Chesapeake Outdoors by C. D. Dollar 
Rockfish Season Off to Bang-up Start
The buzz around the marinas, fishing piers and tackle shops is that we’re enjoying the best trophy rockfish season in decades. Everyone who wets a line seems to catch his or her limit — fast. It’s not just the pros and hard-core anglers doing all the catching, either.
From Sandy Point to Chesapeake Beach, shore-bound anglers are holding their own against more mobile boat fishermen. While it is not common, tackle shops have checked in 40-pound rockfish hauled in by fishermen chucking bloodworms.
“In terms of numbers of big fish, the older captains and mates say this has been the best season in decades,” said Fred Donovan of the Rod ’n’ Reel in Chesapeake Beach. “Everyone has a smile on his face when they get back to the docks.”
Historically, the Chesapeake’s prodigious spawning grounds produced upward of 90 percent of the rockfish caught along the Atlantic coast. But the near-extinction of our state fish due to over fishing and pollution in the early 1980s forced a five-year closure (1985-1990) here and along the coast.
I like to believe that Chesapeake fishermen appreciate how lucky we are that rockfish rebounded so well and understand that this recent run of excellent fishing is due in large part to more than a decade of sound fisheries management. The potential downside of this success, of course, is that it could impact future brood stock if too many of the big fish caught haven’t spawned yet.
I asked Harry Hornick, the project leader for the Department of Natural Resources’ Striped Bass Stock Assessment Program, about that. While the state’s spawning stock surveys are still ongoing in the upper Bay and the Potomac River and the results are therefore incomplete, he said that it appears that the numbers of spawning females, especially in the Upper Bay, were at or above normal levels. This tells us that the spawning stock remains healthy, which is good news.
Another point worth considering — though not an issue at present — is that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission currently caps the Chesapeake Bay’s (Virginia, Maryland, and Potomac River combined) take of migrant rockfish at 30,000 fish. When all is said and done, if the Bay fishermen’s take is greater than the cap, it could open a can of worms. Although we’ve never gone over this number, and most years it’s not even close, people from other coastal states who aren’t too keen on a Chesapeake spring trophy striped bass season could raise a ruckus. We’ll deal with that if and when needed. Until then, enjoy the bounty with an eye to conserving future stocks.
Fish Are Biting
Before the recent monsoon, trolling for rockfish was red hot. Some anglers were even chumming.
I thought I heard wrong when a friend — wishing to remain anonymous (guess that unfortunate ‘misunderstanding’ in Georgia still haunts him) — told me last week he had a blast night-fishing bloodworms for croakers in less than six feet of water. They caught about a dozen hardheads resembling nerf footballs, or one- to two-pounders.
In other parts of the Bay, croaker fishing from piers or the bank is out-producing boat fishing. Using bloodworms, shrimp and squid as bait at the Severn River Bridge, Matapeake Pier, Choptank River Pier and North Beach Pier has been a good method. Shore fishing has also been good for rockfish, as well.
