in the water during release. The science behind it is that the less a fish is handled on release, and the less time it spends out of water, the more likely it is to survive. Check out this scientific paper on catch and release mortality, and how your gear and handling affect a fish’s recovery.

Tagged: catch and release, Chesapeake Bay, Droppin' Science, fish mortality, responsible angling, rockfish, striped bass

And So It Begins (Book Saga Continues)

Posted on April 22nd, 2010

Tosh Brown flew in to Baltimore and I was an hour late picking him up, violating one of my guiding life principles: Never piss off a Texan. But the book project rolls on. We beelined it up to Havre De Grace, where the Susquehanna River empties into the northernmost reaches of the Chesapeake Bay. From there we drove up through Delaware and to the Jersey Shore. I had to bail after the first five days of this leg, but Tosh headed back down to Maryland to catch up with more rocks on the way down to Annapolis. Special thanks go to many people for making this trip possible: Capt. Tom Hughes Capt. Sean Crawford Bob Popovics and his entire crew. (And for that awesome…

Tagged: Chesapeake Bay, Departure Publishing, striped bass, the blitz

VIDEO: Footage From The Fall Run

Posted on February 27th, 2010

More cool footage from Peter Laurelli on Vimeo. Forgot about these but thankfully found the latest one via Lowbrow Angler.

Tagged: Lowbrow Angler, new england fishing, striped bass

STRIPED BASS: Driving a Good Thing Into The Ground

Posted on February 26th, 2010

Earlier this month the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which essentially decides the fate of the striped bass population along the coast in terms of cull numbers, voted to increase the commercial catch quota. This despite evidence on the front lines that the stripers aren’t doing as hot as the numbers suggest. People had some strong opinions about it: John McMurray, who always has the pulse of the striper situation: Years ago I wrote that Flyfishing guides like me may have a unique perspective on the striped bass fishery because of time-on-the-water and the inherent difficulty in the method. Thus, we are perhaps the first to see what could be the beginning of a very serious problem.” From the Coastal Conservation Association: This…

Tagged: conservation, dodging responsibility, overfishing, striped bass

If You Knew It Was Your Last For A While

Posted on February 4th, 2010

The fall didn’t end on such a hot note. The decent weather sandwiched between Noreasters left little windows of fishability. If you weren’t in a position to capitalize on those slots on the quick then, well, that was just too bad for you. Too bad for me for way too damn certain. [Exclamation point.] I’m off to Florida next week and I’m not so sure what I’m going to find. Some bad shit went down, man. I haven’t heard much about my ditches on the inside, but butterfly peacocks die when the water temps fall below 60 degrees. Usually not a problem in South Florida but this year…The only way to know for sure is to keep casting.

Tagged: adventures in ditch fishing, dirty canals are beautiful, fall run, peacock bass, striped bass

So There’s This Docklight…

Posted on November 4th, 2009

I’m not supposed to go there anymore but nobody’s usually around and nobody would say anything if they were, and it gets dark now at around 5pm with Daylight Savings and, what have you, and sometimes if you need to find fish there are actions to be taken.

Tagged: dock lights, night ops, striped bass, striper

Posts tagged “striped bass”