Shady Side Man Charged with Possession of Striped Bass

The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged a Shady Side man with possession of striped bass during the closed season, according to a NRP release.

On March 14, NRP officers found John Edward Smith III, 57, of Shady Side, in possession of striped bass when they saw him “commercially fishing” a drift gill net for white perch in the Rhode River near Shady Side and followed him to his home, according to the release.

Smith left the nets in the water and returned to his house and that’s where officers contacted the 57-year-old. At Smith’s home, officers said they found six striped bass in his possession, according to the release. 

It is illegal to possess striped bass taken from the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries until the striped bass season opens in select portions of the bay on April 21, according to the release.

Smith was charged with commercially possessing striped bass without a striped bass allocation card, failing to display a tidal fish license on his vehicle while transporting seafood and failing to attend his drift gill net, according to the release.

Smith is scheduled to face the charges in the District Court of Maryland for Anne Arundel County on April 20.