Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Reports

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, July 10 Update: 

The Tangier region continues to offer outstanding summer variety, with striped bass, speckled trout, bluefish, cobia, spot, croaker, and white perch all available. Bottom fishing has been particularly productive, with jumbo spot and keeper croaker showing up in good numbers around shoals and oyster bars. While cobia reports remain hit or miss, bluefish have been providing fast action around the region's lumps, wrecks, and reefs.

The shallow water fishing has been best during low light hours as the summer heat has really ramped up. Striped bass are prowling along marshy shorelines and at creek mouths. The best tide to fish has been a high falling tide as baitfish get swept out of the creek mouths, stripers are often waiting to ambush. Most of the fish are slot and over slot fish. Striped bass season is open in Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay until the end of the month, but the season is closed in Virginia waters. Catch and release fishing is still allowed in Virginia waters while the season is closed. Along with stripers, a few more speckled trout are showing up in the shallows. The few fish that are being caught are a good class of fish that range from 18” to 27”. They tend to hang around rock jetties, grass beds, and stump fields. The best way to catch them right now is to be on the water early and plan to cover a lot of water fishing “specky” looking areas. With enough casts, you might tempt one into the net.

One of the highlights of this region has been the excellent bottom fishing over the open Bay shoals and at the mouths of the tidal rivers. Jumbo spot have moved up the Bay and are now prevalent in the Tangier region. In most areas, they are eating size and often mixed in with croaker. There are a lot of eight-inch croaker, which are just under the legal size in Maryland waters, but there are also a good number of keepers in the nine to 10” range that are mixed in as well. These fish have been hanging out around the shoals and oyster bottom areas, typically in depths of 10 to 15 feet of water. There has also been some big croaker up to 14” and some puppy drum between 10” and 14” in the tidal creeks and upper reaches of the tidal rivers. These fish have been caught by anglers throwing out bottom rigs with shrimp or worms. The white perch have been more concentrated in the creeks of the tidal rivers along marshy shorelines and areas with docks and fallen trees. Grass shrimp are the most effective bait, but if you locate a large school of perch, you can usually catch them on small artificial jigs and spinners.

Cobia fishing has been hit or miss. We have had reports of a few keeper fish caught around the Target Ship, the lumps around Tangier, and the shoals along the Eastern Shore of Virginia. We have also had several reports from anglers who have struck out while looking for cobia in these same areas. An effective method has been to anchor and set out chum blocks to attract the fish, then toss out fresh bunker chunks or live eels to get them to bite. We had one report this week from an angler who went looking for cobia near the Target Ship but did not find any signs of life. The bluefish have been much more prevalent and have been encountered in these same zones. Anglers chunking with bunker or spot are catching some big blues up to 30”. Trollers pulling spoonbrellas and other metal or surgical tube lures are also doing well in these zones trolling around lumps. The various wrecks in the Tangier region have also provided fun action for bluefish with anglers casting poppers and jerkbaits. There are also rumors that these wrecks are holding some sheepshead, but we will need some of you to go confirm those rumors for us.

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

Encouraging reports of speckled trout and puppy drum are beginning to surface around the Eastern Shore, while cobia and bull red drum continue to provide exciting action around shoals, lumps, and shallow flats. Bluefish, sheepshead, spot, and croaker are adding to the variety available throughout the region as summer fishing reaches full swing. Early mornings, evenings, and moving tides remain the best times to beat the heat and find active fish.

The good news this week is that a few more speckled trout are starting to show up along the Eastern Shore. The reports still aren’t great, but the shallow grass flats and shoreline points are producing some more trout. We heard reports from the Honga River, Manokin River, and Pocomoke Sound. Rockfish still greatly outnumber the specks, but it is good to see a few show up. Some small puppy drum between 12” and 16” have also been caught by anglers throwing out bait from shore. The pups aren’t keepers, but they are also a welcome sight after a brutal winter that has left questions about whether these migratory fish were going to show up this year. Water temperatures are warming quickly as summer heat waves move in. The shallows have reached the low to mid 80s, so shallow water fishing will be best during early morning hours. Creek mouths can still produce some fish during moving tides throughout the day, but fish will often move to secondary ledges and deeper structure when the sun is high in the sky.

Bull red drum are still being found in the shallows of the lower Eastern Shore. The bite has been a little slower than early in the summer, but the evening and night bite is still producing some fish that are willing to hit fresh peeler crab. Out at the shoals and lumps in 15’ to 30’ in the Tangier Sound, Pocomoke Sound, and on the main stem of the Bay, cobia catches are increasing. A subscriber checked in after an eventful overnight angling adventure at the Target Ship. They fished fresh cut alewife and caught a pile of bluefish ranging from snappers to choppers, plus a cobia (first-timer Ian from LA says “Yes—I love that!”). Spot and croaker were also around and willing to bite baits dropped to bottom. Another angler who visited the Target Ship during daylight reported that trolling hoses and spoonbrellas produced a half-dozen bluefish in the three- to five-pound range. Bluefish have also been caught at several reef and wreck sites. These pieces of structure also hold some sheepshead and occasionally rockfish. Bottom fishing at the mouths of the tidal rivers and over oyster bottom has led to steady catches of spot and croaker. The croaker are a mix of undersize fish and keepers up to 12”. Bloodworms, Fishbites, and shrimp are working well for bottom action.

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