I’ve had a wild ride using circle hooks this rockfish season. Allowing the fish’s movements to set the circle hook provided me excellent results baitfishing during the trophy season, if I didn’t count the absence of trophy-sized fish in my boat.             The fish I did catch — some agonizingly shy of the 35-inch limit — were invariably hooked in the mouth. I released them with no ill effects, if you ignore my disappointment.

            My second cast was intercepted, and the small rod arced hard over. Through the thin line I could feel the shakes of a fish with some definite weight, several ounces at least. The big perch were finally back in residence along the rocky shallows.

Temperatures flirting with triple digits mean difficult times on the Chesapeake, not only for anglers but also for the fish. The young and old are the most susceptible to heatstroke, but everyone needs to be aware of the danger, as it can be fatal.

The first time I fished in saltwater was a memorable experience. I had waded out from the shoreline with a spinning rod in one hand and a bag of squid in the other. Catching a small flounder within the first few minutes made me bolder until at last I was far from shore and chest-deep in the water.     Then I saw the big, dark, triangular fin angling toward me through the water. My blood froze as I tried to backpedal toward a now impossibly distant beach.

    Good news is scarce these days, so I was relieved when I saw Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ results of the 2018 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey.     But I did a double-take when I read in the report,  “Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Population Healthy.”     I was confused. Expecting to see the basis for the claims of health, I came upon the revelation of a 42 percent plunge in spawning female numbers. Wasn’t that seriously unhealthy?

One evening several years ago, when the Chesapeake had experienced a generous influx of gray trout (weakfish), I found a school outside the mouth of a small tributary south of the Magothy. It was just after dark, the tide was falling and the fish were positioned a long cast from the inlet to intercept the baitfish, shrimp and small crabs being carried out by the tidal current.

       We were drifting inside of the green channel marker off of Podickery Point when my son got a quizzical look on his face. Staring at the rapidly turning spool of his reel Harrison said, “I think I’m hung up.”      “No, I don’t think so,” I replied. “Give it a minute.” The spool stopped for a beat, then started up again even faster.