Tilghman Island and Black Walnut Point

Tilghman Island, at the end of MD 33 past St. Michaels, sits between the open Bay and the mouth of the Choptank, with Poplar Island to the north and the Sharps Island Light channel edges just offshore. Its southern tip, Black Walnut Point, has a small public fishing area where you can cast to Bay riprap from shore, and the protected water inside the point is a reliable summer spot for spot and croaker. Dogwood Harbor, the island's public ramp, puts boats into Harris Creek, the lower Choptank and, through Knapps Narrows, the Bay.

When to fish

• Late May and June: stripers along the island's shorelines at dawn and dusk. Spot show up inside Black Walnut Point in early June, ready to eat or to live-line.
• July and August: spot and croaker on hard bottom around the point; live-line spot on the steep edges and artificial reef sites on the north side of the island. August is closed to striped bass fishing.
• September and October: stripers move into 5 to 10 feet along shoreline structure; shallow-water fishing with topwater and paddletails, with puppy drum and speckled trout in the mix.

Where to fish

• The riprap on the Bay side of Black Walnut Point, from shore or a boat, and the current break directly south of the point.
• Inside (behind) Black Walnut Point: spot and croaker on hard bottom.
• The north side of Tilghman Island: steep edges and artificial reef sites for live-lining.
• The island's shorelines, Harris Creek and the lower Choptank creeks.

How to fish it

• Stripers in the shallows: poppers, jerkbaits, paddletails and spinnerbaits at first and last light. Fly anglers use 5- to 8-weight rods with size 4 or 6 minnow or shrimp patterns.
• Live-lining: catch spot inside the point, find suspended stripers on the depth finder, and use non-offset circle hooks.
• Spot and croaker: small pieces of bloodworm (or artificial bloodworm) on a bottom rig.

Getting there

From US 50 at Easton, take MD 322 and then MD 33 through St. Michaels onto Tilghman Island. DNR's Black Walnut Point Natural Resources Management Area at the island's tip is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; park in the small county lot nearby, not on the property. Talbot County's Dogwood Harbor ramp needs a county permit for trailered boats, and Fairbanks Wharf on the Bay side has a pier with limited parking. The water inside Black Walnut Point is part of the Choptank, a striped bass spawning river that's off limits to striped bass fishing from March 1 until its lower reach reopens in mid-May. You need a Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License.