Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Reports

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, May 15 Update: 

Sea Hawk Sports Center reported that flounder fishing has been off the hook. Water temperatures have ticked up to milder temps which is allowing for decent fishing on both tide swings. As is always the case, the most important factor for success has been clean water. Flatties are being caught from Delaware down to Virginia Beach with the coastal bays in between producing good quality and quantities. The Sea Hawk crew says that the best depths have been from two to 12’ of water. Flounder rigs tipped with brightly colored bucktails tipped with Gulp! baits, minnows, or squid strips are getting bites on most days. The seaside suds have continued to produce this week with a wider variety of species. Anglers fishing from Assateague Island have caught stripers, black drum, red drum, bluefish, and an abundance of clearnose skate. Top baits have been cut mullet, peeler crab, and sand fleas. Tipping your bait with pieces of Fishbite also seems to help entice the bite. Black drum are starting to become less numerous and stripers will soon follow that pattern as they migrate north for the summer months.

Speckled trout have been slow to show up this year, but there are still scattered reports across the Eastern Shore. Water temperatures are in the right zone and grass should be emerging across more areas, so conditions are right. They are bound to show up at some point. Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has continued his success with drum on the lower Eastern Shore. He reports that more reds have been in the mix and he pulled three bulls into the boat during a trip this week. More bait pickers have moved in and are a pesky nuisance while fishing with peeler crab. Anglers will want to have plenty of bait on board while targeting drum as cownose rays and other species will happily take an easy meal. Most of the black drum action has been centered around areas with oyster bottom. The big reds are moving into the shallows, especially in areas with emerging grass beds. C.L. and his anglers have also pulled in some big rockfish from the shallows on both peeler crab and jigs. After a month and a half closure, the striper season will open on May 16th for most Maryland waters in the Chesapeake Bay. The season will also open in Virginia on May 16th. The slot limit is 19” to 24” with a creel limit of one fish per person per day. Not all areas in Maryland are open to harvesting or targeting striped bass, so make sure to look at the Maryland DNR striped bass regulation map to see where fishing for stripers is allowed.

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, May 9 Update: 

The shallows of the Eastern Shore are coming to life and as long as the weather cooperates, there have been plenty of opportunities to chase down some fish. Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has been enjoying a spectacular run of black drum into the Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds this spring and the action stayed hot this week. One of his trips produced seven drum in two hours, up to 47”. The black drum have been holding in areas with oyster bottom, and around other hard bottom structures. Bull red drum have started to move into the shallows, but C.L. says it has been hard to target them with all the cownose rays that have moved into the area. There have also been some reports of bull reds in the shallows around Bloodsworth Island and the lower Honga River. Chunks of hard crab and pieces of peeler crab tossed out on fish finder rigs have tempted both species of drum to bite.

Water temperatures have crested the 70-degree mark in some areas, and it should be prime time to search for speckled trout. Shallow flats with grass historically hold specks in the spring. The only questions we have this year are how bad the winter cold stun event was and how much it will affect the fishery. We did get a hearsay report of speckled trout being caught in a creek off the Big Annemessex, and any of the lower Eastern Shore creeks and islands would be good places to search this month. Striped bass have been prevalent in the shallows and are being caught by anglers fishing marshy points, rip-rap, and other shoreline structures. The striped bass closure is still in effect in Maryland waters, but the season will open next week on May 16th for both Maryland and Virginia. Anglers will be allowed to keep one fish per person per day with a slot limit of 19” to 24”. There should be plenty around in the shallows to go catch.

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, May 2 Update: 

This region of the Bay can be a magical place during the spring, and we are seeing anglers take advantage of several great opportunities this week. Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has continued to put his clients on big fish, and they have been enjoying a good run of black drum into the Tangier and Pocomoke sounds. A trip at the beginning of the week produced seven black drum up to 46” while fishing crab on fish finder rigs. C.L. then took his anglers to the shallows and found an outstanding rockfish bite. A late-week trip resulted in similar results with five black drum and several big stripers in shallow water. They also tried to look for red drum but found that cownose rays had invaded the area. Bull red drum have started to move into the sounds as well and some anglers are catching them in the shallows by tossing out chunks of hard crab and peeler.

We have not heard of any speckled trout reports from the area, but with water temperatures in the 60’s, they should be in the area. Anglers also tend to be tight-lipped when the specks first show up, so the best advice we can give is to go start fishing the shallows for them. Emerging grass beds will be prime spots to search. Post-spawn striped bass have been seen in big schools cruising the shallows on their way out of the Bay. These fish are still off limits in Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay until May 16th, but they can be targeted in Virginia waters. They can be difficult to get to bite as they are focused on making their migration back north, but some anglers finding them down around the mouth of the Bay are saying that glide baits are working best when encountering the big stripers in the shallows. Sea Hawk Sports Center reports that the seaside flounder bite has been anything but “flat” with anglers enjoying excellent fishing. The outgoing tide is still providing the best action, with fish eagerly biting flounder rigs tipped with Gulp! swimming mullets and minnows. Sea Hawk says anglers are finding fish in depths of two to 15 feet, and they have had anglers check in with limits from Chincoteague down to Quimby.