Whenever someone asks me how I feel about making striped bass a gamefish in Maryland, my answer is always the same – they already are. Light tackle anglers fish for striped bass almost the same as we would for black bass, trout, crappie, or walleye.  Most of us use the same equipment. The only real difference I can see is that a few influential people in the mid-Atlantic find it profitable to commercially harvest stripers. I never  heard of striped bass on a restaurant menu until I moved to Maryland.  In fact, people in other parts of the country don’t consider them particularly good to eat.  I cook them occasionally, but is any fish tasty enough to deserve all the controversy that surrounds striped bass?  The biggest thing they have going for them is that they’re fun to catch and they’re pursued by more recreational anglers than any other species. In my book, that spells gamefish. Last week the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) voted down several amendments which would have increased the commercial harvest of striped bass. Maryland voted for no increase. That’s a positive sign from a state that traditionally harvests and sells more than its fair share, but it’s no reason to celebrate. Maintaining the status quo is just more bad news for the fish. Read More!