"From the Bay to the Blue Ridge"
By Steve Chaconas Culling Regulations On the Potomac To pierce or not to pierce is confusing for Potomac River tournament anglers. Tournament fishermen can legally catch a limit, 5 fish over the minimum size, and then begin to cull out their smallest fish when replacing it with another larger fish. Possession of the 6th […]
By Steve Chaconas Snakeheads, the other white meat. If thoughts of eating fish from the Potomac River don’t turn your stomach, then concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), should. PCBs are linked to cancer, skin irritations and lesions, developmental fetal impacts, and disruption in hormonal functions. Eating fish is the major PCB exposure source. […]
By Steve Chaconas The minnow would not be lost In the 1930s 3M Scotch Tape was invented, Birdseye prepared frozen dinners, and a Finnish man with a plan (and appetite) carved a legendary fishing lure. Lauri Rapala deciphered the food chain…big eats small, wounded become dinner. With a shoemaker’s knife, sandpaper, and an eye for […]
By Steve Chaconas Major Expansion at National Harbor Already serving thousands of tourists and convention travelers, National Harbor is adding housing for tens of thousands more residents. These residents will hopefully use the accommodations for reproduction. National Harbor and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources have teamed up to increase and restore habitat […]
Fishing for Holiday Gifts? Here is my annual gift guide! Shopping for anglers is frustrating; but for the person on the receiving end, there’s a guaranteed stint in the return line! Choose gifts for on and off the water! With New Year resolutions just around the corner, the Hoka One One Clifton 4 is […]
By Steve Chaconas Bass Tournament Angler OR Guide? Or Both? Tournament bass fishing offers income from winnings and sponsors. Not many make a very good living from this occupation. Expenses and prize money don’t often allow them to break even. Guiding is another way to cast for cash. Expenses, limited season and licensing keep this […]
By Steve Chaconas Stripping with either hand What does a bass fishing guide do on his summer vacation? Takes a trip to Lynchburg, Virginia for an annual fly-fishing challenge. For the past 4 years Orvis fly rods are dusted off and loaded up for the three-hour drive. For the past 3 years, my buddy Alan […]
By Steve Chaconas Take a Jig Swimming When the FLW Tour brought 160 top professional bass anglers to the Potomac River, anglers wanted to know where and how they fished. Many fished community holes. Most locals already knew swimming a jig is the best way to cover the river’s massive grass beds. […]
By Steve Chaconas Fishing Adds Up For St. Jude Children’s Hospital Sports are measured in numbers. Games are determined by inches. Clocks run out. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Americans are always keeping score. On 7-7-17, 127 anglers took to the waters of the Potomac and by the end of the fishing […]
By Steve Chaconas What’s the Limit? I witnessed stocked trout fishing with curiosity, never participating. This isn’t “A River Runs Through It”, or “On Golden Pond”. It could be “Grumpy Old Men”, but the water isn’t frozen. West Virginia grows trout and stocks nearly a million fish a year for anglers to catch. […]
