I’m sitting behind my desk at the
MSSA Office watching it snow. It’s the 5th of December
and our striped bass season is running out of days to
fish for striper in Maryland. Our season will expire in
10 short days. The irony of the situation is that for
the rest of the year it will be a fantastic striper
fishery. The coastal migratory stock has entered the
Bay and they are being caught all the way up to the Bay
Bridges as of this writing.
Most of us have already
winterized our boats for the season. However, there are
a few hardy souls that are willing to brave the elements
for a shot at a trophy rockfish. Many 40 inch plus fish
have been taken. With this in mind, you may want to
wait until the end of the striped bass season to tuck
away your boat for the winter next December.
Concerning MSSA, I see a very
aggressive board of directors ready to take over our
organization to the challenges and triumphs of the
future. They are streamlining our organization to best
serve our membership. The membership committee will
lead the way with an aggressive membership goal and
social events throughout the year.
The Board is also recommending
several changes to our four major fishing tournaments.
These changes will add additional cash to our
participant’s pockets. Adding an extra day of fishing
for our Fall Tournament should provide the captain and
crew to pick and choose their best days
to fish.
In 2008 MSSA will work very
closely with the Department of Natural Resources on
their Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative (MARI)
Project. This is a great undertaking to bring back the
health of the Bay and its fisheries. Creating
artificial fishing reefs can only benefit Maryland
anglers. In addition to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge
Project, additional reef materials are being
investigated such as New York subway cars for ocean
reefs.
MSSA will have a full plate in 2008
beginning with the General Assembly, boat and sport
shows, flea markets, fishing tournaments and monitoring
all of the fisheries within the Department of Natural
Resources. In addition, we will still be very involved
with the menhaden fishery, yellow perch, and shell
dredging in the Chesapeake Bay and the back bays of
Ocean City and Assateague Island.
