Tideline Summer 2017

A Message from MSSA President FRANK HOLDEN

The 2017 trophy season is in the books and boy was it ever a disappointment. What started out as a slow season just got worse as the weeks went on. Bad weather coupled with slow fishing made 2017 one of the worst trophy seasons I’ve personally ever had. I guess everyone, including me, was happy with warm winter temperatures and lack of snow. That really did backfire on us this year. The popular belief was that the big fish were gone before the season ever started. A lot of big fish made it through the year. We can only hope the anglers up north don’t hammer them too bad. The 34TH Annual Championship on the Chesapeake was a great even despite the bad weather and slow fishing. The problems with planning a tournament a year in advance amplify themselves tenfold when the weather forecast calls for gale force winds and driving rain on day one coupled with small craft warnings the other two days. My hat goes off to all the anglers who slugged it out for two days trying to catch that big one. I’d also like to thank all the volunteers who made the tournament a success. Whether it’s running a weigh station, selling shirts at a Captains Meeting, or working a show booth in the winter our volunteers constantly answer the call to make this tournament a success. Dave and Amy do a great job organizing the whole thing and their work doesn’t end until every weigh tickets has been double checked, every angler has been contacted concerning prizes, and the final check is put into the mail. I used this analogy once before but it fits so good I need to say it one more time-“Running the MSSA Tournament is like a duck swimming in the water. While they look all calm on the surface that dedicated group of volunteers are paddling as hard as possible underneath to pull the whole thing off successfully.” We did have several suggestions about why MSSA we didn’t postpone the entire tournament 7 days. While on the surface that sounds like an easy task it’s really almost impossible to do because of the magnitude of

a tournament of this size. Moving it back a week this year would not have been a better option anyway. The weekend after was actually windier than tournament weekend and the fishing just got worse. Come on 35TH Annual Championship in 2018-it’s going to be a good one! MSSA lost a very dedicated member a few weeks ago. Bill Windley, former MSSA President and a founding member of the Norther Bay Chapter, passed away on May 3 in Florida just shy of his 71st birthday. Bill served several terms as MSSA President and Northern Bay Chapter President. Bill was a commissioner on the Atlantic Coast Marine Fisheries Commission and served several terms on the Maryland DNR’s Sportfish Advisory Committee. For anyone who had the pleasure of knowing Bill he was one of MSSA's most dedicated leaders totally dedicated to the recreational fisherman of Maryland. His presence is still felt today in many of the rules and regulations he helped craft while serving on those state and federal fishing boards. As you fish this year don’t forget all the Maryland DNR Volunteer Angler Surveys available out there. Participation on volunteer surveys actually gives you the opportunity to make real contributions to fisheries management. MSSA has always wanted DNR to rely on the best scientific data available to make fisheries decisions. Actual catch data from actual anglers is about the best data available. Visit the DNR website for all the details. As I put away the big stuff and get ready for summer I urge you to carefully Ande fish this summer. Warmer water temperatures tend to increase mortality so using circle hooks, quitting fishing when you’ve caught your limit, and carefully releasing undersized fish greatly increase mortality. Keep what you want to for the table and release the rest to fight another day. Until next time- see you on the bay.

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