Tangier Sound Fishing Report 11/24/17 Update:
Happy Thanksgiving, folks! Unfortunately, the Tangier report is rather thin this week... between the high winds earlier this week, and the closure of Sea Hawk, we were only able to locate one angler who hit the Sound in the past five days. And, the results were not great - casting to the banks of the islands produced a few small rockfish. From the Virginia reports (which still indicate a bit of shallow water action) it's reasonable to expect a few stray specks may still show up before they completely vacate the area, but all in all, we expect the Sound to remain rather quiet for a while.
All of that said, there are plenty of white perch available for those dropping baited bottom rigs (grass shrimp of bloodworm, if you can find them) in the 30' and deeper range, over hard bottom or structure in the river mouths. Another good bet to bend a rod is working for crappie and perch farther up the rivers. We did hear in the freshwater reports that anglers fishing the Wicomico up towards Salisbury are enjoying a strong crappie bite on marabou jigs tipped with small minnow, fished under a bobber next to pilings, piers, and dead-fall.
Tangier Sound Fishing Report 11/17/17:
The bite here seems to be tapering off to a large degree; Sea Hawk Sports Center reports that most rockfish have left the Sound, with the exception of few straggling small fish. Speckled trout continue to be active, particularly near shore, though their numbers have also dwindled. Most fish are hitting topwater lures close to dusk, however some anglers have reported a morning bite, as well. We had a (reliable) reader report from one angler who traveled far and fished hard here early in the week, but caught only undersized stripers while tossing jigs along the marsh banks. White was the most productive color.
On the bright side plenty of perch are available for bottom fishermen dropping bottom rigs baited with bloodworms on shell bottom in 25' to 30' of water. There's also good fishing up the rivers, with the upper Nanticoke from Vienna north a bright spot, for crappie and catfish. There's also a good crappie bite up the Wicomico near Salisbury for anglers fishing small minnow under bobbers.
Tangier Sound Fishing Report 11/10/17:
Fishing in the Sound has slowed down, with the rockfish bite stagnating and a slow speckled trout bite. Sea Hawk Sports Center hypothesized that this shift could have something to do with the cold weather we've been experiencing. You can expect fewer specks in the mix as the water temperatures begin to cool, and while there's still the possibility of a red popping up, most of the fish in the shallows will be stripers from here on out. There should continue to be decent numbers of stripers along the marsh banks and cuts for several weeks (weather depending) and the lack of recent reports for fish is likely due to the tough weather we had for much of the week. Unfortunately, most of the rockfish that are being reported are on the small side, too.
Despite the lack of larger species in the Sound, perch have continued to stay active, and should through the colder months. The Nanticoke and Wicomico have been good bets, for anglers fishing bloodworms on bottom rigs over shell bottom in the 15 to 25 foot range. There have also been good numbers of catfish caught farther up the rivers.
Tangier Sound Fishing Report 11/2/17:
Fishing in the Sound has tapered off a bit as we've had some cooler weather, as the spot and most other summer visitors having began their migration south. With a declining spot fishery, rockfish have continued their stay in the Sound, with Sea Hawk Sports Center reporting plenty of fish still being caught. There have also still been decent numbers of speckled trout in the Sound. Most specks have been holding close to shore in weed beds, however as cooler weather moves in, the weed beds are expected to experience some die off, as usual, changing the location of the trout which stick around. Having enough specks around to chase them in November is a great perk of this relatively warm weather we've been having recently, so get out and take advantage of it while you still can!
The rockfish have been in shallow, near shore water recently, and have been hitting topwater. Unfortunately the majority of them are small. If you work a number of spots however, you should encounter a keeper or two. Both species are also hitting white and pearl plastics, with BKDs, Bass Assassins, and GULPs topping the list of go-to baits.
There are still plenty of white perch in the rivers, biting bottom rigs baited with bloodworms. Another great bit is taking place way up the rivers, especially in the Nanticoke in Delaware, where crappie are hitting minnow and small jigs with abandon.