Pete called the trip early, and only asked for some gas money.
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Back From Fishin'
DNR Denies Zooplankton Limiting Striper Success
The availability of tiny plankton that larval striped bass eat during their first weeks of life does not appear to be a leading factor for the recent poor spawning success of the fish in Maryland, according to a new study by scientists at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The findings suggest that one leading theory about the poor spawning success of striped bass—that larval striped bass have missed important blooms of zooplankton to feed on—is not to blame for the consecutive years of low numbers of juvenile striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay since 2019.
The study, published late December in the journal Marine and Coastal Fisheries, analyzed stomach contents of weeks-old striped bass in the Choptank River from 2023 and 2024 and compared them to historical data on larval striped bass diets in the Choptank in the 1980s. While these two recent years had poor year classes, meaning spawning female striped bass produced low number of juveniles in those years, the 1980s dataset included a full range of year-class outcomes.
They found that the young striped bass had enough to eat in 2023 and 2024, with plankton buffets available at similar levels to high spawning years.
“When we got done, basically a strong year class like the one in the Choptank River in 1989 didn’t really look different from 2023 or 2024 in terms of feeding,” DNR fisheries biologist Jim Uphoff, the lead author of the study, said. DNR biologists Shannon Moorhead, Alexis Park, Carrie Hoover, Marisa Ponte, and Jeffrey Horne were also authors on the study.
Previously, scientists had wondered if a “mismatch” of the timing of zooplankton blooms and larval striped bass looking for their first meal could be a major cause of recent low year-class success. By largely ruling out that “match-mismatch hypothesis” as a leading driver of recent poor spawning success, the study helps biologists home in on the most likely reason for the low recruitment.
They found that striped bass larvae had a high amount of copepods to eat in 2023 and 2024, as well as a lot of cladocerans in 2024. White perch followed similar patterns.
Plankton feeding levels were variable in the years of the 1980s, but the study found feeding was not closely correlated with the results of the juvenile index from the young-of-year survey, DNR’s longstanding survey used to measure the year class success of striped bass and other Bay fish.
Years with large amounts of juveniles, like 1989, had similar availability of zooplankton to years with poor recruitment, like 2024. Uphoff said successful year classes appear to thrive based on an adequate amount of zooplankton coinciding with several other factors that hit in their favor. Moorhead recorded a presentation on the findings from the research for the American Fisheries Society meeting last year.
The study also found that the abundance of striped bass larvae sized 8-10 millimeters matched up closely to the abundance found in the older juveniles of the young-of-year survey, suggesting that the success of the year class was already largely determined before the fish’s third week of life, when they are smaller than a grain of rice.
Uphoff described the spawning strategy of striped bass as a gambler’s bet—with a slight increase in temperature, they go all in. “In enough cases, the timing is bad, and that doesn’t work,” he said. “But every once in a while, they have a big year class.” With a shortened spawning season, it may be harder to hit it right.
“The amount of eggs is okay and the feeding larvae are okay, so now you’re looking at something in between,” Uphoff said. “The big drivers are water flow and temperature. More and more, it’s looking like a temperature issue here, related to climate change. By process of elimination, that’s the next place to look.”
Maybe this year!
Flotsam and Jetsam - Gone Fishin' DIY
And not even a very big set:
Trump and the 'Pubs
TSA Takes The Brunt Of Latest Democrat Government Shutdown - Victory Girls BlogMarco Rubio delivers tough love to Europe -- and the overgrown teenage brats know 'Dad' is right
Lara Logan on X: "Another one that speaks for itself."
John LeFevre on X: "Odd too that NBC fails to mention that Katie Couric, Chelsea Handler, and George Stephanopoulos went to Epstein's get-out-of-jail-for-raping-girls party."
See if You Can Tell the Exact MOMENT Hillary Knows She's Been Caught Lying About Her 'Epstein Links' – Twitchy
The Epstein Files: The Blackmail of Billionaire Leon Black and Epstein's Role in It
Ace of Spades HQ Microsoft AI CEO: Most White-Collar Jobs Will be "Automated by AI" Within Ten Years I Mean, Within Twelve to Eighteen Months
The Disloyal Opposition
Sean Davis on X: "She is named Cortez and yet is totally clueless about how Mexico came to have horses. Imagine being named after the man who brought horses to the Americas and not knowing that."
Glenn Greenwald on X: "Whoever convinced AOC that she had successfully completed her tutoring and was now ready to give book reports about foreign policy in public really should look for another line of work. Unless the goal was to sabotage her. In which case: kudos for a job well done."
Eric Matheny 🎙️ on X: "The social experiment of taking a 20 something-year-old cocktail waitress and putting her in the United States House of Representatives is going exactly as one would expect https://t.co/mOwI05zBlY"
Scott Jennings on X: "This Munich conference made it clear: America has just one adult political party right now, and it's the Republican Party. Marco Rubio just gave the speech of a lifetime. Dems sent their "brightest" in AOC and she CRAPPED THE BED in front of the world. https://t.co/GbTXKqysSG"
NYT: Leave Britney, er, AOC Alone! – HotAir
AOC Gets Big Mad at Press Coverage of Her Munich Disaster, and She's Never Been More Exposed – RedState
Ace of Spades HQ Operation PROTECT DONKEY-CHOMPERS: Leftwing Propaganda Media Goes Into Overdrive Claiming That AOC's Embarrassingly Incompetent Performance At Munich Was Akshually "Cogent" and Critics Are Just "Microscopically Dissecting" Her "Message"
Why US voters should beware Newsom
So Another Blue State Just Lost Another Company to Guess Where – PJ Media
Could Dogs Become a Wedge Issue? – HotAir
Nobody Is Hurting Our Dogs
It's Racist to Like Dogs, Apparently – HotAir
Ace of Spades HQ Palestinian Activist in NYC Calls for Dogs to be Banned as "Indoor Pets" -- No Longer Permitted Inside People's Private Apartments -- Because They are "Unislamic" and "Dirty"
NBC News: Rep’s Anti-Muslim Post Prompts ‘Major Islamic Civil Rights Group’ to Call for Resignation –
TwitchyNancy Mace introduces bill to target animal-abusing aliens | Fox News
Cultivated Rage – HotAirMeet the Architects of California’s Billionaire Tax
Cultivated Rage – HotAirMeet the Architects of California’s Billionaire Tax
Gavin Newsom Gets Ratioed for His Dumbest Tweet Ever – HotAir
California Legislature: Nothing to See Here, Move Along – HotAir
You Won't Believe the Voter Fraud Nick Shirley Uncovered in CA: One Woman's Dog Voted in Two Elections
Matt Whitlock on X: "If you're getting deja vu reading this, it's because this EXACTLY how Kamala Harris's team complained about her media treatment. Kamala would study up on ONE topic - then be furious that media expected someone in a position of power to be able to talk about any other issue."
California Legislature: Nothing to See Here, Move Along – HotAir
You Won't Believe the Voter Fraud Nick Shirley Uncovered in CA: One Woman's Dog Voted in Two Elections
Matt Whitlock on X: "If you're getting deja vu reading this, it's because this EXACTLY how Kamala Harris's team complained about her media treatment. Kamala would study up on ONE topic - then be furious that media expected someone in a position of power to be able to talk about any other issue."
Just Us System
- Radical Vegan Transgender Cult Update: Maryland Trial Postponed Until June : The Other McCain
- The Culture War
About 10% of Mass Shootings Have Been Committed by Alphabet People in Recent Years – HotAir
Ace of Spades HQ Yet Another "Trans" Mass Shooting the Media Will Pretend Was Perpetrated by a "Woman"
Trans Activist Whose Complaints Got Graham Linehan Arrested Winds Up in Police Van – HotAir
After Fleeing Trump’s America, Rosie O'Donnell Quietly Peeks Back to See If It’s 'Safe' – PJ Media
Stephen Colbert Caught As Fake Censorship Stunt Blows Up – HotAir
Ace of Spades HQ Stephen Colbert Involved in Yet Another Leftwing Propaganda Hoax
The Wednesday Wetness
There are lots of digits being spilled in the Potomac sewage catastrophe:
WTOP News : Progress at Potomac sewer collapse but overflow risk remains, DC Water says
WUSA-CBS: Health concerns grow as Potomac River begins to thaw after massive sewage spill
WJLA-ABC: 'Remnants of sewage' including toilet paper, left behind after wastewater pipe collapse
WDCW-CW: Sewage spill in Potomac River impact fishing industries
Not a good time to go Blue Catfish fishing.
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Beach Report 2/17/26
Maryland, My Maryland
 |
| 2024 MD districts |
State House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk says there is still enough time to redraw congressional district lines — which Democrats believe could win them a new seat — but that the Feb. 24 candidate filing deadline may need to be delayed to accommodate a new map.
“It’s just a matter of making it a priority, and the House did,” Peña-Melnyk said in an exclusive interview with The Baltimore Sun. Delaying the filing deadline is not as dramatic as pushing back the primary election itself — and there is no talk of that — but Republicans say it would disrupt election planning and leave candidates with questions about where they’ll run.
The timing around the election season was also a concern of Senate President Bill Ferguson, who has been a staunch opponent of mid-cycle redistricting. “The length of those delays is very dependent on how quickly the local boards of election could implement a new map after all legal challenges are settled, which almost certainly means additional weeks of a delay, if not months,” Ferguson said in a letter to his colleagues last October. An aide of Ferguson’s reiterated his position on Wednesday. The Senate president has called the new map “objectively unconstitutional,” saying it “breaks apart more neighborhoods and communities” than the existing district lines.
The candidate filing deadline is a specific date for anyone who wants to appear on the 2026 primary ballot. Delays could mean voters have less time to learn about their candidates. Moving back filing deadlines can also be problematic for candidates because they may not know which voters to target in their campaigns.
The map must be locked in by the deadline so district boundaries can be implemented and candidates can learn about their districts. When talking to The Sun, Peña-Melnyk referenced an emergency bill she supports by Del. Kris Fair, a Frederick County Democrat, that would push the filing deadline to March 20. The bill is pending.
The House of Delegates on Feb. 2 approved a redrawing of the boundaries of the state’s eight U.S. House districts. But the map — supported by Gov. Wes Moore and opposed by state Republicans — may stall because Ferguson is resisting the redistricting push, saying it could “backfire in our courts” and hurt Democrats.
 |
| Proposed 2026 MD district map |
Currently, only one of eight districts in Maryland is held by a Republican, the 1st district, which is mostly the Eastern Shore. This bill would drag in enough houses from across the Bay Bridge to make that a Democrat majority, a masterpiece worthy of Elbridge Gerry's name, a gerrymander, and leaving the 40% of the state which votes Republican with no representation.
Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Steps in the Potomac Shit
From Fox, Collins boosts Republican voter ID effort, but won’t scrap filibuster, "Mike Lee-led campaign gains crucial vote but faces 60-vote Senate filibuster challenge." At RCP, Sen. Dave McCormick on SAVE Act: If An 80-20 Issue Can't Get 60 Votes, Something Is Amiss In The Senate, but then, we knew that. Dmitri Bolt at TownHall, CNN Confronts Chuck Schumer on Voter ID. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair hears Fetterman: What's Wrong With Requiring ID to Vote? Secretary Kristi Noem @Sec_Noem, "It must be exhausting to regularly manufacture outrage even over the most commonsense statements. Yes, we must build election infrastructure that makes it easy and secure for eligible American citizens to vote—while preventing non-citizens, including illegal aliens, from casting ballots. The choice of who to vote for is obviously up to the voters themselves. So here's the real question for @jaketapper @jonkarl and anyone else clutching pearls over this: Do you actually support allowing people who are in this country illegally to vote in our elections?" Support? They're counting on it.
Sundance at CTH explores the relationship between Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. John LeFevre @JohnLeFevre, "Nothing from NBC News on Obama's lawyer or Reid Hoffman - who donated $100 million to Democrats, bankrolled the Kavanaugh smear campaign, and funded the E. Jean Carroll hoax against Trump. Media silence when it doesn't fit the narrative." Quote NBC News @NBCNews, "At least half a dozen top Trump administration officials appear in the Jeffrey Epstein files. Batya Ungar-Sargon @bungarsargon, ""Ironically, in denouncing how 'wealthy powerful men' are protected in a two-tiered legal system, Khanna pulled the ultimate powerplay — defaming four individuals with little concern of accountability. Ironically, Khanna succeeded in showing the ultimate example of the impunity enjoyed by 'wealthy, powerful men.'" Quote Jonathan Turley @JonathanTurley, "I have spoken with members who were part of the conference on the petition to force the release of these documents. Massie and Khanna opposed efforts to amend the petition to allow for greater resources to review the millions of documents... https://jonathanturley.org/2026/02/15/ro-" From Campus Reform, Jeffrey Epstein's obsession with human bodies led him to fund the genetics research of two current Harvard profs. "Epstein was obsessed with blue eyes and worked with scientific contacts to prove his hypothesis that blue eyes were a signifier of high intelligence while he was funding and visiting Harvard's Program for Evolutionary Dynamics." At Fox, Israeli intelligence sources reject claims Jeffrey Epstein was Mossad operative following document releases "Israeli prime minister escalates political feud following renewed scrutiny of Epstein's dealing with ex-Israeli leader Ehud Barak." But then, they would if it were true, too.
Dave Strom at Hat Hair claims You Won't Believe The New York Times' Take on Rubio's Munich Speech. "The New York Times' reaction to the speech mirrored that of AOC: Western values suck, and Europe is no longer Western because its population is being replaced by third worlders. AOC said it outright, giving an explicitly Marxist race and class-based analysis, while the Times sanded the sharp corners down a bit." You'd be surprised by what I might believe. Hat Hair's Duane Patterson looks at Marco's Moment, Morons, and Mendacity in Munich. Sarah Anderson at TownHall watches Rubio’s European Tour Heats Up — WaPo and the Cuban Revolution Take a Beating. Sundance hosts Secretary Marco Rubio's Joint Press Conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and reports President Trump Announces Board of Peace Meeting February 19th at the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace.
PJM's Cathy Salgado hears the Trump Admin tout $2,400 Savings From Ending Start-Stop Car Feature. We don't have it, but that's got to be annoying. We have a hybrid, and it alway shuts off, unless it need charge. But at least the electric side accelerates right off. News Wax, Trump Touts Dip in Mortgage Rates Vs. Biden. ""Joe Biden’s inflation crisis crushed the dream of homeownership for millions of Americans — but President Trump is bringing it back," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News." It's a bit much to claim credit for, but if the Democrats are going to wield the "affordability" club, it's fair.
From NYPo, Trump threatens kidnappers with death penalty if Nancy Guthrie isn’t returned alive in call with The Post, Democrats immediately call for cashless bail for the offenders /sarc.
Dave Strom looks at the Democrats Auditioning for Nomination in Munich. At Twitchy, AOC Mocks Marco Rubio for Saying Cowboys Come From Spain (Ask African Slaves). End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "AOC mocks Rubio: "My favorite part is he said cowboys are rooted in Spain. Uhhh, speak to Mexicans & African slaves!" Spain introduced horses to Mexico." Capt. Ed at Hat Hair calls it Too Dumb to Check: Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be AOCs. Joe Chalfant at TownHall, Did AOC's Word Salad Just End Her Presidential Ambitions? Hardly, it's par for Democrats who have to constantly talk around truth and logic. Brad Slager at RedState, The Ocasio-Cortez Disaster in Munich Gives a 2028 Election Primer As Bloomberg News Cleans Up Her Mess. Driscoll at Insty, WAS IT OVER WHEN THE VENEZUELANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR? Western Lensman @WesternLensman, "AOC: The US shouldn't engage in actions like the one against Maduro just because Venezuela is “below the equator." Venezuela is not below the equator. Got a round of applause anyway." A Larry video at Hat Hair, AOC, Hillary Clinton Globally Shamed As Rubio Stuns World Elites. Driscoll again with DAAAMN: Watch Hillary’s Face as Czech Deputy PM Macinka Shuts Her Down in Heated Back and Forth on Gender. Fox News @FoxNews, "REALITY CZECH: Hillary Clinton clashes with Czech Deputy PM Petr Macinka after he says President Trump reacted to policies that went "too far." MACINKA: "We saw the woke revolution. I don't agree with the gender revolution, the climate alarmism..." CLINTON: "Which gender? Women having their rights?" . . ." Amy Curtis noticed Hillary Clinton Lied About Deportations Under Her Husband and Obama. Well, her mouth was moving.
Congressman Randy Fine @RepFine, "Piers, what is disgusting is a major NYC Muslim leader saying we must give up our dogs because "NYC is coming to Islam" We will not be shamed into being conquered like the Europeans. I choose my dog. I know my first appearance on your show didn't go well for you, but if you want to try again, I am happy to administer another beating." Jake Tapper @jaketapper, "Disgusting bigotry." Quote Congressman Randy Fine @RepFine "If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one." Amy Curtis @RantyAmyCurtis, "So for the midterms, @TheDemocrats have decided to take the side of banning dogs and calling the critics who oppose banning dogs “racist.” Keep up the good work." and Totally weird how not one Leftist has said, “No, we won’t let Muslims ban your dogs.” I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. RBe @RBPundit, "Apparently all the political commentators just flat out missed that some Muslim activist who works for the new NYC mayor said dogs should be banned indoors in New York." Wilfred Reilly @wil_da_beast630, "This "dogs" tweet thing is a classic example of a totally fake, made up scandal. A Muslim troll - an adult with a powerful position - tweeted that New Yorkers should get rid of all (indoor) dogs to appease Muslim immigrants, because dogs are filthy in Islam and Muslim incomers do not want to see them. In direct response, quoting his opponent, another powerful adult said that - if forced to make this binary choice by Muslims - he would prefer dogs to Muslim incomers. This is about the 90% US position, btw. Every S...S...SHOCKED response to part two is literally just someone intentionally ignoring the 1st 1/2-2/3 of the exchange so they can do the "You Monster!" bit. It really is tiring."
At Am Great, Ed Ring calls Mamdani and Newsom The Democratic Party’s Fraternal Twins. "Mamdani and Newsom sell rival myths, but their shared model—big government fused with big corporate power—centralizes control, inflates costs, and leaves ordinary Americans paying the price." At PM, Tenants in NYC public housing won't be allowed to complain about city landlord at Mamdani's 'rental ripoff' hearings. "If these hearings were truly about holding bad landlords accountable, the over 500,000 residents in NYCHA would be able to meaningfully participate." Government cheese.
Jonathan Turley sees California Democrats Trigger a Reverse Gold Rush with a Wealth Tax: Eat the Rich. Hat Hair's John Sexton, Billionaires Make Plans to Avoid the California Wealth Tax. David Marcus @BlueBoxDave, "There’s a weird poeticism to the radical American left being funded by divorce settlements." Quote Forbes @Forbes, "MacKenzie Scott’s $26 billion giving sprint in seven years, including a record $7.2 billion last year, makes her the third-biggest philanthropist of all-time. She gave more in 2025 than Musk, Page, Ellison and her ex-husband Bezos have in their lifetimes combined." Beege Welborn, How Green Is My Cult: CA Now Importing US Gas From *check notes* 4000 Miles Away. Driscoll sees BLUE STATES ARE MOVING LEGISLATION FORWARD TO RESTRICT HOW MUCH YOU CAN DRIVE: "The “15 Minute City” concept is gaining traction on the left, especially in Great Britain, where the Labour Party and leftist cities are seeking to impose harsh restrictions on vehicle use. Here in the U.S., blue states are pivoting toward mileage caps, which would establish maximum “vehicle miles traveled” (“VMT”) allowed for an entire state, with regulators then creating “incentives” to reduce individual driving so as to achieve the VMT objective. From News Nation: “Massachusetts bill aims to reduce driving to meet climate goals” . . ." From the College Fix, EXPOSED: Taxpayers paying for Democrat activists’ grad school tuition. Ben Smith at RedState, Democratic Auditor Takes Own Party to Court After $12M Fraud and 72% Vote for Audit.
At Hat Hair, Capt. Ed, Homan: You Better Believe We'll 'Flood the Zone' in 'Sanctuaries' Again, Dave Strom fears The Ground Troops of the Revolution Are Being Trained Before Our Eyes and In Minneapolis It's the Taxpayers Who Pick Up the Tab for Anti-ICE Activism and John Sexton reports a Public School Teacher Killed by Illegal Immigrant Fleeing ICE. From CIS, DOJ Reveals that Biden Granted ‘Quiet Amnesty’ to Nearly a Million Aliens. "Cases that have been ‘temporarily paused’ for more than three decades, and other denials of justice." The Redoubtable Julie Kelly (at substack) explores how a Deadly Crash Exposes Danger of So-Called 'Chameleon Carriers'. "Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and some federal lawmakers are looking into how trucking companies avoid oversight and accountability through shadow operations in the trucking industry."
The Chronic has No Pity for the ‘Washington Post.’ Ace, "The Media Whined That the Washington Post Cancelled Its World-Beating Sports Section. The Media, You Will Not Be Surprised to Learn, Lied." By "sports," they meant what they mean in every case: DEI propaganda and gay communism bullshit. They do this with every single entertainment men like. They fill men's entertainment with nonstop pro-gay, pro-feminism, pro-DEI propaganda. So that's what was going on with the Washington Post's "sports" desk before they cancelled it. Free Beacon's Andrew Stiles: . . ." Dave Strom notes They Don't Even Try to Distinguish Fact From Fiction Anymore. The article as about the Slantic, but it's a general problem.
Insty calls this SAVAGE. AND FAIR. Rolling Stone @RollingStone, "The MAGA right says Charlie Kirk is a martyr for freedom of expression, but still want people to lose their jobs for criticizing his rhetoric. DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "You, of all outlets, need to SHUT UP. You were the first outlet to dox me. You ran a deranged piece painting me as some CFPB mastermind only because you couldn’t dig up dirt. You tried to cancel me. You don’t get to whine about cancel culture. Here’s the rule: if you don’t want to get fired, don’t cheer the deaths of your neighbors, family, or fellow Americans. You and I are not the same. We see you. You are hypocrites. You are evil. Go crawl away in shame."
James Bacon, at Bacon's Rebellion on How to Make Sure Virginia Universities Are Governed by Unaccountable, Leftist Oligarchies Forever, elect Spamberger.
And oh, so much more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.16.26!
Tattoo Tuesday
Australian Broadcasting Co, Dozens of Australians diagnosed with rare tattoo-related vision loss
While tattoo-associated uveitis was thought to be extremely rare, research published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology has documented 40 new cases of the condition in Australia — doubling the number of published cases detected around the world since 2010. The research, undertaken by a team of Australians, suggests this complication, while still rare given the number of people who get tattoos, may be more common than we thought. Experts are calling for more research to understand and try to limit the vision-threatening disease.Now, that is scary.
. . .
But in recent years, Dr Richards has seen a rise in cases of uveitis caused by injected tattoo ink — sometimes long after the tattoo was done. Doctors can tell the uveitis is caused by a tattoo because it can look slightly raised and inflamed. "I only became aware of it about four or five years ago, and then once I was aware of it, I had all these patients all of a sudden," she said.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)