Rock, Paper, Turtles

Type: Chesapeake
Region: Eastern
Location: Poplar Island

A few weeks ago, DNR�s terrapin czar, Scott Smith, put a call out for volunteer help in an important survey to assess terrapin and crab pot interaction around Poplar Island. At the time, I was carrying a pile of comp-time that I needed to deal with, and since Poplar is my new favorite Chesapeake Bay fishing spot, I threw my name on the list.

Yesterday morning before the lights came on, I fired up my skiff and skimmed across the Bay from Annapolis for the south end of Poplar where I knew there would be an acre or two of breaking stripers to entertain me until terrapin survey time commenced.

I turned the corner toward Tilghman as the rising sun painted the eastern shore of Coaches Island a deep orange to find no breaking fish. No fish at all. Two hours of drifting, casting, jigging, fly casting, lure changing, searching, running, and wishing turned up a total of one 12-inch rockfish for my best efforts. Over the western horizon I could just make out the fading full moon; and I swear I saw the etched face of the moon man laughing down on me.

I joined Smith from DNR�s Wildlife & Heritage group, Captain Rick Morin of the DNR Fisheries Service Fisheries Management Plan Program, and McDaniel College biology scholar Caitlin Ramsburg dockside at Lowes Wharf. We loaded up a cooler of menhaden and razor clam crab bait and commenced a slow voyage across the Poplar Island Narrows in a beastly open research craft powered by a 225-horse outboard engine marginally controlled by cable steering gear better suited to a 12-foot Jon-boat. We speculated that this helm arrangement is the public employment answer to an executive health club membership. I mean, who needs Pilates and personal trainers when you have the benefit of wrestling this animal all day.

While Captain Rick scuffled with the wheel and the wind, Smith and I pulled pots, counted crabs and watched for turtles. Ramsburg jotted down the data including trap location, water depth, type of bait, and whatever. The point of the research is to assess the frequency of trapped turtles in crab pots as a guide to how pots may or should not be used near terrapin rich areas.

On this day�s search, the score for terrapins essentially matched my striper fishing score� rockfish one; Terps zero.