Next Update: May 6, 2009 (By 5pm)

If you submitted a photo and don't see your picture in the regular report please look in the photo gallery that we periodically run. Click here for this week's gallery!

Fishermen who have anxiously been waiting for the striped bass season to really kick in gear found what they were looking for this past weekend as post spawn striped bass began pouring out of several tidal rivers and moving through the bay on their migration south and out of the bay. This week should prove to be a banner week of Maryland fishermen. Creig Kimbro holds up a beautiful 34” striped bass caught on light tackle near the Calvert Cliffs Power Plant.

Most fishermen will be trolling a spread of chartreuse and white parachutes along the steep edges of the shipping channel that serve as a pathway for large striped bass. Many fishermen have reported fouled lines this week with winter jellyfish that inhabit the bay from late fall to early spring. They have a reddish brown center and shorter tentacles than the sea nettle and are often called lion’s mane jellyfish in the ocean where they grow much larger than in the bay.

Croakers continue to move into the lower Potomac River region and fishermen anticipate they will be showing up in the Tangier Sound area this week. The catch and release hickory shad fishery in the Susquehanna River and particularly Deer Creek is reaching its zenith this week. Caitlin Eversmeir and her dad have made it a father and daughter tradition to fly fish the mouth of Deer Creek for a number of years now and Caitlin’s smile reveals that this tradition may continue in future years to come.

Freshwater fishermen are seeing largemouth bass settling into their spawning behavior this week as females are now on the nests. Fishing for largemouth bass will tend to take a backseat for the next couple of weeks until the spawning is over and the bass begin to feed again. Fishing for blue catfish in the tidal Potomac continues to be good this week in the Fort Washington area and fishing for channel catfish in a number of tidal rivers also remains good. Trout fishermen are enjoying good flows in western rivers and streams this week as conditions are near perfect for spin and fly fishermen. Caesar Sheasby caught and released this nice rainbow trout on the Casselman recently while fly fishing.

Fishermen in the Ocean City area are seeing better catches of flounder in the back bay areas this week as well as tautog in and around the inlet. Surf fishermen are catching a mix of dogfish and skates on large cut baits and kingfish on smaller bloodworm baits. The boats venturing out to the inshore wreck sites report limits of large tautog are common.

Hats off and a big thank you to the Youghiogheny Chapter of Trout Unlimited for organizing a major stream clean-up along the Savage River this past weekend – an amazing amount of trash is now removed from the stream bank and an old dump sight to make the fishing experience even better here! Pictured is the group getting the debris up the steep hillside.

If you submitted a photo and don't see your picture in the regular report please look in the photo gallery that we periodically run. Click here for this week's gallery!

Don't hesitate to e-mail your recent fishing/crabbing photos and trip information. Send your photos via E-mail by the following Monday in order to be included in the next update. The file should be in .jpg format with the longest side sized at 600 pixels. Please try to keep the file size small, under one megabyte. The photo should clearly depict the angler(s), fish, and ethical handling practices. For information on ethical angling practices please reference the Catch and Release information located at URL: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/articles/catch_release.html
Include the following information:

• Date
• Angler(s)
• Hometown(s)
• Photo credit

• Location

• Weight/length of catch

• Bait/lure

Important Note: If anyone in your picture is under 18 years of age, we must have a photo release signed by that person and a parent/guardian before we can post your picture. By sending any photos or art to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources you are giving DNR permission to use the image(s) online and in print. You are also giving DNR permission to distribute the photo for non-commercial purposes to other media, print, digital and television for their use. You are not giving up your copyright, but are allowing the photo(s) to be used for educational and news purposes.

Send your photos and information to Keith Lockwood

Until next week,

Tight Lines,

Keith Lockwood
MD DNR Fisheries Service

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