FishTalk Magazine Feature As part of this road series, Lenny Rudow and FishTalk covered the trip with a featured article. Read a snippet of it below with a link to the full feature. For those traveling to Snakehead country, Cambridge, MD is ground zero. From here your located close to Blackwater River system and the Transquaking, the Chickamacomico, and all the associated tributary area waterways - all of which are jam-packed with snakehead. You can[...]

Nearly 50 miles in length and straddling the Maryland-West Virginia borders, the North Branch of the Potomac was first surveyed under a British sovereign’s land grant to Thomas Lord Fairfax in the first half of the 18th century. The Fairfax Stone survey marker, dated 1746 and located at a small spring, still designates the headwaters, and can be visited today. Lord Fairfax was awarded all of the lands between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers, and[...]

The White Marlin Open (WMO) is a 48-year-old, deep-sea fishing tournament held annually in Ocean City, Maryland. It awards prize money for the biggest catches of white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, wahoo, dolphin, and shark. The first tournament, held in 1974, drew 57 boats, 150 anglers, and paid a total of $20,000 in prize money with the top award being $5,000. Today it is known as the “World’s Largest Billfishing Tournament,” and has awarded more[...]

Jeff Jacobs has been officially recognized by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as the new state record holder for the Atlantic Division 393-pound swordfish (Xiphias gladius) he caught in the canyons off the coast of Ocean City. Jacobs, 38, was on charter boat RoShamBo with Captain Willie Zimmerman and crew and preparing to return to shore following a successful day on the water. Just then the boat’s Shimano Tyrnos 50 two-speed reel, baited[...]

Productive winter yellow perch fishing in upper Chesapeake Bay tributaries attracts many anglers. When the days get shorter and the chilly weather comes, yellow perch gather in schools and feed heavily. Yellow perch fishing starts in November and continues into March. After the yellow perch spawn in early March, they scatter and are harder to find. In the meantime, fun fishing can be had from piers and boats. And, fresh-caught yellow perch is tasty and[...]

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will begin their annual fall trout stocking in October. Trout anglers can expect a variety of golden, rainbow, and brown trout to be stocked across the state. You’ll need a trout stamp if you are 16 years of age or older and will be fishing in a “special catch-and-return trout management area” or to possess trout taken from non tidal waters. Maryland residents with a valid Consolidated Senior Resident[...]

It’s 4:30am on November 4, 2023. My alarm rings. Filled with excitement and anticipation, I easily wake. My brother-in-law and I head out, hoping to harvest my first buck during the rut. We walk into the dense woods of Southern Maryland. I pick my spot. It’s set over a regularly hit communal scrape on a creek bottom between two shallow ridge systems. I climb and set up my tree saddle. It’s 5:30am. Doe bedding to[...]

If you are looking for a way to follow social distancing guidelines and have some fun in the fresh air, it’s time to try your hand at shad fishing. Seasoned anglers say the time to go shad fishing is when the dogwood trees are in bloom. Hickory shad start showing in the upper bay tributaries by mid-March; the run peaks in late April and goes into early June. The larger and more sought after American[...]

Are you whiling away the hours until deer season comes back around? Here are some ideas to put that time to good use until opening day rolls around again. Why not try hunting something different? Spring turkey season can be a blast, literally and figuratively. If you’ve never been, get ready for an action-packed morning in the woods where you can enjoy the sounds of the forest as it awakens, interrupted by some gobblers who[...]