Fishing News

stripers? yeah, stripers!

Okay folks, no big surprise, here—the first and biggest news story this month is the opening of Maryland’s spring trophy season. Chesapeake chaos begins April 15 and runs through May 15 in the main-stem Bay from Brewerton Channel to the Virginia line. The limit is one fish per person, per day of 35 inches and over. Our lawyers tell us we’d have to be insane to print “full regulations” here, since they’re constantly subject to change. However, we couldn’t resist tweaking the lawyers. So: FULL REGULATIONS. See Maryland’s online fishing regulations guide for all the details.

Virginians have to wait for May 1 and should visit the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) online to get the full scoop. And in Delaware, it’s open all year except on spawning grounds April 1 through May 31. All the particulars can be found online at Delaware’s eRegulation guide. You may also click to fishtalkmag.com/fishing-regulations.

oyster news

With the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population down more than 50 percent from historic levels… no wait, make that 90 percent. Ummm, hold on, 95 percent. No, no, it’s actually more than 98 percent down. Yes, with the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population down more than 98 percent, it’s time to—what else—open up some of the Bay’s oyster sanctuaries to “rotational harvest.”

Love him or hate him, at least (former) Governor Martin O’Malley managed to get 24 percent of the Bay’s oyster bars declared “sanctuaries free from harvest” (up from nine percent). Now Governor Larry Hogan, love him or hate him, is supporting the establishment of rotational harvest areas which would, according to the Baltimore Sun, result in a net effect “loss of 11 percent of oyster sanctuary.”

This makes perfect sense to us anglers because we know how important oysters are to the Bay. And heck, we have a whole 1.9 or 1.8 percent of them left, right? So, why not increase the harvest? If this makes as much sense to you as it does to us, for gosh sakes, send a letter to Governor Hogan. His popularity reflects the fact that he’s done a great job to date, and we’d hate to see a lack of enthusiasm for protecting the Chesapeake’s oyster population tarnish his image. The address is 100 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401. Reach out to your local representative, too. The Maryland House voted this March (102 to 39) to keep the sanctuaries intact (at the time of this writing it has yet to hit the Senate).

# Do these belong in the water or on the half-shell? The answer is “both,” but we have quite a ways to go. Photo courtesy of US Army Corps of Engineers

species snapshot: largemouth Bass

The MD DNR has released its annual review of largemouth bass populations in and around the state. Some highlights: the fish kill in the Gunpowder in late December has been blamed on the dinoflagellate Karlodinium, which can cause respiratory failure in fish. A specific reason for this winter algal bloom hasn’t been identified. Meanwhile, DNR population surveys (in the Northeast River, Susquehanna River, and Susquehanna Flats) produced below average numbers in the Upper Chesapeake but improvements in the Potomac River and stable populations on the Eastern Shore.

Tournament news

Championship on the Chesapeake May 5 through May 7 is the much-awaited Maryland Saltwater Sportfishing Association (MSSA) spring trophy tournament, now in its 34th year. This, people, is the world’s largest striped bass tournament—and it takes place right here in the Mid-Atlantic region on the Chesapeake Bay. Since anglers from far and near compete in this one, there are captain’s meetings being held in late April and early May in locations ranging from Essex to Chesapeake Beach, and there are nine different weigh stations up and down the Bay.

What’s most impressive, however, is how many different ways there are to win. There are professional and amateur divisions, daily prizes, a kayak division, a youth division, and new for this year, a ladies’ division. On top of that, bonus prizes are awarded for all-MSSA crews and for captains fishing from specific brand boats and/or boats equipped with specific motors. Visit mssa.net to get all the details.

If you’re departing from Rod N Reel or Calvert Marina, you’ll also want to know about the Rod N Reel’s 36th annual Pro-AM. This one takes place May 5 to 7 as well. There’s a guaranteed $10,000 grand prize, and last year over $54K was awarded. There’s also an MSSA bonus and ladies’ and children’s prizes. Check out rodnreeltournament. com to learn more.

Boatyard Bar & Grill Catch and

Release Tournament: Anglers who let their catch swim away at the end of the day might be interested in entering the 16th annual Boatyard Bar & Grill Spring Fishing Tournament, a one-day event held on the opening day of striper season (April 15). Proceeds benefit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland, and the Annapolis Police Department Youth Fishing Camp. While fishing is of course the main event, the after-party celebration and awards ceremony are known to be (ahem) at least as much fun. Fish are measured with an official Boatyard yardstick, and size is verified with a snapshot on your smart phone. The tournament is limited to 150 boats, so register as soon as possible at boatyardbarandgrill.com.

Livin’ Largemouth: There are a number of different tournament trails and club tournaments in our area which start up now in the spring and continue on through the season: out in western Maryland check out Garrett Bassers, at garrettbassers.org; Maryland Bass Nation (mdbass.com) holds tournaments throughout the state; and Baltimore Metro Anglers (metroreservoiranglers. com) hits the local Baltimore reservoirs.

Virginia Bassmasters, at virginiabassmasters.info, fishes throughout B.A.S.S Region 7; B.A.S.S. Virginia Nation (vabassnation.com) goes to several Virginia locations this season; Virginia Bass Chapter Federation (vabass.com) has posted its 2017 tournament trail; VA Elite 70 (vaelite60.com), just founded in 2015, has a great line-up for the year; visit lureoflakeanna.com to see a list of the slew of tournaments coming up at Lake Anna.

Delaware hosts the Delaware Bass Federation (deltbf.org) and Delaware B.A.S.S. Nation (delawarebassnation. com). For you kayak anglers, Delaware Paddlesports (delawarepaddlesports.com) has The First State Kayak Bass Fishing Series.

Kids Who Cast: The Maryland DNR has posted the 2017 schedule for Youth Fishing Rodeos. These run through the fall, with most Rodeos held in May and June, and are generally open to kids between three and 15 years of age. At most of these events gear can be provided for kids who don’t have it. Visit the Maryland DNR fisheries web page or email program coordinator Mike Anderson at michaelr. anderson@maryland.gov for more info. Virginia’s Department of Game & Inland Fisheries has a similar program with their 2017 Kids Fishing Days. Visit dgif. virginia.gov for more info.

# The MSSA’s Championship on the

Chesapeake is as big as it gets, when it comes to rockfish tournaments.

$$ = Power

Just how much money do we anglers spend? And, just how much political capital does it get us? The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and Southwick Associates recently released a series of infographics providing the specifics broken down by congressional areas. Some interesting examples: In Virginia’s District 2, which includes Virginia Beach, anglers contributed $131.4 million in economic output, supporting 1095 jobs. In Maryland’s 3rd district, which includes pieces of Baltimore, Annapolis, and other areas (note: looking at the map of Maryland’s congressional boundaries is like gazing at a Rorschach while on mescaline), the figure is 91.9 million and 656 jobs. And in Delaware’s at-large district, it’s 53.7 million and 445 jobs. For more information, check out asafishing.org.

winning Big

Wouldn’t it be nice to win a prize like free entries into 2017 MSSA tournaments? A free fishing trip with one of the area’s top captains, including FishTalk editor Lenny Rudow? Or a $1000 gift certificate to Alltackle? These are just a few of the prizes you can win (there are over three dozen, in all) if you get a ticket for the MSSA Scholarship Foundation’s annual raffle ($5 each or five for $20).

Added bonus: even if you don’t win, you know your money has gone to a good cause. Last year the foundation awarded over $27,000 to 19 students studying to attain careers that will help them improve the Chesapeake and its surrounding ecosystems. This is seriously important stuff, folks—and seriously good prizes for the raffle. Contact Pete at abbottgru@aol.com or visit the MSSA Scholarship Foundation on Facebook to get your tickets or for more info. #