ANNAPOLIS — Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials received approval March 11, 2026, from the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review for a simplified 2026 recreational striped bass season that reopens catch-and-release fishing in April and imposes a full no-targeting closure throughout August in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.
The updated regulations will be published in the Maryland Register on March 20 and take effect 10 days later, restoring April opportunities when cooler water and air temperatures reduce post-release mortality while protecting vulnerable young resident striped bass during the hottest weeks of summer.
The 2026 recreational season in Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay will run as follows:
- January 1–April 30: Catch and release only
- May 1–July 31: Harvest (one fish per person per day, 19–24 inches total length)
- August 1–31: Closed to all targeting
- September 1–December 5: Harvest
- December 6–31: Catch and release only
Spawning rivers and designated areas remain closed to targeting from March 1 through May 31, with limited exceptions in the upper Susquehanna system. The ocean recreational fishery stays open year-round with a 28- to 31-inch slot limit and one-fish daily bag.
Kate Charbonneau, DNR Assistant Secretary for Aquatic Resources, said the changes make rules easier to understand while delivering more fishing days overall without raising total mortality. “We are allowing for more access to recreational fishing opportunities without increasing mortality or total fish removed,” she said.
The adjustment follows more than a year of stakeholder workgroup meetings, two public hearings, an informational webinar, and roughly 1,100 public comments received during scoping plus thousands more during the ASMFC Addendum III process. Fisheries scientists designed the shift to align with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan after Addendum III granted Maryland flexibility to reset its baseline season.
Seven consecutive years of below-average juvenile recruitment, documented in Maryland’s annual young-of-year survey, underscore the need for targeted protection. The most recent 2025 index registered 4.0, well below the long-term average of 11. Recreational dead discards accounted for 21 percent of total fishing-related striped bass mortality in the latest coastwide stock assessment, with summer heat and low dissolved oxygen driving especially high release mortality on smaller resident fish that remain in the Bay.
Southern Maryland anglers, charter captains, and tackle shops in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties stand to gain spring opportunities during the popular early-season period while shifting effort away from August, when red drum, blue catfish, and northern snakehead provide abundant alternative targets. Invasive blue catfish and Chesapeake Channa carry no bag or size limits and their harvest supports a healthier Bay ecosystem. DNR encourages anglers to practice best catch-and-release techniques year-round: use circle hooks, rubber-mesh nets, wet gloves, and keep air exposure under one minute.
The recreational striped bass fishery contributes an estimated $701.5 million in value-added economic activity statewide, according to 2024 Bureau of Economic Analysis data, with a substantial share generated in Southern Maryland communities that rely on charter trips, marinas, bait shops, and restaurants.
A fishing license is required. Licenses are available online at MD Outdoors, at DNR service centers, or through sport license agents. Tackle, boat, and marine fuel purchases directly fund conservation efforts.
Maps of spawning closures, detailed regulations, summer advisory forecasts, and catch-and-release guidance appear on the DNR Fishing and Boating Service website.