Article by Capt. Matt Abell
The Eastern Shore has had a lot to offer this past week with the temperatures dropping and the fishing heating up. There is plenty of action on both sides of our little neck of paradise to bring bent rods and big smiles to autumn anglers. The Chesapeake took the main stage this week with fall fishing at its finest.
The only thing more red than a fiery September sunset is a fiery red drum in the landing net. Fish have ranged from sub-legal scrappers to 50 plus inch spot-tails with plenty of slot fish to show off their beautiful colors while showing up on delectable dinner plates. The bulk of the bronze brawlers, along with some specs and rock, have been located in the shallows by casting popping corks with chunks of crab or Gulp baits. The middle and lower Chesapeake grass beds and stumps have been the setting for a shallow water struggle that satisfies even the most somber of September sportsmen. However, the reefs of the lower Chesapeake have also relinquished some rewards of red. Anglers bait fishing with peelers have been able to pursue and persuade both mid sized as well as large channel bass over the gunwale while also stretching some lines on black drum, sheepshead, and blues. Earlier this week Mr Roy McIntyre had a citation sheepshead while Mr Jack and Mr. Mark doubled up on both black and red drum trophies during a Sea Hawk Sportfishing trip of a lifetime.
The southern Chesapeake Bay has also offered some pretty good site fishing opportunities for cobia around the CBBT. Casting jigs and live eels have brought many fillets to dinner wearing brown suits.
The seaside has also had a September score with redfish as anglers cast popping corks around the feeder creeks of the Va barrier islands during the start of ebb tide. Paddle tails and shrimp imitations have been the most productive lures while fresh caught shrimp have been the ringer in the bait department.
While you are enjoying the serene seaside, make a couple of drifts in hopes of receiving a delicious dividend. Flounder fishing is still fairly good inside the ESVA inlets. The fish are on the edges of the channels, and also up on the flats as the shorter days and cooler nights help create a more palatable playground to find a bunch of fall flounder. Sea Hawk flounder rigs tipped with Gulp, silversides and big bull minnows have produced flatfish fillets fit for a king.
If you are short on time, you don’t have to go far for a frying pan full of fillets . The creeks around the mouths of the rivers feeding into the Tangier and Pocomoke sounds have produced good numbers of black perch while seaside plates have been filled from the sudsy surf with spot and kingfish coming ashore. Bottom rigs with bloodworm and small pieces of mullet have performed on this sandy pan fish while offering a chance at spotted surf trophies as well.
With the fishing getting better and the days getting cooler , the only thing shrinking faster than the daylight is your list of excuses not to go fishing. So let the chores wait a little longer, grab the family or friends and get out there and enjoy this wonderful place we call home! §
