Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Reports

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, June 12 Update: 

The Easter Shore of Delmarva is an angler’s paradise, and there have been abundant opportunities lately. Speckled trout are becoming more numerous over the grass flats. Anglers throwing topwater lures in the early mornings and late evenings have enjoyed a good class of fish with some up to 25” being reported. Bull red drum have been found cruising the shallows of the lower Eastern Shore in both the Tangier and Pocomoke Sound. Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has been taking full advantage of this bite with his clients. On recent trips they have landed fish up to 50 inches and soaking pieces of fresh peeler crab seems to be the ticket. The bulls have been cruising close to shoreline points along Tangier and Smith Island, and over large grass beds scattered throughout the sounds. C.L. has also found rockfish in the shallows near shoreline points and creek mouths along with plenty of bluefish at some deeper wreck sites. The bluefish at the deeper structure have been aggressively hitting topwater lures, making for some exciting angling with their aerial acrobatics.

A pair of readers wrote in with a report after fishing around Smith and Tangier Island at the beginning of the week. They started their day fishing over grass beds where they caught a 14” speck, a 22” speck, and a 37” red drum. All were caught using popping corks with paddletails underneath in four feet of water. They were also surprised to see a five-foot shark swim right by their boat while they were drifting. After a slow, but productive morning fishing the grass, they ventured out to some open water wrecks where they found plenty of bluefish willing to bite. They hooked around 20 bluefish but only landed a handful thanks to some breaking their line and others spitting the hook. On their run back across the Bay, they ran across a school of breaking bluefish that only frenzied up for a few seconds, but it was enough time to cast out, hook, and land a 31” bluefish that took several drag screaming runs before tiring out. The great thing about this region of the Bay is that you never know what you might come across.

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, June 5 Update: 

There were a lot of questions about how bad the speckled trout took a hit after the fish kill this winter, but after a slow start to the season, the action is picking up. A reader wrote in and let us know that the speckled trout bite improved on the lower Eastern Shore this week. They said a recent trip produced a half dozen speckled trout all on topwater lures. Most fish were around 20 inches, and they also missed a few bites. Fishing over shallow grass beds with clean water was the ticket to locating fish. Sea Hawk Sports Center let us know that anglers are starting to find more success with speckled trout on paddletails and popping corks after they had taken a liking for peeler crab for most of the spring. The shallow shorelines around the scattered islands in the Tangier and Pocomoke Sound appear to be holding good numbers of rockfish. High tides and clean water have been the biggest component for locating fish. Creek mouths on an outgoing tide have been another popular location to find hungry fish waiting to ambush an easy meal

Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters enjoyed some good action on the Bay this week. One trip started out with rockfish on topwater early, then he and his crew searched for black drum without any luck. Their next stop was at isolated wreck sites where three-to-five-pound bluefish were happy to hit topwater lures. The crew enjoyed fast action for a while then went searching for redfish, but only found rockfish, Atlantic skate, cownose rays, and a giant southern stingray. Black drum can still be found in areas with oyster bottom and around wrecks, but they are beginning to spread out and become less concentrated. There has also been in influx of less desirable “pickers” that are happy to pick up a piece of peeler crab for an easy meal. The Tackle Box also reported that last week there were good catches of three-pound bluefish south of the Target Ship. Some blues have also been found in open water chasing down schools of bait. Depths of 15’ to 30’ seem to be where they are roaming though there is not one area that has been consistent. It is worth keeping an eye out for surface activity while on the water.