Spring Yellow Perch Fishing Techniques

Yellow Perch

Throughout the Mid Atlantic, anglers are seeing a resurgence of yellow perch, with the 2011 Spring season being one of the best in decades. After years of low populations, these colorful fish appear to be making a strong comeback.

Yellow perch are caught using a variety of live and cut baits as well as artificial lures. In many areas, live minnows are preferred as bait for yellow perch. Other popular baits include nightcrawlers, bloodworms, or grass shrimp.

A relatively new bait for catching yellow perch are the many synthetic baits that have become popular. These baits do not need special care and packages typically last a season or more. These scented offerings come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Some scented bait products are meant to be fished in the same manner as traditional baits.

Other scented products are molded into soft bodies which are used with conventional jig heads, worm rigs or other setups. These baits offer the best of both worlds; they exhibit lifelike movement while producing a strong scent trail.

Mid Atlantic anglers often use conventional artificial lures for catching yellow perch. Perch eagerly bite panfish jigs, small spinnerbaits, inline spinners, small spoons, crankbaits or other offerings. During cold periods, anglers may target drop offs, using vertical jigging techniques. As the water warms and fish move into spawning areas, more fish are caught in shallow water where small lures are more effective.

Some yellow perch specialists prefer to combine techniques, tipping their jigs with a live minnow or other natural bait. Small setups such as a 1/16 oz. shad dart tipped with a small minnow can be deadly when casted along creek structure and slowly worked along the bottom.

Once fish are located, anglers must choose to release their fish, or retain a few for the table. Yellow perch are known for being very hard to scale. As with all fish, perch should be kept chilled and wet prior to cleaning. For smaller fish, the angler must be persistent with a fish scaler, slowly loosening scales by making diagonal swipes with the scaler. Once scaled, perch can be headed and gutted before cooking.

Larger yellow perch can be filleted and then skinned. A larger fillet knife is needed to cut into the skin during the filleting process. Once the fillets are removed from the fish, a smaller, more delicate knife is useful for cutting fillets from the skin.

Yellow perch often contain roe during the spring season. These yellow pouches which are found in the body cavity contain the female's eggs. The angler should be careful not to nick the roe sac during removal. After rinsing, the fillets and roe are ready for cooking.

Yellow perch fillets, whole fish or the roe are often breaded or battered and fried. Fillets can also be baked. Their mild, sweet flavor makes them suitable for most baked fish recipes.

Cape Hatteras Beach Access Information

Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches are subject to area closures as a result of a U.S. District Court approved consent decree.

Visitors may encounter area closures in effect to varying degrees from mid-March to mid-to-late-August and sea turtle nesting closures may occur until early November.

2011 Shorebird pre-nesting closures have already been established at the inlets, Cape Point, and South Beach. As soon as subsequent breeding activity is observed, the consent decree requires that automatic, non-discretionary buffers be implemented. 

To learn more about closures and beach access, enthusiasts can visit the NPS website and read the latest Beach Access Report. The report is is issued every Thursday throughout the breeding season. For more information, check the National Seashore's website at: http://www.nps.gov

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Listening Session

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be soliciting input from the public during a question and answer session from 5 pm - 6 pm on Wednesday April 13, 2011 in Annapolis, MD.

The session will be in the evening and is designed to allow stakeholders an opportunity outside of the normal Council agenda to ask questions or express concerns regarding Council management issues.

Topics to be discussed may include:

Ecosystem Management

Bycatch Reduction

Catch Shares

Recent Assessment Results

Recreational Data Collection

Research Set-Aside Program

Allocation Issues

Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning

Annual Catch Limits

Questions will be taken as time allows from both those attending in person and via webinar.

For online webinar access register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/963693944.  Once registered, users will receive an email confirming registration along with the instructions for joining the webinar.

source: MAFMC

Watermen to Restore Chesapeake Bay Oyster Bars

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and The Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) are continuing to work with commercial fishermen on oyster bar rehabilitation projects. The program is a part a Maryland plan to help mitigate the economic impact of regulations enacted in 2008 to help rebuild the blue crab fishery, while also helping to restore the Chesapeake Bay.

The program utilizes the skills, experience and equipment of Chesapeake Bay watermen to increase the amount of viable oyster bar habitat in the estuary. The rehabilitated oyster bars will create habitat for a natural spat set and/or hatchery seed plantings in both sanctuaries and public shellfish fishery areas. The program also provides watermen with income for helping with oyster restoration.

This spring, more than 750 Maryland watermen will restore 23 oyster bars in the Chesapeake Bay and will reclaim more than 1,000 acres of buried oyster shell.

A number of the oyster bars slated for rehabilitation are located within new sanctuary areas that were created by the Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture Development Plan. These areas include Harris Creek, Eastern Bay, and the Little Choptank, Nanticoke and Manokin Rivers.

source: MD DNR

How to Rake Quahog Clams

Quahog clams are found in saltwater bays and estuaries in every Mid-Atlantic state. These delicious clams can be caught with clam rakes or by other methods.

Raking quahog clams is a relaxing activity that can be enjoyed by the entire family. Aside from a rake, a container and a pair of sneakers, not much is required in the way of equipment. Raking clams is usually done from spring through fall as harvesters must get wet in order to effectively catch clams.

Raking clams can be done in a variety of water depths and bottom compositions, although some areas and water conditions are more productive than others.

The best areas for raking clams are usually shallow with a smooth, sandy or slightly muddy bottom. Several types of bottoms may contain clams, but are not suitable for clamming. For example, extremely hard bottoms are difficult to penetrate with a rake. Other areas may be covered with aquatic vegetation, shells or other debris, all of which make raking difficult or impossible.

Some clammers prefer to work during an outgoing tide. A flowing tide often helps clear the water so that the bottom can be seen while wading along. Clamming can be done even if there is poor visibility but seeing the bottom can be helpful. Low tides allow clammers to comfortably work farther from shore, where clams are sometimes more plentiful.