Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, June 23 Update:
Thanks to strong breezes many of the shallows in the open Sounds were “pretty mucked up” last weekend and we didn’t get any good speck reports after Father’s Day weekend. We did hear from one reader who reported dink rockfish in the Honga but said it was difficult to fish. We also heard from one who fished the Little Annemessex with live spot and caught some nice rockfish up to 27-inches; with four aboard he said it took just 30 minutes to hit the limit. Generally speaking light tackle casters have been doing well, and the specks had been hitting four-to-five-inch soft plastics in a variety of colors but location-wise the presence of fish has been spotty. As a general rule the farther south you go the better the speck bite has been and the cool weather may delay the summer doldrums from setting in as water temps have actually dropped a bit in the past week — the outlook for this weekend is excellent.
We didn’t get any solid confirmable intel on reds north of the Cape Charles zone this week, which may also have been a result of the windy conditions last weekend. For those interested in targeting other fare up the rivers on the Shore, however: the Rudow family checked in from up the Marshyhope after a weekend of snakehead hunting and reported mostly channel catfish and largemouth bass with one 23.5-inch snakehead in the basket. A small chartreuse spinnerbait was the top-producing lure, chicken livers were murder on the cats, and a topwater mouse also triggered multiple attacks mostly from the bass.
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, June 16 Update:
Reports from the Sounds remained good this week. Speckled trout and striped bass are hanging around, as well as a few flounder. The specks are up in the grassy shallows and happy to hit white, pink, and chartreuse lures with a bit of sparkle. Salt-n-pepper and rootbeer colors are also producing. The same are working for striped bass, although white has definitely been the stand out color. Striped bass are up in the shallows early and late in the day, plus you can find them along the channel edges. Casting to the points and edges of the salt islands has been producing a few rock pushing close to the 30-inch mark, and while the numbers of specks have been lower, there have been some very nice ones in the mid-20s. The Tackle Box noted this week that the Eastern Shore specks were running significantly larger than those being caught on the west side.
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, June 10 Update:
The speck bite is picking up, people! The salt islands of the Tangier, Jane’s Island, and the Honga all got some play in the reports this week with three-to five-inch paddle-tails in pink and chartreuse triggering bites. Plenty of stripers are mixed in as well, but Sea Hawk is reporting that the still-going-strong flounder bite on the ESVA seaside is even better than hoped for and is distracting many anglers from the Bayside. Redfish (40-plus inchers!) are in the Sounds as well, though not in numbers like the specks, hitting crab baits fished outside of creeks draining salt marshes. There was also another “lost” early season Spanish mack reported this week (though without photographic evidence).
Anglers are also being distracted by the snakehead bite up the tribs, which has been improving. A FishTalk kayak team of Production Manager and kayak sharpie Zach Ditmars, Contributor Eric Packard, and Intern Ian Rubin hit the Little Blackwater last week ISO snakeheads, captured seven snakes and jumped off several more, and Intern Ian bagged his very first snakish critter—WTG, Ian!! They noted that the fish were widely scattered and staying on the move was key.
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, June 3 Update:
Reports from the Sounds make anyone who doesn’t live there want to move — the fishing is on fire and continuing to pick up. Striped bass, speckled trout, and monster reds are all around. What more could we ask for? Mostly small stripers — but some up to 30 or so inches — are hitting in the shallows of the Sounds, with one reader reporting a rather awesome catch including three fish over 28-inches on Fin-S plastics. Another chimed in after fishing Roaring Point with cut spot, catching a nice 23-inch speck and reporting that other anglers reeled in similarly chunky trout. The speckled trout are providing some steady action and although their numbers haven’t been incredibly strong, they’re larger than usual this season. They’ve also been happy to take four-inch paddle tails in white, chartreuse, or pink. The Tackle Box mentioned that salt n’ pepper and electric chicken are also working. One reader reported using pink ghost colored paddle tails, leading to hook-ups on the speckled trout and multiple striped bass.
Big reds are also still around, taking cut peeler and soft crab at creek mouths and in holes in the shallows. However, fishing for them has brought the skate-plague along, and boats are fighting to keep their baits. The skates are very heavy right now, and even though they’re not a species people typically target, the nuisance fish does put up a good fight. If you’re fishing with kids and hook into a skate, consider letting them take a turn fighting it before you cut the line. Even though we don’t eat them, it’s mighty cool to feel how they can tug and an absolute thrill for the little ones.