Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Report, October 25, 2019 Update:
The Sounds continue to provide excellent speckled trout fishing, drawing anglers from across the Bay. Sea Hawk Sports Center reported that marsh edges, shoals, and creeks have been full of the specks. Casting swim-shads or topwater lures has been the most common way to go after them. Steady action has been common, and average fish are ranging from 14 to 19 inches with slightly larger ones showing up on occasion. Sea Hawk suggested getting out in the early morning for the best catch, but heading out late has the potential to score some fish too. Small stripers remain in the mix, especially along shorelines. Most being caught have been during dawn and dusk on topwater lures, and during mid-day on jigs.
Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Report, October 18, 2019 Update:
Speckled trout fishing in the Sounds continues to provide excellent opportunities for anglers. Hopefully this bite will keep up for a couple more weeks, but get in on this action while you still have the chance because the chill in the air will likely slow things down sooner rather than later. Marsh edges and creeks have been full of the specks, and casting swim-shads or topwater lures has been the most common way to get them on the end of your line. Average fish are between 14 and 19 inches with slightly larger ones showing up on occasion. Sea Hawk reported that early morning hours continue to provide the best opportunities, but the bite is extending later into the day.
Small stripers with the occasional keeper have been in the mix as well, taking soft plastics cast around shorelines. Key areas to look for have been points with rips and current, the stump fields, and rocky areas.
Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Report, October 10, 2019 Update:
Stellar fishing throughout the Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds continues (when the winds allow it to, at least), providing plentiful opportunity for anglers plying the shallows and attracting those who are willing to travel to the islands for a killer speckled trout bite. Although there are plenty of spots to hit, boat traffic throughout the Sounds has been picking up along with the bite so get out early. Gulp! soft plastics and topwater lures have both been effective with white the top color. Anglers fishing the shallows are also reportedly landing a lot of stripers, although most are undersized. Along the drop-offs and channel edges of the Sounds, a few flounder are being caught on minnows, drifted squid chunks, and soft plastics bounced off bottom. Most have been small, but they’re still a welcome sight.
Well, last week in our “Bizarro-report” we noted the alleged presence of big shrimp in the area – not grass shrimp but their larger southern cousins. Lo and behold, angler Toby Frey forwarded us this pic taken by Steve Schneider on the Nanticoke, during a DNR survey. Photo-documented evidence, folks, the shrimp rumor is real… pretty soon we’ll be rushing out to buy butterfly net rigs for our boats!!
Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Report, October 4, 2019 Update:
It’s speck time, people! The bite has come on in a serious way, and although most of the fish are on the smaller side (in the 12 to 18 inch range) the numbers are high enough to generate some serious interest with some boats reporting a dozen-plus fish in a day of casting. Stripers are mixed in with them, including a few keepers though only one in 10 or 20 fish make the grade. The fish are scattered throughout the sounds and down the shore so staying on the move and hitting multiple spots in quick succession is key. And anglers are mostly finding pockets of one species or the other, as they move from stump fields to points to creek mouths. Four- to six-inch soft plastics, often paddle-tails in white, chartreuse, and pink, are by all reports the top offerings. Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow notes that as of last week, a very erratic retrieve close to bottom in three to five feet of water with structure was most effective, by a long shot.
Bizarro-report: we keep hearing that people are seeing and in a few rare cases catching (we’re still not exactly clear on how) shrimp in the Tangier and Pocomoke. Not grass shrimp, the real thing – actual eating-sized shrimp five or six inches long. But as of yet it’s all scuttlebutt and we have zero photo-confirmed cases to report. Someone, please, snap a pic and send it to us!