Maryland Hunting Coalition Rally in Annapolis

High winds and freezing temperatures did not deter Maryland’s hunting community from attending a Hunter’s Rally at the State House on February 5, 2015. The event, which was organized by the Maryland Hunting Coalition, brought together hunters from across the State to meet lawmakers as they traveled to and from the State House.

“We were not there to lobby for a particular issue or to make speeches. We were there simply to meet lawmakers and ask they support our traditional privileges to hunt, trap and lawfully use our firearms” stated Allan Ellis, Executive Director of the Maryland Hunting Coalition.

During the rally, an estimated 75 plus lawmakers expressed their support for hunting in Maryland.

source: Maryland Hunting Coalition

Honey Harvest Festival

Honey Harvest Festival
Patuxent Research Refuge, MD
September 20, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The 2014 Maryland Honey Harvest Festival will be held at the Patuxent Research Refuge on September 20 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Supported by the Maryland State Beekeepers Association, the festival features arts and crafts, honey tasting, candle-making demonstrations, and more.

The Maryland Honey Harvest Festival is free and open to the public.

source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

2014 Maryland Free Fishing Days

Maryland Free Fishing Days:
June 7, 14 and July 4, 2014

Maryland's 2014 free fishing days are June 7, June 14 and July 4. No fishing license, stamp or registration is required to recreationally fish in State waters on these days.

Maryland also features 23 unique license-free fishing areas, where anglers can fish without a license throughout the year. However, a free Maryland Saltwater Angler Registration is required in these areas except on free fishing days.

As always, anglers must adhere to fishing regulations, including size and possession limits, which are available online in the digital 2014 Maryland Fishing Guide. Printed copies of the guide are offered at most Maryland tackle shops and any of the seven Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Service Centers.

Anglers 15 years and younger do not need a license to fish, year-round.

source: Department of Natural Resources

Ocean City Md Striped Bass Fishing

The striped bass, also known as striper, or rockfish is one of the most popular saltwater fish caught at Ocean City, Md. Unlike most saltwater fish species, striped bass are caught during all four seasons; spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Productive areas for catching stripers around Ocean City include the north jetty, south jetty, Rt 50 bridge, Rt. 90 bridge, Verrazano Bridge, coastal bays, and beaches along Ocean City and Assateague Island.

Casting lures is a popular technique for catching striped bass. Popular lures for catching stripers include bucktail jigs, jigs with soft plastic bodies, metal jigs, crankbaits, topwater plugs, gotcha style plugs, spoons, and others.

Striped bass are also caught using a variety of live and cut baits. Around bridges and jetties, live eels and spot are popular. For surf fishing, anglers employ cut baits including bloodworms, menhaden, mullet, spot, soft crab, sea clams, and other baits.

Although fishing for these heavyweight gamefish can be very specialized, anglers occasionally catch striped bass while flounder fishing.

Striped bass make excellent table fare. Fish kept for the table should be kept cold.

Stripers can be cleaned using either of three techniques;

scale first and fillet, leaving skin on;
remove the skin first by peeling off, then fillet;
or fillet first and then cut skin from fillet.