Chesapeake Bay light tackle guru Shawn Kimbro explains how to catch panfish such as yellow perch, white perch, bluegill, shad, croaker, spot and other species.

Light tackle tips and techniques for fishing the Chesapeake Bay including full color photographs, fishing reports, and conservation methods for landing big fish on light tackle

When populations of striped bass began plummeting in the early 1980s, author and fisherman Dick Russell was there to lead an Atlantic coast conservation campaign that resulted in one of the most remarkable wildlife comebacks in the history of fisheries. As any avid fisherman will tell you, the striped bass has long been a favorite at the American dinner table; in fact, we've been feasting on the fish from the time of the Pilgrims. By 1980 that feasting had turned to overfishing by commercial fishing interests. Striper Wars is Dick Russell's inspiring account of the people and events responsible for the successful preservation of one of America's favorite fish and of what has happened since. Striper Wars is a tale replete with heroes--and some villains--as the struggle to save the striper migrated down the coast from Massachusetts to Maryland. Russell introduces us to a postman at arms against a burly trap-net fisherman, a renowned state governor caving to special interests, and a fishing-tackle maker fighting alongside marine biologists. And he describes how champions of this singular fish blocked power plants and New York's Westway Project that would otherwise compromise its habitat. Unfortunately, those who cheered the triumphant ending to the campaign, as the coastal states enacted measures that enabled the striped bass to make its comeback, have found the peace transitory--there is now a new enemy emerging on the front. In recent years a chronic bacterial disease has struck more than seventy percent of the striped bass population in the primary spawning waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Malnutrition seems to be a significant factor, brought on by the same overfishing that plagued the bass in the first battle--only this time, the overfishing is devastating menhaden, the silvery little fish upon which the bass feed. Lessons learned during the first conservation battle are being applied here, highlighting a need for a whole new ecosystem-based approach to conserving species. Only with constant vigilance by concerned citizens, Dick Russell reminds us, can environmental victories be sustained. This particular fish story is a personal one for him, and he follows the striper's saga today all the way to California, where the fish was introduced in 1879 and where agribusiness now threatens its future. For his conservation work during the 1980s Russell received a citizen's Chevron Conservation Award.

A hands-on artificial reef builder, recreational boater, and sport-fisherman explores natural and artificial fishing reefs, ruins, wrecks, and obstructions in the Chesapeake Bay and tidal Potomac River, from Pooles Island in the Upper Bay to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, and also in the upper tidal Potomac River. He discusses how, where, and what to look for from a sport fisherman's perspective, and walks readers through armchair use of modern tech websites to scout fishing hotspots. Continuing the illustrated narrative voyage begun in "Bridges Under Troubled Waters: Upper Chesapeake and Tidal Potomac Fishing Reefs" (2018), this second volume in the series with a Foreword by Lenny Rudow, expands coverage of shoreline structures, natural and artificial bottom structures, wrecks, and obstructions where striped bass, redfish, speckled trout, cobia, and other predators forage in Maryland. There's also full coverage of Virginia's Bay artificial reefs with graphic layouts plus details about nearby natural structure, wrecks and obstructions. The location and configuration of rediscovered "lost" and "bandit" artificial reefs and wrecks are disclosed along with a selection of natural features not shown on nautical charts. Also covered are ruins of lost lighthouses, compromised and failing shore protection structures, submerged fallen timber, disappearing islands, and Reef Balls at fishing reefs and oyster restoration sites. Reef descriptions are supported by a selection of pictures, sonar imaging, and computer-generated graphics to aid in visualizing specific reef structures and layouts. Designed for jump-starting the acquisition of local knowledge about light-tackle fishing structure by casual and journeyman sport fisherman, there are jewels of information inside for sportfishing veterans as well, including underwater pictures and sonar-scan images contributed by guides and sonar and side-imaging enthusiasts. A selection of color graphics used to produce the greyscale images in the book are found on the Facebook page for this series, "Chesapeake Bay Fishing Reefs", and featured in previews and excerpts by the author found on the FishTalk Magazine Where to Fish webpage. This is first and foremost a book for fisherman that provides practical methods to find and prospect structure that attracts sport fish, while also drawing on lessons from the author's Coast Guard service and Bay restoration and fishing experience to encourage boating and fishing safety.

Shawn Kimbro's exciting follow-up to the top-selling Chesapeake Light Tackle, The Right Stuff provides and in-depth analysis of the traits, techniques, and attitudes of highly-successful Mid-Atlantic fishermen.

From the quiet back bays to the pounding surf, fishing writer and videographer, John Skinner, takes the reader along on a relentless pursuit of striped bass from the shore. With his trademark writing style that makes readers feel as though they're standing at the water's edge, Skinner cuts through the complexity of choosing and presenting the various lure styles while processing the interaction of weather and water conditions that impact baitfish movements and game fish behavior. In portions of the book focused on hunting the largest stripers, Skinner goes beyond the artificials arsenal to take an in-depth look at fishing with live and rigged eels. Chapters are dedicated to fluke and false albacore fishing as well. The book is enhanced by videos organized by chapter on the book's companion website, StriperPursuit.com.

From the redfin pickerel to the blueback trout, this vividly illustrated guide from a father-and-son author/illustrator team describes more than 60 freshwater fish from the ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams of New England and New York.