BY BILL HALL, Eastern Shore Post —
Puppy drum, speckled trout, and increasing numbers of small striped bass are being landed on both sides of the Shore, while tautog numbers are increasing around the pilings of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and on the inshore ocean wrecks.
Flounder anglers have been active along the southern tip of the peninsula as the fish begin to exit south and east from both the Chesapeake Bay and seaside inlets.
Chincoteague
Recent flounder action has been centered around the local piers, as well as the dock at the Curtis Merritt Marina. The number of flounder has not been huge, but keeper-sized fish have been landed.
Puppy drum catches have been made around the marshes of Chincoteague Bay, the north end of the island, and the feeder creeks on Assateague Island. Fresh cut bait fished on small fishfinder rigs and slowly retrieved Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullets and Gulp Swimming Grubs have accounted for the bulk of the catches.
Increasing numbers of undersized to slot-sized rockfish (striped bass) are showing up as bycatch in the puppy drum fishery. Surf fishermen on Assateague Island are finding a few slot-sized puppy drum while using cut mullet as bait. A few undersized rockfish have been landed on pieces of bunker (menhaden) baits.
Wachapreague
Captain Lindsay Paul, aboard the Almost Persuaded, told me that flounder are still biting out of Wachapreague, but most have measured under the legal size limit for keepers. The best action has occurred in the warmer water of the outgoing tide. The cooler nighttime temperatures have caused a dip in the water temperatures.
Puppy drum are still around and have been hitting cut bait on the bottom as well as cast artificial lures.
A few kingfish (whiting) are still around, but their numbers are dropping.
The ocean wrecks are still holding black sea bass. In the blue water, the offshore fleet has found a few tuna, dolphin (mahi mahi), and the occasional billfish.
Captain Paul said that the fishing seems to be very good with reports of some boats catching their limits.
Lower Shore
Tyler Nestor, at Oceans East — Eastern Shore, told me that the flounder bite in the waters around Kiptopeke has remained steady for anglers using live minnows and Gulp on jig heads.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel tautog bite continues to improve, with chunks of hard crab and frozen green crabs being the preferred tog baits.
Puppy drum are still being caught in the bayside and seaside creeks, with Gulp Shrimp or paddletails fished under popping corks being the preferred puppy drum bait setup.
Nestor said that the speckled trout fishery has been “on fire,” with jig heads fitted with 3- or 4-inch paddletails putting numbers of fish into the boat, while Mirrolure Models 27 or 52MR have been responsible for fewer but larger trout. The trout have been caught on both the bay and seasides, but Kiptopeke was singled out as one of the most productive areas over the past week.
Jeb Brady, of Bailey’s Bait & Tackle, also used the term “on fire” when he described the puppy drum action over the last week. He said that anglers have enjoyed “strong” success along the beaches on the bayside and in the marshes on the seaside using Gulp or Down South lures on lead heads.
He added that anglers off the lower bayside piers have been enjoying success using shrimp as bait for the drum. Schoolie-sized striped bass are also showing up along the piers at night as well as inside the lower bayside creeks.
Brady said that a few speckled trout catches have been reported on the lower bayside by anglers casting Mirrolures. A nice class of flounder is being caught along the bridge-tunnel as well as around some of the offshore ocean wrecks.
The writer was the first Eastern Shore resident to achieve Virginia Saltwater Master Angler status. He has been named Virginia Saltwater Angler of the Year and Virginia Saltwater Release Angler of the Year. He has won numerous Virginia Press Association awards for his columns.
