The single-leaf iron and concrete bridge was built in 1932. It’s the focal point of the historic little town that serves as the county seat of Worcester County. It’s also the dividing line between good and great yellow perch fishing on the Eastern Shore. I swing wide around the tight corner at the town’s only red light, checking my mirrors to make sure my 16-foot jon boat trailer doesn’t clip the curb and resolve that[...]
As you can imagine, when a fish has a name like “northern snakehead,” there are going to be things about them that are good, bad, and ugly… but luckily, they’re also tasty. In Maryland, the love-hate relationship is so strong, there’s even a highly anticipated tournament series for them. About the Northern Snakehead First, the bad and ugly – what is a snakehead? As an invasive species in the Maryland area, the northern snakehead first[...]
The only vehicle you need to catch fish is your own two feet. Seriously. No boat, no problem. Any body of water in the State of Maryland with public access points can be fished from shore. I have been a land-based angler my entire life, and I have fallen in love with chasing fish from shore. With the largest percentage of anglers fishing from solid ground, it seems only fitting to share some secrets of[...]
Drive through the Eastern Shore of Maryland during the hot summer months and you’ll see field after field loaded with bright, cheery sunflowers; their yellow petals popping against the red barns. It’s a picturesque scene for sure, but to the dove hunter, it’s even more picturesque when the sunflowers shrivel to brown. Dove hunting is something my husband and I have enjoyed with friends at a nearby farm since we started dating. These days, our[...]
My name is Vicky Mullaney, and life for me is uncommon. I am the chef and lodge manager at The Lodge at Black Pearl, an 870-acre farm and private hunting preserve in Dorchester County, Maryland. I am the mother of five and grandmother of three. I’ve developed an unconventional skill set over the last 30 years. I am a huntress. I can cast a fly rod and butcher a deer. I grow oysters and help[...]
As a child growing up near Middle River on the upper Chesapeake Bay, my father would take us down to the marina docks and we would use our sturdy cane poles to catch a variety of panfish. Nothing was big, and seldom did we bring home enough for a legitimate meal. But it was the beginning of a life-long journey and love for fish and fishing. And for a father-and-child fishing expedition in Maryland waters[...]
In the spring, Maryland’s Chesapeake swells with silver: shad and river herring. Like salmon, these fish are anadromous: the adults run upstream into fresh water to spawn, then return to the Atlantic Ocean to live for the rest of the year. The new generations develop from fertilized eggs suspended in stream currents to swimming fry and then juveniles, feeding and growing over the summer before migrating to the ocean, where they somehow meet the adult[...]
Bear activity is increasing throughout western Maryland as the black bear population continues to expand eastward. With its rural landscape and vast forested land, western Maryland holds some prime bear habitat, much of which is found on public lands open for hunting. A Guide to Planning a Black Bear Hunt in Maryland There are a limited number of bear hunting permits available each year in Maryland and they are awarded through a lottery drawing. The[...]