Diamond Jim Tagging; Part 2 � Tough Day Trolling

Type: Chesapeake
Region: Eastern
Location: Tilghman Island

I got to tag along with DNR staff and stakeholders along with several youngsters to fish out of Tilghman Island aboard Capt. John Motovidlak�s charterboat �Dawn Marie�. We were trolling tandem bucktail rigs and small umbrellas for striped bass to be tagged for the Diamond Jim portion of the Maryland Fishing Challenge. This was the second time we had targeted the rockfish and a potential Diamond Jim (now worth $20,000 if some lucky angler catches him in July). The goal was to tag a total of 230 fish today aboard about a dozen boats scattered up and down the Chesapeake Bay. It wasn�t looking too good for our boat to catch its goal even thought the huge piles of baitfish and abundant rockfish were marking often on the captain�s fish finder.

I was now mid-morning and Captain Moto was exasperated. Fish with lockjaw frustrated the captain and the mate as much if not more than the eagerly waiting youngsters and adults on board. We made up all the excuses for our limited success; it was too hot, the tide wasn�t running right, the water temperature was too high�

We had trolled some of the finest areas on the Bay from Fairhaven to Bloody Point and beyond where striped bass had been marked and caught consistently for weeks � both trolling and live-lining. The captain mentioned that the fish had been acting funny. One day they were on the western shore side of the channel and other days on the eastern shore side. Usually, once they were located, they bit pretty well; just not today, even though we hammered both sides of the channel.

Soon our luck changed just a little and we caught and tagged a couple of fat, healthy rockfish. Just a minor change to the umbrella rigs seemed to change the attitude of the fish when the captain replaced the center shad with a silver and green spoon. The kids really enjoyed reeling them in. Our youngsters on board were 6-year-old Joel Gard, Chase Webb, Mitchell Gordon and Daniel Allen. Each one had a chance to reel in several fish and they were really good sports about taking turns whether their fish was a �tagger�, too short, or oversize. It was just fun!

We pretty much knew that unless the bite changed dramatically we were in for a tough day. The conversation stayed light and our captain and the mate, Mike, did all they could do to put us on the fish. Someone mentioned the old adage, �A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.� Today, we�ll call it a �fair� day fishing and it still beat working!

Near the end of the day, a couple of rockfish, deemed as ocean migrators that would probably not hang around to participate in the Fishing Challenge and too big to tag (over 711 mm or 28-inches) were caught and ended up in the fish box to be divvied up for a tasty dinner. A definite bonus!

The price on Diamond Jim�s head goes up each month of the contest. For July, the bounty for catching Diamond Jim is $20,000. Each of the imposters (this year there will be close to 600 striped bass eligible to win a prize) is worth $500. All the details are on the DNR Fisheries website at http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/challenge/. Are you feeling lucky? Go!