Battling Big Linesiders Off Tilghman Island
Catching Early Season Stripers with a Plan

By Charlie Petrocci

Charlie Petrocci and Captain Buddy Harrison, Jr. of Tilghman Island with their early season striper.

Everyone gets excited for the advent of spring fishing. Whether it's catching flounder along the flats or bass in a pond. But nothing will get your blood pumping like hauling in big, healthy stripers from the depths of the Chesapeake Bay. There's something about seeing a big rockfish with its bright silver and black striped flanks highlighted by the backdrop of white deck that gets me wound up. It's almost enough to spoil you for the rest of the fishing season.

I recently had the opportunity to fish with an eclectic group of anglers out of Tilghman Island Maryland hosted by perhaps one of the most successful charter operations on the Bay - Harrisons Chesapeake House and Fishing Charters. This was the annual Pro-Am Tournament, now called the "Buddy Harrison Invitational," which teams up writers, friends and good customers to celebrate the rite of passage for the spring fishing season. With 65 other anglers spread among eleven charter boats we sailed out of this waterfront enclave in a long procession toward a rising sun.

Buddy Harrison Sr., with no confirmed age available, is the saga of this island fishing bastion. Something of a hybrid Donald Trump and Minister of Fun, Buddy is all outdoorsman. With skin like a sea turtle, he lords over a fleet of fifteen charter boats, a waterfront restaurant and a rambling hotel reminiscent of a by-gone era. Since the 1920's the Harrison family has successfully entertained countless anglers from across the country. But Buddy Sr. doesn't deserve all the current credit since his wife, son, family members and a dedicated staff of employees and captains all make it happen.

I was fortunate this day to fish with his son, Captain Buddy Harrison Jr. (current president of the Maryland Charter Boat Association) on his Bay built boat, the Brooks Hooks. At 48ft. long and a 16 ft. beam, this boat is one heck of a fishing platform. "All our boats are Bay built and they can stand up to the punishment of weather and daily use," Buddy Jr. said proudly.

THE BIG SPREAD
Early spring fishing is sometimes not for the faint of heart. Our day started cold and breezy with a northwest wind at 15-18 knots. After a hearty breakfast dockside, anglers poured onto the waiting boats. The smell of diesel fuel mixed with excitement. On board the Brooks Hooks were an assortment of anglers including Tom Everngam, Charlie Evans, Gary Jones, Bernie Marzack, fellow outdoor writer Keith Walters and Howard King, Maryland's DNR Director of Fisheries. With this cast of characters I felt luck was on our side.

With the Calvert Cliffs Nuke Plant on the horizon, our target area this day was between Parkers Creek and Kenwood Beach. We began the effort by watching mate C.J. Lowery drop two large beveled neon orange home-made planer boards overboard. (I assumed after their water borne life span, they could some day become part of a deer stand). Off of these rigs we would troll eight rods whose lines were tenaciously held on by mere rubber bands. Other rods lined the rails and stern for a total of fourteen weapons.

The rods held 80lb. Spider Wire line with 60 lb. Ande Line leaders. Rigs included tandem bucktails with shad bodies and umbrella rigs in white and chartreuse. Moving at about 2 knots, we drug the lures over various depths of 25- 56ft. deep.

With an array of rods, lines, planer boards and multi-colored lures, it looked like an aquatic circus attempting a ballet. But our ballet must have been convincing since it wasn't long before big, healthy rockfish pirouetted on the ends of our lines with consistency. "These are beautiful fish, very healthy. Seeing these fish reaffirms our commitment to continuing to rebuild these stocks and anglers should be proud that rockfish are making a progressive comeback," said Howard King of MDNR. Many of the rockfish we caught that day were post spawn fish, returning down the Bay.

The planners did their job as by late morning we had our limits for the boat. Since this was an early trophy season jaunt, only one fish over 28 inches is allowed per angler. Our biggest fish was 42 inches with the smallest keeper just above 31 inches. Several undersized fish were released to fight another day. Every boat in the "Harrison Invitational" did extremely well, with the biggest fish landed at just under 44 inches.

THE BUDDY PLAN
The Harrisons have been on Tilghman Island for generations. Their first boarding house there began in 1898 and by the 1920's they were offering fishing trips to intrepid travelers. The current Chesapeake House was started in the 1930's and anglers lined up for their room, board and fishing trip packages, which in those days cost a whopping $3 per person!

Today Capt Harrison Sr. continues that timeless tradition of catering to traveling anglers by offering his Buddy Plan which includes dinner, breakfast, lunch on board, hotel room and of course fishing trip for $220 per person. Besides the food and fishing, the attraction is also the convenience, since you only have to park once and everything is right there including a bar usually filled with characters. They can handle any size group from 6 to 60 since they have access to up to 20 charter boats. "We only use local captains for our boats and they know the Bay's waters 50 miles around Tilghman Island. Many of our customers are here every year and we are seeing second generations now," said Capt. Buddy Jr.

Besides the great rockfishing there are other seasonal species as well. By the time you read this, some boats will be in the thick of bottom fishing for black drum, croaker, spot, weakfish and bluefish. The fleet usually winds up the season as they started, trolling or chumming for stripers. Come winter, the Harrisons swap rods for guns and offer guided goose hunts with a similar package plan.

So if you have a hankering for some great Bay fishing this season, with all the hassles taken out of the equation, then round up some friends and head for Tilghman Island and become part of the plan, the Buddy Plan.