Anglers earn their stripes in Chesapeake Bay
Anglers earn their stripes in Chesapeake Bay
By Tyler Frantz
The 46-foot ‘Mary Lou Too’ knifed through the Chesapeake Bay’s turbid waters, while a burnt-orange sunrise imposed its fiery glow upon the eastern sky. Brothers Rich and Dave “Bam” Mogel carefully laid out plans at the captain’s helm for six sleepy-eyed anglers lingering in the spray. This being the first charter experience for most in our fishing party, success relied on the hands of the men steering the wheel and rigging the lines. 
The adventure began six months earlier, when my father purchased the trip at the PA Outdoor Writers Association’s “Youth Scholarship Auction” during the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg. Mary Lou Too Charters, of Chesapeake Beach, MD, had graciously donated a striped bass outing for six anglers, with the proceeds going directly to Pennsylvania youth programs. 
Dad being the highest bidder, we anxiously set to work making arrangements for our stay. Though early August is better known as peak wedding season, rather than trophy bass season along the Chesapeake, it fit our schedule, and the Calvert County tourism office helped us secure two rooms at the Holiday Inn Solomons, roughly 40 minutes from our launch dock in Chesapeake Beach.
On the eve of our charter, we took in the sights and savory flavors of Maryland while dining dockside at Stoney’s Kingfisher Seafood Bar and Grill just a short hop from our hotel. Select micro brews washed down crab cakes, fried calamari and oysters, fueling us with local faire for our big day on the water.
By 6 a.m. the following morning, we were shaking hands with the Mogel brothers, loading our food and drink cooler on the boat, and departing the marina to discover exactly what “Rockfish” or “Striper” fishing is all about.
As Rich covered vast expanses of the bay marking fish on the radar, glassing birds in the distance and seeking out schools of baitfish breaking the water’s surface, his younger brother Bam gave us the back-story on how the pair became co-captains of a fishing charter. 
“Our father, Russ, ran boats for almost forty-five years before passing away a little over a year ago,” Bam explained. “He loved it, and I guess he passed that love of the water onto us. When he died, he left the business to Rich and me, and we’re keeping it going just as he would’ve liked us to.” Rich gained 37 years of valuable mariner’s experience working for numerous boats in the area, serving as captain, mate and crewman, while Bam helped his father for over 30 years, learning the ins and outs of the family business.
“We take turns being captain and mate, which works pretty well for us,” Bam said. “Of course we’re brothers, so we occasionally disagree on some things, but it’s really nice to be able to fish together and pool our knowledge. I think it makes us a pretty strong team.”
The Moguls’ sincere passion for fishing and genuine commitment to putting their clients on fish was quite evident as they hustled around the deck and relentlessly repositioned the boat to put us on target. It took until 8:15 to boat our first fish, but once we got started, the action never ceased. Trolling at a speed of around two knots, Bam rigged planers and spoons to probe the water at a depth of thirteen to twenty feet, while Rich kept us circling the hotspots indicated by an influx of birds and baitfish all around us.
As quickly as Bam could get the lines in the water, the six of us jumped from one pulsing rod to another, reeling in fish after fish until an area shut down and we moved on to the next school. Rich motored us to four different locations, covering approximately fifty miles of water by 3 p.m. Our final destination near the mouth of the Choptank River yielded the most fish and filled up our cooler considerably, finishing the day with ten Striped Bass, fifteen Bluefish and one Spanish Mackerel on ice.
This being the post-spawn summer season with most trophy-sized rockfish temporarily out of the bay, the majority of our bass fell short of the 20-inch keeper mark, but we still boated over 150 throwbacks, which was incredibly fun regardless of their size. “The big ones will move back in this fall when the water cools down a bit,” Rich explained. “They come into the bay to feed before winter, so we’ll be fishing through December, when we catch some our biggest bass of the year.”
“We love what we do,” Bam added. “Our biggest thing is making sure our parties have a good time. As you saw today, it started out slow, but we never stopped working for you guys. That’s how Dad brought us up- as long as the last line is in the water, we are still fishing.”
Giving truth to that statement, I had the pleasure of bringing in the last line when an aggressive 18-incher slammed the spoon as it broke the water’s surface.
“Fishing to the end,” I thought with a smile as Rich cheered from the cabin and Bam tossed the fish back into the water. I’m pretty certain if Captain Russ were still around, he’d surely be smiling too.
Author’s Note: The best fishing of the year is yet to come, and Mary Lou Too Charters is still booking trips for the fall season. For a first-class charter experience, contact Dave “Bam” Mogel at 443-865-7937 or fishwithbam@gmail.com. Visit www.maryloutoocharters.com for more details.
0 Response to "Anglers earn their stripes in Chesapeake Bay"
Post a Comment