Half of 2019 is in the books..

[ronaultmtd]

With half a year in the books,2019 has been anything but great fishing..I keep reminding myself...it only takes one good fish to have a “successful” fishing trip...with climate change on us like a hair shirt, it is difficult to predict the changing weather conditions or to predict their effect on the Maryland and vicinity waters...one of the great advantages of being old was experience..knowing patterns, knowing seasonal migrations, the species of migrating fish and what they feed upon, when and where...having that resource to draw upon, Year after year was invaluable...throwing the right bait, at the right structure at the right phase of the tide during the time migrating fish are there...but the new normal is there isn’t any...abnormal is normal...those who can adapt the quickest will be the most successful...and we have to modify our measure of “successful”...native species are either going to adapt or go extinct, displaced by non-Native “invasive” species more adaptable to the new “normal” weather conditions...peacock bass may need to be imported as the waters here become more suited habitat of those fish...as the river systems get flushed with more and more fresh water, why not look at west coast salmon specie introduction as the Striped Bass was introduced out west? Fishery biologists may want to look at the introduction of African and Asian species such as the tilapia...Amazon River species might be another resource for the Chesapeake Bay watershed...as our planet warms- not in fifty years but as Bill Nye, the science guy, predicts in the next ten years...some species will not make it...our beloved Striped Bass maybe one that does not...just imagine hooking a 125# Nile Perch at the Bay Bridge...

[moc]

That is an interesting read Ron. I always use to joke when I was much younger that....watch out! We may have palm trees growing in Maryland's not too distant future.

We already have some invasive species entertaining anglers right now like, Blue Cats and Snake Heads.

[Mark]

Ron,

The phrase in your post that caused me to shudder was, "Fishery biologists may want to look at the introduction of..." I believe they gave us blue cats. True, they gave us LM and SM bass too which have been success stories. But I think the jury is still out on blue cats. I believe it's better when nature itself dictates its future -- a Darwinian approach. I'd prefer to let the fish dictate where they want to live and we'll adjust as they arrive or depart.

That said, here it is June 10 and I've yet to catch a tidal fish this year. That is very rare for me. Some of that is due to my limited outings this spring. I was essentially out of commission March and April and much of May. And some of it is due to my concentration on freshwaters so far this year. A good thing about pond fishing is that I know the fish are there and they cannot hide! I've done well finding them proving that I have not lost my touch. I feel certain that my tidal success will return soon.

[ronaultmtd]

Big pond owners used to be able buy the Arkansas hybrid bream to stock their ponds with...the stocking of private ponds has led to the spread of nonnative species when floods and dam failures released the fish from the ponds into public waters...the Columbia River in Washington/Oregon had walleyes introduced and today their walleye fishery has produced some of the biggest fish in the USA...and look at our Northern Snakeheads in Maryland...world record size fish...just think about a food fish like talapia being farm raised and accidentally released into the public waters like the snakehead...it is inevitable that non native fish will get into the public waters...Florida has a hodpodge of different non native fish...

[mchottie]

Half of 2019 is in the books...

And I haven't had the time to put the yak in the water yet...

[Mark]

Half of 2019 is in the books...

And I haven't had the time to put the yak in the water yet...

Michael,

That's a shame. I have no room to complain.

I hope the second half of 2019 finds time for you to fish!

[Cluelessandfly]

Ron, I share your fear. The last 2 years have been brutal for river fishing and migratory fishing in and around DC. Abnormal is certainly becoming the norm. Tilapia have been caught in Four Mile Run before FYI

Luckily at this time, they are released (some suspect ritually) and they die when the water cools, but at this rate, that may change sooner rather than later....

[J.A. Veil]

Ron - Don't jump the gun on half the year -- we still have 20 potential fishing days in June before the mid-point. As of yesterday, I have fished 70 days in 2019 and have caught 34 different species. Over 55 of those have been in kayaks either at home or in Florida. But I had to work harder for those fish and spend a good deal of time and money to get to places where I could find fish. With only a few exceptions, fishing has been below par everywhere I went. My kayak guide in Tampa is so frustrated with the catching recently that he cancelled all guided trips for the rest of the month. He is starting a PR campaign with the Florida governor to get more attention on fisheries as a key tourist attraction.

I spent the past week in south Florida, kayak fishing two days in Biscayne Bay and two in the lower Keys. Although I caught fish on each trip, many were small or were not the prime gamefish. The guides bemoaned the abundance of fish in their home regions too -- just as we have done in the Chesapeake.

This spring I fished in Tangier Sound and the lower eastern shore islands with two different guides. We caught a few modest sized fish, but nowhere near what we anticipated. That used to be an amazing fishery -- on my two trips, it was very ordinary.

I disagree strenuously with you that importing non-native species is the right answer. Humans have a tendency to think they are smart and can fix natural phenomena. More often than not, the Law of Unintended Consequences overrides the smart scientists and policymakers. If global and regional temperatures continue on the rising trend as they have done for a while, natural migration will move new species into our area and diminish other species. This will happen on its own.

[gliebig]

I love fishing below Conowingo for smallies but have just about given up on that location over the past couple years. Non-stop high flow from all this rain. I think July last year, I was able to get out a handful of times, but other than that, washout.

[ronaultmtd]

Half of 2019 is in the books..

So, now that June is just about complete, the accuracy of this post cannot be questioned...Jonas (Talon Angler) and I fished PLO yesterday...about as far south as you can go and still be in Maryland...He is a Ranger at the park..and reported seeing schools of bait being chased inside Lake Conoy..like Redfish do...and pier fishermen there catching “spot tail croakers”...so that was enough for me...be advised trying to get into the park on a Sunday morning in late June will find a long, long line of vehicles waiting at the gate for the park to open at 6 A.M...so after getting in line at 5:40 A.M. I finally got through the gated at 6:35 A.M...met up with Jonas at the Campstore parking lot and was on the water by 6:45...we fished hard for the next five hours...high tide was at 6:35 A.M...emptied the tackle boxes at least twice, tried both white and Chartreuse Gulp...every color plastic I had...had one small white perch briefly hooked in Lake Conoy...fished the inlet, the rock jetties, the rock piles, the pound net, the debris from the old pier by the lighthouse...one tail bitten off...hung up a few times at the old pier site jigging for flounder...otherwise, a beautiful sight seeing outing...great exercise...good company, not much to complain about...however, it was my third “skunk” of 2019...I only had one skunk in all of 2018...if I had fished for catfish at PLO I know I could have avoid the skunk, but...huge balls of bait...lots of schools of minnows dimpling big areas of water...but no predators...that cooperated...

Back to the original post subject...so far the fishing in Maryland has been less than “stellar”...had a couple of red letter days, but overall eh!

IMG_0594.jpg

If you look in this picture of Jonas fishing inside Lake Conoy, you will see what looks like a log on his left side- that is actually a huge school of minnows...

[Mark]

Ron,

You have slightly less than 4 weeks to produce fish for the SMOG M&G. I'm counting on you.

The OGWLF are thoroughly frustrated by the poor tidal fishing here in the Mid-Bay region.

It's getting bad...I'm contemplating becoming a bait chucker, maybe having a flyrod clearance sale, or actually volunteering to babysit my grandkids.

[ronaultmtd]

If the rains let up...and hot weather gets here...we will catch fish...Smith Creek used to be the Redfish hotspot of hotspots until two pound nets cut into the fishery...one poundnet on each side of the mouth of Smith Creek...like the big poundnets at PLO and Piney Point..the proliferation of poundnets and thousands of crab pots have really reduced our fishing areas significantly...St. Jerome’s Creek inlet is so thick with crab pots you cannot effectively fish the inlet...with current running you will hang a pot every time...as the fish population declines commercial watermen add more and more net and pots to try to maintain the same catch...and every year more recreational fishermen are born...with declining water quality, changing environmental conditions and the very real declining overall health of the waterways, we face some real challenges...and we have to recognize that we also contribute to the challenges...every time I renew my CCA membership, I think about this...but July 20th we will catch some fish...bring your White Perch lures...both Piney Point and Smith Creek has some decent white Perch as well as the occasional Speckled Trout and Redfish...my personal best out of a kayak- 26 inch Speckled Trout... came from there...