The shad run, like the trees that share this incredible transient fish’s name, is in full bloom along with myriad other foliage. Spring has sprung, with no clearer sign than these anadromous fish pulsing into the Chesapeake Bay’s creeks and rivers from which they were spawned.
From the upper James and Rappahannock rivers to the Potomac’s Fletcher’s Landing and Susquehanna’s Deer Creek and points in between, it has been good fishing for these migratory visitors, at least when we get a pause in the raw weather. Strike that. The weather has been nothing short of abysmal lately. Here’s hoping for a stretch of good weather so those who have yet to cast a line for shad will get the chance.
On a different note, charter skippers and guides as well as sport anglers, who in my view have been unfairly shut out from catch-and-release striper fishing in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake, have turned to blue catfish to entertain and feed their clients. And the action has been off the hook.
Along the coast, the exceptional black drum run seems to be trucking right along. Assateague beaches are producing good catches for surf casters. I saw a post and photo from Scott Lenox’s fishing report (fishinoc.com) of a monster 70-pound black drum that CW Wells caught from the surf on Assateague Island. Heck of a catch, congratulations.
Early spring is also prime time for the traveling angler, who smartly head south to the Carolinas or Florida to chase game fish. Last week I got a text from Annapolis native John Rivers, who took his family south to the Florida Keys to smartly avoid the lingering March-like conditions.
Fishing with Big Dawg Sportfishing out of Islamorada, they set up near Seven Mile Bridge. John shared that they marked a few tarpon on the bottom and saw two roll right on the shade line from the bridge. Then his son, 13-year-old Landon, pitched a strike, sending a mullet into the big fish’s purview.
Never one to pass up an easy meal, the tarpon inhaled the bait, and it was game on. Landon let it run with the mullet, then flipped the bail and started reeling. And bam! He was hooked up! After about a 15-minute fight, the silver king, which according to the skipper weighed an estimated 80-plus pounds, was released to fight another day.
Landon commented, “That was hard but worth it. Now I want one on the fly.”
It’s good to have angling goals, and it appears the future of sport fishing looks bright with anglers like Landon on the water. And it’s also yet another example that most anglers value the experience over simply filling up the fish box.
If there was an upside to the two-year lockdown caused by COVID-19, it’s that huge numbers of Americans discovered — or rediscovered as the case may be — the joys and benefits to their mental health of getting outdoors.
Maryland saw huge surges of visitors to its public parks, reaching a peak of more than 21 million across 75 state parks in 2020. Overflow crowds forced park rangers to close 14 state parks 292 times, which according to state officials was triple the number of times they turned away visitors in 2019.
The unprecedented crowds threw a spotlight on what many have known for years — that Maryland’s state parks are in dire need of upgrades across the board. And thanks to the passage of the Great Maryland Outdoors Act in the recently ended General Assembly, that’s exactly what is set to happen.
An infusion of funds will begin to address long-overdue maintenance projects, expand access within current parks, and acquire land for parks. Addressing staffing shortages, expanding recreational amenities, and improving equity of access are also part of the Great Maryland Outdoors Act.
Additionally, the new law will allocate funding for infrastructure that improves bike lanes and trails. The legislation was spearheaded by state Sen. Sarah Elfreth, a Democrat from Anne Arundel County, and Del. Eric Luedtke, a Montgomery County Democrat, who also co-chaired the State Park Investment Commission that studied how to improve Maryland state parks, and supported by numerous conservation and outdoors groups.
“You [can] talk to any [park] ranger in the system in any part of the state of Maryland, and they will tell you they’re struggling to keep up with just the basic tasks of park maintenance,” Luedtke told the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee.
The timing of the new law couldn’t come at a better time. Congrats to all who helped get it passed.
Through April 30: Striper closure. No targeting of striped bass, including catch-and-release.
May 1-15: Spring striper season. One striper per day, minimum size 35 inches, in the Chesapeake from Brewerton Channel to the Virginia state line.
May 1: Boatyard Bar & Grill Opening Day Tournament. Register at boatyardbarandgrill.com/events/annapolis-fishing-tournament.
May 12: Past, Present, and Future of Striped Bass: A Chesapeake Perspective. The first of three free seminars, “Dark Years: Lessons Learned from the Striper Moratorium of 1985-1990,” will be livestreamed from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Hosted by FishTalk magazine, presented by the Coastal Conservation Association and its partners. Register for free fishtalkmag.com/chesapeake-perspective.
June 4: 19th Annual Kent Narrows Fly & Light Tackle Tournament. Register at ccamd.org/kent-narrows-fly-light-tackle.
June 25-26: 4th Annual Fish N’ Paddle Saltwater Slam Kayak Fishing Tournament. Ocean City, MD. Register at fishnpaddle.com.
Send calendar listings, news and photos to cdollarchesapeake@gmail.com.
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