Articles by Dennis Doyle

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 11/29/12

Give Trap Shooting a Shot

If you’ve got the shotgun, Three Rivers has the targets

Pointing my shotgun downrange and just over the top right corner of the low, dark trap house, I called for the bird from my position on station No. 5. The frigid breeze that had been swirling about all morning had died, and the air was calm and still. Perfect conditions for shooting this game. The fluorescent-green clay shot out of the house at a hard right angle and lifted skyward. I managed to track the bird and cover it as it climbed. Then, as the...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 11/22/12

The Fish Are Big

But the catching’s strenuous

From all indications, the last quarter of 2012 isn’t going to set any fishing records before rockfishing closes December 15. There have been very few days when being on the water was anything other than an ordeal. Fishfinder Pick your days and be patient. Those are the two rules to follow in the latter part of our rockfish season. Big fish as well as those in the 20- to 28-inch range have been caught. But it takes long days and persistent effort to get the job done. Trolling,...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 11/15/12

The Bounty of the Chesapeake

Enrich your Thanksgiving menu with fish, fowl and venison

The tradition of Thanksgiving dinner was first attributed to the Plymouth Bay Colony in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. But the practice of a harvest or a thanksgiving dinner was widespread throughout the early colonies and especially around the Chesapeake. The Chesapeake was by far the richest colony in America in terms of fish, waterfowl and wild game. Capt. John Smith, who first explored the Bay, spoke of being able to “walk across the water” on the...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 11/1/12

Fishing in Sandy’s Wake

We may have a week of clean water before Conowingo’s mud plume

We were quite fortunate in avoiding the predicted calamity of Superstorm Sandy. New York and New Jersey did not share our good fortune. The northern winds that blew the whole of the three-day tempest emptied the Bay of water and protected us against the massive storm surge that flooded the coastal areas and created such devastation. After Sandy passed over us, however, it traveled on up through the Susquehanna drainage into Pennsylvania, all the way to the Great Lakes,...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 10/25/12

Rockfish Futures Bright?

Not by my math

By now I’m sure you’ve heard the news. The 2012 rockfish spawn was a disaster: the lowest on record. Last year’s warm winter followed by unusually low rainfall and high water temperatures in the spring set the stage for a .90 Young of Year count. That number means almost no yearling rockfish survived from this year’s spawn. Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been quick to point out that big swings in reproductive success...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 10/18/12

Filling Up the Larder

It’s easy when white perch practically jump into your cooler

I was going fishing. Not just any fishing mind you, but fishing of the most fundamental kind. No flies, lures, plugs, spinner baits, fancy casting, clever approaches or studied presentations. Just plain old-fashioned worm fishing with one rod, two hooks and a sinker. The past two months I had worn myself ragged with early-morning and late-evening sorties, casting plugs and crankbaits for rockfish in the shallows. Success was slight compared to the effort expended. ...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 10/11/12

Sometimes It’s Fishing

Sometimes it’s catching

It was a few minutes past sundown, but the failing light still burnished the water’s surface, making it glow like molten metal. What little wind there had been had died, leaving the water flat. Conditions were perfect for top-water fishing. But it was late. If the fish were going to show, they had better come soon. I had been missing the surface bite so completely that I felt as if I had become a Jonah. I had stopped partnering lest I subject friends to the same fate....

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 10/4/12

Ten Minutes on the Chesapeake

A lot can happen in a short time, but you may have to be patient

Our day had started out with high expectations. The plan was to get on the water by 7am, catch a supply of spot for live-lining, cruise a couple of places that had been producing in the recent past, mark some good rockfish, get a quick limit and be home by noon. Conditions were right: little wind, mostly overcast with mild, short-sleeve temperatures. The supply of spot, surprisingly, came rather quickly. One of the problems I’ve encountered in catching live bait by...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 9/27/12

I Fish Fall My Way

Sometimes, the fish cooperate

Light was failing fast, and so was I. My umpteenth cast of the evening landed just short of a ragged shoreline edged with marsh grass. The instant my four-inch top-water plug touched the water, I locked the spool down with my thumb and gave the lure a short twitch, creating a seductive gurgle to add to the splash landing. If a big rockfish had been nearby, I was certain it would have attacked the lure. It remained untouched. The water, apparently, was empty, just as it had...

Article - News; by Dennis Doyle - 9/27/12

Another Illegal Gill Net

Some two weeks ago, a member of the Coastal Conservation Association fishing off of Bloody Point snagged his line on what appeared to be an illegal gill net. When weather permitted (Sept. 20), Maryland Department of Natural Resources dispatched the 80-foot-long icebreaker and buoy-tender A.V. Sandusky to hoist the net’s bulk. About a half mile of the deadly monofilament net — studded with the remains of horseshoe crabs, blue crabs and rotting fish — was removed from Bay waters...