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Striped Bass

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It is Illegal:

To possess any cut up or filleted striped bass at any time aboard any boat on the tidal waters of Maryland. Striped bass must be landed whole.
To use more than 2 hooks or 2 sets of hooks for each rod or line. Artificial lures or plugs with multiple hooks are considered 1 set of hooks.
To use eels as bait while fishing for striped bass with hook and line from Dec. 16 through May 15, inclusive, in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.
To cull striped bass.
To possess striped bass while fishing from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m.
To use a gaff to land striped bass.
To take or shoot striped bass with a spear gun and spear in the tidal waters of the state.
To fish for striped bass by any means or practice catch-and-release of striped bass in designated spawning areas from March 1 through May 31.
To intentionally snag a striped bass.

To view maps of open catch-and-release and spring trophy season areas go to www.dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/sbmaps.

Why Eels for Bait are Prohibited in the Spring
The use of eels as bait is prohibited during the Pre-season Catch & Release and Spring Trophy seasons because striped bass engulf eels and swallow the hooks. Deep hooked fish experience about 50% mortality. Shallow hooked fish have about 3.5% mortality over the course of the year and about 0.8% mortality in March and April.

The following tables summarize striped bass fishing, harvest and possession regulations.
This is an abridged summary. Full information and updates are available at: www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/regulations.

Chesapeake Bay & Tidal Tributaries(excluding the Susquehanna Flats,Lower Susquehanna River & Northeast River)
Season	Fishing Locations Allowed	Creel & Size Limits	Regulations	Restrictions & Remarks
Jan. 1 – Feb. 28	All MD portions of Bay and Potomac are open to catch and release fishing only	No harvest	Catch and release only	Directed catch and release of striped bass in the Potomac requires barbless hooks. Eels may not be used as bait.
Spring Catch & Release Season March 1 – April 19	Chesapeake Bay from the Brewerton Channel to the Virginia line including Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds.	No harvest	Stinger (trailing) hooks are prohibited. Barbless hooks are required when trolling. Non-offset circle hooks or J hooks with a gap of less than 1/2 inch are required when using natural bait. No more than 6 lines may be employed while trolling regardless of the number of anglers on board.	These restrictions apply in all open catch and release areas from March 1 until 5:00 a.m., April 19 Spawning rivers and the Upper Bay spawning area are off limits until June 1 to striped bass fishing. Eels may not be used as bait See maps at: www.dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/sbmaps.
Spring Trophy Season April 20 – May 15	Chesapeake Bay from Brewerton Channel to the MD-VA Line, excluding all bays, sounds, tributaries, creeks and rivers, except Tangier Sound and Pocomoke Sound	One fish per person per day 28 inches or longer.		Eels may not be used as bait See maps at: www.dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/sbmaps.
May 16 – May 31	Chesapeake Bay downstream from a line drawn from the south corner of Hart-Miller Island Dike to the end of MD Route 21 at Tolchester and south to the MD/VA line, excluding all bays, sounds, tributaries, creeks and rivers. EXCEPT: Tangier Sound and Pocomoke Sound; Chester River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Hail Point to Long Point to Ferry Point; Patuxent River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Point Patience to the west point of land at the entrance of Little Kingston Creek; and Choptank River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Holland Point to a point of land at the west entrance of Chapel Creek are open.	2 fish per person per day between 18–28 inches OR 1 fish between 18–28 inches and 1 fish over 28 inches		Angler CANNOT have 2 fish longer than 28 inches in possession. See maps at: www.dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/sbmaps.
Summer/Fall Season June 1 – Dec. 15	All Maryland Chesapeake Bay waters and tributaries open to fishing	2 fish per person per day between 18–28 inches OR 1 fish between 18–28 inches, and 1 fish over 28 inches per person per day		Angler CANNOT have 2 fish longer than 28 inches in possession. See maps at: www.dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/sbmaps.
Dec. 16 – Dec. 31	All MD portions of Bay and Potomac are open to catch and release fishing only
Striped bass tournaments in tidal waters require a free permit.For more information or to request a permit, contact the Fisheries Service at customerservice@dnr.state.md.us or 410-260-8325.

SUSQUEHANNA FLATS, LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVER & NORTHEAST RIVER
Season	Fishing Locations Allowed	Creel & Size Limits	Regulations	Restrictions & Remarks
Dec. 16 – May 3	Susquehanna Flats, upstream of a line from Sandy Point to Turkey Point and the Susquehanna River downstream from a line connecting the Susquehanna State Park boat ramp at Lapidum to Twin Rocks to Tomes Wharf in Port Deposit; and the Northeast River	No harvest	Catch and release only	Stinger hooks are prohibited. Barbless hooks are required when trolling. Non-offset circle or J hooks with less than ½ inch gap are required when using bait. No more than six lines per boat are allowed when trolling. Eels may not be used as bait.
May 4 – May 15	Susq. Flats closed to striped bass fishing	Closed	Closed	No catch and release fishing
May 16 – May 31	Susq. Flats reopen to striped bass fishing	1 striped bass 18–26 inches per person per day inclusive		Eels may not be used as bait
June 1 – Dec. 15	Susquehanna Flats and all Bay waters including tributaries open to striped bass fishing.	2 striped bass per person per day between 18–28 inches OR 1 fish between 18–28 inches and 1 fish over 28 inches inclusive

ATLANTIC COAST, COASTAL BAYS & THEIR TIDAL TRIBUTARIES
Season	Fishing Locations Allowed	Creel & Size Limits	Regulations	Restrictions & Remarks
Jan. 1 – Dec. 31	No area restrictions	28 inches or larger; 2 per person per day

RESERVOIRS
Season	Fishing Locations Allowed	Creel & Size Limits	Regulations	Restrictions & Remarks
Reservoirs— No Closed Season	Liberty Reservoir, Piney Run Reservoir, Tridelphia Reservoir, Conowingo Reservoir, Broadford Lake, Jennings Randolph Reservoir, and Rocky Gorge Reservoir	18 inch minimum size; 2 fish per person per day — only 1 of those fish may be larger than 30 inches		No closed season

Regulations in red are new this year.

Purple text indicates an important note.