Independence Day in the Land of Pleasant Living

I can think of few better ways to celebrate Independence Day than time on the Chesapeake honoring Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Crabs.  Accompanied by 1Lt Salt Life (son Joe) and his girlfriend Anna Windle, Captain DiPaola departed the dock with the sun already above the horizon at 0630.  Morning temperatures were breaking 80 as we turned the corner and entered Whitehall Bay.  Despite a light variable breeze, Captain DiPaola decided to set a course for more protected waters in the Severn River to avoid the slightest of chop in the water.

Captain DiPaola prepped the trot line the evening prior with a slight twist.  With the consensus that razor clams attract more crabs than chicken necks, half the line was baited with razor clams (2 - 4 to a bag) and half the line with chicken necks.

Back on the water, the crew worked together to carefully deploy the trot line in 10' of water just north of the Naval Academy bridge.  One of the keys to success when trot lining is to position the line with enough tension to ensure the line rolls across the "J" hook straight and true, with just enough slack that the crabs remain intent on their free meal hanging from snoods spaced 8' apart across 600' of line anchored on both ends.

Everyone took turns at the net.  Captain DiPaola demonstrated the scooping technique to avoid entangling net and line by keeping the wire net in the water column below the bait.  A smooth sweep of the net below the crab will incarcerate the crustacean as it releases the bait and dives away from Mikey D Fishing.  Though it has been a year since 1Lt Salt Life worked a trot line, he handled the task with ease.  Anna was a relative novice, but proved adept at scooping crabs in succession.  As the morning eased into midday, Mikey D Fishing was averaging 3 - 5 crabs per run.  A respectable rate of return that yielded 1/2 bushel of crabs.  The action was interrupted early in the morning when keeper sized stripers appeared at the surface like a marine version of the Rapture, ravenously attacking bay anchovies and small alewife.  It was one of the few times that I didn't have a rod in the boat.  Captain Felker would have seen to that.... Lesson Learned.

Ironically, the chicken necks proved 30 - 40% more productive than bags of razor clams.  Admittedly, the result was anecdotal so I intend to continue to soak both razor clams and chicken necks before coming to a definitive conclusion.

An Independence Day crab feast satisfied all in the late afternoon with fireworks by the Bay at dusk.  Family, friends, in the land of the free is not a bad way to celebrate our most important national holiday.

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing