Regulars (Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle)

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 4/28/11

Breaming with Joy

Seek bluegill, or bream, in sweetwater when the dogwood blooms

It was warm and sunny, a lovely day with a light, early morning breeze coming out of the southeast. I hadn’t seen a day like it in some time, and from the last weather forecast, I knew that I might not see another for perhaps longer still. Hurrying, I slid my squat, blue dingy into the back of the pickup and filled it with tackle, battery and an electric motor. Then I headed for the Eastern Shore. Fish Are Biting ... Up to now, the rockfish bite...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 4/21/11

Though April Showers Come Our Way

Surely the fishing will get better in May

Cold, rain, wind and otherwise miserable weather. That’s the standard spring day in 2011. I can’t remember another year when I have gotten so few days on the water by this time. April 16, the opening day of rockfish season, was particularly difficult, with a morning that saw at least half-gale winds and an afternoon that added torrential rains. April 17 proceeded with a blow so bad that a 23-foot boat capsized with five anglers on board off of Thomas Point,...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 4/14/11

Torn Between Two Loves

It’s open water vs. sweetwater

This time of year brings conflict for me. The Trophy Rockfish Season beckons with the promise of big fish on big water, a temptation that is almost impossible to resist. Yet there is another of nature’s sirens murmuring in my ear. This one promises even more luscious treats to be had as the sweetwater bite blossoms. Fish Are Biting ... The white perch run continues to please a lot of anglers on Chesapeake tributaries. But most are poised for Saturday, April 16, when the Trophy...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 4/7/11

Trophy Rockfish Season

April 16 is the big day

Anglers have been waiting for this event for more than 120 miserable days, ever since the season closed last December 16. These have been cold, snowy, rainy, windy days, days without hope of even a glimpse of Mr. Pajama-sides. But all of that is over on April 16, when Trophy Rockfish Season begins at last.1 Fish Are Biting ... White perch continue to tease anglers in Bay tributaries. The cold spring weather is making the bite difficult to anticipate. Yellow perch are mostly...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 3/31/11

Between White Perch and Hickory Shad

Chesapeake Bay’s most common and perhaps least common catches

Sending out a chartreuse shad dart tipped with a grass shrimp toward the dark water of the far bank, I let it sink for a brief three-count before tightening up my line. Almost immediately there came a sharp tap, and I set the hook. My rod bowed as I leaned into yet another lively white perch. Fish Are Biting ... The yellow perch run is still happening but only in dribs and drabs as the majority of these fish are spent and have left the headwaters. The white perch run is...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 3/24/11

White Perch Have Sprung

To catch them, fish fresh shallows of tribs

The spring equinox has kicked this year’s white perch run into overdrive. An increasing amount of daylight in early spring is one of the prime stimulants to the white perch spawn. The equinox, coupled with our recent record rainfalls, has gotten this best loved denizen of the Tidewater moving early. White perch are semi-anadromous, which means that they prefer salty, brackish water, but each spring they migrate to freshwater tributaries to spawn. They are a slow-...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 3/17/11

The Coming Season Is Now

Day by day, new fish come our way

Our new angling year on the Tidewater is rich with possibilities. But if you don’t plan to take advantage of what’s happening now, some good times may slip past. A number of particularly great fisheries have already started. The yellow perch spring run, always the first to grace our calendar, is in full blossom. These beautiful and tasty rascals can be found in many Bay tributary headwaters. With a minimum size of nine inches and a limit of 10 fish a day, they...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 3/10/11

Knotty Matters

If you want to catch fish, you’d better know how to tie a fisherman’s knot

One simple thing an angler can do to help catch more big fish is learn to tie the right knot correctly. In a life of fishing and after working in a sports store for a good number of years and listening to countless tales of big fish broken off, I’ve learned many anglers aren’t sure which knot to tie or how to tie it. The weakest link in the connection between fish and fisherman is the knot. Common household and sailing knots such as the square knot, granny knot,...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 3/3/11

New Year's Day

Finally, out of the cabin and onto the water

We had been fishing about two hours for yellow perch without a bite. Still, we were happy as clams. Mike E., poised in the front of my skiff, was not even upset the third time he fouled his spoon-rigged minnow in a tree over the opposite bank. I stowed my rod and moved our skiff toward his problem. Fish Are Biting ... The Susquehanna Flats is still producing great catches of yellow perch. The neds are also showing now on the Tuckahoe and are imminent at Wye Mills (if the...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle - 2/24/11

Commercial Fishing in Crisis

Outlaws are marauding on the Chesapeake

The term waterman, unique to Chesapeake Bay, refers to a commercial fisherman harvesting oysters, blue crabs and finfish or otherwise making a living from Bay waters. Maryland has a 300-year tradition of this noble endeavor. Fish Are Biting ... The yellow perch run is on in the mid-Bay. Anglers are catching good numbers of these beautiful and tasty devils as the males are running up into the tributaries in advance of the spawn. Although the smaller fish run earliest, you will...