Load up your tackle box at hunting/fishing show
Hunters and fishermen will mingle at the annual Maryland Hunting and Fishing Show, which opens a three-day run tomorrow night at Pikesville Armory. And back will be the star of previous shows there, the talented mule of Pocono Adventures.
Fishing tackle, lots of it freshwater, will be the feature of much of this popular show, and there will be many inland water guides to offer information and book parties. The Chesapeake, Ocean City, Cape Charles, Lewes and Lake Anna also will be well represented. In addition, there will be continuous movies and seminars. The seminar schedule:
Tomorrow: 7 p.m., bass fishing; 8 p.m., bear and deer hunting; 9 p.m., fishing the Bay Bridge area.
Saturday: 11 a.m., Fishing In Maryland; noon, Bay Bridge fishing; 1 p.m., offshore fishing; 3 p.m., deer and bear hunting; 4 p.m., bass fishing.
Sunday: 11 a.m., bay trolling; noon, bass fishing; 1 p.m., offshore fishing; 2 p.m., deer and bear hunting; 3 p.m., Bay Bridge fishing.
Overall show hours are tomorrow, 6 to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, free for children under 15, and $3 for senior citizens upon request. Call 841-6974.
Calendar ...
* Tomorrow/Saturday: Weather permitting, first attempt for Boston mackerel off Ocean City by the headboat Miss Ocean City. Phone ahead for final arrangements. Call 1-301-289-7936.
* Tomorrow: Opening of the three-day ninth annual Seaside Boat Show at Ocean City Convention Center, one of the best of the smaller boat shows in the East. More than 250 boats will be on display inside and outside. Hours are tomorrow, 4-8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $4, $1 for children. Call 1-301-524-9000.
* Tomorrow: Maryland raccoon and opossum season by gun and bow ends.
* Saturday: Photography tour, 9 a.m., Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary; also orienteering, 1 p.m. Call 1-301-888-1410.
* Tuesday: Beginning of Boat Safety Course by Patapsco River Power Squadron, 7 p.m., Old Mill High School, Patriots' Lane, Glen Burnie. Call 255-8773.
* Tuesday: First of series of informational workshops on Savage River State Forest, 7 p.m., South Hagerstown High School cafeteria, and Bowie Senior High School. Hunters and fishermen should participate in one of the sessions to make their wishes known. Other workshops: Wednesday, 7 p.m., Catonsville Community College; next Thursday, 7 p.m., Grantsville Elementary School and Frostburg State University, Lane Center; and Feb. 22, 7 p.m., Broadford Elementary School, Oakland. Call James Burtis, 974-3195.
* Tuesday: Beginning of Dundalk Power Squadron Safe Boating Course, 7:30 p.m., Dundalk High School, 1901 Delvale Ave. Call 282-6464.
Planning ahead ...
* March 1: Gen. George G. Meade Chapter, Ducks Unlimited, annual banquet and auction, Timbuktu Restaurant, Route 176, Dorsey. Call David Harrell, 1-301-757-6796.
Names and places ...
* As the 27th annual Maryland Sportfishing Tournament gets under way, the Department of Natural Resources announces the winners of the '90 contest in which 2,100 citations were issued. Oddly, freshwater citations doubled the total of bay and ocean awards, with 1,116 issued. Winners last year follow:
* Chesapeake Bay: Flounder, 4 pounds 2 ounces, Hooper Straits, Fred Blackiston, Salisbury; smallmouth bass, 4 pounds 10 ounces, Susquehanna at Lapidum, Brian Hill, Bel Air; yellow perch, 14 ounces, Dundee Creek, Matthew Bechtel, Westminster; crappie, 2 pounds 7 ounces, Susquehanna, Ron McMillan, Forest Hill; carp, 35 pounds, Bush River, Len Berlin, Baltimore; largemouth bass, 8 pounds, Pocomoke, John Raw, Wallop, Va.; bluefish, 18 1/2 pounds, James Island, Kevin Morrow, Tallmadge, Ohio. And, white perch, 2 pounds 3 ounces, Choptank River, Steve Shimek, Secretary; pickerel, 4 3/4 pounds, Pocomoke River, Chris Marks, Baltimore; black drum, 86 pounds, Stone Rock, Casey Hunter, Timonium; catfish, 17 1/4 pounds, Susquehanna, Tommy Waters, Havre de Grace; red drum, 48 pounds, Pocomoke Sound, Douglas Taylor, Princess Anne.
* Freshwater: Largemouth bass, 10 pounds 1 ounce, farm pond, Wayne Dillon, Waldorf; pickerel, 5 1/4 pounds, Johnsons Pond, Bruce Fisher, Baltimore; crappie, 2 pounds 13 ounces, farm pond, Eric Gulbraudseh, Chestertown; carp, 37 pounds, Belle Grove Pond, Terry Day, Baltimore; brown trout, 5 pounds 13 ounces, Potomac River, Leo Lannon, Piedmont, W.Va.; rainbow trout, 7 1/2 pounds, farm pond, Glenn Potts, Union Bridge; brook trout, 4 pounds 10 ounces, Potomac, Rick Bogie, Barton; yellow perch, 1 pound 10 ounces, Deep Creek Lake, Christopher Hiner, Cumberland.
Also, walleye, 10 pounds 1 ounce, Deep Creek Lake, Lewis Ansel, McClellandtown, Pa.; muskellunge, 17 1/2 pounds, Potomac River, Matthew Poffenberger, Hagerstown; northern pike, 19 pounds 11 ounces, Potomac, William Murray, Clear Spring; bluegill, 2 pounds 2 ounces, Jamison Lake, Steve Penatzer, Pomfret; smallmouth bass, 5 pounds 15 ounces, Liberty Reservoir, Steve Barnes, Baltimore; catfish, 23 pounds 10 ounces, farm pond, Dwight Topper, Taneytown.
* Atlantic Coast: Blue marlin, 760 pounds, Poor Man's Canyon, Archie Jerrigan, Landenberg, Pa.; white marlin, 91 pounds, Poor Man's Canyon, Alan Koerner, Roanoke, Va.; wahoo, 47 pounds, Jackspot, Mark Corrigan, Baltimore; flounder, 10 1/2 pounds, Thorofare, Donald Frock, Westminster; tautog, 12 pounds 14 ounces, North Jetty, Mark Harrison, Brewerton, N.Y.; false albacore, 17 pounds, Hot Dog Lump, William Betts, Delmar, Del.; sea bass, 5 3/4 pounds, offshore wreck, Richard Pryor, Hagerstown; kingfish, 1 1/4 pounds, Ocean City, Wayne Bell, Easton.
And, king mackerel, 37 pounds, Mud Hole, Christopher Bridgham, Bowie; dolphin, 56 1/2 pounds, Poor Man's Canyon, Clayton Fluke, Charlestown, W.Va.; mako shark, 387 pounds, Jackspot, Larry Watson, Baltimore; shark, 852 pounds, 20 Fathom Line at the Fingers, Danny Criger, Baltimore; bluefish, 20 pounds, Assateague Island, Dale Hayward, Salisbury; tuna, 282 pounds, Poor Man's Canyon, Marc Wangel, Potomac; black drum, 64 pounds, Bishop Head, John Condego, Dayton; red drum, 62 3/4 pounds, Oceanic Fishing Pier, Craig Cusick, Cambridge.
Question box ...
* Baltimorean Jimmy Serafene asks when bass fishing will start in farm ponds.
Our answer: For this we turned to Ebbie Smith of Prince Frederick, probably Maryland's best pond angler, who said any time after a few warm days the bass will stir. He has made some of his best catches in April and May, but has taken nice largemouths in March.
For early season, he advises fishing the deep edges of drop-offs slowly with soft plastics, crankbaits, deep-running spinnerbaits and jigs. When waters begin to warm, he advises fishing shoals close to shore, especially around structure.
Keep in mind, the ban on bass begins March 1 and continues through June 15, but that doesn't mean you can't fish for them. Fish as much as you want, but release them promptly.
* NOTE: To have an item or question included in the Outdoor Journal, write Bill Burton, The Evening Sun Sports Dept., 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, Md. 21278-0001.