Blind Fishing Boat

Chesapeake Bay can only be described as incredibly large.  It’s home port for some of the United State’s largest navy vessels, and is the site of some of the earliest settlers to populate the eastern seaboard.  It’s also known for being a productive fishery. 

My family and I were fortunate to have had the opportunity to camp just inside the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, which is separated from the Atlantic Ocean with a series of islands, bridges and tunnels.  Cherry Stone Family Resort where we set up camp was simply amazing in terms of infrastructure and variety of recreational opportunities.

In addition to three separate small in-land ponds that were fed by the water from the Bay via a series of channels, the resort had four individual peers that stretched out into the Bay a good 500 feet each. 

At the end of each peer was a large deck that could easily accommodate a dozen fishers.  There were also lights on the peers to assist with night fishing. 

Louise from Cherry Stone’s Bait Shop was a seasoned fisher herself, and with some friendly advice and a tub of squid chunks I was all set to wet a line. 

I made up my mind to go for the larger species of fish and intentionally rigged up with larger hooks and good size chunks of Squid.  This turned out to be a mistake in hind-sight, for while the two young lads fishing along side me pulled in a series of smaller fish one after another, I had to content myself with resisting the urge to set the hook each time one of a variety of these smaller species snapped and tugged on my bait.  Honestly, the tormenting my Squid chunks took was endless.  Fortunately, Squid is pretty tough in its raw state and the little beggars weren’t able to tare it loose from my hooks.  The young lads next to me caught all manner of Croaker, Puffer, and even Pig fish which make an audible “oinking) sound when you give their bellies a squeeze.  Oh well, even if I didn’t manage to catch one of the big fish species that cruise these waters, there are other pleasures in life like a good camp fire and family close at hand.