Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently released its 2024 Maryland Black Bass Annual Review. The review recaps DNR efforts related to black bass conservation, health, surveys, and other information.
In 2024, DNR received close to $3,500 dollars in donations to the conservation fund. The first purchase using these funds was a bead filter for the Joseph Manning Hatchery.
Currently, the hatchery has a restriction on the amount of water they can pump in and the amount of wastewater they can pump out of the facility.
The bead filter cleans and recirculates water, allowing them to raise and grow fish longer without the restrictions of water use. A single bead filter provides the potential to stock up to 5,000 6 to 8 inch largemouth bass per year in waters throughout the state. Previously, DNR’s ability to raise fish to this size was limited.
Typically, most largemouth bass in the state are stocked at a 2 to 4 inch size. Additionally, the cost of the bead filter is roughly the same cost as purchasing 5,000 6 to 8 inch largemouth bass from a private fish farm. Operating at full capacity, the bead filter has the potential to pay for itself in the first year of operation.
Signed into law in 2024, the Black Bass Conservation Fund allows the general public to directly donate money to largemouth bass and smallmouth bass conservation in Maryland.
Gifts will be used for enhancing aquatic habitat, bass stocking, supplies to support bass conservation, or similar efforts. Projects will be considered each year by the department and its Black Bass Advisory Committee, a body of advisors made up of public stakeholders.
Stakeholders interested in supporting black bass conservation projects can donate to the Black Bass Conservation Fund by visiting Maryland DNR website.
Tidal Bass Survey
Biologists typically monitor fisheries by assessing fish abundance and size over time, providing valuable insights into the health of a fishery from a historical perspective.
In 2022, the tidal bass survey expanded its monitoring efforts to include another key indicator of fishery health: the number of fish exhibiting signs of disease or injury.
While all fish populations have some level of disease and injury, monitoring the amount can help forewarn of problems in the fishery. An increase in the number of fish with these symptoms can provide a “canary in the coal mine” for threats to our fisheries.
During the Tidal Bass Survey each fall, fisheries biologists inspect every fish caught for several different signs of disease including black bass blotchiness syndrome, skin rashes, fin damage, and parasites. This provides valuable data on how healthy our fisheries are compared to past years, as well as other fisheries in the state.
Monitoring health over the last three years has begun to give the department important baseline information into disease levels in tidal black bass populations.
So far, most fish populations in Maryland tidal rivers have similar levels of disease when compared to each other. Usually less than 5% of fish display symptoms, although, some fisheries have displayed higher levels.
Fish that did display signs of injury or disease most often had very mild symptoms. In the future abrupt changes in the amount of these fish will flag a fishery for further investigation.
These data will help the department better understand potential problems in the fishery and adapt to those threats. syndrome, skin rashes, fin damage, and parasites. This provides valuable data on how healthy fisheries are compared to past years, as well as other fisheries in the state.
Black Bass Fishery Assessments
The Tidal Bass Survey uses boat electrofishing to sample largemouth bass during the fall. Data are used to assess the status of the population. Potomac River A total of 769 largemouth bass, including 447 juveniles, were collected. Forty-three of these fish (or 5.6 percent) showed signs of hooking injury or disease.
Relative abundance or catch indices were normal. Anglers weighed between three and four bass per tournament fishing day (on average), which was the highest recorded since 2012.
Reproduction was good and juveniles were caught at 84 percent of prime habitats, which was above average. Growth indices were normal for the population and annual mortality tended to be lower than average, suggesting good recruitment and survivorship.
Because of generally average statistics, the status of this fishery was designated as Good.
Upper Chesapeake Bay
A total of 279 largemouth bass, including 151 juveniles, were collected. Twenty of these fish (or seven percent) showed signs of injury and/or disease.
Relative abundance or catch indices were within normal ranges for the fishery. As has been typical for the fishery, anglers weighed about two bass per tournament fishing day.
Reproduction appeared to be good with 87 percent of high-quality habitats having juveniles, which was above average. Recruitment may have lagged in recent years as indicated by the size structure of the population. Growth rate indices also tended to be lower than normal.
Because of generally good catch statistics and reproduction, the status of this fishery was designated as Good.
Middle River
A total of four largemouth bass, including two juveniles, were collected. No fish collected showed signs of injury and/or disease.
Low levels of catch for this population do not allow for a robust assessment. Possibly owing to saltier and more challenging survey conditions, few fish were collected during survey efforts.
However, anglers have reported a resurgence of the fishery. Led by Scott Sewell (Conservation Director, Maryland Bass Nation), Middle River has benefited from significant releases of purchased and hatchery-reared bass and will likely remain a focus for supplemental stocking.
Because a reference dataset for comparison is on-going and not yet completed, the status of this fishery has been designated as Unknown.
Pocomoke River
A total of 149 largemouth bass, including 47 juveniles, were collected. Seven fish collected (or 5 percent) showed signs of injury and/or disease.
Anglers weighed between three and four bass per tournament fishing day, which is above average for the fishery. Relative abundance or catch indices were the highest observed in historical sampling and a notable increase from the previous sample in 2020.
Reproduction was above average, and juveniles were caught at 73 percent of all high-quality habitats. Growth rate indices tended to be lower than average and size structure has shifted to predominantly younger fish. More frequent sampling will be done in the future to hopefully reduce the variability in sampling statistics.
Because of the above average reproduction and catch statistics, this fishery has been designated Good.
Gunpowder River
A total of 64 largemouth bass, including 17 juveniles, were collected. Eight of these fish (or 12.5 percent) showed signs of injury and/or disease, a greater proportion than that observed for Potomac River or the upper Chesapeake Bay.
Catch indices were above average, likely owing to significant stocking efforts in the river. Anglers weighed about two bass per tournament fishing day, similar to the upper Chesapeake Bay.
Juveniles represented 27 percent of the sample and were found in 62 percent of prime habitats, suggesting above average reproduction. Growth rates tended to be below average for the population.
Because of above average catch statistics, likely owed to stocking, but below average growth, the status of this fishery was designated as Rebuilding.
Bush River
A total of 45 largemouth bass, including eight juveniles, were collected. Six fish collected (or 13 percent) showed signs of injury and/or disease, a greater proportion than that observed for any other tidal river.
Catch has slowly increased since 2018 and was at its highest average in 2024.
Reproduction was above average in Bush River with juveniles found in 70 percent of high-quality survey sites. Additionally, juveniles constituted above average proportion of the sample (18 percent). Growth rates were similar to those observed for fish from Gunpowder River.
Because a reference dataset for comparison is on-going and not yet completed, the status of this fishery has been designated as Unknown.
Marshyhope Creek
A total of 81 largemouth bass, including 31 juveniles, were collected. Four fish collected (or 5 percent) showed signs of injury and/or disease.
Relative abundance or catch indices were below average, including older fish. As has been typical for the fishery, anglers weighed about two bass per tournament fishing day.
Reproduction showed improvement from previous years as juveniles were found at 42 percent of sites representing 28 percent of total catch. The high prevalence of juveniles could also be attributed to the heavy stocking efforts conducted by the department in the summer and fall of 2024. Growth indices were below average.
Because of concerning survey metrics, the status of this fishery was designated as Rebuilding.
Non-Tidal Bass Fisheries
Non-tidal black bass fisheries in Maryland stretch from Deep Creek Lake and Youghiogheny River in western Maryland to eastern shore farm ponds and impounded waters, such as Johnson’s Pond and Tuckahoe Lake.
In 2024, anglers sent more reports from impounded waters of southern Maryland and central Maryland than other areas. Additionally, the non-tidal Potomac River (or upper Potomac River) and Conowingo Reservoir boast the best smallmouth bass fisheries in Maryland.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Freshwater Fisheries and Hatcheries Division follows a standardized operating protocol for surveying non-tidal waters. These procedures and the indices they generate help guide managers to take various actions that improve fishing for anglers.
Deep Creek Lake
The largemouth bass fishery in Deep Creek Lake continues to be characterized by a relatively low density but a high proportion of large fish.
The results suggest that growth rates are sufficient to support a high-quality fishery; however, recruitment to stock size may be limited.
Smallmouth bass are the most abundant black bass species in Deep Creek Lake and provide a quality fishery for anglers for both numbers and quality fish.
There were 11 tournaments on Deep Creek Lake in 2024 with an average winning weight for a five fish bag of 13.9 pounds and an average lunker of 4.7 pounds.
Loch Raven Reservoir
Largemouth bass is the dominant predator in Loch Raven Reservoir. Catch rates have remained stable and the size structure indicates that Loch Raven Reservoir is a desirable fishery for quality size largemouth bass.
Additionally, relative weights for quality sized fish indicated that the large fish in the reservoir are in good condition.
Smallmouth bass were not collected in large numbers during the survey, but they provide an additional species for anglers to target.
Four tournaments were held on Loch Raven in 2024 with an average winning weight for a 5 fish bag of 22 pounds and an average lunker of 5.6 pounds.
Conowingo Reservoir
Smallmouth bass abundance and size structure are good and should provide excellent fishing in Conowingo Reservoir.
Largemouth bass abundance continues to be low. High flow and turbidity events in the spring have likely contributed to erratic recruitment.
Along with direct impacts to nesting behavior, high turbidity has also likely affected the amount of submerged aquatic grasses within the impoundment. These grasses are the preferred habitat for juvenile largemouth bass and decreased availability may affect their survival.
Fewer exterior lesions than last year were noted, just 4 percent of smallmouth bass and 7 percent of largemouth bass. Diseases affecting smallmouth bass in the Susquehanna River watershed have been well documented. Hooking injuries were observed for 18 percent of smallmouth bass and 23 percent of largemouth bass.
In 2024 there were ten tournaments held on Conowingo Reservoir with an average winning weight for a 5 fish bag of 12.1 pounds and average lunker of 3.5 pounds.
Upper Potomac River
Smallmouth bass year-class strength has been monitored annually since 1975 using shoreline seine surveys. The mean number of juvenile smallmouth bass per seine haul is used as a metric of smallmouth bass recruitment.
The department documented poor recruitment for smallmouth bass when river flow or discharge was above average in May and June. This follows closely with other smallmouth bass research showing that annual recruitment was closely tied to flow conditions during and immediately after spawning.
Additional factors that are not specifically monitored, such as turbidity, temperature, parasite loads, and intersex levels also could affect populations. Following a period of below-average juvenile recruitment over the past decade (often linked to high spring river flows) and observed declines in the adult population in 2019-2020, supplemental stocking efforts were implemented.
Hatchery raised juvenile smallmouth bass were stocked in the upper Potomac River in 2020 and 2022. In 2024, monitoring indicated that population metrics have improved, highlighted by increased catch rates of adult smallmouth bass.
This positive trend, built on the resurgence observed at the end of 2023, meant that further supplemental stocking was not necessary for 2024. While recruitment challenges related to factors like river flow persist, the recent improvement in adult population indicates encouraging news for the fishery.
Largemouth Bass vs. Florida Bass
The American Fisheries Society has officially recognized the Florida bass as a separate species from the largemouth bass, following a recent study by Yale University. By analyzing the genetics of 394 fish, researchers found a distinct difference between fish from Florida and coastal Georgia compared to those found elsewhere in the United States.
DNR’s largemouth bass stocking practices will remain the same regarding species selection. Bass stocked in tidal waters will continue to be sourced from broodstock collected in the Potomac River or fish identified as largemouth bass.
Sourcing local broodstock ensures that the fish stocked in Maryland waters are best suited for survival and reproduction.
Online Survey Map
Another DNR resource for bass anglers is the new online survey map. The customer resources page of the tidal bass site now hosts the total survey data for smallmouth and largemouth bass from the past 20+ years.
The map displays the same data used in the black bass fishery assessments in the annual review. The Tidal Bass Survey has been ongoing in some of Maryland’s tidal rivers since the 1990s.
The survey is a way of standardizing electrofishing samples throughout fisheries to track different biological metrics like abundance, size, and weight of bass.
By standardizing sampling, biologists and stakeholders can compare survey years to each other to identify trends in the fisheries. Trends help fisheries managers understand whether a fishery is declining, improving, or remaining status quo.
In total there are 1,984 sites across 12 tidal rivers and upper Chesapeake Bay in the Tidal Bass Survey. Each site is approximately 275 yards of shoreline in the tidal freshwater sections of these rivers.
Sites are selected at random and may not be sampled every year, but many areas should have data available online for previous sampling years.
While these data have always been available to the public by request, the mapping tool, now available online, makes accessing the data for Maryland rivers quick and easy. In addition to the tidal bass survey, data are also available for several impoundments in the state.
Similar to the tidal bass survey, fisheries biologist survey Maryland impoundments to monitor the health of fish populations.
Unlike the tidal bass survey data, which only measures and weighs bass, fisheries monitoring surveys on impoundments collect additional data on most sportfish present in the fishery. For this reason, the impoundment data will have information on a variety of species available.
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