Chilled to the bone and inside the heated confines of home, outdoors folks have had more than the usual share of time to reflect on past fishing and hunting seasons. For many, 2003 included some great times on the water and inside the tree lines and field edges. Hurricane Isabel did what it could to wreck havoc throughout much of the Chesapeake Bay Region and was an unwelcome visitor to the local season/year. The results brought many together in an attitude of helping neighbors and others, they might never have known. Those along certain reaches of the Chesapeake Bay and it’s tributaries, saw or experienced first hand the devastation and destruction brought by the worst regional hurricane since 1933. As bad as it was, initial forecasts were for this storm which at one time was tracked as a Category 5 hurricane, to be much worse. Did Isabel cause severe ongoing damage to estuary environments and the bay as did Hurricane Agnes in 1972? Some have already weighed in regarding long term storm damage which local waters will need time to recover from. Our observations saw many docks and structures damaged, while other locations were very fortunate. Sections of the Lower Charles and St. Marys County Potomac River shoreline along with Lewisetta and Colonial Beach on the Virginia side of the river received tremendous damage. Some observed there was hardly a dock left on long sections of the Rappahannock, down river from Tappahannock. During the fall-early winter hunting seasons, we saw many oak trees which had blown over during the winds of Isabel. Losing mast crop trees like this which are so important in providing food to wildlife was disturbing. Thinning out competing growth to release younger, undamaged oaks for growth in areas where mature trees were lost, will be among priorities of those involved in Forest Stewardship Programs that incorporate wildlife initiatives.

      These next two months can be ones of anxious and enjoyable preparation for upcoming fishing seasons and Spring gobbler turkey time. Whether it’s battling with big blue catfish on the Upper tidal Rappahannock River or getting ready for the spring striped bass (rockfish) seasons, there is lots of tackle, gear and boat equipment to get ready. Getting organized into fishing season time lines for Spring fishing seasons is the first step we take. In our case, fishing for big blue whiskerfish comes first, sometimes as early as the first week of March. Plastic leader wheels which can be purchased at many fishing tackle suppliers work well for our speciality rigs, such as those we use for early Spring catfish action. Our choice of rig is a large circle hook tied to about six feet of leader and the other end tied to a large barrel swivel. On the other end of the barrel swivel, we use a 4 to 6 ounce egg shaped sliding sinker. The other side of the sinker has a sturdy snap swivel, with only a few inches of line running through the center of the sinker. The strategy with this rig is to enable a wary early Spring catfish to be able to pick up the bait and not feel the weight of the sinker. These rigs work best for us when fished along the edge of shallow flats as the depth increases into the channel side of the river. We also use three-way swivel rigs for catfish, especially when fishing deeper waters. Leader length for the hook side remains long so the catfish can pick up the bait without feeling the sinker weight. Favored choice of baits for the early Spring catfish season include cut chunks of eel, mud shad or herring. These can be big fish stirring for some early season feeding prior to the late Spring spawning time. 30 to 40 pound test line is recommended for these fish, with some experienced catfish anglers working the spring season using 50 pound “shock leader”. If you have the patience to wait out a finicky blue catfish as they pick up the bait, “mouth it around” and sometimes drop it several times before you can successfully set the hook, stand by for action. Even without hooking up and getting a big fish to boat side, being out on the upper tidal Rappahannock is a great “icebreaker” for the upcoming Spring seasons
 

© 2004 Steve & Chelly Scala All Rights Reserved