9 replies to this topic

[FishPigeon]

The rules seem to be pretty strict in Maryland for dip-netting - no baitfish or sunfish, which is pretty much all I'm looking for. I'm planning to stock a 120 or 150 with a small (hopefully 2 inch) pumpkinseed, and then my dad wants to fill the rest of the tank with stuff he's missed over 10 years of not having a native tank. Tadpole madtom, for instance - baitfish, right? Legally? We prefer dip netting and seine netting to fishing with hooks or bait traps, so in my opinion it seems like we should look at a non-resident license from PA instead of bothering with MD. Any other takes on this? Am I missing anything? We're not too far from the PA border, so it wouldn't be a huge deal to pop over there to fish and come back. Thanks in advance

[El Todd]

Last I checked, PA was more restrictive than MD. I think you are OK with madtom in MD, but all sunfish are considered gamefish so they can only legally be taken by hook and line or, if you're want a real challenge, by hand fishing. Seines are legal most places in MD but dipnetting for anything other than suckers is legal only in tidal areas - luckily many of the areas considered tidal are freshwater.

 

I think Delaware, NJ ,W. Virginia and Virginia are also out of the question for netting sunfish. The only possibility might be D.C.;  but I'm guessing that would be a bit of a hike for you if you are near the PA border. I actually tried calling D.C. DNR a while ago for clarity on their dipnetting rules, but they never got back to me. Another possibility might be to try to get a scientific permit; that could give you a lot of options but I don't know how hard they are to get. 

[FishPigeon]

Last I checked, PA was more restrictive than MD. I think you are OK with madtom in MD, but all sunfish are considered gamefish so they can only legally be taken by hook and line or, if you're want a real challenge, by hand fishing. Seines are legal most places in MD but dipnetting for anything other than suckers is legal only in tidal areas - luckily many of the areas considered tidal are freshwater.

 

I think Delaware, NJ ,W. Virginia and Virginia are also out of the question for netting sunfish. The only possibility might be D.C.;  but I'm guessing that would be a bit of a hike for you if you are near the PA border. I actually tried calling D.C. DNR a while ago for clarity on their dipnetting rules, but they never got back to me. Another possibility might be to try to get a scientific permit; that could give you a lot of options but I don't know how hard they are to get. 

 

Heard! I'll try microfishing for the size pumpkinseed I want. Maryland will have to do for now. Thanks for the input

[El Todd]

Where were you planning on going? I live near D.C. so I fish in creeks near here mostly. I've caught lots and lots of 2" - 3" green sunfish on #20 or smaller midge hooks. Pumpkinseed seem harder to get by me, I'll probably look at the stream survey map this year to try and find where they are. Let me know if you have any luck, I have a large tank I want to stock with pumpkinseed and green sunfish.

[Chasmodes]

You can use a dipnet in Maryland in tidal waters.  If you fish near the fall line, or tidal creeks, you can catch sunfish with dip nets.  Most of the stream areas are tidal on the Eastern Shore too.  So, it really depends on the species that you're after.  Check the Maryland Stream Health interactive page and you can find species info on just about any stream to find the species that you're after.  

 

I've had good success using a 6' seine collecting with Todd and others in our local FW creeks, but microfishing should work well too.  Good luck!

[Peixe11]

Where were you planning on going? I live near D.C. so I fish in creeks near here mostly. I've caught lots and lots of 2" - 3" green sunfish on #20 or smaller midge hooks. Pumpkinseed seem harder to get by me, I'll probably look at the stream survey map this year to try and find where they are. Let me know if you have any luck, I have a large tank I want to stock with pumpkinseed and green sunfish.

There is a stream in Anne Arundel County I caught lots of small pumpkinseeds once if you want to trade places because I have not found anywhere with green sunfish haha.

[FishPigeon]

There is a stream in Anne Arundel County I caught lots of small pumpkinseeds once if you want to trade places because I have not found anywhere with green sunfish haha.

Thanks for the tip! I'm not too far from there. No plans yet as to where I'm going elsewise as I still need to set up my tank!

[El Todd]

There is a stream in Anne Arundel County I caught lots of small pumpkinseeds once if you want to trade places because I have not found anywhere with green sunfish haha.

I always had a lot of luck in Sligo Creek in Silver Spring - near the intersection of Colesville and Sligo Creek Parkway has been a good place for me in the past. What is the name of the stream in Anne Arundel that has all the pumpkinseed?

[Peixe11]

What is the name of the stream in Anne Arundel that has all the pumpkinseed?

 

Beachwood Park in Pasadena. If you have waders you might want to bring them for the option. There is a limited amount of dry land you can fish from. Other people I've talked to while there say there is a lot of other fish but all I ever caught were pumpkinseeds.

Edited by Peixe11, 02 February 2021 - 03:12 PM.

[El Todd]

 

Beachwood Park in Pasadena. If you have waders you might want to bring them for the option. There is a limited amount of dry land you can fish from. Other people I've talked to while there say there is a lot of other fish but all I ever caught were pumpkinseeds.

 

Thank you. That's less than an hour from me, so not too bad. It looks like this is one of those areas I was mentioning earlier. it has freshwater fish but is legally under tidal fishing regulations - which allow the use of dipnets.

 

Catherine Ave. is the dividing line for tidal and non-tidal - so if you look it up on a map you will see that almost the entire Magothy River is under tidal rules. So, anywhere that allows fishing with no other restrictions on the Megothy south of Catherine Ave. is fine for dipnetting. Looking on the Ann Arundel County website, they only mention DNR rules for fishing in Beachwood Park, so unless you go there and see signs posted stating otherwise you should be able to dipnet or use a 50 ft. seine for non-game species(minnows, darters etc.). But I'm not a DNR official or a lawyer - so I can't 100% guarantee the accuracy of what I'm saying - you would need to contact the DNR for that.

 

Seeing how things go I may try it out in a couple months - I wonder if the Guiness Brewery will be open. . .