The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that 2009 Young-of-the-Year Striped Bass Survey was a 7.9 catch per haul this year, slightly below the long term average of 11.7. DNR has used the same techniques for the survey for the past 50 years to show the yearly spawning success for Rockfish. “These numbers may be slightly below the average, but it’s well within the normal range of expectations,” said DNR Fisheries Service Director Tom O’Connell. “The 2001 super year class, followed by a robust year class in 2003, should project for a healthy, sustainable population.”.... DNR biologists say it’s normal to see both spikes and dips in the yearly average, because striped bass reproduction hinges on...DNR samples from the same 22 locations every year. Biologists use a large net to sweep the area, counting all the fish the net picks up. During this year’s survey, biologists identified and counted more than 35,000 fish of 49 species, including 1,039 young-of-year striped bass.
DNR biologists say it’s normal to see both spikes and dips in the yearly average, because striped bass reproduction hinges on many environmental factors. This year’s index is double the value of last year, and along with other large year classes, such as the record setting 1996, 2001 and 2003 will contributing to strengthen the population.
DNR has monitored the reproductive success of striped bass and other species in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay annually since 1954. Twenty-two survey sites are located in the four major spawning systems: Choptank, Potomac, and Nanticoke rivers, and the Upper Bay. Biologists visit each site monthly from July through...
The Spanish are invading Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, Spanish Mackerel that is. Reports are in with excellent catches of Spanish Macs from the Maryland line all the way up to in and around the bay bridge area. Flounder pounding reports are in the from the middle and lower Chesapeake. It’s been a few years since I’ve heard such good reports coming in, but keeper flounder are back in Maryland’s Chesapeake waters. Punk (ie undersize) striped bass are all over the bay along with their friends the bluefish. The action has mainly concentrated from Sharps Island, Popular Island up to Thomas Point, mostly on the...
Although windy weather is not allowing much opportunity for fishing on the open water, few anglers are complaining since sheltered waters are providing remarkable speckled trout action. Plenty of fish averaging to around three pounds are keeping casters content, while the numbers of citation fish are also on the rise. The most consistent speck action is happening in...
Striped Bass, Bluefish, Ablies and Bonita (aka Bones) fishing is busting loose in the Northeast! The last few days there has been some bad weather which has kept anglers off the water, but before that it’s been pretty wide open for light tackle and fly anglers. Full details in the reports...
The weather calmed down this week for some good offshore and nearshore fishing. The king mackeral bite has started to pick up not too far off the beach. A decent number of late year billfish were caught in the past week as well. Inshore, the standard fare of red drum, flounder, and blue fish are being picked up.
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From the Bay Bridge to the Choptank to Cove Point to Point Lookout, summer fun begins with a livewell full of spot and ends with a cooler of kickin’ stripers. You want to get the fish snapping this season? Live-lining is the ticket to bent rods—here’s how it works...One question regularly heard when discussing live-baiting: how do you hook the baitfish? Through the jaws, or the back? Actually, the answer is both and one or the other, depending on where in the water column the fish are feeding...
The maps that we are all accustomed to are your traditional NOAA bottom contour maps that show depths and bottom features in two-dimensional form. Commercial fishermen have long known that being able to see maps in a 3D visual display enhances the ability to see the bottom in a way which many times leads to seeing drops, dips, ledges, humps...
Typically in saltwater fly fishing, and more specifically with fly fishing on the Chesapeake Bay, heading out into the big water and searching for breaking blues and stripers is option #1, and fishing underwater structure is option #2. Both of these options require a boat that’s capable of moving from spot to spot, or from school to school. I personally own a small, humble boat and I am on the water often, or as often as time and work permit. On good days, my boat is capable of getting from spot to spot, but not when the winds are over 10mph. Because of my restrictions I’m not typically in the open water of the Chesapeake Bay proper, or even the middle of Tangier Sound, but mostly about as far as my 16’ johnboat will take me on a nice day—maybe to the mouth of a river, or near a rip that sets up in a tributary creek....
You want a volcano-like explosion 30’ behind your transom? Tuna fish to come flying out of the water in attack-mode? Billfish to rise with their weaponry swinging? Then I sure hope you’re pulling spreader bars, because these lures will trigger more pelagics to attack than any other single lure in the water today. Spreader bars consist of multiple chains of baits—usually plastic squid, but also skirts or rubber ballyhoo in some cases—rigged to a single bar, which keeps them in an organized pattern as they troll through the water. The farthest aft bait should be...
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that 2009 Young-of-the-Year Striped Bass Survey was a 7.9 catch per haul this year, slightly below the long term average of 11.7. DNR has used the same techniques for the survey for the past 50 years to show the yearly spawning success for Rockfish. “These numbers may be slightly below the average, but it’s well within the normal range of expectations,” said DNR Fisheries Service Director Tom O’Connell. “The 2001 super year class, followed by a robust year class in 2003, should project for a healthy, sustainable population.”.... DNR biologists say it’s normal to see both spikes and dips in the yearly average, because striped bass reproduction hinges on...DNR samples from the same 22 locations every year. Biologists use a large net to sweep the area, counting all the fish the net picks up. During this year’s survey, biologists identified and counted more than 35,000 fish of 49 species, including 1,039 young-of-year striped bass.
The Spanish are invading Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, Spanish Mackerel that is. Reports are in with excellent catches of Spanish Macs from the Maryland line all the way up to in and around the bay bridge area. Flounder pounding reports are in the from the middle and lower Chesapeake. It’s been a few years since I’ve heard such good reports coming in, but keeper flounder are back in Maryland’s Chesapeake waters. Punk (ie undersize) striped bass are all over the bay along with their friends the bluefish. The action has mainly concentrated from Sharps Island, Popular Island up to Thomas Point, mostly on the...
Although windy weather is not allowing much opportunity for fishing on the open water, few anglers are complaining since sheltered waters are providing remarkable speckled trout action. Plenty of fish averaging to around three pounds are keeping casters content, while the numbers of citation fish are also on the rise. The most consistent speck action is happening in...
Striped Bass, Bluefish, Ablies and Bonita (aka Bones) fishing is busting loose in the Northeast! The last few days there has been some bad weather which has kept anglers off the water, but before that it’s been pretty wide open for light tackle and fly anglers. Full details in the reports...
The weather calmed down this week for some good offshore and nearshore fishing. The king mackeral bite has started to pick up not too far off the beach. A decent number of late year billfish were caught in the past week as well. Inshore, the standard fare of red drum, flounder, and blue fish are being picked up. 
From the Bay Bridge to the Choptank to Cove Point to Point Lookout, summer fun begins with a livewell full of spot and ends with a cooler of kickin’ stripers. You want to get the fish snapping this season? Live-lining is the ticket to bent rods—here’s how it works...One question regularly heard when discussing live-baiting: how do you hook the baitfish? Through the jaws, or the back? Actually, the answer is both and one or the other, depending on where in the water column the fish are feeding... 
The maps that we are all accustomed to are your traditional NOAA bottom contour maps that show depths and bottom features in two-dimensional form. Commercial fishermen have long known that being able to see maps in a 3D visual display enhances the ability to see the bottom in a way which many times leads to seeing drops, dips, ledges, humps...
Typically in saltwater fly fishing, and more specifically with fly fishing on the Chesapeake Bay, heading out into the big water and searching for breaking blues and stripers is option #1, and fishing underwater structure is option #2. Both of these options require a boat that’s capable of moving from spot to spot, or from school to school. 
You want a volcano-like explosion 30’ behind your transom? Tuna fish to come flying out of the water in attack-mode? Billfish to rise with their weaponry swinging? Then I sure hope you’re pulling spreader bars, because these lures will trigger more pelagics to attack than any other single lure in the water today.
