Article by Capt. Matt Abell
As the month of May goes away June fishing is here to stay. Fishing, on the Lower Eastern Shore, is shifting to an early summer pattern. The red hot fishing action is a mere precursor of the hot and humid conditions to come. So grab a rod and enjoy the start to summer.
The Middle Chesapeake has continued to hog up the main stage with great action from several species. There has been a excellent grade of rock around structure and grass flats, with most ( but not all) fish exceeding the slot limit and offering spectacular striped action on both artificial as well as bait offerings. As long as we’re talking spectacular… the spec bite has improved a good bit. Most fish are lured into the net by chunks of crab presented on the edges of the many grass flats of the Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds. However, others are lured by just that….lures. We did great this week on the Sea Hawk “ POP-A-LICIOUS” popping corks trailed with a 3/16 oz Freedom Bait jig head tipped with a Gulp swimming mullet. The black drum have slowed ( not stopped) a bit while bull reds continue to scarf up crab baits and make your drag scream. The only worry is the lack of pups to pacify the plate at the dinner table. Around some of the Chesapeake reefs we have scraped with some striped sheepshead. These light biting but delicious dinner fare have taken tog jigs tipped with crab as an invitation to supper . Around some of these same reefs, some brutally aggressive blues have bullied there way to the gunwale in pursuit of surface walking plugs and suspending baits like the Rap-10. A few of the Ariel acrobats have exceeded the 30” mark… a true Chesapeake Challenge!!
The lower bay has continued to produce reds , blacks, and lots of Sheepshead on the piles of the CBBT. Fish are targeted with crab baits on tog / sweeper jigs. The new news comes from the “ Man in the Brown Suit “. Pre-season Cobia have started to show and are patrolling their typical haunts. From the CBBT to Cape Charles fishermen are encountering early yet eager cobes providing lots of fun! It hopefully will continue for opening day in the middle of the month.
The productivity of inshore seaside fishing has shrunk a bit as the flounder limit has grown. There are still plenty of fish, with a few keepers mixed in. The best tide has been the last of the flood and first of the ebb, and the best baits have been pink teasers tipped with gulp, big minnows or silversides. The nearshore bite has consisted of sheepshead and a few flounder starting to show on shallow wrecks and seabass on deeper structures. Tiles have been prevalent in the deep. Hopfully, some pelagic prey will swim into the picture soon.
This week I had the privilege of having my oldest son Ethan home from the USCG Cutter “Tiger Shark “. E, his Mom and sister ( complete with boyfriend) actually stole an afternoon and fished out of Crisfield. We had a limit of rock (with more to release), some huge blues, specs, and even some tog and sheepshead. I noticed that despite E having the opportunity to fish all over the country, the Eastern Shore is still pretty much as good as it gets. So grab your family (while you can) and get out there and enjoy this wonderful place that we call home!!
