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Funding for Large-Scale Restoration, Marylanders Grow Oysters and State Sanctuaries The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been approved to invest more than $3 million in oyster recovery and restoration activities in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, following unanimous support from the Board of Public Works. The board, consisting of Governor Larry Hogan, Comptroller Peter Read the Rest…
This will be our last fishing report for 2018, but we will return in mid-January with a report on winter fishing activities and some news about upcoming outdoor shows. The 2018 striped bass season closes Dec. 15. The season ends a few days earlier than last year, as part of the conservation-minded regulations that included reducing the Read the Rest…
We are approaching the end of the 2018 striped bass season, which closes Dec. 15. The season ends a few days earlier than last year, as part of the conservation-minded regulations that included reducing the minimum length for Chesapeake Bay rockfish to 19 inches. Of course there are other species that will still be in season for Read the Rest…
Cold winds are blowing and minds are beginning to drift from fishing, but there will still be days where the outdoors call us away from the holiday rush. For those times, there are plenty of good fishing opportunities to be found from the streams and lakes of western Maryland to the offshore waters of the Read the Rest…
As the month of November approaches its end, we have a lot to be thankful for here in Maryland. Outdoor opportunities abound from the mountain streams of western Maryland to the Chesapeake Bay and coastal beaches. Here’s hoping you find your own place in nature for reflection during this special time of the year.
As cold weather prevails, water temperatures are dropping, which is limiting some fishing opportunities but is expanding others. Many of our resident fisheries are in transition — striped bass fishing is still good but slowing down, white perch are active but now are schooled up in deeper water. Trout fishing is very good as is Read the Rest…
Frosty mornings are now common, the Canada geese are arriving and the fall foliage is in various stages of color change throughout the state. Old man winter is beckoning off in the distance and soon will be knocking on our door. Colder weather will be here soon, so be sure to enjoy the outdoors during Read the Rest…
Happy Halloween! A Nor’easter last Saturday kept many anglers off the bay. However, some boaters were able to find a lee area on the Eastern Shore, or they fished Friday or Sunday. These die-hard anglers were rewarded with good striped bass fishing, with most folks now jigging or trolling with artificial lures. On the freshwater Read the Rest…
We are now deep into a fall fishing pattern, with classic cold fronts and gusty northerly winds. This past weekend, anglers who were able to get out before or after the winds found good striped bass fishing over a wide area of the Chesapeake Bay, from Love Point down to the Calvert Cliffs gas docks Read the Rest…
Average Year for Chesapeake Bay Dissolved Oxygen Dissolved oxygen conditions for the Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay for the summer of 2018 were average compared to the long-term average from 1985-2017, reports the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Low dissolved oxygen volume averaged 0.97 cubic miles from June through September. Crabs, fish, oysters and other Read the Rest…
The War of 1812 Returns in Dramatic Fashion Visitors are invited to Point Lookout State Park the weekend of Oct. 27-28 to witness a living history reenactment of American forces during the War of 1812. Volunteers in period costumes and uniforms will interpret the life of soldiers and other Marylanders during the War of 1812, along with Read the Rest…
This week offers some exciting fishing opportunities for Maryland anglers – the weather is just about right, the changing color of the leaves paints a beautiful backdrop to outdoor activities and there are plenty of eager fish to catch. For the next few weeks, state hatcheries are stocking most trout management waters throughout Maryland. The Read the Rest…
Positive Outlook for Iconic Fish in 65th Annual Index The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced results of its annual young-of-year striped bass survey in Chesapeake Bay, which documented healthy reproduction of the state fish. The 2018 young-of-year index is 14.8, higher than the 65-year average of 11.8. Known locally as rockfish, striped bass spawn Read the Rest…
Customer Service Enhancements to Provide Early Notification of Proposed Leases The Maryland Department of Natural Resources today launched a new set of online tools to help educate and engage the public on proposed aquaculture lease applications. The tools, which include a dynamic database and email notification system, will provide information on pending and proposed commercial shellfish Read the Rest…
Welcome to the Fall Foliage and Festival Report for the weekend of Oct. 6 and 7, brought to you by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. What a difference a week makes! In Western Maryland, autumn began with a slow start; however, the most recent field reports are encouraging. Garrett County Forester Melissa Nash says Read the Rest…
Scientific Collaborative Sees Best Bay Progress in Decades Maryland’s Coastal Bays have received their highest grade ever reported according to the new 2017 Coastal Bays Report Card from the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, a snapshot assessment on the health and resiliency of the coastal bays surrounding Ocean City and Assateague Island. The “B-” grade reflects Read the Rest…
Positive Grades for Maryland’s Coastal Bays The Maryland Coastal Bays Program recently unveiled the 2017 Coastal Bays Report Card, a snapshot assessment on the health and resiliency of the coastal bays surrounding Ocean City and Assateague Island. The bays’ collective health received a “B-,” its highest grade ever reported! Nutrient reductions have shown a positive Read the Rest…
Welcome to the Fall Foliage and Festival Report for the first full weekend of fall, Sept. 29 and 30, 2018, brought to you by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. As September comes to a close, it appears the rain will diminish and we’ll have some partly cloudy to sunny days to look forward to Read the Rest…
Welcome to the Fall Foliage and Festival Report for the first weekend of fall, Sept. 22 and 23, brought to you by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Soon the landscape will explode with vibrant colors of orange, red and yellow. Kids will be jumping into leaf piles you just raked and we’ll all “fall” Read the Rest…
Collection Sites in Frederick and Washington Counties Open Until Oct. 26 Every year, about 6 million tree seedlings are grown at the John S. Ayton State Tree Nursery, located near Preston in Caroline County. About 47 different conifer, hardwood and shrub species, most native to Maryland, are grown each year, many of which are planted Read the Rest…
For those who work hard, a day off is a precious opportunity to spend time the way we want. Few activities afford us the peace to be had dangling a line in the water and being with our thoughts. Sometimes fate smiles on us and we actually have one of those days where everything works Read the Rest…
Program to Provide Quality Nutrition, Reduce Impact on Chesapeake Bay The Maryland Department of General Services (DGS)—in partnership with the departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources—has awarded contracts to Jessup-based Reliant Fish Co. and Congressional Seafood Co. for a program that will create sales of Maryland-harvested blue catfish to state institutions providing food services. The Read the Rest…
Living History Happens Sept. 29-30 The Friends of Point Lookout are hosting a U.S. Civil War weekend Sept. 29-30 at Point Lookout State Park in St. Mary’s County. Programs run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The program features artillery demonstrations and other programming. Tours of Fort #3 Read the Rest…
Living close to the water gives one an interesting perspective on impending storms. At ports all-around the bay and coastal areas, boat owners have been lining up at boat ramps and moving their vessels to safer areas. Low-lying areas can expect flooding and it sounds like we may in for some more rain, which is Read the Rest…
Dissolved oxygen conditions for Maryland’s portion of Chesapeake Bay returned to near average for the month of August, reports the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The department tracks hypoxia throughout the summer during twice monthly monitoring cruises. Low dissolved oxygen volume was at a record low (0.26 cubic miles) in late July, due to sustained Read the Rest…
Labor Day weekend is a fleeting memory now and although we are under an intense heat wave cooler weather is anticipated as we move through September. There is still plenty daylight at the end of the day to spend some time in the outdoors with family and friends. Children love adventure and when Vincent Casagrande Read the Rest…
Board of Public Works Approves Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Acquisition The Board of Public Works today approved a Maryland Department of Natural Resources item that will grant more than $468,000 to acquire a 77-acre Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program easement in Frederick County. Program Open Space funds will be used to purchase a permanent conservation easement Read the Rest…
Board of Public Works Approves Conservation Easement The Board of Public Works today approved a Maryland Department of Natural Resources item that authorizes a $1.7 million grant to the Cecil Land Trust to acquire a 535-acre conservation easement. Rural Legacy Program funds will be used to protect productive agricultural and forestland along Northeast Creek as Read the Rest…
Partnership Effort Restoring Patapsco River, Improving Public Safety Conservation leaders, federal and state officials, and other partners gathered today on the Patapsco River to celebrate the removal of Bloede Dam – an effort that has been a decade in the making, and will have major benefits for fisheries, public safety, recreation, and the health of Read the Rest…
Labor Day weekend approaches and many of us are wondering, “How did we get here so soon?” The kids will be going back to school and we will slowly start to see cooler temperatures in September. If you’re trying to fit in some family fishing time, remember who your audience is – kids just want Read the Rest…
This past weekend, I happened to pull up behind a pickup truck at a traffic light and I could not help but notice something about the license plate that impressed me. First off, there was a bumper sticker that said “Stress is caused by a lack of fishing” and there were several years’ worth of Read the Rest…
Harriet Tubman Rural Legacy Area Designated in Dorchester County; Five Other Areas Expanded The Board of Public Works today approved 16 Rural Legacy Program grants – totaling over $25 million – that will provide dedicated state funding to permanently protect working farms and forests in designated areas across the state. Working through local government and private Read the Rest…
Chesapeake Bay Trust Green Jobs Training Program Provides Young Adults with Employment Opportunities in Environmental Fields Today, the Chesapeake Bay Trust celebrated the newest class of its Chesapeake Conservation Corps, a green jobs program created by the Maryland Legislature to educate and train the next generation of environmental stewards. The program matches young people ages Read the Rest…
One of the fun and exciting things about fishing is you just never know what surprises await when you cast your fishing line into the water. Some have been surprised with a record-breaking catch, a novelty catch or just a fun encounter with a fish to help round out a peaceful day. Enjoying the outdoors Read the Rest…
Heavy Rainfall and Sustained Winds Helped Produce Best Recorded Results Ever Due to extreme summer weather, dissolved oxygen conditions in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay mainstem were the best ever observed in late July, reports the Maryland Department to Natural Resources. The department tracks hypoxia throughout the summer during twice monthly monitoring cruises. The Read the Rest…
It is often said that summertime is for kids, and truer words could not be spoken this month. August will be gone in a flash so don’t delay getting any youngsters you know out or near the water to enjoy some fun fishing. Two fish that are always ready to accommodate our young anglers are Read the Rest…
Recent heavy rains caused a lot of changes to our Chesapeake Bay waters. Large volumes of water coming down from Pennsylvania necessitated the opening of more than 20 gates at Conowingo Dam, causing high water levels in the lower Susquehanna River and floating debris entering the bay. Boating will be difficult in the upper and Read the Rest…
Marks 150th Clean Marina and Partner in Maryland An Anne Arundel County yacht club recently passed inspection by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to earn the Maryland Clean Marina Partner Award. Belvedere Yacht Club in Arnold has met the criteria, which brings the total number of clean marinas and partners to 150, or roughly Read the Rest…
Dissolved oxygen conditions in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay mainstem improved in early July, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The department tracks hypoxia throughout the summer during twice monthly monitoring cruises. The hypoxic water volume (areas with less than 2 mg/l oxygen) was 1.05 cubic miles, nearly 0.6 cubic miles less Read the Rest…
Record Water Flow to Impact Chesapeake Bay Health and Marine Life The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is advising commercial and recreational anglers, boaters and watermen to avoid the Susquehanna River and Upper Chesapeake Bay over the next few days due to the heavy water flows and swells downstream of Conowingo Dam. Recent summer rain Read the Rest…
Dedicates $2 Million a Year for Oyster Fishery and Recovery Governor Larry Hogan announced today that the Maryland Department of Transportation and Maryland Department of Natural Resources have entered into a new agreement that will provide millions of dollars for ongoing oyster activities in Chesapeake Bay. “Our administration has invested more than $4 billion to Read the Rest…
Rockfish Face Added Stress in Summer Fishing for striped bass in Maryland is an annual rite of summer, but anglers are advised to follow a few basic measures to help protect the iconic species during the hottest part of the season. Seasonal high water temperatures and low oxygen can cause fish to become sensitive and Read the Rest…
We’ve all learned in our lives that nothing ever stays the same, and this certainly holds true for the Chesapeake Bay. She started out as a river valley and became flooded after the last ice age to become the largest estuary in the United States. The view from a drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Read the Rest…
Department Biologists Learning More about Voracious Invasive Reaching up to nearly a hundred pounds, blue catfish is the largest species of catfish in North America, and due to its size and strength has quickly become a favorite catch for anglers. A native of the Mississippi River basin, blue catfish were introduced to the mid-Atlantic in Read the Rest…
If you spend enough time hanging around seasoned commercial or sport fishermen, you’ll often hear that it’s impossible to figure out why finfish and blue crabs are in certain places at certain times. These thoughts came to mind this week as I spoke to some of the most respected captains on the Chesapeake about how Read the Rest…
Biologists Transplant Hundreds of Filter-Feeders Freshwater mussels have been absent from the Patapsco River for decades. Now thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, hundreds of mussels have returned to this scenic Maryland river. Over the span of a few days hundreds of individual Read the Rest…
As anticipated, dissolved oxygen conditions in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay mainstem worsened in late June. During its twice monthly monitoring cruises, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources found that hypoxic water volume (areas with less than 2 mg/L oxygen) was 1.63 cubic miles, which is 42 percent greater than the late June average Read the Rest…
The Fourth of July is upon us, and although it falls on a Wednesday — missing that three-day weekend luster – it’s still a little extra time off to enjoy family and friends. Here in Maryland a lot of activities will focus on a nearby body of water, from Deep Creek Lake to the Atlantic Read the Rest…
We’ve all heard it – 10 percent of anglers catch 90 percent of the fish. Good fishermen are often able to anticipate or adjust to changes in conditions or fish behavior. This trait lies deep in that hunter-gatherer instinct of those who can read the signs that Mother Nature provides them. This kind of savvy Read the Rest…
