Chris Dollar on the outdoors: Ribbonfish and Houndfish? They’re becoming more popular in the Chesapeake Bay. | COMMENTARY

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Another lifetime ago, I was guiding three anglers three generations apart in my 20-foot center console.

We were prowling the Poquoson Flats, a vast seagrass meadow at the mouth of Virginia’s York River. I cut the engine and let the boat drift silently on an ebbing tide. The verdant plants swayed in a hypnotic and mysterious wave driven by the current.

The crew marveled at a pod of dolphins that frolicked along the deeper edge of the flats. My enthusiasm was tempered, however, knowing that any game fish around would likely lay low to avoid becoming a morning snack.

The mammals eventually moved on to deeper water. Our quarry that day was houndfish, which at that time were an obsession for me, and for that I have Dean Bieri — my occasional angling and beer-drinking conspirator — to thank or blame.

Dean and other locals call them “Poquoson marlin” due to the fish’s propensity for launching their rocket-like bodies skyward — not unlike the billfish found off the Atlantic Coast. He shared that they stumbled upon these elongated fish while crossing the flats after cobia fishing in the mid-1980s.

Known for their aggressive strikes and grey-hounding runs, they also have a colorful, almost reptilian appearance. Back then, I’d hustle down between mid-May and early July to fish for hounds; they’d rarely disappoint as they recklessly chased flashy lures. They seem to hang out in packs and take turns attacking baitfish and fake baitfish lures.

Capable of closing ground with lightning speed, once in range they use their narrow beaks to thrash at the lure, often sending it careening out of the water.

It isn’t easy to hook them. In fact, it can be downright agonizing, especially for those novices or anglers’ who overestimate their skill. The usual scenario went something like this — dozens of strikes with about a 20% hook-up rate.

Landing one is typically a fraction of that. The data set for blow-ups and laughs is closer to 100%, however. Patience pays off in bringing one of these critters alongside to be quickly admired and carefully released.

Before you start casting, approach the flats very slowly, and look for swirls among the bare patches in the grass beds. These voracious aquatic wolves prefer spoons or top-water plugs. I tweaked mine to have plenty of flash tied in at the stern end.

Take your pick: Hopkins Shorties, Specialized Baits Li’l Bunkers, and Rain Minnow from G-Eye Jigs. It pays to rig several rods with different lures until you’re dialed into what the fish prefer, and that changes daily if not hourly. I also like to chuck slow-sinking and topwater plugs, such as the Smack-it Jrs., Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow, the Super Spook, Jr., or Rapala’s Saltwater X-Rap.

My favorite technique is the “pop n’ swap.” You know this one: Angler No. 1 casts a hook-less top-water plug as far as she can and rips it back in as fast as she can. Seconds later, Angler No. 2 casts out a metal spoon and reels it back at a fast clip, hot on the trail of the plug. Erratic pauses are the key to infuriating the hound, which initially might hit the offering like a Mack truck, but whiff on the pointy stuff.

It is usually the third or fourth strike from that fish, or one of its pack mates, that results in a solid hookup. Any bit of slack in the line or improperly set drag will guarantee a missed opportunity, however.

Houndfish are about as docile as fifth graders hopped up on a pound of Skittles, with the added calamity of very sharp teeth. Once a rambunctious houndfish tried to exact revenge by rocketing out of the water, heading directly toward me with teeth bared. You bet your bottom dollar I flinched!

Rows of razor-like cutters tearing toward your face will have that effect. I strongly advise against pulling a houndfish over the gunwales without gloves and a fish gripper. Despite their slender bodies, they’re also sneaky-strong.

Shallow, rubber coats nets are best, though in my experience the combination of a lipper tool and extra-long, needle-nose pliers is an effective way to extract the hook and release the fish. Barb-less hooks are much preferred, too.

Similarly, lower Chesapeake Bay anglers have had a ball hooking into ribbonfish (aka Atlantic cutlassfish). I have not yet targeted these seasonal visitors, which are also configured like a missile with a crocodilian maw. But I plan to.

For the past several years, they’ve shown up in good numbers off Virginia Beach, and swim into the Bay taking up station at places like Lynnhaven Inlet. They’ll hit similar plugs and spoons, albeit larger, either trolled or cast. Ribbonfish are good table fare, from what I’ve been told. Unlike houndfish, which I wouldn’t eat on a dare, though I understand some southern anglers pickle them.

Hard pass.

It’s good to know that, given a dip in numbers of more popular game fish like bluefish and stripers, we have other angling options. Just mind your fingers and toes.

Calendar

Sept. 7: Free State Fly Fishers meeting. Capt. Tom Hughes on fly fishing Chesapeake. Davidsonville Family Recreation Center (7-9 p.m.), 3789 Queen Anne Bridge Road, Davidsonville. Contact Ryan Harvey at [email protected].

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Sept. 13: CCA Maryland's Central Region Chapter’s “Celebration of Conservation.” 1623 Brewing Company, Eldersburg, 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Tickets at centralregion22.givesmart.com.

Sept. 17: Free State Fly Fishers monthly tying session with Tim Ruthemeyer from 10 a.m.-Noon. Davidsonville Family Recreation Center, 3789 Queen Anne Bridge Road, Davidsonville. Contact Ryan Harvey at [email protected].

Sept. 17: Pasadena Sportfishing Group’s “Kids Fishing Derby.” 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. at Fort Smallwood Park.

Sept. 17: CCA Maryland’s ‘Red Trout Tournament.’ Southern Maryland. Details at ccamd.org/fishing-tournaments.

Sept. 22: “Past, Present, and Future of Striped Bass: A Chesapeake Perspective.” Join Bay experts for the third installment of the three-part series discussing the future of this iconic game fish. Register fishtalkmag.com/chesapeake-perspective.

Sept. 23-25: 4th annual Tangier Classic, Crisfield MD. Details at tangierclassic.com.

Send calendar listings, news and photos to [email protected].

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