NEW YORK

Point Lookout

The party boat Captain Al was in dry dock for maintenance and will probably be splashed today or Wednesday, Capt. Tom Weiss said. Fishing aboard will resume Friday. The Captain Al is this site's closest cod boat to New Jersey. When cod are in, trips target them. Otherwise trips fish wrecks for a mix of cod, ling or other bottom fish. Trips are sailing 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. See More Info. Call: 516-623-2248.

VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

The weekly party boat trip to Norfolk Canyon sailed Saturday with Rudee Inlet Charters, Capt. Skip Feller said. A streak of weather had kept the past several trips docked, and this trip met breezes the whole day that were forecast to be calmer. That kept the outing from fishing deeper, but the catch was decent, Skip said. Blueline tilefish to an 18-1/2-pounder, a large one, were sacked. A few bluefish were cracked, and out-of-season sea bass were released. When the trips mixed in fishing deeper this past season, catches also included wreckfish, barrelfish and black belly rosefish. Those fish should continue to chew. Sometimes groupers and golden tilefish were also slid in from the deep. Long-range forecasts look like good weather for the trip this Saturday. 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 and early spring. 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.

Rumors said puppy drum began to show up at Rudee Inlet, a report on Virginia Beach Fishing Center’s Web site said. Though that was unconfirmed, this was the time of year for them to arrive. Bluefish and speckled sea trout should come in soon, if they hadn’t already. The site listed a number of tautog weighed in, including an 18-pound 7-ounce whopper. Virginia’s citation size is 9 pounds for tautog, and the state’s record is 24 pounds 3 ounces. Deep-drop bottom-fishing was good offshore, like it is most of the year. Water temperatures that deep fluctuate less, so the fishing is less affected than many types of angling. One trip sailed for the fishing last week from the docks, cranking in 19 blueline tilefish and a 7-pound 8-ounce summer flounder. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Bluefin tuna fishing was the best yet during the past two weeks, and another two weeks was probably left, an e-mail from Canyon Runner Sport Fishing said. A 750-pounder, the biggest to date from North Carolina for Canyon Runner, and a 650-pounder were hauled in on the company’s boats. Bluefins to 450 pounds were seen every day on the trips, and many of the tuna were just under 73 inches, so trips were able to keep one. The recreational-fishing limit is one bluefin 27 inches to less than 73 inches per day per vessel. One trophy bluefin 73 inches or larger can be kept per year per vessel, and one of those was already bagged on each of Canyon Runner’s boats in past weeks. Anglers aboard fought bluefins most of the day, and the sizes of the fish kept the number of releases down, because of the time fighting the big fish. The tuna swam 35 miles from Oregon Inlet, and were mostly trolled and popper-plugged. Fishing with jigs wasn’t so effective. A customer cancelled trips on Canyon Runner’s 60-foot Ritchie Howell this Saturday and Sunday, so the boat is available then. Those days look like they’ve got the weather, if anyone wants to jump on at the last moment. Openings are also available next week, and charters and open-boat trips are running. Visit Web Site.

At Oregon Inlet Fishing Center on Saturday, seven boats docked a limit of one bluefin tuna apiece that was shorter than 73 inches, and all boats released other bluefins, Margaret Cronin said. The catches included a 15-year-old’s 82-inch 310-pound bluefin and another boat’s 87-inch 405-pounder. On Sunday every boat probably released bluefins and bagged a limit of one under 73 inches. Plus, a 500-pound blue marlin was released that day. A couple of bigeye tuna were also axed during the weekend, and two boats beat wahoos on Saturday. The recreational-fishing limit for bluefins is one fish from 27 inches to less than 73 inches per boat per day, and one trophy bluefin 73 inches or larger per year per boat. Boating was weathered out on Monday, but four vessels were back out today. Visit Web Site.

Hatteras

Waters warmed enough, and the season’s first drum, a 44-incher, was dragged from the surf at Ocracoke Island, a report said on the Web site from The Roost Bait & Tackle at Teach’s Lair Marina. That’s the island south of Hatteras, and waters were warmer there, but an unconfirmed report said another was pulled from Hatteras Inlet. “When you see the warm waters on the beach, the drum will be there,” the report said. Two bluefish were heard about from the surf, and sea mullet and blow toads were hung from the beach. “There was a little magic in the water,” the report said, after dog sharks and skates were the only catches from shore since winter. Plus, boaters cleaned up on just about every type of catch. “And I do mean everything!” the report said. That included bluefin tuna, blackfin tuna, a swordfish, tilefish, groupers, triggerfish, sea bass and more. This was a great time to be on the water, the report said.  Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Islamorada

With Captain Easy Charters, anglers landed “a little of everything,” Capt. Bruce Andersen said. A trip Monday vertical-jigged a 30-pound blackfin tuna, a large one, at the Islamorada Hump. The anglers also waxed smaller blackfins, amberjacks and mahi mahi at the Hump. That’s an underwater dome, 11 miles offshore, rising 290 feet from bottom, in 600 feet of waters. Wahoos were also high-speed trolled on large lures at 11 or 12 knots aboard in the past week. Some were taken just offshore of the reef, in 150 feet, several miles from shore. But one trip ran to the far edge of the Gulf Stream, 50 miles out, tackling six large ‘hoos. Temperatures reached the 70s on most days, and weather had started mild this winter, and was cooler the last couple of weeks. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

Yellowtail snappers are bailed aboard the party boat Miss Islamorada this time of year, and the fishing was excellent the past four or five days, Capt. Ben Loy said. The fish are plucked at the reef several miles from port, and a trip Monday, with a light crowd, limited out on 1- to 4-pounders, sizeable ones. Sharks roam the waters this time of season, and plenty of hooked yellowtails were lost when sharks grabbed them. The yellowtails are caught on chunks of bait like shrimp free-lined in a chum slick on light tackle. Visit Web Site.

Capt. Joe Hughes from Jersey Cape Guide Service from Sea Isle City, N.J., will run his season’s final traveling charters from Islamorada this weekend, he said. Then he’ll trailer the boat back to Jersey to begin striped bass fishing from Sea Isle. From Islamorada this weekend, his trips will concentrate on fly-fishing for tarpon. A buddy fly-rodded a 130-pounder on Sunday. The traveling charters run from Christmas to Easter each year, mostly on weekends. Anglers can arrive on a Friday, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, and be back to work on Monday. Catches can include a large variety of fish, including redfish, speckled sea trout, snook, barracudas, jacks, tarpon and more. The trips can be a mini, fish-filled vacation. Call: 609-827-3442. Visit Web Site.

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