Articles by Dennis Doyle

Rockfish in Transition

Come June, we’ll be in fishing heaven

The rockfish spawn is just about finished. The big migratory female rockfish have already vacated our waters to return to their wanderings along the Atlantic Coast. Migratory males (usually smaller than the females), remained in the spawning headwaters for the duration and are now forming up and leaving. Over the last week, all of the rockfish that ended up on our cleaning table were male, measuring 25 to 33 inches. Males can be identified by two large, soft white organs,...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 5/24/12

2012 Rockfish Seasons

Fishing dates are balanced to save spawning fish

The trophy rockfish season — which ran April 21 to May 15 — was a good one. The first two weeks saw many big fish taken, lots of them measuring over 40 inches. The last week or so, however, proved a disappointment. Most of the really big fish had by then left our area of the Bay to return to the ocean. Fishfinder The average size of stripers taken the last several days of the trophy season dropped precipitously as the majority of big fish had spawned and...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 5/17/12

Success at Last

Victory loves preparation

We had been set up for less than 20 minutes when I had the first run. The clicker on my Ambassadeur bait caster began to chatter, slowly at first, then rapidly. I picked up the rig and switched off the mechanical alarm to eliminate its resistance. Thumbing the now-whirling spool, I steeled myself as a powerful fish continued off with my chunk of menhaden. Fishfinder The trophy rockfish season is progressing extremely well this year, especially with our recent spate of...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 5/10/12

Winning Is No Easy Game

Against a trophy rock, just a taste of success will set you ablaze

We hadn’t had a single bait touched for hours when we finally decided we’d had enough. I cranked in my lines for the trip home, as did my friend in the bow, Maurice. As I turned back to complain to him once again about our wretched luck, Mo’s rod was bent hard over and he struggled merely to hold on to it. His drag was screaming and feeding line into a powerful run as I scrambled to clear my rig from the water. The brute then turned and headed back toward...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 5/3/12

Blue Crab News, Good and Bad

Maryland’s most famous crustacean has been rebounding

Maryland politicians and Department of Natural Resources officials are patting themselves on the back (and deservedly so) for the resurgence of the blue crab population this year, with a predicted abundance of juvenile crabs greater than has been seen in almost 20 years. Due to the restrictions placed on the harvest of female crabs beginning in 2008, the population of Maryland’s most famous crustacean has been rebounding smartly every year since. The total 2012 crab population is...

Article - News; by Dennis Doyle; 4/26/12

Spring’s Freshwater Fighter

You won’t have to battle crowds to hook the toothy pickerel

My small Tony spoon with a lip-hooked bull minnow sailed out and landed alongside one of the many fallen trees angling out from the impoundment’s shoreline. I let my lure sink next to the tangle of branches for a moment, then lifted the rod tip of my small spin rod and began teasing the bait back. My line twitched as the minnow resisted. Then, within three or four cranks of my reel handle, I encountered a sudden resistance and set the hook, hard. Water erupted, and an...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 4/26/12

Jumping Shad, Singing Reels

You don’t need to keep the fish for the fishing to be fine

The sound of the rushing water was tranquilizing as my cast quartered downstream and settled softly. The small fly touched and disappeared underwater just above the churning white cauldron where I hoped some shad might be frisking. My line immediately snapped tight, and my energy flowed back. I held the line firmly with my hand for just an instant to be sure of a good hook-set. Then the fly line was ripped roughly through my fingers as a graceful silvery rocket shot out of...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 4/19/12

Back on the Water Again

With the fun of fishing comes responsibility

Since we spend so much time on the Chesapeake, boating anglers have a particularly important responsibility in maintaining habits that promote a cleaner, healthier Bay. The foremost of those is avoiding polluting behavior in the first place. The single most effective action any angler can take is avoiding and discouraging the use of older, two-cycle outboard motors. Fishfinder The dogwood trees have blossomed, and the hickory shad run is red-hot. The Conowingo Dam, Deer...

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

The Big Day Nears

When trophy season for giant rockfish opens, it’s catch and keep them if you can

April 21 is the date some 300,000 anglers have been waiting for since the season closed more than four long months ago. That’s opening day of rockfish trophy season, when giant striped bass — ocean-running beasts some of which were born decades ago in the Chesapeake — return to their natal waters to spawn. Fishfinder Early birds scoping out the trophy season are encountering plenty of big rockfish, many over 40 inches, on both sides of the Bay. It’...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 4/5/12

The Price of the Sporting Life

Hunters pay no new fees, but wildlife gets no new funding

Increased fees for hunting licenses and stamps died with the House Republican Caucus leading the fight to kill HP 1419 on March 26. The death was unexpected. The first fee increases for hunting licenses and stamps in more than 20 years had been proposed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to counteract three forces: the long downward trend in hunting license revenues; a projected decline in federal matching monies; and the continued impact of a...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 3/29/12