Greetings, FishTalkers—spring is finally in the air! This winter was a long, tough slog, with fishing somewhere between impossible and miserable much of the time. But in the coming days perch will be running, shad will appear in our creeks and rivers, and the Bay will come alive with the arrival of southern species. We’ll all be hoping for warm weekend days and red-hot bites. More importantly, we’ll be hoping and praying for a good rockfish spawn in the Chesapeake. Considering the sort of winter we just had the conditions are better than they have been in recent years, so let’s all cross our fingers for a change in their spawning success as we move into spring of 2026.
Speaking of change: as most of you know, for the past eight years FishTalk has been bringing you not only this free monthly magazine but also weekly fishing reports, completely free of charge. We’ve done so because we know how important it is to anglers to gather as much pre-fishing intel as possible before each and every trip. Especially for those of us who have limited fishing opportunities due to work and family obligations, it’s very, very difficult to keep up to date on where the current bites are and what the fish are hitting. We get that, we care, and we’ll be boosting our efforts to deliver high-quality intel. In fact, starting in April we plan to restructure the reports to include more extensive information on the happening hotspots as well as what tactics and lures are proving to be effective, with direct links to articles on the website that explain each in detail.
That’s the good news, but there’s also some not so good news: With expenses increasing on everything from paper to payroll, we simply cannot continue doing things the way we’ve done them to date. FishTalk the magazine will continue to be free and available throughout our readership area, and we’ll continue producing a free report on the general bite, but beginning May 1 we’re going to start asking everyone to sign up for a subscription to access the detailed weekly fishing reports and portions of our website.
Wait a sec! Don’t throw down the magazine in disgust just yet! The subscription will be very inexpensive, breaking down to $6.25 a month on an annual basis ($75/year) with the option to go month-by-month for $15. And we’re going to do our darndest to make sure that those of you who opt to subscribe receive the value you deserve and then some. Through April everyone will be able to see for themselves what the newly enhanced reports will look like.
Up until now we’ve never had to ask you, the reader, to chip in a dime. And you may have wondered how we could possibly manage to do so. It has at times been challenging and there have been ups and downs. But in the past year it’s become apparent that if FishTalk is to have a future, we have to make this change.
I want everyone to understand that when I say “we” I mean FishTalk as a whole, including myself, our staff, our contributors, and — critically — you the reader. I spoke with many of you FishTalkers to gauge your feelings about making this change, as well as other ways to potentially improve the economic dynamic. We’ve had endless meetings in the office about the topic. Charging for the reports and web access may not be ideal, but it is the best way we can come up with to keep the wheels on the bus. I sincerely hope you’ll decide to sign up for the fishing reports, and help us continue bringing FishTalk to each and every corner of Chesapeake country for the 2026 fishing season and beyond.
SIGN UP for an annual subscription during the month of April, and we'll send you a FishTalk hat to say thanks!