Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, December 2022

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, December 30 Update:

There are only a few days left until the new year which means rockfish season is coming to an end. The Virginia rockfish seasons will end this Saturday the 31st so anglers looking to keep a few more fish before the end of the year will need to get out before Sunday. Catch and release fishing will still be open to anglers looking to bend a rod as we enter the new year and there are still rockfish around to chase. The cold snap has dropped water temperatures to the low 40’s and pushed most of the fish that had been hanging around in the shallows out to deeper water. The schools of rockfish will be following the bait and since the cold settled in, the bite has become tough as fish have moved areas and are getting a case of lockjaw. The extended forecast shows warmer weather moving into the area which should improve fishing conditions as we enter the new year. Rockfish that are still around will be holding deep and close to bottom. Aggressive jigging won’t produce many bites. You should drift your baits close to bottom with subtle twitches.

creek frozen over
A bout of ice made shifting to upper trib options a bit tougher this week. 

Many area anglers would normally be shifting to fresher areas of the tribs right about now to hunt for pickerel, crappie, perch, and bass, but even on the Shore ice was an impediment this week. We had verified reports of parts of the Wicomico and area millponds being frozen over, which will hopefully come to an end with the warmer weather that's inbound.

Fishing will be slow from now until spring, but warmer weather and better bites will be here before we know it. This has been a great year of fishing with lots of cherished memories made along the way. As we enter the new year let’s hope 2023 brings plenty of catches, new PBs, and exciting adventures.


Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, December 23 Update:

Winter has officially started with the passing of the solstice this Wednesday, and it looks like old man winter isn’t wasting any time bringing on the season as our region is expected to get a blast of arctic air starting Friday and continuing into the weekend. Strong winds and bitter temperatures will make fishing difficult, but the good news is once conditions improve, there are still fish around to be caught. Rockfish season is still open in Virginia waters until the end of the month, and it looks like there are going to be plenty of fish around until it closes.

rockfish fishing
The rock bite has held up quite well, for those willing to bundle up. (Old photo).

Tangier Sound Charters is still running trips and has been staying on the fish consistently this fall. On a trip out this past week and found rockfish hungry and eager to bite in the waters of the Virginia waters of the Pocomoke Sound. The rockfish were holding close to structure and repeatedly took Rapala X-Raps. Rods stayed bent and drags were singing as they enjoyed catching multiple quality fish throughout the day. Most fish were in the low to mid 20’s. On another quick afternoon trip in the Pocomoke, they found some scrappy stripers in the shallows holding close to some sunken wood that acted as a miniature reef.

The larger schools of rockfish that had been hanging out in the middle Bay have pushed further south and will likely be in the deeper waters of this region through the end of the month. Water depths of 30 to 70 feet are where the big schools prefer to sit in the cold water, and they will be feeding on schools of menhaden. Light tackle jigging is a popular method in deep water but that will require jigheads of an ounce and a half or greater usually paired with large soft plastics. Look for fish closely on the depth finder and drop down once you find them.

Santa is coming to town this weekend so let’s hope for lots of new fishing gear under the tree to try out in the new year. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of us at FishTalk Magazine! 


Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, December 16 Update:

Rockfish season has closed in Maryland waters, so that fishery is strictly catch and release until May 1. Virginia waters are open until the end of the month and big schools of rockfish are pushing further south so there won’t be a shortage of fish to be caught. Water temperatures in the sounds and along the ESVA are in the mid to upper 40s which has pushed many of the fish that were hanging around in the shallows for most of the fall into deeper waters. However, there still seem to be some fish in relatively shallow water for this time of year.

caught a striper
In Virginia waters slot stripers are still in through the month. (Old photo).

Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has been staying on the rockfish and catching plenty on trips out this past week. Most of his trips have consisted of light tackle casting to nearshore structure or open water casting to schools of fish. The hot baits have been Rumble Fish soft plastics. The captain says pearl has been the best color on almost all his trips out. He has also been catching fish while slow-trolling along shorelines. The rockfish are pulling hard this time of year and most of the fish are in the low to mid 20s which makes for an awesome fight on light tackle. The great thing about fishing is that you never know what you might find on the water. To his surprise, Captain C.L. reported seeing dolphins feeding off the shorelines of Axis, Virginia while fishing this week and confirmed with video proof. That’s quite the sight for the Chesapeake Bay in December!


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

Fishing in the sounds and along the Eastern Shore of Virginia has been primarily focused on rockfish over the past few weeks. Surprisingly, fish are still being caught in the shallows despite colder water temperatures. Breaking fish have popped up sporadically in deeper water and there have been schools of fish cruising channel edges feeding on menhaden. We can expect the fishing in this region to stay good through the end of the month (noting that the season ends in Maryland waters on the 10th) and with a large concentration of fish to the north that is slowly pushing further south, we should see more fish enter this area in the coming weeks.

birds diving on fish
Birds can pop up at any time, and as more fish move out of the shallows to school up deep this action should improve.

Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters reported that they are still casting artificial baits along shoreline areas as shallow as three feet of water and catching rockfish. He reports that the Pocomoke Sound has had the better rockfish bite as of late but there are still fish to be caught in the Tangier. While on the water they are still finding water temperatures hovering around 50 degrees as of the middle of this past week. Casting lures, jigging, trolling, and even topwater baits are producing rockfish depending on the area and conditions. Shoreline trolling with Rumble Fish paddletails has been particularly effective. Most of their fish have been 18 to 23 inches but a few fish have been caught over 25 inches. The larger fish are fat and are weighing between five and eight pounds. The best bites have been coming in the six to eight foot range with less fish being found along deeper channel edges. Captain Marshall expects the open water fishery to improve as water temperatures continue to drop and more fish move south in the Bay. Rockfish season remains open until December 31st in Virginia waters. The fish are there so make sure to get out for a few more fish before the season closes.


Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, December 1 Update:

The fishing scene is mainly focused on those chilly striped bass as we approach the end of the season for them and water temperatures in the sounds are dropping quickly. This is pushing many of the rockfish into deeper water, though we are still getting reports of some fish being caught shallow. The larger schools of fish are being found in 20 to 40 feet of water and sometimes deeper. Boats have been locating them along steep channel edges and other transition zones with structure.

fat little rockfish
Even the relatively small rockfish are fat and football-shaped right about now.

Sea Hawk Sports Center reported success on a recent trip out for rockfish. They targeted structure between five and 40 feet of water. Talk about covering some ground. The deeper water required them to use two-to-four-ounce jigging spoons. They didn’t find any bird action but located plenty of fish using the depth finder. In the shallower areas they casted Rap-10s to rockfish that were eager to bite. Creek mouths, rock jetties, and shoreline points with current can be particularly productive in the late fall. They noted that the tide didn’t seem to matter but the bulk of the action came during the early morning hours. Captain Harry Neild of Kingfish II Fishing Charters reported that fishing out of the Deal Island area for rockfish has been extremely good and that they will be fishing for the next few weeks in that area. On many trips they are catching their limit of rockfish with chunky fish into the mid 20s becoming common. They are trolling for these fish and using umbrella rigs with a bucktail trailers. Six inch white and chartreuse sassy shads or twister tails are the baits of choice. Water clarity is high and these bright baits are highly visible in the water, making them a tempting target for hungry rockfish. Rockfish season closes on December 11th in Maryland and on December 31st in Virginia so make sure to get out soon!