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Tangier Sound Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lower Eastern Shore water off Somerset County, where Maryland DNR reports striped bass, red drum and speckled trout in the shallows.

2/5
Slow. The wind owns today.28 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.
Next tide
High 1:40 PM
Air / High
58 / 61 F
Wind
W 20 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8571396, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Monday
9
November 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. The wind owns today.28 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Tangier Sound is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 20 mph, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 61. Tides: high 1:16 AM and 1:40 PM, low 7:30 AM and 8:23 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:29 PM-1:29 AM and 11:05 AM-1:05 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Redfish (red drum)Good

Late summer into fall is spawning time (mid-August to mid-October on the Gulf, per TPWD), and big adults gather off passes and beaches. Surf and pier anglers soak fresh cut mullet, larger live mullet or blue crab on bottom rigs.

Speckled troutGood

As water cools in fall, trout leave the shallow bays for deeper water, and in dry years many run up rivers and bayous with the first cool weather (TPWD). Work fish-shaped lures and shrimp-tail jigs slower and deeper.

Tomorrow: Similar at 62 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Nov 10, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Maryland requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $32.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a Maryland licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing striped bass here? Check the size and bag limits with MD DNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Maryland, read off the agency, are on the Maryland seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8571396 (Sharkfin Shoal Light, MD). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Mon
HIGH1:16 AM2.2 ft
LOW7:30 AM0.2 ft
HIGH1:40 PM2.8 ft
LOW8:23 PM0.3 ft
Tue
HIGH1:54 AM2.1 ft
LOW8:06 AM0.2 ft
HIGH2:16 PM2.8 ft
LOW8:59 PM0.3 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp58 F
High / Low61 / 57 F
WindW 20-22 mph
Pressure1013.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:38 / 16:56
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Tangier Sound this week

The best day on Tangier Sound this week looks like Tuesday Nov 10, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Tuesday, Nov 10 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Nov 9 β€” Tough

28 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Solunar majors
11:29 PM-1:29 AM and 11:05 AM-1:05 PM
Minor period
6:45 AM-7:45 AM
Sun
06:38 to 16:56
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 28 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Tangier Sound: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: late-summer and fall bull run; inshore all year

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), called redfish across the South, is a bronze inshore drum with a black spot near the tail, fished on grass flats, oyster bars, marsh creeks and beaches from the Chesapeake around Florida to Texas. Late summer into fall is spawning time (mid-August to mid-October on the Gulf, per TPWD), and big adults gather off passes and beaches. Surf and pier anglers soak fresh cut mullet, larger live mullet or blue crab on bottom rigs.

Speckled trout illustration

Speckled trout

Shallow bays spring and summer; deeper water in winter

Speckled trout is the anglers' name for the spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), a spotted member of the drum family that lives in shallow bays and estuaries from the Chesapeake to Texas. As water cools in fall, trout leave the shallow bays for deeper water, and in dry years many run up rivers and bayous with the first cool weather (TPWD). Work fish-shaped lures and shrimp-tail jigs slower and deeper.

When to come: the Tangier Sound calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Striped bass
Redfish (red drum)
Speckled trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Tangier Sound today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Nov 8

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 63 F, wind to 25 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 28 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 62 F, wind to 28 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 64 F, wind to 17 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Maryland requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License, or the free Maryland Saltwater Angler Registration where it applies. Striped bass, red drum, speckled trout and croaker have seasons and size limits: check Maryland DNR's current tidal regulations before keeping fish.

Access

Janes Island State Park ramp and paddle launch near Crisfield; Deal Island WMA public ramps at St. Peters Creek, Dames Quarter Creek, Deal Island, Wenona and Big Sound Creek.

About this water

A tidal sound of the Chesapeake Bay off Somerset County, Maryland. Tide predictions use NOAA station 8571421, Bishops Head (Hooper Strait), at the north end of the sound.

Fishing Tangier Sound: the full guide

Off Crisfield and Deal Island

Tangier Sound is the stretch of the Chesapeake Bay off Somerset County on Maryland's lower Eastern Shore, reached from Crisfield, Janes Island and Deal Island. Maryland DNR's weekly fishing reports come back to it through the season for striped bass, red drum, speckled trout, spot and croaker.

What DNR has reported

In May 2026 DNR described a shallow-water striped bass fishery from Tangier Sound to the Potomac and Patuxent, worked with poppers and paddletails at dawn and dusk, and red drum on the Bay's eastern side in Tangier Sound. In July 2025 it reported large red drum in the deeper water of Tangier and Pocomoke sounds and speckled trout over shallow grass. By early October 2025 the big red drum had moved onto marsh edges, grass beds and creek mouths, and both sounds were giving good spot and croaker fishing.

Launching

Janes Island State Park near Crisfield has a boat ramp (fee), a free canoe and kayak launch and a fish-cleaning station, with easy access to Crisfield Harbor, Tangier Sound and the Big and Little Annemessex rivers. Deal Island Wildlife Management Area lists public ramps at St. Peters Creek, Dames Quarter Creek, Deal Island, Wenona and Big Sound Creek.

Common questions

What does Tangier Sound hold?

Maryland DNR reports striped bass in the shallows, large red drum, speckled trout over grass, and spot and croaker, with cobia nearby around Pocomoke Sound and the Target Ship in summer.

Can I keep the red drum?

DNR describes the large red drum here as catch-and-release fishing. Check Maryland's current red drum size rules before keeping a smaller one.

Where can I launch a boat on Tangier Sound?

Janes Island State Park near Crisfield has a ramp and a free paddle launch; Deal Island WMA has several public ramps, including Wenona and Dames Quarter Creek.

Is fishing good at Tangier Sound right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. The wind owns today. 28 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Nearby waters

Choptank River44 miAssateague47 miOcean City50 miNanticoke River50 miYork River60 miIndian River Inlet62 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8571396 β€” Sharkfin Shoal Light, MD
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.0500, -75.9500 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.