Tangier and Lower Shore Fishing Reports

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, April 25 Update: 

More anglers are getting on the water as the spring bites are getting into prime form. Sea Hawk Sports Center reports that the weather shook things up this weekend on the seaside with stiff winds creating turbid conditions. This made flounder fishing tricky at times, but persistent anglers still found fish willing to bite. Most fish are being caught around the ebb tide, but finding clean water has been the most important factor for success. If you have ever fished for flounder, you know that fishing dirty water is often a waste of time. Sea Hawk says that the best three lure colors have been white, pink, and chartreuse fished in combination with silversides or bull minnows. The flounder action has been best around Chincoteague and areas south. Drifting ledges and creek channels is the best way to try and locate the flatties.

Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has also been battling the wind machine on the Bay but was able to make it out a few times this week in search of black drum. C.L. and his anglers were able to locate and battle some brutes while fishing with pieces of crab on fish finder rigs. Black drum are being caught in both the Tangier and Pocomoke sound and the fish that show up in the Bay tend to be bigger on average than the fish that run the surf. Productive areas have been centered around oyster beds, shell bottom, marsh islands, and emerging grass beds. With water temperatures breaking the 60-degree mark, we should see the shallows come to life with striped bass, speckled trout, and red drum in the coming weeks.

A few reports of spring surf fishing action cranking back up on Assateague came in early this week, with both black drum and some striped bass showing up in the suds. Sand fleas were the preferred bait for the drum and the rockfish found them to their liking, too. More striped bass will continue to run through the surf in the coming weeks as these post-spawn fish are making their way back north for the summer months.  The AIC made the trip down to Assateague again this week with Zach Ditmars and Eric Packard for a chance at redemption with the black drum. The trip was a success, and the group landed two black drum, along with several pesky clearnose skate. Fish finder rigs and hi-lo rigs are the best choices when casting baits into the suds.

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, April 17 Update: 

Black drum have moved into the sounds of the lower Eastern Shore and anglers have been catching some very big fish recently. The mouth of the Wicomico, Manokin, Pocomoke, and the marshy shorelines near Crisfield have yielded good results for shoreline anglers throwing out chunks of crab on fish finder rigs. Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters is having great success targeting black drum right now. C.L. is catching fish up to 50 pounds in the Pocomoke sound and throwing out chunks of blue crab on fish finder rigs is tempting these brutes to bite. Along the coastal beaches, the drum are still running in the surf, though the bite slowed down this week with the cooler weather. The better reports came from Virginia beaches, though that action was also on the slower side. A steady warming trend should pick up the action again in the surf.

C.L. also says that the shallows have come to life and striped bass have been willing to bite paddletails in Virginia waters. The striped bass closure is still in effect for all Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. During this time, anglers are prohibited from targeting striped bass. Virginia is open for catch and release fishing. You can view the Maryland DNR striped bass regulations map to see when and where targeting striped bass is allowed. Despite the colder weather this week, there were some good flounder reports out of Chincoteague, with several boats catching keeper fish and even a few limits. We also had a reader send in a report after catching some keeper flatties in Gargatha using Gulp! baits tipper with minnows and silversides. Some flounder are also being caught behind Ocean City, but the best action is still down to the south with hotspots around Chincoteague, Wachapreague, and Gargatha. The outgoing tide is still producing the best action with minnows and silversides working well. A few warm days in a row should really get the flounder fired up.

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, April 11 Update: 

The springtime weather can be all over the place, and we experienced that pattern this week as cold and windy conditions returned to the region. The warm weather to start the month had kicked a lot of bites into gear. Captain Brian Esteppe from Y KNOT Fishing Adventures reports that the flounder fishing was getting good right before the colder weather moved in. The bite took a hit this week as persistent wind, cold weather, and some rain made for less than ideal conditions, but there were still some catches. Brian says that live minnows and shiners have been the ticket for getting these early season flatties to bite with the outgoing tide producing the bulk of the action. The minimum size for flounder is 16 inches until June 1st, when the minimum size will go up to 17.5 inches. The creel limit will remain the same at four fish per day. The surfside black drum bite has been excellent recently, with anglers in both Maryland and Virginia reporting success from the suds. Captain Steve’s Bait and Tackle has anglers check in daily with keeper black drum. Sand fleas and sand flea flavored Fishbites appear to be the top bait. Other reliable choices include clam and blue crab.

Captain C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has been targeting black drum on the bayside recently and has pulled some brutes from the Tangier and Pocomoke sounds. Chunks of blue crab, both hardshell and peeler, on fish finder rigs are working well to tempt the big drum into biting. Anchoring near drop-offs, shoals, and grass flats seems to be the ticket as these are areas the drum frequently move through. He has also caught a few stripers while tossing out chunks of crab. The striped bass closure is still in effect in Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay, but Virginia waters are open for catch and release fishing. Water temperatures are approaching 60 degrees in this region of the Bay, and once they consistently hit that mark, the shallows should come to life with stripers, red drum, and speckled trout. The puppy drum bite has been excellent in the areas towards the mouth of the Bay and those fish should begin to push north soon. April is typically when we see speckled trout showing up on the shallow grass flats as well.

Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, April 4 Update: 

The black drum run along the beaches cut loose this week and there were several successful reports along the coast. Most of the action seems to be in Virginia, but there are also drum being caught on the Maryland side of Assateague Island. Captain Steves Bait and Tackle in Chincoteague has been seeing keeper drum brought to their shop just about daily since last week. One angler that checked in had caught four drum between 28” and 34” with the biggest fish weighing 27 pounds. Another pair of anglers landed a 45” black drum which is one of the largest we have heard of this year. There was also a keeper flounder pulled from the surf this week that was just under 20”. Weekends are sure to be busy, so if you can get out during the week, you will likely have less anglers to compete with. Black drum should also be moving up the Bay to their traditional hangouts in the Pocomoke and Tangier Sound. Wrecks, shoals, and ledges are popular locations for these fish to cruise through and soft crab is an excellent bait to target them with.

The warmer weather has water temperatures on the rise and more flounder have been moving inshore.  A few days this week provided great early season flounder action in the coastal back bays. Sea Hawk Sports Center had a few different anglers check in that caught their limit of flounder this week. The bite seems to be best from Chincoteague south and we have yet to hear of the first keeper being caught in Ocean City, but that should happen shortly. Striped bass have begun to move inshore to the coastal back bays and bridge structures from Ocean City down to Chincoteague have been holding fish. The coastal slot for stripers is 28” to 31” throughout the year. Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay are currently closed to target striped bass until May 16th. Virginia waters are open for catch and release fishing of striped bass. Water temperatures are in the 50’s and approaching the 60-degree mark in some places which means speckled trout and red drum will soon return to the shallows of the Eastern Shore. April will be when we see a lot of bites pick up in the Bay.