Weatherwise, things couldn't have been better, there wasn't much of a chill at daybreak and once the sun rose things got warm quickly - and with not much of a breeze. The Chesapeake was crowded; as Capt. Bruce Scheible said via cell phone "anything that can float is on the bay today." And, the best fishing came early. It was midday and Bruce was still trying for the sixth fish to fill his limit.

 

In the upper bay by midday, many boats were still trolling to get their bag of one fish of 28 inches or more per person. Fish that bit well Thursday and Friday for those testing waters for the opener weren't so obliging on the big day. But things weren't really bad - at least by radio and cell phone reports. It was fish, but not as many as expected.

Down off Deale, it was gangbusters for those trolling the early morning bite - and there were many at the right place at the right time, but by midday catching cooled off a bit in waters near buoy 83. It wasn't bang, bang bang in the afternoon, just a fish here 'n there. Pick, pick, pick.

At the sevemth annual Boatyard Bar and Grill Opening Day fishing tournament, Gregg Beehling of Severna Park caught a 46-inch striper to take first place in a field of more than 150 boats. He caught his fish south of Calvert Cliffs on a green umbrella. The boat took only two fish; the other was caught by Miguel Connelly.

Ten-year-old Brewer Butler won the junior division with a 37 and 7/8-incher. He caught it on a storm shad, north of Poplar Island, aboard the Proud Mary. Beehling also won the new division for top fish by a CCA member. The Boatyard Bar and Grill contest is strictly catch-and-release; winners are certified by photographs of the fish alongside official measuring tapes that are distributed beforehand.

Now that the big day is history there's much more catching and keeping to come - and following are some suggestions: Water temperatures in many spawning areas have already reached the mid-50s, much spawning has already occurred so one had better not procrastinate.

Fishing the still catch and release on the Susquehanna Flats has been very good in recent days, but won't last much longer. If shad are your choice, that run is getting quite good in the river, the same for white perch and catfish.

Shore siders at Matapeake and Sandy Point are taking some stripers, and among them are fish in the 30-inch range. Otherwise in the upper bay, Love Point should be good, also the mouth of the Chester, troll the channel edges. Bloody Point and just below there should be among the best - don't overlook Buoys 84 and 83. In the Brewerton Channel area, I've heard of several big fish.

One can find nice fish on channel edges all the way down the bay, places like the C&R Buoy, off the LNG plant, Breezy Point, Parkers Creek, Clay Banks, mouth of the Choptank and Nanticoke, off Hoopers Island, Buoys 72, 76 and 69, Cove Point, Cedar Point - and along the shores of Kent Island and Thomas Point. I wouldn't be surprised if a few surprises don't turn up at the channel edge of South River, Thomas Point and Hacketts Point.

Just before the season opened, Jim Jacobson celebrated his 50th birthday aboard Capt. Dale Kirkendall's charterboat Wild Goose out of Happy Harbor, Deale. Jim's wife arranged the trip as a gift for the big day - And in jest the skipper promised he'd try to catch a fish for every one of his 50 years.

Of course, he didn't accomplish that. But 34 fish of up to 44 inches came aboard to be released, the biggest of them was a 44-incher. Almost all of them were taken on white reports the skipper who trolled the general area of Buoy 83.

Baltimoreans Roger Burke, Hank Dize and Ricky O'Brien took and released stripers of more than 40 inches at Thomas Point where their boat hook 12 fish. Roger Hoy of Glen Burnie released two fish of more than 40 inches at the Bay Bridge while fishing large bucktails of white. From the Brewerton Channel area, Sid of Bowie Gleason took a 44-incher while trolling a tandem rig of white and white.

The trophy season continues through May 13, one fish a day, 28 inches or more, one a day. There will be no fishing May 14 and 15, then fishing resumes on the 16 in an expanded area with a creel limit of two, minimum size of 18 inches though only one can be of 28 inches or more. Through May 31. Then the summer/fall season opens and continues through Dec. 15 everywhere with the same creel limits. The Susquehanna Flats catch-and-release season continues through May 3.

TURKEY SEASON OPENS: Maryland's spring gobblers-only hunt opened Friday in perfect weather in all counties, and Brett Hamilton of Annapolis reported bagging a 22-pounder with 8-inch beard in Queen Anne's County. Hunting hours are from a half hour before legal sunrise to noon.

OUTDOORS CALENDAR

May 9: Friends of Anne Arundel Trails will hold the first session of a three part Maryland Safe Boating Course at Earleigh Heights Fire Department, Severna Park. Call 410-222-6244.

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Send outdoors news to Bill Burton, PO Box 430, Pasadena, MD 21123-0430; fax to 410-360-2427, or e-mail burtonoutdoors@yahoo.com. Please include your phone number in ALL communications.