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“Wind from the west, the fish bite best.” CHESTERTOWN — It remains a mystery who originally coined that observation about fishing the Chesa peake — the same for such observations as: “Wind from the north, the fishermen goes forth.” Or, Wind from the south blows the bait into the mouth.” Some old timers claim it should be the other way around: Blows the bait from the mouth. Then there’s Wind from east, the fish bite least.” Well, the day I joined Tom Stevenson of Chestertown, his family and friends to fish the 17th annual Quaker Neck Bluefish Tournament, there was plenty of wind, mostly from the west, but with a good bit of from the south mixed in. Even the Quaker Neck sector of the Chester River was a bit bumpy, and the farther to the south and the west Tom’s 40-foot Sea Hawk cruised the more bouncing was the ride. But, there were fish to be caught — and the fiberglass boat was heavy and rode well considering water conditions. One thing about the Chesapeake, forget about the old fishermen’s observations about the directions of the wind, no matter how hard it blows short of a gale, there’s always a protected nook or two one can wet a hook. And probably catch fish. Look at it this way; the surface might have whitecaps with the brine blown off the top of them in a chilly spray, but a foot or two below and all the way to the floor of the waters being fished it's about the same as it is any other day — though visibility could be a bit more murky, or maybe downright dirty. Regardless, fish have to eat. We were off to a late start, 8 a.m., but that’s the way it was planned seeing that the roster for the Fish Hawk was filled with women, among them Emily Dobranski who came all the way from San Francisco — and anyone who fishes with a bunch of the fair sex knows that crack of dawn departures are the exception. Ladies like to be dressed and guessed up to meet any fish they might catch — and among the crew were Lauren and Katie, Tom’s two daughters who had the day before flown in from Montana where they were summering at what might be called a dude ranch. They didn’t want to miss the Quaker Neck Bluefish Tournament, which is almost as old as they are, an affair initiated by Tom and his neighbor dentist Mike Pelczar back when rockfish populations were at low ebb. So they had decided to target bluefish as MSSA did in its early annual contests, though the latter switched to stripers following the end of the mora torium. We stayed with bluefish because that’s how we started, said Tom. We're a fun tournament, a family sort of thing, so why change? Other than with a strong wind from the west, the Chester River complex is a good option in any year whether for rockfish, white perch and blues. After all on the north side of its mouth there is popular Swan Point, on the south side there’s Love Point renowned for its rockfish chumming — and due west from the mouth there's the Dumping Grounds complex, good year ‘round for chumming and trolling. And what better place for bottom bouncing troll ing for late season rockfish chasers? This day, working the day was out of the question, even for the Fish Hawk, which Tom’s father had built many years ago. With its round stern that reminds one of Hooper Island craft, it was one of the first fiberglass tra ditional fishing boats built for the Chesapeake. Though much of the Chester can hold fish, primarily rockfish, perch, blues, catfish and sometimes hardheads, just inside its mouth there’s a gem of a fishing hole that I often wonder why many fishermen overlook — the waters around Eastern Neck Island. What a spot for trollers, yet other than fishermen of that area, few troll it. Doug Goodall of Chestertown didn’t troll it, nor was he interested in blues. His sights were set on the Rockfish Division of the contest— and he decided to drift eels at the drop-off edge of Eastern Neck where despite the bumpy water he reeled in a striper of 15.3 pounds, the biggest fish to be caught for the day. Keep that in mind if you're scouting around for a place to catch a fine striper in the waning days of summer when many of the chummed fish in the bay proper are throwbacks. We trolled a variety of baits off Eastern Neck Island, and our most productive offering was the small 7-inch umbrella rig made by June Bug Tackle of Baltimore, which has four spoon teasers with diamond green flash and a fifth spoon with a feather hook added to do the catching. It’s a fine bait for either blues or rockfish, offering the advantages of the um brella concept, but not the big and cumbersome disadvantages of the tra ditional umbrellas most fishermen use. Maybe, they ought to think small. In umbrellas, not fish. In rockfish, we got only one smallie. Tom’s wife Ellen was at the wheel much of the couple hours we trolled waters close to Eastern Neck, and the blues were small all under 2 pounds but bigger ones are headed our way from the lower bay; by next month there could be some of up to 5 pounds available. Moreover, the blues will stick around until mid to late October, maybe even until early November depending on the weather. Crabs are another suggestion for the Chester River. This summer the crus taceans have had their ups and downs though catches have certainly been better than last year. I met Capt. Clay Larrimore of Chestertown who caters primarily to sports crabbers who told me there’s a lull in catching at present, but he predicts things will bound back nicely soon as waters cool a bit. Unlike many commercial crabbers who occasionally carry sports parties, Clay allows his crabbers to keep all they catch. He charges $400 for a day, the parties work alongside him, and take home the bounty of the bay. He can be reached at 410-778-0616. Via cell phone it’s 410-739-5561. Mike Pelczar who left the docks at sunrise cashed in on the early bluefish bite, and his 12-year-old grandson Sam Pelczar won the tournament with a fish of 1.9 pounds. It was close among the 20 boats entered with Torr Howell of Chestertown second with a blue of 1.8 pounds and Katie Stevenson fin ished third with a 1.7-pounder. No big fish other than Goodall’s striper, but the Quaker Neck affair remains more of a social event, and shouldn't that be what fishing is all about? Yet, when it comes to serious fishing, I'd suggest that those of the upper bay give a thought to working waters just inside the Chester, es pecially the Eastern Neck Island sec tor. OUTDOORS By Bill Burton By Bill Burton — For The Capital From left, Lauren Stevenson, Tom Stevenson and Katie Stevenson with bluefish caught near the mouth of Eastern Bay.
Newspaper Details
Annapolis Sunday Capital
Annapolis, Maryland, US
Sun, Aug 29, 2004
Page 28
Full Page
Clipped by
Lauren M.
USA 27 Oct 2025
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