Hackett's was Hot

Type: Chesapeake
Region: Southern
Location: Hackett�s Point

I thought he had gone mad when he cut the engine in 5 feet of water, the fish finder�s shallow alarm beeping continuously. �This is where I caught that big fish yesterday,� Captain Pharaoh exclaimed. A likely fisherman�s tall tale of course. Well, let�s give it a go, after all it�s his boat, and this is his hunting grounds. We are drifting slowly with the tide just off the south end of Hackett�s Point, we are only a stone�s throw from the shoreline. The sun is low in the sky, just about 3 inches above the tree line. We have about an hour of sunlight left and by the time we get back to the dock I�ll be admitting this had been the best 60 minutes of fishing ever.

There are 6 jigging rods on the boat with a variety of different lures attached. Capt. Pharaoh picks out rods dressed with 4.5 inch crank baits, I�m eyeing the lures suspiciously because I�ve never used one of these before. Putting my skepticism aside we begin to cast our lines out a few times from different spots on the boat. Then I cast from the rear starboard corner directly into the sunshine. There�s nothing strategic about this choice, I just thought the orange sunset looked beautiful in the sky and its reflection on the water stretched all the way across the from the shoreline of Greenbury Point to the corner of the boat. While I�m taking in the view, suddenly BAM! A bite! A heavy fish is at the end of my line. I reel in the line and guide the fish to the port side of the boat where an excited Capt. Pharaoh is waiting with net in hand. We can see the silver sides of the fish flash just below the surface of the water as the fish desperately maneuvers from side to side trying to loosen the hook and spit it free from its mouth. This fish is a big one and definitely in the 2-foot range. Just as the fish comes to the side of the boat, SNAP! The line broke, the fish is gone. Capt. Pharaoh drops the net and starts casting from the back-starboard corner of the boat thus the mayhem began. Before I could grab another rod, he has a fish on. I grab the net and get ready, but the fish gets free.

Quickly, I get a crank bait tied on my line and on my second cast I got my second fish and this time it is netted and brought onboard, 22 inches in the box. I get a third, but it spits the hook out and is free smirking back at us as it swims away. Capt. Pharaoh get his second but it�s a throwback. Then he hooks his third fish and it�s a big one. He is fighting it and every time it gets it close to the boat it pulls hard and swims away. Finally, the fish tires and obediently comes alongside the boat, we net a fat 26 incher. We get a fourth fish each but having reached are limit we throw them back.

It�s now 5:30 PM, and the sun has disappeared below the trees, the bite stops. We give it a try for another 15 minutes without success. Just like that the fish stop feeding or they just got wise to our game. Or perhaps the word got out amongst the lot of schooled fish, �don�t go for the crank bait.�