CHOMPING IN THE CHUMLINES

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CHOMPING IN THE CHUMLINES
By Steve & Chelly Scala
ST. MARY'S TODAY Outdoor Life Editors

Anglers and charterboats across Southern Maryland Chesapeake bay waters continue to enjoy a banner season year of striped bass action. Bay waters temperatures continue to fall towards more seasonal numbers, with many on the water hoping for arrival of bigger rockfish. While trolling is going to be on the mind of many fishing for stripers, chumming action continues to provide great opportunities. Those working the chumlines in the Middlegrounds and Stonepile areas are enjoying keeper rockfish in the 20 to 24 inch range. Further up the bay, an influx of smaller sub-legal striped bass have shown their presence. This is a good sign for future fishing years, so if some of these smaller, feisty rock find their way into Southern Maryland waters, release them quickly and gently. Striped bass in the 15 to 17 inch range could be next season’s keepers.

Hash Slinger Strategies

While slinging menhaden hash in the slicks last weekend, Steve enjoyed an interesting experience. The boat he was on was catching fish towards their limit until nearby waters got more crowded with boats chumming up the water. Soon, the number of fish coming in slowed and were longer between hook-ups. Another change was the bloated overfull bellies of the rockfish being caught who were being overfed by too much chum in a certain area of water. Those wh do a lot of chumming know what this situation leads to; the fish become overfed by too much chum and either stop feeding or get finicky and picky about what baits they will take. The boat’s wise Captain asked Steve to rig up some light weight 8 pound test leaders tied directly to small chumming hooks with no hardware or tackle. That did the trick and the crew was again enjoying rockfish action.

Toothy Sidekicks

There are plenty of bluefish still in Southern Maryland waters. Bite offs in the chum slicks prove their toothy presence, causing some anglers to go to heavier test monofilament leader or even wire line. This season, we have not had much luck in catching fish if we switched to wire leader, but it is always worth a try, especially if the blues are having their way with mono line chumming rigs. Blues in the 1 to 3 pound range are also providing plenty of surface action to those casting or trolling around breaking schools.

Sunday Deer Archery Day

Following on the success of last year’s Sunday hunting day on private lands, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has again provided this opportunity. Next Sunday, Nov. 7, archery hunting for deer will be permitted on private lands only in the Counties of Allegany, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Garrett, Kent, Queen Anne’s, St. Mary’s, Talbot and Washington.

Deer Archery Time

The 2004-05 Maryland deer archery season continues through Jan. 31. A Sunday hunting day on private lands, is again scheduled by Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife and Heritage Division.

There are only two Deer Management Regions identified as A and B. Region A is limited to Allegany and Garrett counties and Region B includes all other Maryland Counties. Within Region B, there is a Suburban Deer Archery Zone of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

The Region A archery bag limit is 2 deer. Only one 1 of these can be antlered. Region B, which includes the Southern Maryland Counties of Calvert, Charles and St. Marys, has a bag limit of two antlered white-tailed deer. Within Region B, two antlerless deer must be harvested before taking the second antlered deer. A Bonus Antlered Deer Stamp is required to take a second antlered deer. Region B archery hunters can harvest up to 10 antlerless deer. Archery hunters within the Suburban Deer Archery Zone of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties have the option of harvesting an unlimited number of antlerless deer.

Archery License Requirements
Those hunting deer during Maryland’s archery season, whether with crossbow or straight limb, recurve or compound bow, must purchase and have with them a Bow Stamp and valid hunting license. Hunters pursuing deer with archery tackle during the muzzleloader season must also have a Muzzleloader Stamp. When purchasing your hunting license, consider checking the box for the voluntary contribution of $1 to Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH). This organization accepts harvested deer donated by hunters and gets them processed and distributed to the needy across the state. Your donation helps cover the cost of processing and delivering venison to Maryland’s less fortunate.

Harvested deer must be checked into a DNR Official Deer & Turkey Checking Station. This can be within the county of harvest or of an adjacent county but must be within 24 hours after the kill. Deer harvested with straight limb, recurve or compound bow are registered as taken with a vertical bow. Crossbow harvests are recorded as taken with a crossbow.

The Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) Program in Maryland can be supported by bringing your harvested deer to a participating location or by donating funds to cover the cost of processing. Send you tax deductible check to, Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, 216 N. Cleveland Avenue, Hagerstown, MD 21740. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) provides the option of donating $1 to FHFH when purchasing a Maryland hunting license. The FHFH Program in Maryland can be reached by phone at, (301) 739-3000. An FHFH website includes locations where donated deer can be dropped off in Maryland and can be fund at; www.fhfh.org . Once at the Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry homepage, Select Maryland, for information on the Freestates local programs

An information booklet about the Maryland 2004-05 hunting seasons is provided when you purchase your License. You can also access information by visiting the DNR website at;