Submit your own Adventure of the Week or your latest Fresh Catch here and keep an eye out for your adventure to be featured in one of our next Weekly Outdoor Adventure Guides!
Weather (Click Here)
Before you hit the trails or set up camp, make sure to take a second glance at the weather for this weekend!
Today's Moon Phase according to NASA (Click Here)
First Quarter: "When half of the Moon's disc is illuminated, we call it the first quarter Moon. This name comes from the fact that the Moon is now one-quarter of the way through the lunar month. From Earth, we are now looking at the sunlit side of the Moon from off to the side."
Hiking (Click Here)
Rocky Gap State Park, Flintstone
Rocky Gap offers a variety of multi-use trails for guests to enjoy. The Lakeside Loop Trail, a moderate 5.3 mile trail that encircles Lake Habeeb, offers hikers scenic beauty of the area. Crossing over four-foot bridges, trekking along the shoreline and winding through the woodlands are what makes this such a diverse trail.
A magnificent view of the one mile long gorge is the gift hikers will get when they reach the overlook on the one-quarter mile long Canyon Overlook Trail. This loop trail offers visitors a short but scenic hike.
“Rock hop” down into the canyon on the challenging five-mile long Evitts Homesite Trail and find yourself surrounded by hemlock, mountain laurel and rhododendron. Cross the small cascading stream on the footbridge and begin to climb Evitts Mountain, named for one of Allegany County’s first European settlers. This is an ambitious, out-and-back trail that climbs about 1,000 feet in elevation in 2.5 miles. Plan to take water and a camera and spend a couple of hours hiking to the top of the mountain. This trail offers a great hike for those willing to take the challenge.
The one-quarter mile long Touch of Nature Trail offers hikers of all ability levels a paved trail. Benches line the hemlock-edged path that leads to the fishing dock and connects with the Lakeside Loop Trail.
Maryland Fishing Report - May 14th, Composed by Lyndsie Pratt (Click Here)
Rockfish: The reports of large, trophy rockfish that we received last week have slowed down. There are definitely still some big fish out there, but we are all looking forward to the regular season opener on Sunday! This is when you will want to downsize the profiles of you tandems and umbrella rigs when trolling. Troll anywhere south of bridge, and have inline sinkers on your boat so that you can get your tandems to the depth where you are marking fish. See our chart here!
Chumming is a great way to catch a mix of rockfish and catfish. Podickory Point, Love Point, Hackett Point and Tolly Point are all great places to anchor up, in about 30 feet of water. We have heard of a lot of rockfish being caught chumming that are short of trophy size, but will be great “keepers” starting on Sunday. Chumming will also give you a good shot at catching one of the remaining trophy sized fish still in the area! Bait fishing from shore at Sandy Point and the local piers has been producing mostly undersized rockfish and catfish.
Jigging is picking up as well. While Eastern Bay is catch and release only until June 1st, it’s a great spot for jigging, along with the waters around Poplar Island and Chesapeake Beach. You can also cast and retrieve 4-5 inch paddletails!
Perch & Spot: We are getting reports of both Perch and Spot starting show up at Matapeake and in the rivers! This is a great sign! They are still mostly in deeper water right now, but it’s a great time to start targeting them, because it will definitely begin to pick up. Try bloodworms or fish bites on a sabiki rig or bottom rig.
Snakehead: Snakehead fishing has been a bit slow, but will pick up after spawning season. Snakehead are everywhere in the Severn, Magothy, Patuxent, Patapsco and South Rivers. They might be a little bit hard to get, but with persistence (some Snakehead Destoryer minnows will help too!) you might very well catch one.
Catfish: Fishing for catfish from shore at Sandy Point, Matapeke and Romancoke has been very productive. Use fresh alewife! While catfish are all over the bay and rivers, fishing from a boat near Podickory Point, around Kent Island, or in the Potomac always seems to produce a lot of fish!
This Weekend's Tide Predictions (Click Here)
Keep an eye on this weekend’s tide schedule. These are the predicted tides for the Western Shore of the Chesapeake from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Wednesday 5/19:
Low tide starting at 4:50 p.m. and again at 6:21 p.m.
High tide starting at 11:21 a.m.
Sunrise: 5:50 a.m.
Sunset: 8:16 p.m.
Thursday 5/20:
Low tide starting at 6:04 a.m. and again at 7:04 p.m.
High tide starting at 12:12 a.m. and again at 12:19 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:49 a.m.
Sunset: 8:16 p.m.
Friday 5/21:
Low tide starting at 7:20 a.m. and again at 7:46 p.m.
High tide starting at 1:08 a.m. and again at 1:17 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:48 a.m.
Sunset: 8:17 p.m.
Saturday 5/22:
Low tide starting at 8:34 a.m. and again at 8:26 p.m.
High tide starting at 2:04 a.m. and again at 2:14 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:47 a.m.
Sunset: 8:18 p.m.
Sunday 5/23:
Low tide starting at 9:43 a.m. and again at 9:07 p.m.
High tide at 2:59 a.m. and again at 3:09 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:47 a.m.
Sunset: 8:19 p.m.
Animal Cams (Click Here)
This week tune in to watch the Manatees at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida!
Beach Cam
In the winter months we all long for the beach. Take a look at whats going on at your favorite East Coast beaches right now.
