Our family spent summers on the Eastern Shore. I learned the size of a keeper Blue crab was as big as a Coca cola can. I baited fat minnows on hooks to catch flounder. I sat next to Mallard nests in the springtime, praying the eggs would hatch and the yellow down ducklings would follow me home. Maryland provided a world class education in the outdoors, but I was never exposed to hunting. As an[...]

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced that archery hunting for white-tailed and sika deer opens statewide Sept. 8, and continues through Jan. 31, 2018. “Archery hunting continues to be an effective part of our comprehensive deer management plan and is often the most effective control method available in densely-populated suburban areas of Maryland,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said. For the 2017-18 season, the bag limit for white-tailed bucks is one per[...]

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[...]

The tidal Patuxent River flowing through Prince George’s County has a wide variety of fish which readily strike at fishing flies. As the river widens at Jug Bay, fly fishers can choose from bluegill, crappie, channel catfish, blue catfish, white catfish, chain pickerel, largemouth bass, striped bass, yellow perch, white perch, carp and northern snakehead. This is a fish menu which will keep you busy from early spring to late fall. You will need access[...]

Even being surrounded by the City of Salisbury on all sides, Johnsons Pond has a well deserved reputation as a productive fishery. With much of the pond’s shoreline lined with trees, casting your fly towards these shallow-waters, particularly where there are lily pads, brush or other structure in the water, will lead to some strikes by hungry fish. You can also cast to tree falls, points of land, and submerged cedar trees especially along the[...]

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[...]

While striped bass remain the king here in Chesapeake country, there’s a newcomer on the block vying for the top spot in a fly angler’s heart. To many bay area anglers speckled trout have always been an exotic catch, a species associated with more southern climes. But with the influx of small boat and light tackle guides, increased access to vast areas of the bay’s shallows has awakened fly fishers to the qualities of this[...]

Bring your own kayak and push out into the bay reeling in bass, or hook up with a guide like Don Goff, kayak fishing guide (featured in this video) or Working Class Outdoorsmen (also featured) to bowfish for the invasive snakehead. You can even find local spots like MacGregor’s Restaurant & Tavern (also featured above) These guides will help you plan the trip and answer any questions you might have. Also, we suggest visiting Maryland[...]

The Hagerstown Valley sits atop miles of underground limestone caverns which support Maryland’s largest spring creek, Beaver Creek, which rises up with cool water just below South Mountain in Washington County. The Catch and Release stretch begins below the Albert Powell Fish Hatchery and Interstate 70. This section down to Route 40 has a healthy naturally reproducing stream population of brown trout. Beaver Creek provides fly fishers with this unique, sometimes challenging opportunity to cast[...]