Chesapeake Bay Fishing Tips + Harriet Tubman Birthday Events

MARYLAND — With spring on our doorstep, many Marylanders are itching to get back on the water. One fisherman offered some tips for catching a popular Chesapeake Bay fish this spring.

Other events will celebrate Harriet Tubman's 200th birthday, explore herbal medicine, honor Eastern Shore heritage and sell native plants.

Patch recently partnered with several local organizations to bring you their latest news. This guest contribution comes from National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways and Chesapeake Conservancy. Here's what Jody Hedeman Couser submitted to help you explore the Chesapeake Bay:

"How to Catch Chesapeake Shad

Pound-for-pound, shad are one of the Chesapeake watershed’s most fun fish to catch, and now’s the time to go after them! An anadromous fish, shad spend the majority of their lives in the ocean, but migrate to freshwater to spawn. Avid fisherman, Peter Turcik, is once again ready to share all of his shad fishing know-how, from where to try your luck to types of rods, line, and lures. Once near extinction, shad are now protected throughout the watershed and fishing is strictly for sport – but their feistiness makes them a go-to favorite when spring comes to the Chesapeake. Read Shad Fishing in the Chesapeake."

"Celebrating Harriet Tubman’s 200th Birthday

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Harriet Tubman and the 5th anniversary of its opening, “Team Tubman,” ... the ... Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center[, is] hosting special programs to honor the life and legacy of the abolitionist and suffragist. Events include the virtual premier of the film Rooted Wisdom: Nature’s Role in the Underground Railroad at 7:00 pm March 11. On March 12[,] there [will] be an opening ceremony featuring a living history interpretation by Millicent Sparks at the Visitor Center, an update of the successful effort to locate and excavate the homesite of Ben Ross, songs and stories by the Washington Revels Jubilee Voices, and a discussion of the free and enslaved people who helped raise, protect, nurture, and educate Harriet Tubman. The celebration continues on Sunday[,] March 13 with more musical presentations and much more about the amazing story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. More information and weekend schedule details."

"Introduction to Herbalism

Herbalism is as ancient as life itself and is the foundation of all other forms of medicine. Learn how to use whole plant materials such as leaves, flowers, fruit, seeds, stems, bark, roots, moss, lichen, seaweed or fungi to support and maintain health. You’ll have the opportunity to taste a few herbs and take home a tea or tincture sample. $30; ages 16+. March 19, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm; Irvine Nature Center, Owings Mills, MD. More info and registration."

"Delmarva Heritage Days

There will be lots of fun for the whole family at the Delmarva Discovery Museum’s heritage festival. Blue ribbon carvers will demonstrate their skills at making decoys, and painters and authors from all over the Eastern Shore will be sharing their work and telling their stories. Refreshments will be available, featuring Chesapeake fare like fried oyster sandwiches. Admission is free. March 26, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and March 27, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm; Delmarva Discovery Museum, Pocomoke City. More information."

"Spring Plant Sale

Kick off your spring gardening ... by choosing native plants from the Adkins Arboretum annual Spring Plant Sale. Ordering is now underway; just go online and make your selections from the Arboretum’s large inventory of ornamental native plants, and then schedule your pickup time. See a list of available plants. Now through March 31; Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, MD. More information."

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