Contact Fisheries
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Maryland Angler's Log - Share Your Catch!To post a report please email your name, hometown, photos, location information, and the content for your report to fishingreports@dnr.state.md.us. All information is optional, but encouraged. Important Note: If anyone in your picture is under 18 years of age, we must have a photo release signed by 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. All Photos will be made available on Fisheries Service Flickr Page. The Snakehead Contest is being incorporated into an Inland Freshwater Survey on the Volunteer Angler Creel Survey webpage. For 2013 the end-of-year random drawing will include anglers reporting snakeheads to the Anglers Log as well as anglers participating in the Volunteer Angler Creel Surveys. We encourage anglers to continue to report snakehead catches. The information is helping our biologists better understand how this invasive species increases its range. |
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Karin Dodge, Fisheries Service - Annapolis, MD
- Total Reports: 1
- View all reports by Karin Dodge →
Posted on October 10, 2012 | Permalink
Harbor Day in Ocean City
Type: Coast
Region: Eastern
Location: Ocean City
On Saturday, October 6th I had the opportunity to head down to Ocean City to be part of Harbor Day at the Docks. Ocean City hosts this festival each year at the commercial fishing harbor. The event focuses on maritime traditions such as: commercial and sport fishing, safety at sea, seafood cooking demos and much more. I helped to staff the DNR’s Coastal Fisheries Program table. We had two touch tanks with fish from the coastal bays. Some of the fish we brought were: the oyster toadfish, black sea bass, feather blenny, starfish, horseshoe crab and two seahorses to name a few. Many people don’t realize that seahorses can be found in the bay as well as starfish, shrimp and the colorful spotfin butterflyfish, which was also swimming in our tank. The event was packed full of people as could be expected from such a beautiful warm day. I look forward to attending again next year. What a great day to be at the Ocean.
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Sydney Spells, Recreational Angler - Total Reports: 1
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Posted on September 21, 2012 | Permalink
What kind of fish is this?
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Could you please help me find out what type of fish this is? Possible juvenile snake head?
DNR Response: You caught a striped blenny. They are pretty common to brackish areas of the Bay. Occasionally, you can find them in shell areas. They like structure, so they are also commonly caught in minnow traps.
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Susan Naplachowski, Recreational Angler - Total Reports: 1
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Posted on September 11, 2012 | Permalink
Not a Snakehead - It's a Striped Blenny
Type: Tidal
Region: Eastern
Location: Saint Martins River
Please look at this fish. I think it is a possible snakehead fish found in Saint Martins River in Berlin MD. The fish was caught in a minnow trap off the dock of White Horse Park Community. The fish lived for 10 hours while out of water and in dry plastic ziploc bag. There was air in the bag since I opened it up several times. Is this a snakehead fish??
DNR Response: Hi Susan, thanks for the picture and the question. It’s not a snakehead. It’s an awesome, striped blenny. They are pretty common to brackish areas of the Bay. Occasionally, you can find them in shell areas. They like structure, so they are also commonly caught in minnow traps. Check out this link: Snakehead? Not! for photos of common fish mistaken as snakeheads
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Don Cosden, Fisheries Service - Total Reports: 1
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Posted on May 3, 2012 | Permalink
Snakehead? Not!
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One result of anglers helping us to watch for and remove snakeheads from our state waters is that many other species are being misidentified as snakeheads. There are many species of fish in Maryland which at first glance look similar and also there are many small fish which are common but aren’t often caught or recognized by anglers. I have posted pictures of some of those other species.
The eastern mudminnow is common in small streams and swampy areas, maximum length is only about 3”. This one is quiet colorful, many specimens are just a dark brown. The best way to distinguish it from a snakehead is with the fins. The snakehead has a long dorsal fin that runs along the fishes back from just behind the head and stopping just before the tail. It also has a long anal fin which starts in the middle of its belly and almost reaches the tail. The mudminnow fins are short.
The blenny comes from our tidal creeks and rivers and also the bay. It has fins similar to a snakehead but the body is very flat. The snakehead’s body is more cylindrical shape. Maximum size is a couple of inches.
The naked goby also comes from tidal creeks. Its dorsal fin is separated into two and the anal fin is shorter than a snakeheads. It is more round like the mudminnow. Maximum size is about 1 ½ inches.
The bowfin may be the most easily confused. It gets large, has lots of teeth and has the long dorsal fin. Notice that it has a short anal fin and usually a large eye spot near the tail.
As you can see indentifying some of our species can be confusing but hopefully this will help. Thanks to everyone for your reports. Keep them coming.
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Erin Gordon, Recreational Angler - Cobb Island, MD
- Total Reports: 2
- View all reports by Erin Gordon →
Posted on April 18, 2012 | Permalink
Naked Goby - Not a Baby Snakehead
Type: Tidal
Region: Southern
Location: Neale Sound, Cobb Island
My son caught this baby snakehead in his minnow trap on Neale Sound near Cobb Island, MD.
DNR Response: The photo submitted is actually a naked goby; which is a very common little fish in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. They are a tiny fish that reaches a maximum size of about 2-1/2” and is very secretive; often hiding in oyster shell bars and various bottom debris and sea grass. They can be identified by 9 to 11 vertical dark bars on their sides. Their pelvic fins are shaped into suction like disc that helps them hold on to oyster shells. They often lay their eggs in a dead gaped oyster on the inside of the upper shell and males guard the nest aggressively. Naked gobies can also be found in company of two other small common inhabitants of oyster reefs; the striped blenny and skilletfish. There are over 2,000 species of gobies and most are tropical; the naked goby can be found from New York to Texas. There are two other species of gobies found in the Chesapeake Bay, the seaboard and the green goby which are not as common.
