Nine year old Daniel Wells of Lutherville, MD went fishing with his uncle Martin Prinz of Towson last Wednesday, April 16th and went home as a freshwater state record holder. Daniel caught a record-breaking 1 pound, 7 ounces, 14-inch long, 11-inch girth white perch while fishing in the Upper Gunpowder River near the Phoenix Trail. The perch hit a worm. This trip was the first time Daniel had ever been freshwater fishing. The fish was taken to Set's Sport Shop in Towson for the official weigh in and was certified by DNR fisheries biologist, Martin Gary. The previous freshwater white perch weighed 1 pound, 5 ounces and was caught by Joshua Hudgins on 08/15/2000 at Liberty Reservoir.

Striped Bass "trophy" season opened last Saturday on the Chesapeake Bay below the Brewerton Channel to the Maryland/Virginia line, Tangier & Pocomoke Sounds (no tributaries). Catches averaged 31 to 33 inches in length with few reports of striped bass measuring over 40 inches. Angler, Mike Singleton of Clifton, VA caught the largest striped bass that I heard of from opening weekend. It measured 51 inches and weighed 49 pounds, 5 ounces. It was caught trolling in the Chesapeake Bay near the Patuxent River aboard a charter boat. The fish was officially checked in at Bunky's located on Solomons Island, a Maryland Sport Fishing Tournament Citation Center. The peak of the hickory shad run is upon us and a few American shad have been caught. Croakers continued to advance into the Bay have been reported as far north as Sandy Point State Park. Fred Carver e-mailed the following report. I took my family out Sunday afternoon and my daughter caught this 17 1/4" horse croaker on a Bass Assassin jig at the Calvert Co Nuke Power Plant (mid bay). She was so proud of her catch and when she found out it was a citation and patch size it made her even more proud. Her name is Jamie Nolte and she is 12.

Trout fishing has been popular in freshwater. Anglers have been catching many of the trout stocked by our Hatcheries and Finfish Restoration Program. Han Sohn provided the following report and photo. I went fishing on April 20th at Deer Creek in Harford County. I had no luck for the first hour but then I tried a deep pool and on the first cast, I hooked into this nice fish. It was a good fight on a 4 lb test line. This is the biggest trout I have ever caught. His fished measured 23 inches.

Trout Stocking Update - April 21 to April 25, 2003
By Howard Stinefelt

If you missed the previous two opening days of trout fishing then here is your last chance. The last of our spring trout openers occurs this Saturday, April 26, when fishing commences at 5:30am on the #4 streams. Stocking crews report that they are on schedule and all #4 areas will be stocked by Friday. There are still lots of nice fish going into our streams, lakes and ponds. In spite of last year's hot, dry summer, most of our hatcheries reared an impressive crop of trout this spring. We still have many jumbo trout that must be stocked out in the next few weeks. Each truck load of trout include a few of these big holdovers, some weighing up to 6 or 8 pounds. In addition to the closure streams, many areas received an in-season stocking this week as well. Be sure to check the 2003 Week-of Stocking Schedule for a place near you.

Once we get into May, most of the early season hype over trout fish has subsided as other species of sportfish become active and available to fishermen. At this time, trout fishing assumes a more leisurely profile. Harvest is more gradual and stocked trout hold in good numbers weeks after stocking. At such times, the catch rate can be surprising fast, the crowds surprisingly light, and the overall fishing trip surprisingly gratifying. After surviving several weeks in a stream environment, stocked trout become accustom to natural foods such as worms, minnows, and stream insects. So a switch from Power Bait, cheese and corn to more natural baits may be in order. During insect hatches, stocked trout will readily take naturals off the surface and at such times dry fly fishing can be outstanding.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) adopted a minimum size increase and a specific season for the recreational black sea bass fishery for Maryland tidal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, its seaside bays and their tributaries and the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Effective 12:01 a.m., Monday, April 21, 2003, the recreational black sea bass minimum size will increase from 11-1/2 inches to 12 inches. The daily creel limit for recreational black sea bass remains 25 fish per person per day. The recreational black sea bass season opened January 1 and will close 12:00 midnight, Monday, September 1, 2003. The season will reopen at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, September 16 and will close 12:00 midnight, Sunday, November 30, 2003.