NEW YORK

Point Lookout

Cod and ling were swung aboard the party boat Captain Al, Capt. Tom Weiss said. Fishing for the cod was hot and cold, and the average size was larger than before. Lots more 10- to 15-pounders were bagged aboard this past week than previously. More cod than before started to show up in 80 to 100 feet, beginning to disappear in shallower waters. All cod on the boat were clammed, but no customers tried jigging for them much. “Can’t catch them (on jigs) if you don’t try,” Tom said. Ling fishing was very good on deck, “pretty consistent,” Tom said, in 100 to 120 feet.  Striped bass, out of season in New York, were even hooked and released, surprising to see them by this time in winter. Waters were 44 degrees. The Captain Al is this site's closest Long Island cod boat to New Jersey. Trips run 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. See More Info. Call: 516-623-2248.

VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

Good fishing  was pounded Saturday on the weekly party boat trip to Norfolk Canyon with Rudee Inlet Charters, Capt. Skip Feller said. A very good catch of blueline tilefish was bombed, and the trip was also able to fish in the deep a moment, rounding up golden tilefish, black belly rosefish and even bluefish. Most of the blues were 2 to 4 pounds, but a few were probably 13 or 14 pounds. Seas were slick calm on the gorgeous day, and the long-range forecast looks like this Saturday’s trip will sail. Sixteen-hour trips are sailing to Norfolk Canyon every Saturday from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. for catches including blueline tilefish, golden tiles, black belly rosefish, wreckfish and groupers. In other news, rockfishing was hit or miss close to shore at Virginia Beach on other boats. Some days turned up good catches, and other days were “kind of spotty,” Skip said. A few bluefin tuna remained, and the fleet docked four or five, including a 267-pounder that Skip saw, on Monday. Call: 757-422-5700 or 757-425-3400. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Three boats sailed offshore today from  Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, Denise MacNamara said. No results were heard yet, and before today, Friday was the last time anglers got the weather to sail. Four boats motored from the marina then, and all came back with yellowfin tuna, and one returned with a 245-pound bluefin tuna and a wahoo. Trips had been catching yellowfins a while now. No striped bass arrived locally so far this winter. One customer said the rockfish swam thick off Virginia during the weekend but were scarce there Monday. Visit Web Site.

Hatteras

Bluefin tuna arrived, swimming close to shore, a report on Teach’s Lair
Marina’s Web site said. Bluefins were sometimes reported located as close
as a half-mile from shore, from Nags Head to Hatteras, found in different locations at different times. So, large boats weren’t mandatory to chase them, if anglers had the right tackle. Most center consoles would do, “in the right conditions,” the report said. “So if you were waiting to give the bluefins a shot, any time from here on in would be worth it,” the report said. Farther from shore, blackfin tuna were “where they should be,” the report said, and when sharks weren’t a nuisance, anglers could score big-time on blackfins. The blackfins were big. “We are talking world class,” the report said, and a few weighed 30 pounds. All the offshore charter boats at the marina offer vertical-jigging for the blackfins this time of year. Surf fishing was slow, but if anglers put in the time each day, they caught. One of the staff from the shop saw two sizeable summer flounder, a few speckled sea trout and two “upper-slot,” the report said, puppy drum that were beached. Shelling was spectacular on the South Beach, because of one front after another, a constant barrage of weather. Lots of big whelks washed up, and an unbelievable number of Scotch bonnets littered the shore. So when the fishing was slow, anglers sometimes took advantage to search for shells. The weather was unusually warm, and winter is a beautiful time in the area. Offshore fishing is spectacular, and one of the staff from the shop walked the beach in board shorts the other day. Plenty of boats are available for charter, and the shop will rig anglers up for whatever fishing they want to do. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Islamorada

Sailfishing slowed a little, but still produced, Capt. Bruce Anderson from
Captain Easy Charters said. Sails on trips were slow-trolled on live bait,
usually ballyhoos, off the outside edge of the reef, a few miles from port. But
king mackerel fishing was very good, wide open, with Captain Easy. Good-sized kings 20 pounds and larger were drilled on live bait, usually cigar minnows or speedos, either on anchor in a chum slick or trolled, “depending on the day,” Bruce said. Cobia were tackled on the boat in shallows inshore of the edge of the reef. Trips looked for rays that cobia followed, eating forage that the rays kicked up with their wings. Once the rays were found, the anglers pitched live bait toward them to hook the cobias, sight fishing. Bottom fishing aboard dredged up mutton snappers and yellowtail snappers along the reef. The weather was mostly pleasant, and this winter was mild, usually serving up days in the 80s. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

Mike Spaeder and son Mike jumped aboard one of the weekend getaways to
the Florida Keys on Saturday and Sunday with Jersey Cape Guide Service, Capt. Joe Hughes said. Joe, sailing from Sea Isle City, New Jersey, with Jersey Cape the rest of the year, runs the traveling charters each winter. The Spaeders headed toward the mainland to fish the back country on Saturday. They loaded up on speckled sea trout, at least 25, many of them larger than 20 inches, good-sized, in a short time. They also landed two black drum, a snook and many jacks and ladyfish. Waters had warmed, making redfish move onto the flats that had previously swarmed the area. The anglers concentrated on the fishing for specks and other fish on this trip, but hooked one red that got off on the flats. They had sight-casted to the fish. At the end of the trip, at sunset, the anglers wanted to fish for tarpon, and young Mike had never caught one. A tarpon hammered the first bait in the waters, and young Mike landed the fish.  The anglers jumped four more tarpon that threw the hook before making it to the boat. In tarpon fishing, even jumping a tarpon counts. The tarpon were sizeable, probably 70 pounds. On Sunday the Spaeders fished close to port with Joe, because they had an early flight. They bailed jacks, barracudas, snappers and other fish. “It was a blast!” Joe said. Anglers on the weekend getaways can arrive on a Friday, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, and get back to work on Monday morning. The trips can be a mini, fish-filled vacation for a large variety of catches, from redfish and specks to sailfish, king mackerel, blackfin tuna and more. Visit Web Site. Call: 609-827-3442.

Back to Top