Point Lookout

Fishing for cod was excellent aboard last week, Capt. Tom Weiss from the party boat Captain Al said. Trips sailed Tuesday through Thursday, between weather, and on one of the trips, the nine anglers totaled 82 cod. A few anglers tried jigging for them, and caught. Otherwise, the cod were clammed. Cod can be jigged when the fish are feeding on baitfish, like sand eels seen on these trips. Fourteen inches of snow fell on Friday and Saturday, and trips were weathered out those days. A trip ran Sunday, but the storm seemed to slow cod fishing, and only a few dozen ling, no cod, were landed. No baitfish were seen. The snow would probably put a damper on cod fishing a couple of days. But Tom hoped the angling would kick right back in afterward. The cod weighed up to a 23-pounder, and most were market- or school-sized. The Captain Al is this site's closest boat to New Jersey sailing for cod daily. Trips run 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and the fishing could be peaking. See More Info. Call: 516-623-2248.

VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

With Rudee Inlet Charters, the weekly party boat trip to Norfolk Canyon ran Sunday, instead of the usual Saturday, and fishing was good, Capt. Skip Feller said. Saturday’s weather forecast was rough, and Sunday’s was better. A great catch of sea bass to a 6-pound 2-ouncer was plowed. Blueline tilefish were also yanked from those depths. Then the trip moved deeper a moment, and wreckfish, a couple of barrelfish and some black belly rosefish were rounded up. Plus, bluefish 6 to 10 pounds bit every place the trip went. Seas were somewhat choppy in the morning, diminishing through the day, until slack calm. That was the forecast, the reason the trip fished then. The unique trips, running 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Saturday, sail to Norfolk Canyon, 4 to 4 ½ hours from port, each winter. Sometimes when weather is predicted for a Saturday, anglers will be offered to sail on that Sunday or Monday, if weather looks better. Call: 757-422-5700 or 757-425-3400. Visit Web Site.

Sea bass and tilefish, good catches, were cranked from offshore, said a report on Virginia Beach Fishing Center’s Web site. Striped bass swam the ocean, but beyond 3 miles from the coast, where fishing for them was closed. Anglers hoped they’d push within 3 miles “sooner rather than later,” the report said. Striper season is open through March 31 in the ocean within 3 miles in Virginia. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Bluefin tuna “are coming in,” said Denise MacNamara from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. No charter boats fished for them, but commercial boats caught the tuna. A 500-pounder was docked last week. Yellowfin tuna are always scattered around at this time of year. No striped bass showed up this far south, and fishing for them sounded slow farther north at Virginia. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Islamorada

Mutton snappers, lots of large ones 8 to 20 pounds, were pumped in with Captain Easy Charters, Capt. Bruce Andersen said. To grab them, live baits were dropped to wrecks 4 to 7 miles from port. King mackerel were trolled near the wrecks, and sailfish were trolled along the offshore edge of the reef. One trip last week caught all three: sails, muttons and a limit of kings. Daytimes kept reaching the high 70s during this mild winter. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

Because weather was yet to turn cold, lots of yellowtail snappers bit for anglers on the party boat Miss Islamorada, Capt. Ben Loy said. Fishing for them was good in 90 feet along the edge of the reef, 4 miles from shore. Strong, northeast winds roughed up seas on Monday’s trip. Still, loads of yellowtails 1 to 4 pounds were decked. That’s a good-sized yellowtail, putting up a fun fight on light tackle. A bunch of blue runners were hooked, and so were a few porgies and a mess of jacks. All were taken on a chunk of shrimp free-lined into a chum slick. Visit Web Site.

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