War Horse
Interview by: Catcherman

War Horse with a 20+ lb. Striper, and a big grin

This month we've asked Frank Strovel (a.k.a. War Horse) a few questions so you can get to know him better.

Catcherman: How did you get the name War Horse?
War Horse: The War Horse is the name of my boat. It is a 1969 Tiki, made on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It is 22' long and made of fiberglass and originally had a teak or mahogany console. The wood had been painted over some years ago. It has a Mercruiser Alpha 1 I/O and has been a great bay boat.

I have owned several Mahogany Runabouts over the years dating to the 50's. I sold them some years ago. I love older boats, although they take more upkeep sometimes.

The War Horse is a pure fishing boat. It has a small forward deck and, where the console is, it has two captain's chairs. The rest of the boat is open and has lots of room for fishing. It does have a bimini top for those hot sunny days.

I will eventually get another boat and it will be named War Horse. Now, I understand if you name another boat the same name you must go through a ritual or it is bad luck. I am not sure what the ritual is, but I will do it.

My plans for this spring is to get it up and running, then replace the console and motor box with mahogany and keep it nice and bright.

I have caught many fish from the War Horse: stripers, bluefish and trout, along with croakers, spot and perch. It has been a good old boat.

Catcherman: Since you have that great boat, can you share with everyone the bodies of water you take it into? Where do you live, and what are your feelings are about the area?
War Horse: I live in the community of Timonium, Maryland which is just north of Baltimore City. It is about 20 miles south of the Pennsylvania border. I have lived in this area for about 36 years. I was born and raised in Baltimore City, pronounced Bawlmer in Baltimorese. There are a lot of other words in Baltimorese.

Timonium is an area that is growing due to its location. It is bordered by Horse Country and fine old 18th century estates. Though urban sprawl has taken its toll in some areas, it is a great place to live.

Being close to interstate Route 83 and the Baltimore Beltway Route 695, I can be in downtown Baltimore in 20 minutes. I can also be in Pennsylvania in 20 minutes. In Baltimore, I go to the Baltimore Orioles and the Baltimore Ravens games and it doesn't take long to get to either one. I am about 15 minutes to where I own my business driving on the Beltway.

I live in a large single family home in the community called Mays Chapel Village. I moved into this home 25 years ago and my wife Sherry and I have lived in this community longer than anyone else. Mays Chapel has grown in leaps and bounds since we moved in here. Now, there are very expensive condos for retirees being built near by. Though deer and smaller animals are still in my back yard, it is not like it was 25 years ago. Open country and land still being use to grow vegetables, are now gone and replaced by dwellings.

The Pride of Baltimore II - the Pride is Baltimore's good will ambassador ship and travels all over the world

Close by are three reservoirs that supply water to Baltimore City: Liberty, Pretty Boy and Loch Raven. I fish mainly Loch Raven and have a boating permit for my 14 ft. aluminum boat. Loch Raven is about 15 minutes from my house and I do most of my fishing (Catching) there.

Liberty reservoir is home to very large land locked stripers. They do spawn in the lake and it is one of the few places where stripers do that. They catch them up to and over 40 lbs. Guess what their favorite food is. Rainbow trout! Surprise, surprise. Liberty also has walleyes, crappie, bass, and of course rainbow trout. You can fish from the bank, but a boat (electric motor only on all 3 reservoirs) is better.

Pretty Boy has great bass fishing for both large mouth and small mouth. Musky are in there also along with trout.

Loch Raven is my favorite of the three, not so much because it is so close, but because it has such a variety of fish. The other two reservoirs are about 25 minutes away. Loch Raven has bass, both large and small mouth, walleyes, hybrid stripers. Pickerel are everywhere as are crappie and perch (both white and yellow). The state record crappie came from Loch Raven and weighed in over 4 lbs. That's a large crappie. Trout are abundant as the river that supplies Loch Raven (The Gun Powder River) is stocked up closer to Pretty Boy. The trout, of course, come down river and into Loch Raven. The Gunpowder River connects the two reservoirs.

At sundown the trout are all over where the river meets the reservoir to get the hatches on the water. Now, my favorite fish to catch in Loch Raven is the great Northern Pike. They get big and we do catch them up to 20 lbs. I know the state record pike is in Loch Raven, because we have seen the big guys cruising around on top of the water and in coves. We use artificials to catch them such as large crank baits, large spoons and large Terminators. Notice the word large. I have not fished with live bait to catch them, though some of the other fishermen do. Loch Raven is the lake that Roland Martin started in as a fishing guide. He was always reported in our papers about the bass he would get.

I have fished the freshwater Mill Ponds of the eastern shore, and most of the creeks of the bay in Maryland since I was a young boy. Large mouth bass, crappie,and large pickerel were abundant and the fishing is still good in most places.

My family had a summer house on the waterfront on one of the creeks of the Chesapeake Bay built by my great grandfather. Here we would fish for bass and perch. The crabbing was great and always had a supply of the big blue channel crabs. Oyster beds were not far from us and the pickerel fishing was good. The grass beds covering the water in all the coves was where the fish and crabs would hide. Now, the grass isn't as abundant due to the amount of boats that are there. The stripers, locally called rock fish, would make their appearance known. Life was good growing up there every summer.

War Horse knows how to handle these toothy critters - with care

The Susquehanna River, now there is a fishery for you, is my favorite river to fish, from the Conowingo Dam down to the Chesapeake Bay. The Susquehanna is the great spawning grounds for all migratory fish in Maryland. In the spring the fish come up to the dam to spawn. Just about anything that is in Maryland is there. The shad run in the spring, when you will find me on the banks fishing for those baby Tarpon. The American Shad get to be up to 8 lbs. and and you can catch and release up to 100 or more a day. Catfish up to 25 lbs. are caught and I have heard of much larger ones being brought in. This river is where the stripers are caught that weigh in at over 40 lbs. I have been standing in the water with my waders as large schools of the big boys and girls have come in to get the herring schools. It would be nothing for them to almost knock you down in their attempt to get to the herring. My son in law, Jason, and I have watched this slaughter and these big fish don't care who is in their way. The stripers are protected and you cannot fish for them at all during the spawning period. They do have a catch and release on the flats (where the Susky meets the Bay) later on, though.

The small mouth fishing is really good and catching 10 or 20 pounders is common when they are on the bite. Walleyes are abundant and some nice ones can be caught. There are sturgeon in the river, but I have not seen any caught because of the size and I don't know of anyone fishing for them. They are big.

I fish the Chesapeake Bay from the War Horse starting in April for the big boys and through the summer for the schoolies. I kept the War Horse at a marina near the Chesapeake Bay bridges on the western shore. I say kept because the War Horse is due for a overhaul this spring. The fishing in that area is good and you don't have to run far to be into good fish.

We catch stripers, and those voracious blue fish, on top water lures as the schools would come up to attack the bait fish. Under diving seagulls you didn't know what you would catch. We would chase these schools up and down the bay. A lot of the times the bigger stripers would be down under the schools waiting. Getting a heavy lure down to them paid off with a bigger fish.

Chumming is another good way to catch fish. Anchoring the War Horse and starting a chum line you could catch any number of fish. If the tide is right the fish would stay there all day. It would not be unusual to catch weakfish (trout) croakers (know as hardheads) spot, bluefish (those pesky devils), white perch, sometimes mackerel and of course the stripers. There is a slot limit of two stripers you can keep. It works well and the fishery is good because of the limits.

I hope this isn't too long winded, but that is about it. Living here in Maryland has been good.

Catcherman: What kind of business do you run?
War Horse: For the last 30 years I have owned a furniture restoration business. I started it while I was in the Baltimore City Fire Department.

I have a full service shop. We do stripping, refinishing, cabinet making, and repairs of any kind. We don't do upholstery.

We do antiques up through modern furniture. I own a small commercial building and have other tenants.

My son in law, Jason, came to work for me over 12 years ago out of high school. He is now the manager and chief refinisher. This gives me some free time to go fishing. We are located about a 35 minute drive to the Susquehanna River where I fish in the early spring.

Sometimes we close the shop early and go fishing. We actually put a sign on the door "GONE FISHING."

This summer I had two of my friends that are woodworkers join me in my shop. I knew these guys for years. Though they maintain their own hours and shops we are all on one floor. The unique thing about this is, they are gourmet cooks. Fresh seafood is what we like and we eat it often, in season. At the shop we put in a full kitchen and the eating is good. I put up a large deck out back and the cookouts are a dream. We have friends and customers eat with us all the time. Now, I am on a diet.

My wife Sherry owned a full service bridal shop in the same building. She ran it for 12 years and retired about three years ago.

War Horse on the Susquehanna River in the early spring with a 6 lb. American White Shad

Catcherman: How often are you able to get out on the water, and what does your typical fishing day consist of, from start to finish? Do you have any superstitions?
War Horse: Some weeks in early spring, I fish for three or four days. In summer, one or two days - if the weather is very hot. Some weeks not at all when it is hot. I have to watch the heat. In the fall I get out one to three days a week. This is determined sometimes by how busy I am at work.

In the spring, when I am fishing from the banks of the Susquehanna for shad, I am usually on the water near sunup and fish 'til 11 or 12 o'clock. I will take time out and go get lunch in a restaurant, then go back to fishing until whatever time. If the fishing is good I will stay, if not I will call it a day.

If fishing from a boat I will have lunch with me and it can be an all day trip. Sometimes I leave work early and wet a line 'til dark. This will give me about four or five hours on the water.

When I fish in Canada it is usually all day, as we take a lunch with us. Then come in about 4 o'clock, rest up, eat supper, and then go back out fishing 'til dark or later. I fish in good or bad weather. Fishing in blue sky weather is very pleasant, but fishing is better with some wind and being overcast, even rain.

The only superstition I can think of, is getting the first fish in the boat to get the stink off it. Then the fish will bite better.

Catcherman: How did your last successful fishing venture go?
War Horse: My last successful fishing trip was in Canada. I have been going to Canada the last four years. This trip was the best. It was to be for two weeks and my buddy and I left after 12 days. Fishing was that good.

Prior to the last four years my trips to Canada were sparse.

I didn't do as much fishing in 2002 as I usually do. I fished early spring and my wife asked me to cool it, which I did, for a very good reason. My daughter was getting married in June and my wife and I were putting this all together and doing work on the house.

After the wedding, I stayed at work everyday as my right-hand man, who takes care of things when I am not there, was the groom. He's now my son-in-law.

Then later, just before I went fishing in August, I had a big change at work for the better. This all went down while I was away. When I got back, it took months, and all my time, getting up and running. Hence not much fishing. Now I have cabin fever.

Catcherman: Tell me a little bit about the places you've gone in Canada.
War Horse: I first went fishing in Canada in the early 60's. It was on Bob's Lake near Westport Ontario. I fished there through the early 70's.

War Horse with a pike at Lake O'Sullivan in Canada

Five years ago I went to North Eastern Ontario to Lake Lady Evelyn which is north of North Bay Ontario. I fished there for two years. Pike fishing was good, but the walleye and small mouth bass fishing was very good.

The last two years I fished in Quebec, about 225 miles north of Ottawa. It was on Lake O'Sullivan. The first year the pike fishing was very good, and walleye were good also, but I fished for Northerns primarily. I was there for a week.

This past summer was the 12 day trip back to Lake O'Sullivan. Now that I know the lake better I caught more and much bigger pike on the average. They were catch and release.

Catcherman: Do you have a favorite fishing story you normally get around to telling everyone?
War Horse: We all have favorites, here is mine. Fishing at night in Ocean City, Maryland. There is a long pier that you could fish from by paying $1.00. There were lights so you could see and it also lit up the water. I would go to the pier and talk to some of the regulars to see what was biting and what to use.

They all had some kind of lures or fishing rigs with live bait. I had neither. The tide had changed and the fish started to come close to the pier under the light to catch the minnows attracted by the light.

Everyone was catching fish but me. They were catching stripers, sea trout, and bluefish. It was fast and furious. So I caught a few small ones.

The next night at the change of tide, I was prepared with the lures they all were using. Funny thing about fishing: those lures were not working on the fish anymore. We were all standing around watching the fish breaking on the minnows and no one was catching.

Frustrated, I went into my tackle box and pulled out a Shad Dart. I made these Shad Darts for fishing for shad on the Susquehanna River. I had about 100 of them I made that year. The Shad Dart is made of metal with a bucktail and painted in various colors and combinations.

Well, to make a long story short, the fish wanted the dart. I caught fish on every cast and all species hit it. The fish were of good size up to 10 lbs.

The guys that were there just stood there and watched as I started pulling them in. Some of the guys approached me and wanted to know were I bought them. Of course, I told them I had made them. They wanted to buy some and said they would pay anything I wanted. Well, I never sold one in my life, as I made hundreds almost every year. This was always my winter pastime. I gave everyone darts and we all had a great time "catching." I made some great friends during the times I was there. The next few nights fishing there was a ball because everyone by then knew each other.

The other good story was the one I posted about my wife to be and I watching the sunset at the inlet. Then the fish started breaking in front of us. We grabbed the rods and caught the fish.

Son-in-law, Jason, with a nice bass at Loch Raven Reservoir

Catcherman: Is the rest of your family as interested in fishing as you are?
War Horse: Just my son-in-law. My wife and two daughters will go out on the boat, but fishing is not the primary focus. I have a grandson that goes once in a while. My son, from Tennessee, likes to go with me when he is in town.

Catcherman: What's more important, a lot of fish or a big fish?
War Horse: I would rather catch one nice fish rather than a bunch of smaller fish.

Catcherman: How do you decide where to fish?
War Horse: It is according to what time of the year it is. In late February or early March I would fish my local reservoir, Loch Raven. Northern Pike will have just spawned and are in the shallows. In April, the shad run is on in the Susquehanna River. The catch and release stripers are in the Chesapeake Bay and these are the big ones.

The bass, both large mouth and small mouth, become active in the reservoir and the Susky in March. During summer its the Chesapeake and the reservoir and the Susky.

August is when I go to Canada for pike and walleyes. Fall its back to Loch Raven for the pike and bass, or on the Chesapeake to cast for breaking stripers and blue fish.

Catcherman: What's your most used lure, and why?
War Horse: Probably spinners, I use Mepps for my in line and I like Terminators, Strike King, Hawg Callers, etc. as my other type of spinner.

Even though I use crank baits, soft plastics and almost any other type of lure, I catch more fish with the spinners over all. I like the feel of the spinners and can cover more water, faster. I guess it goes back to when I got my first spinning rod and reel, Mepps was the lure I used then.

I just want to than Frank for this great interview and his constant support. The world should have more War Horses in it. - Catcherman