Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.sports From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Potomac's waters still harbor rockfish Date: Mon, 2 Nov 92 15:45:13 EST Message-ID: \SE C;SPORTS;OUTDOORS \HD Potomac's waters still harbor rockfish \BY Gene Mueller \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES \DT PORT TOBACCO, Md. PORT TOBACCO, Md. - What happens when a professional fishing guide is challenged to show how he can find wild, fighting-mad striped bass in the Potomac River during a time when some people say the fish have already departed? Come along and see how Bob Denyer, who makes a living catching - and most often releasing - a variety of fish from a 20-foot bass boat, goes about disproving the armchair experts. It started a week ago when several people called our office to object to reports of ample supplies of Potomac River rockfish (also known as stripers or striped bass). Said one reader, "They've left. They're in the deep holes of the Chesapeake, maybe even in the Atlantic near the Carolinas." One of the dissatisfied callers said, "I had to switch and move to the lower Patuxent River so I could catch a couple of stripers. I certainly can't find any in the Potomac." Mind you, these people were talking about the river the state says has more rockfish in it than any other. So we phoned Denyer, who, until the charter fishing season closed Thursday evening because the 22,860-pound professional captains catch allotment for the Potomac had been reached, specialized in rockfish outings. Denyer now entertains clients who want to hook largemouth bass, catfish or crappies. "I have no idea why people are having a tough time finding rockfish," the usually ebullient Denyer said. "Meet me at Goose Bay Marina near my home in Port Tobacco and let's see if there's any truth to the rumors that the rockfish have really departed." To prove a point, Denyer ran his bass boat out of the Port Tobacco River, turned left as he entered the middle of the Potomac and steered his craft toward the Morgantown Bridge. Along the way he watched his depthfinder. He suddenly pulled back on the throttle when he spotted an underwater hump rising to within six feet of the surface. "Look at the fish," he said, pointing at various blips on the screen he said were stripers. "It's plain as day that's what they are," he added. Denyer shut off the outboard motor and slipped a bow-mounted, electric motor into the water. He picked up a baitcasting outfit, its reel loaded with 14-pound test line, and tied on a 4-inch blue/white Sassy Shad lure. The Sassy Shad looks like a baitfish with a flattened tail that shakes and vibrates as it is pulled through the water. The soft plastic lure was pierced onto a 1/2-ounce jig head and soon disappeared in the greenish water. Denyer removed some of the slack line, then carefully lifted and lowered the rod while he reeled in a few inches of the monofilament. "You have to keep tension on the line so you can feel a fish touching it," said Denyer. Then, without saying a word, suddenly stuck the hook to something. "Hey, it's a rockfish!" he shouted. Soon, Denyer "lipped" a 9- or 10-pound striper, grabbed it in the lower part of his mouth and gently pulled it from the water and into the boat where he carefully removed the hook then put the fish back into the river. "Yeah, they've left the Potomac," he said in a mocking voice. "I guess this one is a little late. And I suppose so is this one," he added when he rammed the jig hook to yet another rockfish. I was aghast. Two rockfish in less than 30 seconds. Later, I attempted several hooksettings as I felt something touching my plastic bait, but didn't feel the telltale resistance of a fish when I quickly lifted the rod. The tide ripped downstream, carrying the lures quickly over and around the underwater land rise. "You've got to 'feed' the lure to the fish," Denyer urged. "Right now, they're taking the baits very softly. Don't try to set the hook the moment you feel a tap. Let him have it. When you feel weight, that's when you stick him!" I got the hang of it pretty fast. By the time the tide completely ebbed, the two of us had hooked and released 26 rockfish, with Denyer catching the lion's share, of course. "Don't believe it when you hear the rockfish have left the Potomac," said the fishing guide. "They probably never do." Meanwhile, even if the charter boaters are done on the river, the river's recreational anglers can go after one rockfish per day starting Thursday until Nov. 15. The charter captains and recreational fishermen on all other Maryland tidal waters except the Potomac have still Nov. 6-8, Nov. 13-15, and Nov. 20-22. In Virginia tidal waters, recreational or charter fishermen have Nov. 26-Dec. 12 (Two fish of 18 to 36 inches per day, no permits required). This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM