Fish

Admiring a trout caught yesterday on the unofficial opening day of the season, I was struck by the resemblance to certain members of Maryland's Senate. They have their mouths open and nothing comes out. It was a beautiful morning to knock the rust off fishing skills, and thousands of anglers did so, from the Gunpowder River to Severn Run to Northwest Branch. Lots of folks stumbled out of bed in darkness to be streamside at the 5:30 a.m. start of the so-called "put-and-take" trout season.

The locations Piney Run: Go early in the morning or toward sunset if your target is largemouth bass, say Jim Gronaw and Loren Lustig at the park office. Use plastic worms and nightcrawlers. Channel cat action is fairly good, with fish up to 5 pounds. Chicken livers are best bait. Prettyboy Reservoir: The water level is down 8-10 feet, so launch from the old road, advises guide Duke Nohe. Water temperature is approaching 80 degrees and visibility is good to 25 feet. Bass are in 17-27 feet of water.

If you're one of the millions of Americans who are afraid to walk the streets because of crime, you will be pleased to learn that federal law-enforcement authorities have finally decided to take stern action against a shipment of frozen scallops.Really. According to an Associated Press story sent in by many alert readers, these scallops have been named by the U.S. attorney's office as the defendant in a lawsuit entitled "U.S.A. vs. 268 Cases, More or Less, of an Article of Food."The lawsuit charges that the scallops contain more water than federal regulations permit.

For decades, the fish were literally up against the wall.Through much of this century, dams designed to harness power and develop water reserves were constructed along Maryland's rivers. The dams did their work beautifully for the human population. But they also kept salt-water (or "anadromous") species such as striped bass, shad, herring and perch from doing what comes naturally -- swimming upstream to their fresh-water spawning grounds.Many species consequently dwindled in the Patapsco, the Patuxent and other rivers, to the dismay of environmentalists and commercial and recreational fishermen.

Summer squash and zucchini together paint a colorful dinner plate in this liglht and lean entree. However, you can use just one type of squash if you prefer.Vegetable-Topped Fillets1 small yellow summer squash1 small zucchini1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms1/4 cup water1/2 of a small onion, sliced and separated into rings1 clove garlic, minced1/8 teaspoon salt1 14 1/2 -ounce can tomatoes, cut up1 tablespoon cornstarch1/4 teaspoon dried basil, crushed1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushedDash bottled hot pepper sauce1 pound fresh or frozen skinless sole or flounder fillets1 cup chicken brothFresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

Perhaps not since the snail darter defeated the Tellico Dam project in Tennessee have a few little fish created such a stir.The cameras were clicking when officials from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources dipped nets in the left fork of the Jabez Branch near Gambrills last Thursday and scooped up 18 baby trout -- the first born in the stream in more than six years."

I thought I had tasted every kind of fish that swims in the Chesapeake Bay. Then in a Richmond restaurant called the Frog and the Redneck, I met a fish called cobia.It was grilled and topped with capers and tomatoes. It was magnificent.I figured it was one of those flying fish, a fish that the restaurant had flown in, at major expense, from some distant clime.But chef Jimmy Snead, the self-proclaimed "redneck" of his restaurant's name, said cobia was a local. By the way, the "Frog" in the restaurant name refers to Jean-Louis Palladin, the Washington, D.C., chef who is a friend and former mentor of Snead.

Each year since 1954, the Department of Natural Resources has performed a survey of juvenile fin fish in the state's tidal rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, and the first round of the survey this year has produced encouraging results.The young of the year index for rockfish after one round is 14.5, well above the long-term average of 9.5.The index is an average count of young of the year taken in each haul of a 100-foot net at 22 locations around the tidewater area.Yellow perch counted also indicated good spawning success.

TILGHMAN ISLAND -- The striped bass had spawned up the bay a ways and, while headed south to the ocean, noticed the good ship "Pleasant Merchant" pull alongside. Despite the earliness of the hour -- reveille had been a very angry knock on the door at 5:30 a.m. -- the folks aboard seemed wide awake and talking up a storm.The bass thought, "Gee, I think that's state comptroller Louis Goldstein. I think I'll join him. I voted for him in the last election." Even Democratic fish vote in this state, right, Ellen Sauerbrey?

EARLY AMERICANS PRIZED it above Atlantic salmon, and Capt. John Smith marveled at its taste and abundance in the Chesapeake Bay. But in recent years rockfish has been scarce if not absent along the East Coast.After a moratorium of five years, sport fishing resumes at 5 p.m. Friday. The recreational season will continue for five weeks, followed by the commercial fishing season. Rockfish, which on Friday will also be a legal buy in local markets, is prized for its firm texture, white flesh and mild flavor.