With Rockfish Season Opening, It's Time to Reel In a Big One

Maryland trophy rockfish season opens Saturday on the main stem of the Chesapeake and by all indications, it'll be a corker. Big rockfish are everywhere, from the Potomac in the District to the Bay Bridge off Annapolis to the Susquehanna Flats at Havre de Grace.

Action was hot in the deep water below Chesapeake Bay Bridge, where on Thursday I boated the biggest striper of my life while fishing with Annapolis Capt. Ed Darwin aboard the charter boat Becky D. We didn't measure the monster as we hurried to return it to the water to continue its journey to the spawning grounds, but Darwin, who's fished these waters half a century, guessed it was close to 50 inches and well over 40 pounds.

Action also was heating up on the Susquehanna Flats at the top of the bay, a key spawning area where it's all catch-and-release until the regular season opens next month. Big fish there were actively striking lures and flies in shallow water -- high sport.

The Potomac below Chain Bridge was alive with rockfish and shad as the spawning run there nears a peak. It's all catch-and release fishing for now. Rockfish season opens May 16 in D.C., and shad are protected year-round.

On the bay, Maryland anglers may keep one rockfish a day over 28 inches starting Saturday. My more conservative rule of thumb is, keep one in trophy season and let the rest go. Virginia's trophy Chesapeake season runs May 1 to June 15, when anglers can keep one rock a day over 32 inches.

The economic miseries mean many charter boat operators have open dates. "I've never seen booking so slow," said Darwin. Folks interested in a charter can call him at 410-974-0263; other options include Chesapeake Beach Rod 'n' Reel, 1-800-233-2080; Harrison's at Tilghman Island, 410-886-2121; Scheible's at Point Lookout, 301-872-5185; AAA Charters in Deale, 301-261-5656; or Bunky's at Solomons, 410-326-3241.

* * *

EAGLE UPDATE: Last fall I wrote about a pair of bald eagles building a nest in a tree 150 yards from our front door. No one knew what to expect of the newcomers; they buzzed around occasionally all winter, but most days they were nowhere to be found.

In February they started showing up regularly again and kept busy improving their massive dwelling of twigs and branches. Then as the weather warmed they became regular homebodies; you never went by when one wasn't sitting in the nest.

We learned why recently when Bonnie Persinger spotted a couple of fuzzy heads poking up. We've got eagle chicks, two at least, and the neighborhood is getting crowded. "It's like Grand Central Station down here some days with all the people coming down to see," Barbara Samorajczyk said.

Everyone hopes to be on hand sometime in the next few weeks when the nestlings attempt their first, shaky flights. They're too small for now; the most you ever see, even with binoculars, is a gray topknot or two. One parent always oversees the chicks while the other goes out to snag dinner.

To have a wild, working eagle's nest in the middle of a suburban neighborhood where house lots are less than half an acre is quite a coup. Thirty years ago bird enthusiasts could spend weeks fruitlessly looking for an active nest, but numbers of the national bird have rebounded from a low of about 400 nesting pairs in the 1960s to more than 10,000. Banning DDT, which severely damaged their reproductive success, was the key.