Maryland Department of Natural Resources

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Tournament Anglers

Link to the Largemouth Bass Tag Poster pdf. NOTICE
​The marina at the Shad Landing area of Pocomoke River State Park is scheduled for renovation with construction tentatively scheduled to begin in January 2025 and extend through 2025. Access to the Pocomoke River from the Shad Landing area of Pocomoke River State Park will be unavailable during this time.
Welcome to our Tournament Angler page. The Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to many tournaments throughout the year, with most occurring between April and November. Some tournaments are large scale productions, such as the Bassmaster Open. Some are less large but still incredibly fun to watch or participate in.

We participate in a cooperative effort with our tournament anglers to keep healthy stocks of fish. In addition to the catch-and-release practices of most tournaments, handling techniques of fish have greatly improved and resulted in many more fish surviving now than twenty years ago.

Read these documents for information on:



​​graphic link to the Protect Your Waters web page Graphic link to Take the Bass Class Google Quiz​
Graphic link to the Bass Conservation page​​Graphic link tje the Black Bass Conservation Fund page
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Tournament Directors

Do I need a permit?​​

Tournament Permit Requirements

The permittee is required to:
  1. ensure that supplies and equipment for tournament are in good working order
  2. ensure that bags used to transport bass do not leak
  3. ensure that largemouth bass are maintained in well-oxygenated conditions
  4. ensure that bass are covered by water when transported by bag
  5. ensure that bass are not held in a bag with water for longer than 5 minutes without a water exchange
  6. ensure the legal disposal of dead black bass
  7. ensure that results are reported by the date on the permit
  8. ensure that all permit conditions specified on the permit are being followed.
Graphic link to the Bass Tournament Permit Request Form​​​   Graphic Link to the Bass Tournament Reporting Form  Graphic Link to the page of Bass Tournament listings​  Graphic link to map of Bass Release Locations  

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Five fisheries accounted for most black bass tournament fishing in Maryland. Of these, the percentage of fishing effort has increased on Potomac River and decreased for the upper Chesapeake Bay and Deep Creek Lake.

a graphic of a graph that shows that Five fisheries accounted for most black bass tournament fishing in Maryland. Of these, the percentage of fishing effort has increased on Potomac River and decreased for the upper Chesapeake Bay and Deep Creek Lake.

For tournament fisheries, approximately 40,000 angler-hours were spent fishing tournaments in 2024, a decrease from previous years. Most effort was spent in tidal freshwater of Potomac River and the upper Chesapeake Bay.

a graphic of a graph representing information for tournament fisheries, approximately 40,000 angler-hours were spent fishing tournaments in 2024, a decrease from previous years

Better catch from upper Chesapeake Bay , Pocomoke River, and Deep Creek Lake. The Choptank River saw a decline and the Potomac remained consistent.

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a graphic of a graph showing better catch from upper Chesapeake Bay , Pocomoke River, and Deep Creek Lake. The Choptank River saw a decline and the Potomac remained consistent.<
a graphic of a table which details the findings in the graph

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