VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

The weekly party boat trip to Norfolk Canyon, in gorgeous weather, plowed a great catch of blueline tilefish to 19 pounds, some big ones, on Saturday, said Capt. Skip Feller from Rudee Inlet Charters. The trip also fished deeper, pumping aboard a few golden tilefish, groupers and wreckfish. Out-of-season sea bass were let go on the outing. Fishing on the trips has been super this season. A charter also sailed for the fishing in the past days, scooping up a similar catch. On the party boat trip, the bluelines were heaved in from 300-foot depths, and the goldens, groupers and wreckfish were hauled aboard from 600 to 800 feet. The long-range forecast for this Saturday’s party boat trip calls for questionable weather, but that could change. The forecast for Sunday looks good, and if the forecasts hold, the crew will try to switch the anglers to Sunday.  The party boat trips, 16-hour outings, are sailing to Norfolk Canyon every Saturday, from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., this winter. The unique trips steam for catches including blueline tilefish, golden tiles, black belly rosefish, wreckfish and groupers. Ask about special golden tile trips that are set for April and May. Charters are also running. Call: 757-422-5700 or 757-425-3400. Visit Web Site.

Winds blew too strongly for boats to sail from Virginia Beach Fishing Center on Sunday, the last day a report was posted on the marina’s Web site. On Saturday a 40-pound striped bass was the one citation rockfish listed. “Even though we haven’t seen any limits yet,” the report said that day, “the class of fish today is outstanding.” A few photos of striper catches were posted that day. No report was posted on Friday, and a couple of private boats returned Thursday with limits of stripers. So did one charter boat, and a 34-pound striper was biggest on the trip. Prior to then, Tuesday was the last day a report was posted. The weather was rough, so only a few boats sailed that day. One returned by 10:30 a.m. with a limit of stripers to 36 pounds, the one catch reported on the site that day. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

At Oregon Inlet Fishing Center Saturday was the last time boats fished, Denise MacNamara said. Anglers on the eight vessels bagged one yellowfin tuna, a 140-pound bluefin tuna, four wahoos and three mahi mahi. They also released three bluefins. Yellowfin tuna lately were “sketchy,” popping up here and there, Denise said. No rockfish or striped bass showed up, and probably weren’t going to. They probably remained north this winter because of warm weather and waters. Visit Web Site.

Hatteras

Bluefin tuna fishing was “out of control!” a post said Saturday on Teach’s Lair Marina’s Facebook page. “Just gonna get better, good front coming through this evening and Sunday,” it said. “Boy, oh, boy, they’re going to chew after this front.” The fish could be plugged on top-water lures. That was the most recent news posted about fishing on the page, and on the report on the marina’s Web site, since the report posted here last week. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Islamorada

Good fishing was nailed in the past week with Captain Easy Charters,  Capt. Bruce Anderson said. Three sailfish and some blackfin tuna were slow-trolled on live ballyhoos off the outside edge of the reef on a trip Wednesday. Mahi mahi sometimes pounced on the same trolling spread when trips fished there or somewhat farther offshore, in 200 to 250 feet. Kingfish, “lots and lots,” Bruce said, swam thick. They were trolled aboard on live cigar minnows or pilchards, either off the outside edge of the reef or sometimes on the reef. A 40-pound wahoo was trolled on board this week. Bottom fishing aboard wrenched in good-sized mutton snappers at wrecks in 150 to 250 feet. The weather was mild, usually reaching the 80s. A cold front moved in on Monday, but was weak, like cold fronts have been this winter. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

Lots of yellowtail snappers were bombed on the party boat Miss Islamorada, Capt. Ben Loy said. Warm waters in the high 70s kept the fish biting this winter. Trips set up for the fishing at the reef within 4 miles from shore, hanging 40 or 50 pounds of frozen chum over the side of the boat. The chum brought the snappers to the surface, and anglers drifted out pieces of shrimp or cut bait to hook them. Sometimes, when anglers waited their turns to flat line the bait along the surface, they dropped bait to the bottom, pulling in a few porgies and hogfish. The weather was beautiful, usually in the low 80s during daytime and 70s at night. A cold front rolled in on Sunday night, but wasn’t bad. The temp was 60 degrees on Monday morning.  Visit Web Site.

Fishing was going great during this warm winter on the weekend getaways to the Florida Keys with Capt. Joe Hughes from Jersey Cape Guide Service, he said. Jersey Cape, running from Sea Isle City, New Jersey, the rest of the year, offers the Florida trips each winter, mostly on weekends, sometimes on holidays or other days during the week. Mike Roth took one of the getaways this weekend, deciding mostly to fly fish.  Saturday’s trip, fishing in the back country, both near Islamorada and the mainland toward Flamingo, crushed a bunch of speckled sea trout and some jacks and ladyfish. A couple of barracudas were also fly rodded. A couple of great sight-fishing shots at redfish came up, but the reds failed to pounce on the flies. In the evening, Mike went 1 for 2 on tarpon on live bait. A 40-pounder was released. Tarpon fishing’s been good, fairly reliable, considering this was winter. Warm waters seemed to make them active, and big tarpon 70 to 100 pounds have been fought on trips this season. On Sunday Mike fly-rodded 25 specks, a bunch of ladyfish and some jacks. He also tackled 25 barracudas on a fly, terrific angling. A couple of good shots at sight-fishing for reds on a fly came up when the boat was poled along the flats. But winds made fishing conditions somewhat tough. Mike switched to a spinning rod with jigheads with Gulps and live shrimp, and 10 reds, good-sized, were walloped. Fishing that day was slow in the morning but entirely opposite in the afternoon. In the afternoon, the catches were Mohawked. Anglers 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 to sailfish.  Visit Web Site. Call: 609-827-3442.

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