In the Cool of the Night

By Dennis Doyle

The light wind brought a welcome coolness to my cheeks as I drifted ever closer to the ripline at the mouth of the river. I lifted from the live well a struggling spot already pinned just in front of the dorsal with a light-wire 6/0 circle hook. It was full dark on a very quiet evening, and I was by myself.

One of the better times to fish in summer’s heat is after dark. You will have scant company. And on the right night with the right tide there can be some incredible action.

The silence can be a little spooky.

There is another source of tension. Scanning the darkness, I strained my eyes for lightning.

A summertime squall on the Bay is not to be trifled with. Reviewing weather radar earlier, I had decided this would be the night. Still, an intense burst of nasty weather could move in quickly.

It’s impossible to judge a squall’s direction in the dark. So any sign would send me scurrying home. Tonight it was so far, so good.

Lowering the spot into the water, I let the small fish have its head.

Drifting at the mouth of my favorite tributary, I kept one eye glued to my fish-finder’s screen, dimmed so it didn’t cancel out my night vision or light up the skiff. The tidal current and light breeze were coordinated tonight and didn’t complicate things as much as compliment them.

It was approaching high flood, and I hoped that a school of rockfish would venture in for the small spot and perch that teemed the bottom here the last few days. It looked from my screen that they had arrived.

It didn’t take long for things to start percolating. The first indication was some frantic rushes by my small baitfish. I had set my spool’s casting tension extra-light so that there was little impediment to the spot’s effort to evade any predator.

Rockfish are excellent night hunters. I wouldn’t be surprised that they find the majority of their sustenance this time of year in the dark.

Such was the case that night. My line soon pulsed with a strong relentless power. I put my reel in gear and let the line come tight. Curbing the urge to set the hook, I let the fish push its force against my rod until it was bent over hard and I was sure the circle hook had found its mark.

I was rewarded by the hissing sound as a lot of line was being pulled off into the dark. I let the fish tire itself out. Then off in the distance, I noticed a brief, flickering glimmer. Long seconds later, as I led the fat fish into my net, a threatening rumble followed.

Icing down the fish and setting my rod back in the rack, I fired up the Yamaha and set course for the ramp. Within a half an hour, I was enjoying an adult tinned beverage while listening to the rain pour down my home’s eaves and the thunder boom.

A cooling summer storm is better enjoyed from the comforts of home than from the cockpit of a pitching, rain-drenched skiff.

Conservation Note

While chasing rockfish last Thursday, I encountered a floating mass of dead, mostly undersized rockfish numbering well into the hundreds. The sight was a stark reminder of the mortality of catch-and-release in hot weather. If you’ve got small fish on the line, do not take them out of the water. If you have to, cut the line to let it go. A live striper is worth the price of a hook.

Fish Finder

Despite scorching heat, the rockfish bite remains excellent in waters up to 20-foot depth. The productive periods are from before dawn to about 9am and from 7 until 10pm. It is illegal to possess rockfish while fishing on the Chesapeake between midnight and 5am.

Chumming, fishing soft crab and live-lining with spot are the sedentary angling choices, while casting jigs and jerk baits remain productive for those insisting on synthetic baits.

White perch remain active all day but after 10am will mostly be found at 15 feet and deeper or only in the shade. Blood worms, crab and spinner baits will get you all the action you can stand.

Spot are numerous but small, and croaker are about the same.

Crabbing remains poor in the middle Bay but is better to the south to where waters are saltier.