That demonstrative groan you may have heard could have been from your neighbor who’s already tucked his or her boat away for a long winter’s nap. And if you see them sporting a bummed-out expression as well, that’s likely due to the fact that a stellar rockfish bite has been going off in area waters this past week, one not seen in many years.
I’m guessing here, but perhaps the big storm that raced up the coast earlier in the week had the stripers and bait on the move. And anglers with big smiles on their faces as well.
“It’s the best [rockfish] bite for 15 years near Annapolis — lots of very large rockfish mixed in with schools of feisty resident rockfish,” charter captain Tom Weaver wrote in a text message to me. “The half-dozen full-time guides are getting a Christmas bonus as anglers are scrambling to get a chance to catch/photo/release a ‘fish of a lifetime’ on a spinning rod. I’m now booked every day into the first week of January, and fingers crossed they could be here for a while.”
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and peaceful Holiday season, bent rods and screaming drags.
Holly Beach handover
It is one of the last stretches of former farmland that way back in the day made up much of Anne Arundel County before development and highways dissected the landscape.
To call Holly Beach Farm unique is an understatement. It encapsulates much of the habitats that make the Chesapeake Bay such a dynamic estuary: tidal wetlands and creeks, tillable soil, hardwoods and even a freshwater pond.
Another lifetime ago, I ran an education boat out of Meredith Creek. For two years on most weekdays when schools were in session, I glided the wooden deadrise past the 293-acre property located on the western shore south of the Bay Bridge on the Anne Arundel County side.
We’d set crab and eel pots on the Whitehall Bay side and dredge oysters (educational purposes only) on Hackett’s bar. I’ve thrown flies and lures against its shoreline more times than I can remember.
In 2002, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation brokered a deal with the family and other private-public entities to acquire the one-time dairy and horse farm, using nearly $8 million in mostly taxpayer funds. The idea was to conserve and restore the land while offering “limited environmental education” opportunities, according to the foundation’s release.
If you live around Annapolis, then you know that Holly Beach Farm and Greenbury Point have been topics of conversation. Local politicians have been extra vocal about making Holly Beach Farm public, some arguing it should be part of the Chesapeake National Recreation Area.
All of this is understandable given that, like most of the bay’s shoreline, Holly Beach Farm was privately owned — a fact the majority of Chesapeake anglers, boaters, paddlers and hunters of modest financial means know all too well.
That’s all about to change. This week, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation announced it is transferring ownership of the nearly 300 acres to Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources. In a statement, DNR secretary Josh Kurtz said the acquisition marked a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to benefit the public.
Added Paul Peditto, assistant secretary of land resources for DNR, the agency envisions “providing the public, in a scaled and prescriptive manner, a chance to experience Holly Beach in a way that teaches about and protects the unique habitats and natural communities on this remarkable peninsula.”
The agency says it will glean input from neighbors and others as it develops specific plans for the property’s use. To be clear, as state officials have underscored, there is zero chance Holly Beach will become a “kissing cousin” to Sandy Point State Park, the wildly popular park located just a short hop across Route 50 that offers multiple boat ramps and public beaches.
Calendar
Through Jan. 31: Third split of the regular duck season. Check DNR website for
specifics.
Through Jan.31: Second split of migratory Canada goose season. Two birds per day.
Check DNR for specifics.
Jan. 19-21: Third annual Chesapeake Bay Boat Show. Fishing and boating seminars, live
music, kids events. Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200 York Road, Timonium. Details at
thechesapeakebayboatshow.com.
Feb. 3: Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day. Visit DNR website for details.
Send Outdoors Calendar listings and photos to [email protected].
