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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…
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…
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…
Hagerstown Woman Charged with Burglary at Greenbrier State Park A Cambridge man faces fines in excess of $10,000 on charges he illegally killed six white-tailed bucks in a single evening. Acting on complaints of gunfire in the area July 16, Maryland Natural Resources Police officers found Bryan Edward Nabb Sr., 53, in a field with a 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…
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…
Maryland and Virginia scientists have begun regularly collecting oxygen data as they monitor the health of Chesapeake Bay waters, and track the states’ progress toward restoring the treasured Chesapeake. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will track bay oxygen levels throughout the summer during twice-monthly monitoring cruises.
Fishing offers many things to many people, and they all have their own reasons why it’s so special. For some it’s an adventurous location or pursuit of a certain fish, usually preceded by a lot of study and anticipation before the big trip. For others it may be the unwinding process from a stressful day. Read the Rest…
Many of us who have spent a lifetime fishing remember the first fish we ever caught. For some, that memory might include a tough and pugnacious little rascal called the bluegill sunfish. It has a habit of attacking most any bait with total abandon and have the fighting strength of a bull – making it Read the Rest…
Note: If you’re looking for the June 13 report, please click here. The northern snakehead has gotten a lot of press attention and has been called “Frankenfish.” It inspired a movie called “Snakehead Terror” about 8-foot long fish terrorizing a lakeside community, which helped create a common belief that snakeheads can walk on land. In Read the Rest…
Memorial Day weekend is now behind us – an important pause to remember and reflect on those who gave their lives for the freedoms and rights that we all enjoy. It also means the “summer” season has begun. The fishing rodeo season is in full swing. For those not initiated, these are free youth fishing Read the Rest…
Living History Program Featured June 9 and 10 The Maryland Department of Natural Resources welcomes the public to Point Lookout State Park in St. Mary’s County as they look back on the War Between the States and the historic sites within the park that were impacted in the conflicted that divided North and South. The annual Read the Rest…
Many of us found ourselves fishing in the rain last week. I was with a friend on the lower Choptank River last week enjoying some striped bass topwater action — the fishing was fun and the overcast weather showed us one of nature’s many moods to be enjoyed. Often less-than-perfect weather gives us a unique Read the Rest…
Most anglers know we had been going through a bit of a dry spell for several weeks, but, oh boy, did that come to an end. The heavy rains and stormy conditions moving through the state the past few days are expected to last through the weekend. But the sun will shine again and it Read the Rest…
Those who fish know that the waters they love have many moods, and perhaps one of our favorites is when they are quiet and calm. This past weekend with overcast skies and little wind was one of those times that the waters we fish seem to talk to us – from the bubbling mountain streams, Read the Rest…
Guided Ride May 5 All are invited to a free guided bike tour along the Western Maryland Rail Trail beginning at 10 a.m. May 5. The 20-mile round trip will begin at at the C&O Bicycle Shop, located at 9 South Pennsylvania Ave. in Hancock. Fort Frederick State Park naturalist Ellen Kinzer will lead the group at a Read the Rest…
Warmer and more seasonable weather has finally descended upon the Maryland landscape, offering a wonderful time to enjoy the outdoors. The warm air temperatures and sunny weather, along with relatively cool water temperatures make for perfect fishing conditions in many local waters. Community ponds, trout management waters and lakes offer fun shoreline fishing adventures that Read the Rest…
Patience is supposed to be the hallmark of an angler, but many had theirs strained this past opening weekend for trophy striped bass season. Most understand it has been a chilly spring, and low water temperatures have delayed striped bass spawning in the tidal rivers. In the past couple of days we have seen water Read the Rest…
Activities Start at 10 a.m. on April 28 On Saturday, April 28, the public is invited to help clean up areas among the World War I-era shipwrecks moored in Mallows Bay and adjacent shorelines at Mallows Bay Park in Charles County. Local archaeologists, historians and naturalists will share information and interpret the history of Mallows Read the Rest…
This coming Saturday, April 21, is a big day for those who dream of catching a trophy striped bass. More than a few anglers will spend the night before checking alarm clocks just to find themselves waking up a half-hour before the alarm is set to go off anyhow. Weather is predicted to be a Read the Rest…
Cold nights and chilly days have prevailed far too long in the past couple of weeks, but change is on the way, with air temperatures of 80 degrees promised for the weekend. We are a little more than a week away from the opening day of the trophy striped bass season and it would be Read the Rest…
It continues to be a chilly spring and there seems to be no immediate end to it. We’re a week into April and water temperatures are considerably lower than usual — in the mid-40s in the tidal rivers and bay. By comparison, last April 5, the bay was just about 50 degrees and the tidal Read the Rest…
Volunteers Sought for Two Sites in St. Mary’s County The Maryland Department of Natural Resources invites volunteers to get outside to help clean up along the Potomac River in St. Mary’s County, from 9 a.m. to noon April 14. Crews will meet at two different locations: Newtowne Neck State Park and Point Lookout State Park. Volunteers should wear closed-toed Read the Rest…
It’s safe to say that more than a few trout fishermen will spend a restless Friday night glancing at their alarm clocks. Opening Day holds all the promise and anticipation one can imagine, like something out of our youthful fantasies. A carnival-type atmosphere will greet most anglers as they arrive at the more popular and Read the Rest…
Most everyone in the fishing community has heard the news by now: an iconic figure has passed to what he referred to his “spirit spring.” The world will not be the same without Lefty Kreh, the Maryland hometown boy who shook up the fly-fishing world like nobody else ever has or possibly ever will. Lefty Read the Rest…
We are less than a week from the official first day of spring, and the recent switch to daylight saving time gives us an extra hour of daylight to enjoy some fishing after school or work. Daffodils are blooming and so are the fishing prospects. There is plenty of fun trout fishing to be had, Read the Rest…
Long-Term Monitoring Site to Benefit Public, Resource Managers and Scientists The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Maryland Department of Natural Resources have announced a five-year partnership to monitor water quality at Mallows Bay on the Potomac River, a site being considered for designation as a national marine sanctuary. The partnership plans for a long-term, continuous Read the Rest…
Most everyone has some observations they consider harbingers of spring. It could be as simple as crocus or daffodils popping up in the yard, geese flying north or even the sound of spring peepers in a nontidal wetland, singing the evening away. For many anglers spring means fishing for yellow perch and white perch as Read the Rest…
Board of Public Works Approves Program Open Space Acquisition The Board of Public Works today unanimously approved a Maryland Department of Natural Resources acquisition of 522 acres in Charles County for the development of a new Wildlife Management Area that will provide both conservation and recreation benefits. Adjacent to county managed land, the site will provide numerous Read the Rest…
Maryland started off 2018 with a deep freeze, and it remains to be seen what old man winter has in store for us in the next month. But as long as temperatures remain relatively moderate, there are all kinds of fishing adventures out there from the Atlantic Ocean to Mountain Maryland. Anglers in the tidal Read the Rest…
Maryland Natural Resource Police officers using radar, patrol boats and Natural One, the department’s helicopter, caught and arrested two Somerset County watermen Thursday for taking oysters from a state sanctuary. David Thomas Wheatley Sr., 53, of Princess Anne and David Thomas Wheatley II, 30, of Deal Island, were each charged with one count of illegally Read the Rest…
This fishing report will close out 2017, but there are plenty of fishing opportunities for all regions of Maryland through the winter. The preseason stocking of trout has begun and will pick up pace in January and February. Yellow perch are moving into the upper reaches of the tidal rivers while crappie, chain pickerel, catfish Read the Rest…
Breton Bay and St. Mary’s River Selected for Large-Scale Restoration; State Pledges Investment in Manokin, Nanticoke and Severn Sanctuaries The Maryland Department of Natural Resources today announced a comprehensive plan on oyster restoration, including its intention to recommend Breton Bay and the upper St. Mary’s River as the fourth and fifth tributaries to satisfy the state’s Read the Rest…
Winter’s grasp on the Maryland landscape is steadily getting tighter and windows of mild weather are becoming less frequent. This week high winds could make for a tough time on open water. If you do go out, be careful and wear your life jacket. Trolling along deep channel edges in the upper Chesapeake Bay region Read the Rest…
The striped bass fishing community always anticipates the possible appearance of large fall migrant striped bass in our portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The fall migration was late this year, but the first confirmed report came in over the weekend — so there is hope for anglers wishing to catch a trophy-sized striped bass before Read the Rest…
Water temperatures in Maryland continue to drop as the weather turns colder. In many areas, fish are seeking out warmer temperatures found in deeper waters. The tidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay are seeing surface water temperatures in the mid-40s while the bay itself is around 50 degrees. The upper bay region has been providing Read the Rest…
Extremely strong winds last weekend made for a tough time fishing on the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay, and kept most boats at the dock. Along with that, a lot of boats were taken from the water and put to sleep for the winter months, now parked and covered in boatyards and backyards. That Read the Rest…
Cold weekend temperatures have descended on just about every location in Maryland, putting an end to any summer plants and many of those pesky insects that were lingering into November. Cold weather is also pushing freshwater and saltwater fishing closer to a winter pattern. This is a time of great transition and great opportunity for Read the Rest…
The fall colors are in full swing throughout much of Maryland this week, offering some added delight to fishing experiences; the leaves won’t last much longer so don’t miss out. Meanwhile, many of the best fishing opportunities are occurring this month, as fish feel the need to feed and prepare for the winter.
The fall months offer some exciting fishing opportunities for anglers across Maryland, from the trout management waters of Garrett County to the shores of Ocean City. Daylight is getting sparser and this weekend the clocks fall back an hour, making it a little harder to get some fishing time after work and school. We’re all Read the Rest…
Two Dates Offer Introduction to Maryland Tradition The Maryland Department of Natural Resources invites young hunters to hone their skills with the help of an experienced adult during two Youth Waterfowl Hunt days: Nov. 4, 2017, and Feb. 10, 2018. Anyone 16 years of age or younger can hunt coots, ducks, geese and mergansers on Read the Rest…
Historic Reenactments of Wartime Actions Oct. 28-29 For Americans keeping watch for the approaching British during the War of 1812, the aptly named Point Lookout in St. Mary’s County served as an ideal location. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources this weekend offers visitors to Point Lookout State Park a chance to witness living history of Read the Rest…
Maryland’s Water Quality Monitoring Data Indicates Second Best Year on Record Dissolved oxygen conditions in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay mainstem were much better than average this summer, according to Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The results show that 2017 had the second-smallest Chesapeake Bay hypoxic volume (dissolved oxygen concentrations below two milligrams per liter) since 1985, for the regions and times Read the Rest…
