Sometime in mid-March my pulse quickens. Subtle signs, imperceptible at first, announce the arrival of spring. Daffodils and crocus appear. Even our dormant lawn starts to show signs of life. No longer do I need to pass the time watching countless fishing videos on YouTube or scrolling through tackle websites announcing the latest fly rod built with space age technology. It is time to dust off my fishing tackle and make plans to fish the[...]
History In the early 1900’s Clement Henry released 5 or 6 deer on James Island. Maryland biologists and deer managers first worried that the “miniature elk” would expand into the upland territory of native white-tailed deer. This resulted in higher bag limits being set so that hunters would be encouraged to harvest and control the sika deer population. However, over the years, managers have learned that the sika predominantly lives most of its life in[...]
A prevalent—and delectable— gamefish, perch can be found on the Atlantic Coast from South Carolina to Nova Scotia. Maryland’s reservoirs, lakes, and the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries provide a wide variety of habitats for both white and yellow perch. In fact, this tasty species is one of the most abundant in Maryland.
White perch are semi-anadromous members of the family, Moronidae, that migrate to tidal fresh and slightly brackish waters each spring to spawn. Silver in color with a slightly projecting lower jaw and teeth, white perch may reach a mature length of 19 inches but are more commonly found around 7 to 10 inches, weighing from 8 ounces to 1 pound. The largest was caught in the Chesapeake Bay and weighed 2.6 pounds. Seasons While the[...]
Cobia Cobia have a long body that is blackish on the back and brown on the sides, two silvery bands run along its sides from the head to the tail and it has a yellowish or grayish-white belly. They usually grow 3 to 4 feet in length and weigh more than 50 pounds. Known to be strong and stubborn, Cobia will try to make a run for it once they are hooked making for a[...]
Spanish Mackerel They have a green back and their silvery sides are marked with three rows of elliptical yellow spots. Spanish mackerel have a single row of cutting edged teeth in each jaw (around sixty-four teeth in all) are large, uniform, closely spaced and flattened from side to side, these teeth look very similar to those of the Bluefish. Those caught in Maryland waters tend to be between two and four pounds, though a record[...]