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Maryland DNR Fishing Reports - Aug.20th, 2008
This information is provided as a public service of the
Maryland Department of Natural Resources. www.dnr.state.md.us
Overview by Keith Lockwood
The Maryland Fishing Challenge continues through this month and until September 1st. Fishermen are encouraged to register any fish they catch that meets the minimum size criteria at a Citation Center to be in the drawing for a number of prizes which include a new 4x4 Tundra pickup truck, a boat, motor and trailer outfit and thousands of dollars in prizes. Chad Wisner recently caught and released this 21.5” smallmouth bass at Loch Raven Reservoir and qualifies for a citation and is automatically entered in the Maryland Fishing Challenge.
On July 31, 2008, 21 specially tagged striped bass will be released at locations throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. One of the 21 will be Diamond Jim, a fish worth $25,000 cash courtesy of Boater’s World and a $5,000 diamond from Smyth Jewelers, if caught by midnight on August 31. The other tagged striped bass, Diamond Jim imposters, will each be worth $500 in Boater’s World gift certificates.
Designed to promote recreational fishing in Maryland, recognize angler efforts and inspire environmental stewardship, the 2008 Maryland Fishing Challenge began Saturday, April 12 and runs through Labor Day, September 1. Any angler who catches a citation-qualifying fish will be eligible to win one of the official sponsor grand prizes. To date, over 1,100 anglers have qualified to win grand prizes, including a 2008 Toyota Tundra 4x4 pickup truck from Central Atlantic Toyota, a boat and trailer package from Bass Pro Shops and $5,000 in gear from Bill’s Outdoor Center.
Overview
Outdoorsmen are an observant group, always watching conditions for fishing and hunting and our lifetime of experiences and lessons are often hard earned. Young fishermen often have an insatiable appetite to learn as much as they can and as quick as they can. Sometimes one of the hardest lessons to learn is to just take it easy and have a good time. Young fishermen, at times can have an ego fueled by a few successes of perhaps catching a good fish or having a particular good day of fishing. I will always remember a veteran commercial crabber offering comments about relatively young crabbers who thought they had the crabs figured out as to where they were going to be at any one time and how to catch them. “Just as soon as you think you’ve got the crabs figured out they’ll make a fool out of you”; I have heard commercial lobster fishermen and hunting guides for everything from elk to ducks say the same thing at one time or another. Humble pie is best served with understanding friends. One lesson most of us have learned is about taking someone to your favorite fishing hole and promising they’re going to bail the fish; based on your last fishing trip there, that is lesson #21, you will get skunked. A mother sent in the picture and the text below; I couldn’t help but start laughing when I saw the picture. Lesson #23, be humble when you take a novice fishing especially a girl and in this case you’ve really got the odds stacked up against you when it’s your sister. Nine times out of ten, girls, sisters, wives will out fish you and beat you at your own game. My kids love to fish and go almost everyday every year they do a all kids fishing tournament held by the town of Poolesville and just about every year they place When my daughter Destiny Fisher was only 8 she caught the huge catfish in the picture of her and My oldest son Dylan Fisher(age 11) she took first place and he took 2nd (Not a very happy older brother ) They are now 10 and 13 and still fish almost everyday We joke that my son (last month) caught the biggest fish of all He caught himself in the back with a hook while casting and had to have it taken out at the hospital He was fishing the next day!
Upper bay fishermen are finding a nice mix of small bluefish and striped bass from the Brewerton Channel south to the Bay Bridge. Often they are encountering breaking fish in the early mornings and evening hours. Live lining spot has been a very successful way of catching a nice grade of striped bass as has trolling and chumming. Middle bay region fishermen are catching their striped bass mostly by live lining spot along steep channel edges but also by trolling and light tackle jigging to breaking fish. Bluefish are very much a part of the mix when fishing for striped bass and Spanish mackerel arrived this past weekend in large numbers to the middle bay region and are spread throughout the entire lower bay region. Lower bay region fishermen also are live lining for their striped bass as well as trolling and chumming. Shawn Kimbro sent in this report typical of the action fishermen encountered this past weekend in the middle and lower regions of the Chesapeake. Dave Wolf and I caught 23 Spanish and twice that many blues casting Saturday near Sharp's Island Light. The lure of choice was specialized Bait's L'il Bunker cast past sounding fish then reeled back fast. The fish have fantastic vision, so we had to adjust our techniques to using as little hardware as possible. I went back Sunday and got a few more also casting, this time on the south side of Poplar Island.
Bottom fishing for white perch and channel catfish in the upper bay remains good in many areas. Finding large croaker and in good numbers has become a little more difficult recently in the middle bay and lower bay regions. Fishing is better in the early morning and evening hours and the best fishing is late at night on some of the shoal areas adjacent to deep water.
Freshwater fishermen are finding good trout fishing opportunities in the western regions trout waters due partly to good water flows and also recent stockings of large rainbow trout. Largemouth bass fishermen are fishing the shallows during the early morning and evening hours and fishing deep cover during the day. Fishermen in the upper Potomac are catching channel catfish and a few smallmouth bass and walleye this week. Eli Gonsalves holds up a nice Potomac walleye he caught while fishing late in the evening.
Fishermen in the Ocean City area continue to catch flounder in the back bay areas, the inlet and along the beaches. Surf fishermen are catching a mix of small summer species along the beaches early in the morning and in the evening hours. Sea bass and flounder fishing is fair at the wreck sites and offshore fishermen are bringing a mix of dolphin and yellowfin tuna back to the docks and flying white marlin release flags. Underwater diver and photographer Michael Eversmier recently did a dive on the New York Subway cars that were deployed at the Jackspot this spring. He sent us this picture to show that the first stages of marine growth are beginning to develop on the subway cars.
What is most emphatic in angling is made so by the long silences- the unproductive periods. Thomas McGuane
Spain Takes Gold: aka Spanish Mackerel takes Gold Spoon
Dean Londos caught this Spanish Mackerel trolling a small gold spoon behind his boat the Emily D on Sunday off of Breezy Point.
Check out our new Interactive Boat Ramps Map
Take a look at this very cool interactive map made with Microsoft Virtual Earth
http://www.mdangler.net/boatramps.html
For more information on this map or using this technology contact mike@baileywx.com
The Intrepid Angler- Flat Fish on the Fly
by Brian Bartell - Executive Editor
You draw some odd looks when you are standing in ankle deep water against the blocky Ocean City skyline holding a fly rod, especially when standing 20 yards away from the seemingly endless parade of jiggers and minnow dunkers drifting by in center consoles and pontoon boats. The comments can be even more amusing, almost always tinged with extreme curiosity and surprise. The fact that you have a kayak tethered to your waist, drifting 10 feet away with the tide, makes the spectacle a bit more bemusing to most. But when the line goes tight, and the ultra responsive
March Brown eight weight curves toward a feisty summer flounder, the effort it took to get to that sandbar suddenly becomes worthwhile.
While most who ply the back bays of Assateague and Ocean City in the traditional manner (by boat) try very hard, sometimes unsuccessfully, to avoid the numerous shallow bars that lie just beneath the water, those same sandbars provide the perfect vantage point from which to present a fly to the droves of flatties feeding in the deeper channels. Thanks to the magic of Google Earth, locating those bars prior to launching becomes almost too simple, and a fairly strong kayaker can cover a good chunk of water in a day of paddling.
To read the entire article or browse the Intrepid Angler Archives click HERE
DNR and Mirant Continue Partnership to Restore Atlantic Sturgeon
ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources welcomes Mirant Potomac River Generating Station’s continued partnership for an Atlantic sturgeon restoration project for the Potomac River. As part of the renewed partnership, Mirant will provide up to $325,000 over the next five years to support restoration activities of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus), the only large bottom feeders present in the Chesapeake Bay.
“Atlantic sturgeon existed historically along the entire Atlantic coast and at one time, played an important ecological role in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem,” said DNR Secretary John Griffin. “Mirant’s funding and continued support of this fishery restoration project offers hope that the once abundant sturgeon can grow and prosper in its natural habitat again in the future.”
Overfishing, degraded water quality and man-made stream blockages drastically reduced the Atlantic sturgeon’s population. By 1928, sturgeon were rarely caught north of the Potomac River. Research by the USFWS-Maryland Fishery Resources Office concluded in 2004 that Atlantic sturgeon restoration in Maryland would not likely occur without hatchery supplementation.
“We are so proud of our successful partnership with DNR, and we believe wholeheartedly that these mutually beneficial partnerships are an important component of all Maryland’s fish restoration efforts,” said Misty Allen, External Affairs Manager at Mirant Mid-Atlantic LLC. “We recently expressed our steadfast commitment to the project for the next five years to continue sturgeon restoration.”
DNR and Mirant first began a pilot culture trial on the Potomac River in the summer of 2006. Positive findings from the effort led to larger scale culture trial in 2007. Mirant Mid-Atlantic LLC provided funding for manpower, materials, culture space and water supply, while DNR designed and constructed the research facility.
“The overarching aim of our restoration project is to culture a healthy, captive brood stock of genetically diverse sturgeon adults that will provide larvae and juvenile fish for restoration stocking,” explained Brian Richardson, DNR Fisheries Restoration Manager.
The facility will also serve as an education and outreach tool since it is included on plant tours.
The Maryland Fishing Challenge
The Maryland Fishing Challenge continues through this month and until September 1st. Fishermen are encouraged to register any fish they catch that meets the minimum size criteria at a Citation Center to be in the drawing for a number of prizes which include a new 4x4 Tundra pickup truck, a boat, motor and trailer outfit and thousands of dollars in prizes. On Monday, June 2, Maryland’s most desired rockfish was released into the Chesapeake Bay as part of the 2008 Maryland Fishing Challenge. A $10,000 reward and a $5,000 diamond are being offered for his capture. Anglers can read more about the kick-off event here. Fifteen children will be randomly chosen from fishing rodeos across the state in the coming months and will be entered to win quality fishing trips with a mentor at the 2008 Maryland Fishing Challenge grand finale in September
This weekend, another four young anglers were entered into the unique youth component of the 2008 Maryland Fishing Challenge. DNR staff took part in the Hillcrest Youth Fishing Rodeo in Lansdowne, Maryland and a great time was had by all.
Participation in all aspects of the Fishing Challenge continues to grow; although Diamond Jim has yet to be found. Keep an eye out for chartreuse-tagged rockfish in the Bay and its tributaries! Congrats to Zackary Decker of Elkton, Md. for catching a rainbow trout, Charles Donohue of Philadelphia, Pa. for catching a sea bass and Craig Bandes of Alexandria, Va. for catching a 44” rockfish. All three are now entered to win big prizes from Central Atlantic Toyota, Bill’s Outdoor Center and Bass Pro Shops at the finale in September. More information can be found at www.dnr.maryland.gov/fishingchallenge.
Diamond Jim is online! Add him as a friend on www.myspace.com/fishingchallenge or search in the Baltimore, MD network of facebook.com for Diamond Jim.
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