Sports Digest: 62-pound tilefish caught off Ocean City might be record

Outdoors Calendar

BEST BET Today Stop by Monkton Station on the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail (formerly the NCR Trail), noon-4 p.m., to join park naturalists for storytelling, children's games and crafts, and the chance to meet some of the fascinating and...

Managing to make sense of species management

From spawning fish to deer birth control, it's all about mating. That's what drives species management, as practiced by humans on other life forms.

Gear Box: Wenger's Evolution Soft Touch 14 Knife

While not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I admire those pocket-size cutting implements that do a good job under sometimes adverse conditions with a minimum of bells and whistles.

Outdoors Girl: First steps for beginning hiker?

SuJay Johnson of Washington asks: Are there organized groups in Washington for people who want to get started hiking? I'm retired and very interested in finding a pleasurable outdoor activity with others, while getting exercise and information about nature at the same time.

Outdoors Calendar

BEST BET Wednesday Guide and author Larry Coburn will discuss steelhead fishing in New York state at a meeting of the Maryland Chapter of Trout Unlimited, 7:30 p.m., Odd Fellows Hall, 511 York Road, next door to Set's Sport Shop. Details:...

Md. man wins Duck Stamp contest

Waldorf farmer Bealle beats out 223 others for coveted 2010-11 honor

Search may be last for Maryland fish not seen in 2 decades

Last call for the Maryland darter. The elusive little fish, one of the rarest in the world, hasn't been seen in 21 years. Now, government and university biologists are teaming up for one more, perhaps final search for it in Harford County, where it's never been spotted more than sporadically since...

On the wing

Migrating hawks, eagles and falcons are the stars for the avid bird-watchers who gather at Pennsylvania sanctuary

Ideas to spout as Smith trail becomes national park

Candus Thomson: Get out your sharpest crayons and get ready to color outside the lines, if you like.

Gear Box: Oboz Sawtooth hiking shoes

It's hard to write about Oboz Sawtooth, the low-cut hiking shoes that hail from Montana.

Outdoors Girl: Who gets to speak at task force meetings?

Guy Salomon of Gwynn Oak writes: I read with interest your recent column about the Task Force on Fisheries Management and have some questions. I checked the August meeting summary and noted a list of attendees that included you under "Other Attendees." Can anyone attend...

Outdoors Calendar

BEST BET Saturday Fundraising bull-and-oyster roast for Wish-A-Fish Foundation that takes special-needs children and their families fishing, 7 p.m.-11 p.m., American Turners Hall, 9124 Lennings Lane, Rosedale....

Gear Box: State Park Passport

Sure, you can sit inside glued to the flat screen while Ken Burns drones on about the beauty of national parks ("First, the earth cooled ..."). But it's better to go out and experience Maryland parks the way 11 million people did last year.

Ask Outdoors Girl: Should I remove fish lice?

Jim Gilbert of East New Market writes: I live on the Choptank River, and this time of year we catch a lot of 12- to 14-inch rockfish. Almost all the fish have some sort of lice-type creature in each gill. My question is, should I remove the parasite and let the fish go or...

Outdoors Calendar

BEST BET Thursday The Baltimore chapter of Coastal Conservation Association Maryland will hold its bull roast and auction 6 p.m.-9 p.m. at the University of Maryland Biotechnology...

Sports Digest: Upper Chesapeake Bay site of Bassmaster event

For the second consecutive year, top professional and amateur anglers will fish the upper Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries as part of the 2010 Bassmaster Open series. North East Anchor Marina in Cecil County will serve as the weigh-in station on the third and final stop of the Northern Open...

Striper madness — read all about it

For five weeks each fall since Harry S. Truman was president, thousands of addicted anglers have lined shores and jetties and propped themselves up in boats, hoping to ease the craving of striper madness by taking part in the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.

Ask Outdoors Girl: Why no 'hunting' link on DNR's home page?

Vincent Grey of Abingdon writes: Has anyone else noticed the new Department of Natural Resources Web site? I find it disheartening that it fails to include a hunting link on the main page. It lists: Our Waters, Fishing, Boating, Parks, Wildlife, Trees and Site Map [in the...

Outdoors Calendar

BEST BET Next Sunday Riders begin the 16th Tour du Port, a fundraiser for One Less Car, a nonprofit dedicated to walking, cycling and mass transit in Maryland, at 7 a.m. at Canton Waterfront Park, 2903 Boston...

With boating deaths up, DNR seeks stricter laws

Proposal would require those under 13 wear a flotation device

Going hunting with Hoiles and friends

Candus Thomson: Former Oriole organizing outdoor adventures at fantasy camps

40.8-inch striped bass nets top fishing prize

The suspense didn't last long during the grand prize drawing for the state's annual fishing contest Saturday.

Ask Outdoors Girl

Sam Dutton of Baltimore writes: Saturday, I went with three friends to the Potomac above Hancock to go bass fishing. We waded in about four feet of water and had a blast. I caught about nine smallmouth and one of us caught 20, all from 7 a.m. to noon. All were catch and...

For finding lost people, we look to the STAR

Sometimes - not often - a walk in the woods becomes more like a scene out of "The Blair Witch Project."

Ask Outdoors Girl: Smaller fish, bigger payout?

Pat McDonough of Kennewick, Wash., writes: I just read [about the White Marlin Open] and am wondering how a smaller fish earns more money than a larger fish. We used to bet on rabbit hunting: the most cottontails, the first black cottontail and the most black "wabbits"...