Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Reports

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, December 11 Update: 

The big news from the Tangier region is that migratory striped bass are starting to move up the Eastern Shore. We had a few reports of big fish from the Exmore area, and we heard rumors of a few in the open Bay near the Tangier and Pocomoke Sound. Light tackle guide C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters reported that rock fishing is red hot right now. Some days it may take some running around to find them, but C.L. and crew caught over 50 fish on a recent trip, and the fish seem to be getting bigger by the day. We are not sure how many big fish will show up or how long they will be around, but the next few weeks will likely be the best chance to get on them. The best way to find them is to search for actively feeding birds where stripers are likely to be close by, or live line with eels along main channels and ledges where bait should be holding this time of year. If you don’t want to head out on the big water, the protected waters of the Pocomoke River is an excellent option to fish for several species in the winter. Crappie, yellow perch, largemouth bass, and pickerel are the popular targets. Fishing with live minnows is the best way to get them biting. Most anglers fish them under bobbers, or slow troll them behind the boat along the channel ledges of the river.

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

It is time to bundle up while heading out on the water. The cold weather is here, but there are plenty of reasons to still get out and fish. Anglers in the Tangier region have an excellent winter fishery right in their backyards, the Pocomoke River. The Pocomoke has been fishing very well for crappie and several other species in recent weeks, including largemouth bass, yellow perch, and pickerel. Crappie have been enticed by minnows tipped onto panfish jigs and either trolled behind the boat or suspended under a bobber. The daily angler creel limit for crappie is 15 fish, so if you get on a hot bite, you can have plenty of meat for a fish fry.

FishTalk’s Zach Ditmars spent some of the holiday weekend hitting the ponds dotting the Delaware section of the Eastern Shore, but he said the pickerel bite was tepid, and the weather made fishing tough. Only a handful of fish, up into the low 20-inch range, were willing to hit. A reader reported similar results in a millpond on the Shore's southern reaches, where the pickerel bite had shut down cold with the sudden chill in the air. However, he did pick up a nice largemouth on a chatterbait. Migratory striped bass are starting to move up the Bay. Most of the action will be out on the main stem of the Bay and along the deeper channels running through the Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds. Bird shows have been popping up in several regions of the Bay, so it will be a good idea to have a pair of binoculars while searching for stripers. Birds are usually a good indication that there is bait and fish in the area.