The Mitchell family was one of many winners of a fishing trip for blue catfish in the first-ever Reel in the Blues Bonanza, sponsored by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Jared Mitchell holds up one of the many blue catfish they caught on their trip. Photo by Marc MitchelAugust continues to provide a broad range of fishing opportunities for anglers during the striped bass closure.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds Maryland recreational anglers that targeting striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries is prohibited through August 1 through August 31 to protect the species. This month is an ideal time to fish for Maryland’s multitude of other species, especially Chesapeake Channa and blue catfish.
For anyone interested in chasing a Maryland state fishing record, there are steps anglers can take to increase their chances of hooking the largest fish of a given species and what to do if you think you have record-setting catch. Learn more from DNR’s online article on what it takes to land a Maryland record.

marylands DNR budget for this year is half a billion dollars! think about that. What services do they perform that that justify such an expenditure? Stopping people from catching a male crab or rockfish? meanwhile they spend our tax dollars on getting people to clean up the trash fish in the chesapeake, snakeheads and blue cats, while omega and commercial entities rape the bay! Thank you dnr, dont know how we would survive without you! defund dnr! now there’s something worth doing!