BALTIMORE — A fight over Maryland’s 2026 rockfish season is pitting catch-and-release anglers against charter operators and other fishermen who want to preserve more traditional harvest opportunities, with a legislative hold threatening to delay the state’s season announcement just weeks before spring fishing typically begins.

At the center of the dispute is proposed regulation 25-328, a Department of Natural Resources package that would reshape the season for striped bass, commonly known as rockfish, in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

A Department of Legislative Services analysis says the changes would reopen spring catch-and-release fishing, restore a May 1-15 harvest window, shift the summer no-targeting closure to the entire month of August and end the season five days earlier in December.

State officials say the goal is to rebuild the striped bass population and strengthen the fishery long term. But the proposal has sparked sharp debate because of its potential economic ripple effects.

DNR told lawmakers the regulations could have a “meaningful economic impact on small businesses,” noting that expanded fishing opportunities in April and May could benefit charter operators, guides, tackle shops, marinas, hotels and restaurants. At the same time, fewer fishing opportunities in late July, August and December could hurt those same businesses.

Unsure about impact

The department said it is unclear what the overall annual impact would be, including whether charter operators and guides could offset losses by shifting trips to other species. Legislative analysts agreed the changes could ultimately benefit the industry if they help rebuild the striped bass population.

The fight escalated this month when Del. Jay Jacobs requested a hold on the regulations through the legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review. Committee chair Del. Sandy Rosenberg granted the request March 6.

“I requested the hold and hearing back in January. I was granted the hold on March 6,” Jacobs said.

The move disrupts the timeline for announcing the season. DNR had been expected to publish the 2026 rules around March 20, leaving guides, charter operators and traveling anglers uncertain as they prepare for spring bookings in one of the region’s most prominent fisheries.

Jacobs said his concerns are both biological and economic, but he framed the dispute as a clash between anglers who favor expanded catch-and-release fishing and those who want the chance to harvest fish.

Under the state’s proposal, recreational striped bass fishing would be closed across the Chesapeake Bay during August.

“Whether you’re a charter boat or whether you’re just one of 700,000 recreational fishermen in the state of Maryland, you would not be able to fish for striped bass in the entire month of August,” Jacobs said.

He also criticized the proposal for expanding spring catch-and-release fishing while female striped bass are migrating toward spawning grounds.

“The catch-and-release recreational side would get 34 additional days that they haven’t had the last five years,” Jacobs said. “And they would be catching these cows that are full of eggs trying to get up to the spawning ground.”

Jacobs estimated the policy could affect thousands of spawning fish, many of which carry millions of eggs.

He also warned the changes could further weaken the charter industry, which he said was already hurt by earlier conservation rules. In 2024, Maryland reduced the recreational striped bass limit from two fish per person per day to one.

Guide says proposal is miscast

Capt. Tom Weaver, speaking for Maryland Light Tackle Fishing Guides, called the dispute “a petty fight” and said the regulations were developed through a lengthy process involving fisheries managers and scientists along the East Coast.

“This went through the whole process,” Weaver said. “At the end of the day, the season was approved by the managers and the scientists up and down the East Coast.”

Weaver also pushed back on claims that the proposal would allow anglers to target fish on spawning grounds, noting that Maryland’s spawning rivers have been closed to striped bass fishing for decades.

“We’re nowhere near spawning grounds when the season is open,” Weaver said. “The spawning rivers are closed and have been closed since the 1980s.”

He warned the legislative hold could disrupt a critical part of the spring tourism economy tied to fishing.

The hold can be lifted at any time. But Weaver said if the delay continues, anglers could find the Chesapeake unusually quiet when the spring fishery should be underway.

“If [the state] doesn’t lift the hold, you will go out on a beautiful spring day on April 10 and there’ll be nobody on the bay,” Weaver said. “And it should be full of anglers.”

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