This thread could just as easily be titled “why I’m kind of a sucky shot”, as I haven’t been to the range in about 5 or 6 weeks due to spring trophy rock season. We moved the boat down to Chesapeake Beach the day before opening day back on April 17th, and rented a slip for two weeks. We got six trips in during that time, and we had to work for those fish. It was a popular opinion that this was a tough year, but fish could be had if one stuck it out. Here’s how it went:
April 17th, the day before opening day, yielded a fat and scrappy 37 incher that was put back in the drink after a couple quick pictures:
We were skunked on April 19th, but we could not have asked for a better day on the bay:
On April 24th, the weather stared out nice, but we ended up fighting 3 and 4 foot waves
as we returned to Chesapeake Beach. The trip yielded one undersized 25 incher, which is swimming around the bay as we speak:
I took a friend from work out on April 27th, and put him on a feisty 30 incher before all the lines were out. We did not get a single bite the rest of the day, but this was my first successful harvest of meat.
We each took a fillet home that day:
The pinnacle of the season came on April 30th when I put my 87 year old Pop on a 41½ inch 27 pound behemoth off of North Beach. Later, I put my brother on a nice 38 incher off of Breezy Point. It was like old times in the 1970’s that day with my Pop and brother.
My wife joined in on the fun that day as well. The weather ended up really nice with the bay as flat as glass. The posting of my story even made the Tidalfish fishing report for early May:
http://www.tidalfish.com/Maryland_Fishing_Reports/p2_articleid/599
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/che...my-87-year-old-pop-his-lifetime-rockfish.html
I went out of the Severn on May 2nd with another buddy from work, and the day yielded a 38 incher.
We wound down the season on May 8th and avoided the skunk with about an hour to spare with this very lucky (and undersized ) 25 incher; a week later and this fish would have been dinner:
We had fun posing this picture, as if we had just landed bubba.
It was a lot of work, a heck of a lot of fun, and me and a few others now have freezers full of meat. We just had some killer rockfish faux crab cakes last night which were to die for. I’ve done a lot of 4 am reviles in the past three weeks between work and mid week fishing, I’ve been running on adrenalin and caffeine
, and I’m now ready to relax a little. I think its time to visit the range. 
April 17th, the day before opening day, yielded a fat and scrappy 37 incher that was put back in the drink after a couple quick pictures:
We were skunked on April 19th, but we could not have asked for a better day on the bay:
On April 24th, the weather stared out nice, but we ended up fighting 3 and 4 foot waves
as we returned to Chesapeake Beach. The trip yielded one undersized 25 incher, which is swimming around the bay as we speak:
I took a friend from work out on April 27th, and put him on a feisty 30 incher before all the lines were out. We did not get a single bite the rest of the day, but this was my first successful harvest of meat.
We each took a fillet home that day:The pinnacle of the season came on April 30th when I put my 87 year old Pop on a 41½ inch 27 pound behemoth off of North Beach. Later, I put my brother on a nice 38 incher off of Breezy Point. It was like old times in the 1970’s that day with my Pop and brother.
My wife joined in on the fun that day as well. The weather ended up really nice with the bay as flat as glass. The posting of my story even made the Tidalfish fishing report for early May:http://www.tidalfish.com/Maryland_Fishing_Reports/p2_articleid/599
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/che...my-87-year-old-pop-his-lifetime-rockfish.html
I went out of the Severn on May 2nd with another buddy from work, and the day yielded a 38 incher.
We wound down the season on May 8th and avoided the skunk with about an hour to spare with this very lucky (and undersized ) 25 incher; a week later and this fish would have been dinner:
We had fun posing this picture, as if we had just landed bubba.
It was a lot of work, a heck of a lot of fun, and me and a few others now have freezers full of meat. We just had some killer rockfish faux crab cakes last night which were to die for. I’ve done a lot of 4 am reviles in the past three weeks between work and mid week fishing, I’ve been running on adrenalin and caffeine
, and I’m now ready to relax a little. I think its time to visit the range. 
