Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, September 4 Update:
Bull red drum are the headline attraction along Virginia's Eastern Shore, with spawning fish holding around sloughs, shoals, and bottom structure. Cut or live spot, hardhead, and kingfish fished on heavy fish-finder rigs are the ticket, while some late-season cobia are mixed in. Spanish mackerel and bluefish remain active around channel edges and shoals throughout Tangier and Pocomoke sounds. The rockfish bite should also pick up this month with bait becoming increasingly concentrated around river mouths and deeper current lines as September progresses.
Striped bass season is now open in all Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia waters of the Bay offer catch-and-release opportunities until the state's harvest season reopens October 4. This gives anglers plenty of opportunities to target rockfish as the transition toward fall gets underway. In the Tangier region, look for stripers around tidal creek mouths, shoreline points, grass edges, submerged structure, and shallow flats, particularly where moving water pushes baitfish out of the creeks. Early mornings and evenings should offer the best shallow-water action while temperatures remain warm, with topwaters, paddletails, jerkbaits, and other small baitfish imitations good choices for casting. There is also the chance to catch some speckled trout and puppy drum in these same areas. We have had some reports of small specks being caught around the Manokin River and Big Annemessex River. Anglers throwing out bottom rigs from shore or anchoring up over oyster bottom are also catching a few under slot puppy drum and plenty of croaker. We have also heard of weakfish, pufferfish, and kingfish being in the mix for those fishing with bloodworms or Fishbites.
Bull red drum continue to provide some of the most exciting action along Virginia’s Eastern Shore, with spawning fish spread across the sloughs, shoals, and deeper edges adjacent to the shoreline from Pungoteague Creek south toward the Cell Reef area. These fish are often feeding along current-swept structure and can be targeted by anchoring up-current and setting out a chum slick, then fishing fresh cut spot, hardhead, or kingfish on fish-finder rigs with heavy leaders and 8/0 circle hooks. Live bait can also be extremely effective, particularly when reds are actively feeding, and the same baits have been producing a few late-season cobia mixed in with the drum. When targeting bull reds around the shoals and sloughs, heavier tackle is important for handling these larger fish, while also allowing enough drag to let the circle hook work properly. The reefs and oyster rocks throughout Tangier Sound are still holding some sheepshead and black drum, with chunks of crab fished on sweeper-style jigs a productive approach.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish should remain active throughout the Tangier and Pocomoke sounds and along the Eastern Shore side of the main Bay as the late-summer baitfish schools begin moving and concentrating along channel edges and current breaks. Main-channel drop-offs, shoals, points, and areas where strong tidal current pushes bait against structure are prime places to start, with birds diving or surface-feeding bait often giving away the location of the fish. Trolling Clark spoons, drone spoons, or surgical eels behind number one planers or inline weights is an effective way to cover water for both species, with faster trolling speeds generally favored when Spanish mackerel are the target. Once a school is located, make repeated passes through the same depth and general zone rather than continuing to roam. Bluefish can often be found mixed with the mackerel but tend to tolerate a wider range of conditions. Metal spoons, jigs, and heavier trolling lures can help target them while avoiding the cutoffs that are common with lighter mackerel tackle. The bluefish are also commonly found around reefs and wrecks, and there are plenty of these structures scattered throughout the lower Eastern Shore region. As September progresses and water temperatures begin to fall, watch for bait to become increasingly concentrated around river mouths, sound entrances, and deeper channel edges, which can make these areas increasingly productive before the fall migration gets fully underway.