When Birds Flock, It's Time to Fish

When cormorants return to Washington, the fish are here. "They're not chasing algae," Mike Bailey said when he called to report the coming of the cormorants more than a week ago.

Bailey is one of the perennial top rods at Fletcher's Boathouse, just below Chain Bridge on the Potomac, where this month the water teems with herring, shad, perch and striped bass forging upriver to spawn. Jet black cormorants by the thousands soar in to gorge themselves alongside great blue herons and ospreys. It's quite a show.

The mid-Atlantic region boasts good places to fish for everything from tuna to brook trout, but no place is more appealing in April than the District, where cherry trees, dogwoods, azaleas, jonquils and the like bloom along the Potomac's banks and fish crowd the water.

Last year, Bailey and Larry Coburn caught a 55-pound striper one day in a Fletcher's rental rowboat, along with several 20- and 30-pounders. When the shad run, which just started, hits a peak, it's nothing to catch 15 or 20 an hour, even on a fly rod. White perch, once abundant beyond belief, are not as plentiful lately but some days you still can fill a stringer.

Hickory shad and white shad are protected; you can't keep any. That doesn't stop anglers from enjoying the sport of catching and releasing a species dubbed "poor man's marlin" for its jumping and fighting ability. Stripers, locally called rockfish, are protected until May 16, when you can keep two a day over 18 inches. The season is always open for herring and perch.

The spring abundance is only part of the appeal at Fletcher's, which is beautiful beyond measure as long as floods don't push the river out of its banks. The cool, dry spring gave the staff time to spruce up and launch all 34 wooden rental rowboats, which still go for $20 a day.

On a soft, sunny spring day, there's nothing like rowing out into the current, dropping anchor and casting for shad or bottom-fishing for perch or rockfish in the heart of the nation's capital. Steep, forested banks on either side muffle traffic sounds, birds are everywhere scarfing silvery fish and the river rolls on.

If it's perch you're after, preferred tackle is a simple, double-hook bottom-fishing rig weighted with a one- or two-ounce lead sinker. Small bits of bloodworm are the best bait, but night crawlers and minnows work. Fletcher's usually has all three. Find a deep hole at the edge of the main current, anchor up, drop the rig and wait for a tap. It's a good way to introduce kids to fishing.

Shad also favor current-edges. Anchor, cast brightly colored shad darts downstream, then retrieve slowly and wait for a strike. Fly-rodders do the same with shad flies. The best colors are pink and green. Both perch and shad can be caught from shore, as well.

Rockfish, which should arrive in numbers any day, are best targeted with fresh-cut herring baits fished at the bottom of deep holes. Use strong tackle, as fish of 30 pounds and more are common. It's permissible to catch and release stripers before the season opens May 16, and the big ones are most abundant early. They'll move back to the Chesapeake after spawning.

The best of the season is still to come. Bailey, Coburn, Jeff Nicklason and I fished last week on a cool, breezy April Fools' Day and caught enough perch and shad to keep it interesting. A nice first foray, but nothing compared to when it's right.

You need a D.C. fishing license, $10 for residents and $13 for non-residents (under age 16 none required). Fletcher's has licenses, bait and tackle and more than a century in the trade. Call 202-244-0461 or check http://www.fletcherscove.com.

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CASTING CALL: This popular, annual Potomac event will be April 26-27 at Fletcher's, 4940 Canal Rd. NW. Family & Youth Casting Call runs 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday the 26th, when a section of the C&O Canal is cordoned off and stocked with sunfish for kids to catch. Volunteers are on hand to teach youngsters and adults fishing basics and river stewardship. It's free.

The adult Jim Range National Casting Call, renamed in honor of Range, the influential environmental lobbyist who died Jan. 20 of kidney cancer, is from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday the 27th. The event attracts government pooh-bahs and their minions, who get to fish for awhile and pound each other's backs for a job well done. An array of demonstrations and exhibits is worth a look if you're passing by, but it's not a public event.

LET 'EM GO: I'm no fan of big-money fishing tournaments, which put undue pressure on a resource for somebody's personal gain, but make an exception for the Boatyard Bar & Grill's opening day rockfish tournament. It promotes catch-and-release by awarding prizes for photos of the day's biggest catch measured against an official ruler, and donates proceeds to environmental causes. Opening day in Maryland is April 18; entry fee is $150 per boat, deadline is April 15. Check http://www.boatyardbarandgrill.com for details.

LOCK 'EM UP: Federal officials nailed seven watermen and the owners of a famous Washington seafood store in a sting that involved some 600,000 pounds of illegal rockfish worth millions of dollars. All have reached plea agreements and sentencing is upcoming later this month. The watermen and Robert Moore Sr. and Robert Moore Jr., who own Cannon's Seafood in Georgetown, face up to five-year prison sentences and fines up to $250,000. Here's hoping the punishment matches the crimes. Too often, wildlife violators get away with a slap on the wrist.