Saltwater Fishing

Boats serve a variety of purposes, from transportation to racing to merely providing a pleasure platform for an afternoon on the water.But as the 39th Chesapeake Bay Boat Show opens for a nine-day stay at the Baltimore Convention Center and Exhibition Hall, fishing clearly ranks as a primary boating pastime for thousands of Marylanders -- be they largemouth bass chasers in fresh water or rockfish/bluefish stalkers in the Chesapeake and along the Atlantic shore.Fish-minded...

Dave MallettDiscover life in rural America when Dave Mallett (pictured) presents a concert at 8: 30 p.m. tomorrow at Mays Chapel, 11911 Jenifer Road in Timonium. The singer/songwriter's most requested songs were inspired by his childhood on the family farm in Maine. In addition to his own 10 albums, Mallett's songs have been recorded by more than 150 singers worldwide, including Arlo Guthrie, Emmylou Harris and John Denver. John Flynn opens the concert. Tickets are $12 at the door. Call 410-922-5210.

IN THE culinary and the piscatorial worlds, the name of the game is presentation. Good anglers and good chefs know that without an enticing display, there won't be much of a feeding frenzy. Enrico Puglisi knows a thing or two about both. As a chef, he perfected seafood dishes that filled restaurant tables in his native Sicily and later on New York's Long Island. These days, he's helping anglers attract fish with some of the best saltwater patterns around. Puglisi has become a fixture at the College Park Fly Fishing Show, where he gathers crowds with his tying demonstrations.

You have probably noticed that the salt line finally is working well to the north and west in the Chesapeake Bay above Poplar Island, bringing with it a wider variety of fish -- spot, croaker, skates, a few sea trout and, people keep saying, scattered schools of 1- to 3-pound bluefish.You can smell and feel the salt, you can see skates and sea nettles near the surface, and bottom fishing will turn up small croaker and spot. But the bluefish? Fishing for them continues to be a hit-or-miss proposition.

Poe's birthday bash Help Edgar Allan Poe celebrate his 191st birthday, tomorrow through Sunday, Westminster Hall, Fayette and Greene streets. Edgar Allan Poe IV (pictured), the great-great-great grand-nephew of the author, takes center stage at the event, combining stories and poems in a show called "POEssessed." Also, the Bach Society presents "A Haunted Concert"; the Calvert High School Pipe Band (from Southern Maryland) will give a bagpipe tribute; and characters from Poe's stories will wander among guests before each show.

State officials want to implement a comprehensive $15 saltwater fishing license starting next year to bring Maryland into compliance with federal law and keep revenue here that otherwise would be funneled to Washington. The license proposal, which is expected to be introduced in General Assembly as early as Friday, would end free fishing for anglers on the Atlantic Ocean and on the coastal bays behind Ocean City. In addition, the bill would: increase the length of short-term licenses from five to seven days; establish a free registry for anglers fishing from pleasure boats, waterfront property owners and their immediate family fishing from their property and individuals fishing in a free fishing area; create reciprocal fees for non-resident tidal licenses; and authorize a commercial pier fishing license.

For some years now, saltwater fly fishing has been on the upswing in the Chesapeake and its tributaries, and next weekend presents a good opportunity for anglers to learn more about deceiving blues and stripers with offshore and surf flies.The event is the National-Capitol Fly Fishing Show, which opens at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Reckord Armory on the University of Maryland campus in College Park.The show will focus on the latest equipment and techniques for saltwater fly fishing as well as the more traditional trout and bass fishing.

For several years, Joe Evans and J. Hamilton Yacht Co. were, as Evans described it, at the high-tech end of the sailboat business, repairing and updating racing boats at Bert Jabin's Yacht Yard in the Eastport section of Annapolis.Evans and the J. Hamilton Yacht Co. are still in the sailing business, but Evans has a new passion, fly fishing, and a new version of an old boat in which to do so, the Simmons Sea Skiff.When Evans took up fly fishing a couple of years ago, he said he used a Chris Craft skiff.

Annual stream survey Wednesday : Mark Staley of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Gunpowder riverkeeper Theaux Le Gardeur will discuss the results of the DNR's annual stream survey and report on the state of the Gunpowder River. The 7:30p.m. meeting is presented by Maryland Trout Unlimited at Towson Presbyterian Church, 400 W. Chesapeake Ave. in Towson. Free and open to the public. Information: MDTU.COM. Snow tracks Saturday: Learn what animals might be telling us with their footprints.