Winter can be a depressing, tortuous time for many anglers in Bay Country. Yucko weather and a general lack of available species to target keep many piscatorial enthusiasts off the water between the months of January and March, leading to the increased consumption of adult beverages; couch potato disorder, and television addiction.
But there are some species that become more active during the winter, including the elusive chain pickerel--a toothy, aggressive, barracuda-like fish that inhabits brackish and freshwater reaches of many Bay tributaries. This fish takes lures and flies readily, making it a perfect winter target on nice weather days.
The Coastal Conservation Association Maryland’s Tidal Pickerel Challenge is underway and runs through March 15. The catch and release event is being held in conjunction with six local tackle/outdoor shops—Alltackle, Annapolis; Anglers, Annapolis; Shore Tackle and Custom Rods, Grasonville; Patuxent Adventure Center, Solomons; Sea Hawk Sports Center, Pocomoke City; and Tochterman’s, Baltimore.
Anglers can register for the event at any of the five shops. Each fish that the angler catches, photographs and then releases will accumulate points for his tackle shop based on inches. The more inches an angler turns in, the more his shop earns in competition with the other shops. The winning tackle shop will keep the CCA MD Pickerel Challenge plaque for the coming year. Last year's winner was Angler's in Annapolis.
Anglers must take photos of their fish on approved CCA MD rulers, which will be available at the shops. Photos should be submitted to
[email protected], and complete rules can be found at
http://www.ccamd.org/?p=1043.