Hello anglers, we apologize for not posting a report last week. Our regular writer, Keith Lockwood, continues to conduct field research but will resume writing and contributing his expert insight next week. A few biologists from around the state were able to take a minute from their busy schedules and send in a quick report. In addition, here at the Maryland Fisheries Service there are 4 summer student technicians assisting a multitude of Fisheries Programs, the students are periodically posting their experiences on our Angler's Log so be sure to catch up on all their experiences. This year's students are Cameron Fletcher, Ashley Moreland, David Brown and Ryan Gary.

Photo Courtesy of Steve Doctor

Jim Thompson's report On Chesapeake Bay waters: For several weeks now, anglers have been successfully catching spot and live-lining them for rockfish near the gooses. Anglers are also picking up a few fish using bucktails and jigs in the same area while other anglers are choosing to troll the fringes and occasionally picking up fish. The quality of fish has been good, in the mid to upper 20" range. Anglers should use caution when handling any fish that are to be released. With temperatures being in the mid to upper 90's, it is imperative to limit handling of the fish and leave them in the water while de-hooking them. Use circle hooks whenever possible!

Photo Courtesy Denny Seabright

Alan Klotz from the Western Region sent in the following: The Inland Fisheries Service staff from across the state recently conducted the annual trout population surveys in the Savage River Trophy Trout Fishing Area. The densities of wild trout populations are below the record levels observed in 2008, mainly due to four successive years of poor recruitment caused by the reservoir draining and high springtime flow events during the egg/fry stage. However, there are still plenty of nice-sized adult brown trout in the 12 – 17 inch class, and some brook trout measuring up to 11 inches for anglers to pursue. We also found a good number of foot-long rainbow trout in the Fly-Fishing Only Area; these trout most likely were flushed over the Savage River Reservoir spillway during high flow events this past spring. This is a great place to fish and escape the heat as cold river temperatures act like an air conditioner. I recently fished the river and did well using #14 Elk-hair Caddis with a Copper John nymph dropper.

Photo Courtesy Alan Klotz

John Mullican, also from the Western Region reported the following: In spite of the hot temperatures, fishing on the upper Potomac has remained good. Smallmouth bass are taking topwaters early and late in the day. Switch to tubes and finesse worms bounced on the bottom during the day. I observed a few white miller mayflies last week in the Washington County section, but haven't seen a large hatch yet. Catfishing continues to be productive with chicken livers and cut bait the favorite baits. River temperatures are generally over 85°F so anglers are urged to land fish quickly, remove hooks while the fish is in the water, and return them quickly to reduce mortality.

Photo Courtesy Joey DeGiorgi

Ocean Report submitted by DNR's Steve Doctor: The offshore action is really different this year. There are squid everywhere and it is making it hard to catch a lot of fish as they are not concentrated. We have been catching more squid in our coastal bays survey than I have ever seen. There are fish being caught at all the usual locations, and at places you would not expect them. I caught mahi as shallow as ten fathoms this week and as deep as you can go. It is just hard to catch a lot of fish, they are scattered and there is no weed line. One encouraging development is that the yellowfin are starting to gang up at the hotdog which is a much shorter run than we have been making lately, and they are responding to chunking. The tile fishing is great- as usual, if you take the time to run out and do it.

Photos Courtesy of Steve Doctor