Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Reports

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, November 13 Update: 

The bulk of the rockfish in the Tangier region have been hanging around stump fields and wreck structures. The schools aren’t thick, but anglers can often locate some isolated fish. The larger schools of fish have been north, near the Choptank River. Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has been running trips when he can between the big blows. The wind has been making fishing difficult lately, and it seems like that has been the theme for most of the fall so far. Despite the wind, C.L. has been putting his clients on fish and says that the waters around Fishing Bay, the Manokin, and the Wicomico have been holding good numbers of fish in the tidal creeks. He also found schools of fish in open water this week in depths of 20’ to 30’. On one trip, they caught over 40 fish on Ahi jigs, Freedom Baits USA swimbaits, Lonely Angler Zipsters, and Storm lures.

Sea Hawk Sports Center says that many anglers have been seeking shelter in the protected waters of the Pocomoke River. Water temperatures this week in the river were in the mid-50s which is on the warm side for this prominent cold-water fishery. Despite this, the bite was on, and the Sea Hawk crew reports that trolling two-inch soft plastics tipped with small minnows caught several species, including crappie, yellow perch, largemouth bass, pickerel, and even rockfish. The bite should continue to be good through the fall. Pickerel fishing in the lower Eastern Shore mill ponds should be heating up as the weather cools off. This region is known for producing big pickerel, and several of the mill ponds also have bass and crappie that can be caught on many of the same lures that pickerel prefer. These include spinnerbaits, inline spinners, jerkbaits, and panfish jigheads tipped with live minnows under a bobber.

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, November 7 Update: 

Water temperatures in the Tangier region of the Bay are hovering between the upper 50s and low 60s. The cooler water has striped bass feeding hard, and anglers are finding them in the shallows along marsh banks, tidal creeks, stump fields, and other shallow cover. The tidal creeks in the Nanticoke, Wicomico, Manokin, and Pocomoke are holding stripers and some white perch. The perch are schooling in the deeper holes and have been much more willing to hit bait as opposed to lures. Bloodworms and grass shrimp have been the ticket. Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters reported that a recent trip to the waters near Deal Island proved productive for stripers. They found them in the tidal creeks aggressively hitting Freedom Baits USA paddletails.

The upper Pocomoke River should be on anglers radars from here through the winter as it hosts an excellent fall and winter fishery for several species, including crappie, yellow perch, pickerel, and largemouth bass. The annual Pickerel Championship, hosted by Maryland CCA, has also kicked off, so anglers should start logging their catches if you want a chance at some great prizes and bragging rights. The tournament runs through February 2026, so there is plenty of time to climb the leaderboards. The mill ponds around the Salisbury area of the lower Eastern Shore are known for producing big pickerel. Temperatures should be cool enough now for these fish to be active and feeding. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, chatterbaits, and any lures with flash work very well. Live minnows are also very effective; just make sure to use heavy enough line to hold up to their sharp teeth.