It’s speculation on my part, but I suspect that the osprey perched high in a tree above the river was hoping for an assist from the two anglers down below. The bird was no freeloader, just an opportunist looking for an easy meal. Consider that this "fish hawk" had picked a spot directly above a … Continue reading An osprey awaits an easy meal
Afishionado: A ‘large minnow’ that builds and shares a spawning bed
It’s always the first example of an oxymoronic phrase — jumbo shrimp. Here’s a new one — large minnow. Yes, there is such a thing. It’s called a fallfish, a silvery species that swims in rivers of the U.S. Northeast and Canada. It’s a chub of the family Cyprinidae, and the largest minnow species native … Continue reading Afishionado: A ‘large minnow’ that builds and shares a spawning bed
On the Patapsco River: Three dams down, one to go
My Sunday column was an update of an earlier report on the migration of herring up the Patapsco River — to places such fish have been unable to swim since before 1906 — after the removal of the Union, Simkins and Bloede dams. Several Baltimoreans have written to me over the years, since I first … Continue reading On the Patapsco River: Three dams down, one to go
Baccala, bacalhau, bacaloa — it’s all cod to me
There’s really no practical reason for baccala anymore. They have this thing called “refrigeration” now and you can freeze fish for months. The original concept — drying out flanks of Atlantic cod and salting them to preserve them — goes back centuries and remains a thing only because there’s a market for the resulting Old … Continue reading Baccala, bacalhau, bacaloa — it’s all cod to me
Dan Rodricks 