NEWS
R.I.P.
Captain Edwin Martin Darwin
(1931 – 2024)
(From the
Hardesty Funeral Home) -- From his unpublished memoir:
“In order to be a fishing guide, you must be able to think like a
fish, keep a good sense of humor, and be somewhat sane. “
Edwin Martin Darwin was born in Baltimore in 1931. When he was a
young boy, a neighbor had a bait business and took Ed along to catch
grass shrimp. He was hooked by the sport of fishing and never looked
back.
He served in the 3rd Armored Division of the US Army, with basic
training in Fort Knox, Kentucky then Port Clinton, Ohio.
He
worked for Catalyst Research in Baltimore and earned his college
degree at night from the University of Maryland, then became a
teacher at Southern High School in 1957.
During the school
year, he taught electronics and mechanical drawing during the week
and ran fishing parties on weekends from Mill Creek in Annapolis on
his boat Becky-D; he fished six days a week in summer.
He
taught at Southern for over 30 years, then retired from teaching and
began fishing full time. He also began carving wood, something he
always wanted to try. At a friend’s suggestion, he called Charles
Bryan, a retired machinist from Middle River who was one of the
Upper Bay’s premier waterfowl decoy carvers. Bryan was also an
angler, and he became a regular aboard Becky-D. Darwin learned to
carve and paint decorative decoys, including waterfowl and local
birds, along with gamefish chasing prey.
He and his son
enjoyed winter fishing vacations to the Bahamas, Florida, Mexico and
Belize.
He retired from fishing due to illness in 2021, at
which time he turned the Becky-D over to his first mate, Capt. Jim
Stickney.
He fished with local notables including William
Donald Schaffer, Barbara Mikulski, Marvin Mandel, Bill Burton and
Angus Phillips.
A Chesapeake Bay fishing lump is named after
him— “Ed’s Lump.”
He developed the famed Schoolteacher
Bucktail Lure.
Survived by wife Becky Kekenes Darwin, son Dr.
Peter Darwin (wife Lisa), daughter Melissa Darwin, and
granddaughters Dr. Sophia Darwin and Georgia Darwin.
In lieu
of flowers, please send donations to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Captain Ed was an Area Director in the Maryland Charterboat
Association and an officer of the Upper Bay Charterboat Association
during the 1970s and '80s.
Fair Winds and Following Seas
Captain Ed...
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