2010 young of year striped bass survey continued in August

Type: Chesapeake
Region: Central
Location: Potomac River

The 2010 young of year striped bass survey continued in August. Two interesting fish were caught this month: a northern snakehead, and a juvenile black drum.

The survey encountered its first northern snakehead at the mouth of Nanjemoy Creek on the Potomac River. We knew we were going to catch one eventually... we just weren�t sure when or where. The 27 inch fish was a female and had an empty stomach.

The second photo shows a juvenile black drum. They are encountered only occasionally on this survey. This one was caught in Worton Creek, in the upper Chesapeake Bay. Adults spawn at the mouth of the Bay in April, and then swim northward. They are typically caught in Maryland�s portion of the Bay in May and June. Adults can reach 100 pounds and look quite different from the juveniles.

Photos Courtesy Amy Batdorf.