Articles by Dennis Doyle

Predictions for the Coming Year’s Sporting Life

Good — and sometimes great — fishing in a cleaner Bay

One of America’s wryest philosophers, Yogi Berra, once noted that predictions were difficult to make, especially about the future. Despite his sage warning, I feel compelled to make some Tidewater prophecies for the New Year. Fish Are Biting At last! A slight warming spell has freed many of the ice-bound tributaries, and the pickerel and perch are on the move. Lip-hooked minnows on a shad dart under a bobber will tempt them and relieve your winter doldrums — at least until...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 1/6/11

Clean-Up Time

Over winter, the most innocuous fouling turns into hardened deposits

This year Old Man Winter arrived with an especially frigid blast. Closing the rockfish season almost two weeks early for most of us, the 20-degree nighttime temperatures have since turned our tributaries to ice, denying even pickerel anglers their bitter weather pleasures. Fish Are Biting But not around here. Rockfish season is officially closed on the Chesapeake. However, if you still have a hankering to tangle with old linesides, the season remains open year-round oceanside. Ocean...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 12/23/10

Special Gifts for the Outdoors Man or Woman

A few ideas sure to please

Buying a special holiday present for an avid angler, hunter, canoeist or kayaker is fraught with difficulty. Most dedicated sportsmen and women already have the gear they need. Those who don’t have definite ideas of what they want — but it is almost impossible to divine just what. However, there are a few things this holiday season that can be counted on to give special joy to just about anyone who’s outdoor obsessed. A Nifty Flashlight Flashlights are a great gift. I...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 12/16/10

2010 Was Good for Fishing

And spring 2011 is just around the corner

Sub-freezing temperatures and lots of winter wind guarantee that you won’t find me fishing Bay waters the rest of this month, at least not in my meager skiff. The dismal weather appears to have sealed my angling fate for the remainder of the season, but I have memories to keep me warm over the winter. Fish Are Biting Big winter stripers are here, fresh from the ocean. Boats braving the wind and temperatures on the Bay and dragging big baits deep are landing fish over 40 inches...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 12/9/10

Savoring Season’s End

Adrenaline warms up the last days of rockfishing

The chill was familiar for this time of year, damp and penetrating. A soft gloom had settled over the water with the arrival of some heavy cloud cover, and I noticed that the tidal current running against a fresh wind had just added an eager chop to the mix. Fish Are Biting The big winter rockfish are still a bit to our south, but they are showing up in ever-better numbers. Stripers in the 40-inch range and carrying sea lice fresh from the ocean have been encountered near...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 12/2/10

Cold Comfort

Big rockfish make foul-weather fishing worth while

Getting in on the early-winter rockfish bite can be quite unpleasant. Except for the lucky anglers with big, enclosed boats that can safely and comfortably ply our cold, windswept Bay, most anglers this time of year must simply deal with November’s increasingly nasty weather. Fish Are Biting Good fishing for stripers is occurring throughout the main Bay, with fish to seven pounds being taken by trolling, fishing cut bait, chumming and casting to breakers. Farther south,...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 11/25/10

The Sporting Life Afield

For pheasant, there’s no better place than South Dakota

The South Dakota countryside exudes a kind of magic this time of year. It’s generated by a particularly celebrated game bird, the ringneck pheasant. Fish Are Biting The big cold-weather stripers are stalled just to our south but within range of determined anglers. Fish to 40 inches are being encountered below Poplar Island on the Eastern side and near Chesapeake Beach on the Western. Rock in six- and seven-pound sizes are being taken in the mid-Bay, trolling small to mid-sized...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 11/18/10

Sporting Recipes for a Chesapeake Thanksgiving

If you’re thinking of giving a Chesapeake flavor to your Thanksgiving Feast this year, consider two of my favorite outdoor dishes with a Tidewater twist. Fish Are Biting Anglers continue to get their rockfish limits live-lining spot — when they can be found; most of these baitfish have left the Bay for saltier waters by now. Chumming and fishing cut bait (fresh menhaden) is evolving as the method of choice for many anglers seeking legal stripers. Drifting live eels is...

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

The Skunk and the Ghost Fish

Encounters under the full moon

An angler’s skunk may stink only metaphorically, but it can be every bit as unpleasant as an encounter with the actual Pepe Le Pew. I’m talking about a day spent fishing without catching a fish. Fish Are Biting Drifting eels is producing really nice-sized rockfish, with 36-inchers being boated on occasion. Chumming and fishing cut bait is working now as well. If you don’t have a favorite honey hole, try the mouth of any of the Bay’s tributaries for some...

Article - Sporting Life by Dennis Doyle; by Dennis Doyle; 11/4/10

Veterans Invited to Go Fishing

Recreational Outreach Project gives a day on the Bay to those who serve

Veterans and their families are invited to go fishing with Maryland Department of Natural Resources on 35 fall fishing charters now thru Dec. 15, when rockfish season closes. “We are very pleased to give something back to our veterans, who so courageously serve on our behalf — in this case, a day of fishing on our beautiful Chesapeake Bay,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley of the new Recreational Outreach Project for Veterans. Wounded vets and those recently returned from...

Article - News; by Dennis Doyle; 11/4/10