Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Eastern Shore Fishing Report, October 27 Update:
You are going to want to put it in your weekend plans to fish because we are getting some excellent weather. It has been feeling more like summer late this week as near record high temperatures set in across the region. The heat wave will continue through the weekend and will undoubtedly make for some great fishing conditions. Many shoreline areas in the Tangier Sound and Pocomoke Sound are offering excellent shallow water fishing for rockfish, speckled trout, and still some red drum. Captain C.L. Marshall with Tangier Sound Charters is staying on the fish, and not just a few, but many different species. He has seen over a dozen different species come over the gunwales during recent trips this week. The bulk of the action has come from rockfish and red drum but he also saw some black drum caught this week. In the tidal rivers, blue catfish are chunky and are putting up a good fight for his clients. If there is one thing for certain, it’s that C.L. will find the fish if they are around.
Sea Hawk Sports Center let us know that the farther south you go, the better chance at the reds you will have. Peeler and soft crab baits have become more elusive with cooler water temperatures, so it has been more important to put more effort into lure presentation when throwing artificial baits. Sea Hawk says that an assortment of Assassins, Rumble Fish, and Old Skool paddletails along with Rap-10s have coerced spot tails and rockfish into the net. Creek mouths and shallow structure are holding the most fish so focus your efforts in areas with them present. The topwater bite has also been good in low light conditions. Walk-the-dog style baits are great at enticing these gamefish to bite, but some of the Sea Hawk crew had good success this week with SPRO wakebaits. Theres nothing quite like the explosion you get when topwater fishing and conditions are prime for it right now. Make sure to have them as an option in your tackle arsenal.
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Eastern Shore Fishing Report, October 20 Update:
If you are looking for the chance to catch a diverse range of fish while out on the water, the Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds are the place to be right now. Sea Hawk Sports Center let us know that fishing has been spectacular on many days this week. Speckled trout, rockfish, and still slot red drum are keeping lines tight and drags singing. Many anglers are drifting soft crab for these fish, but paddletails and twtichbaits fished around grass beds and stump fields are producing sufficient action. Fish have also been hanging out around structures like the Target Ship and man-made rock piles. Areas with current breaks are good places for fish to ambush bait (or your lure). Sea Hawk says that the speckled trout bite has been most consistent from Hungers Creek down to the mouth of the Bay. Reader reports of redfish are still flowing in, with some slot fish reported in the Crisfield area. Contributor David Rudow reported that a trip to the Pocomoke last weekend resulted in a handful of sublegal puppies plus rockfish up to 22” on soft plastics.
Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has been putting his clients on plenty of fish. A trip this week produced rockfish up to 28 inches. Slot puppy drum were cooperative as well and they also caught some of the biggest white perch C.L. has seen in a long time. Sea bass are showing up throughout the Bay any wrecks or reefs in the Tangier area or places south have a good chance of holding these delicious fish. As water temperatures cool off, more fish (and hopefully some larger fish) will continue to show up. Squid chunks or squid flavored Fishbites have been working equally well. Put small pieces on bottom rigs or Chesapeake sabiki rigs and drift over the structure to start getting bites. These fish are fun to target so make sure to take advantage of them while they are here during the colder months.
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Eastern Shore Fishing Report, October 13 Update:
Water temperatures in the Chesapeake have been up and down to start the fall, but fishing has remained strong. Captain C.L. Marshall who runs Tangier Sound Charters has been enjoying an excellent fall fishery on the eastern shore tributaries this week. Speckled trout, red drum, rockfish, grey trout, bluefish, and many other species have made their way into the net during his recent trips. On a midweek trip, he even had an angler catch two keeper rockfish on one rig. Talk about efficiency! That trip also produced grey trout while bottom fishing and ended with a few slot drum.
There have been plenty of drum in the shallow marshes of the lower Eastern Shore. Peeler crab on fish finder rigs have been catching a lot of these fish. A boat fishing the shallow grass beds last weekend reported catching a limit of speckled trout and a few small pups all on pink curly tails under a popping cork. Sea Hawk Sports Center let us know that there has been an ample amount of shrimp in the shallows. Pink and green soft plastics should be the preferred baits right now. If you can find clean water, you have the potential to find some of the best speckled trout fishing of the year. Big sheepshead are still being caught near deep structure like rock piles and wrecks. Peeler crab has been the preferred bait along with other crab baits paired with sweeper jigs. Fishing options are abundant in this area of the Bay, so no matter what your style is, there are fish to be caught
There has also been a solid drum bite along the oceanfront when conditions are favorable, and more fish seem to be showing up. Unfortunately, surf conditions made fishing difficult many days recently and Dave Moore of Shark Whisperers checked in after a tough week of surf fishing. He let us know that it was “a grind” on the beaches of Assateague. That said, he did land a couple of beautiful fish including a 49- and a 51-inch redfish. Some area angers are also heading to the seaside for the fall flounder bite, which is picking up steam in and near the inlets in all of the coastal bays from OC down through Virginia.
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Eastern Shore Fishing Report, October 5 Update:
It was a beautiful week of fishing in Chesapeake country with both fish and anglers alike enjoying the warm weather. The shallows are offering excellent fishing right now for some of our favorite gamefish including rockfish, speckled trout, and red drum. There have even been weakfish up to 20 inches caught this week. Captain C.L. Marshall with Tangier Sound Charters says that the puppy drum fishing is as good as it has been in years. Big bull reds are even cruising the shallows and channel edges making drags scream for his anglers. Captain C.L. says that right now is the time to be on the water, so take his advice and get out there!
The recent rise in water temperatures with this week’s warm up didn’t seem to faze the bite too much as red drum are making a strong showing on the shallow grass flats. The higher concentrations of these fish have been found north of Smith Island or in the southern Pocomoke Sound. There was a report of one boat who caught 12 drum this week and another boat that caught six. The warmer water has spurred peeler crab action which has been the bait of choice for the reds. Drifting peelers on fish finder rigs has been bringing plenty of fish into the boat. Another hot bite is for speckled trout right now. Some days it has been downright epic on the grass flats. Sea Hawk Sports Center let us know that the specks have been aggressively hitting soft plastics worked under popping corks. They also wanted to remind anglers that the Virginia Chesapeake Bay rockfish season is now open and will remain open until December 31st. The slot for rockfish in Virginia is 20 to 31 inches. There should be good numbers hanging around smaller bayside creeks, marsh guts, and island points waiting to ambush bait. Topwater action should be in its prime moving forward with paddletails continuing to catch fish throughout the later hours of the day.