NEW YORK

Point Lookout

The party boat Captain Al fished Friday through Sunday, and a handful of cod and a handful of ling were swung aboard each day, Capt. Tom Weiss said. The fish bit in 100-foot depths to 190 feet, and the ocean was 38 degrees, becoming cold. Weather was good on Friday’s trip, and seas and wind were rough on Saturday’s trip at first. Strong wind built the seas during the previous night and into the morning. “We got our butts handed to us, going out,” he said, and the conditions improved as the day went on. Weather was beautiful on Sunday’s trip. The trips will now fish 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Friday through Sunday. That’s a usual schedule change this time of year, and the trips previously sailed daily.  If cod are in, the trips target them. Otherwise, the trips fish wrecks for cod, pollock, ling or whatever bites. See More Info. Call: 516-623-2248.

VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

Sometimes anglers are offered to sail on another day, instead of the usual Saturday, on the weekly party boat trip to Norfolk Canyon with Rudee Inlet Charters, if weather is better on that day. That’s what happened this past week, and the trip fished on Sunday instead, Capt. Skip Feller said. Saturday was too windy in a southwesterly because of a warm front. The trip piled up a good catch of blueline tilefish to an 18-pounder. That was in 300 feet of water, and then the trip pushed deeper, and a few black belly rosefish were cranked in. Big bluefish were mixed in on the trip, and dogfish bit, but not too badly. The water was 54 degrees. “Pretty good,” he said. Catches on the unique trips, slated for 3 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Saturday each winter, can include the bluelines, golden tilefish, the rosefish, wreckfish, barrelfish and more. Bluelines are usually targeted first, and if enough are caught, and enough usually are, and seas are fair, the trips then push deeper for the rest of the catches.  Norfolk Canyon is several hours from port. Call: 757-422-5700 or 757-425-3400. Visit Website.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Weather was beautiful Saturday, and one of the boats from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center that day returned with a 220-pound bluefin tuna and several yellowfin tuna, a report on the marina’s website said. “The bite was a little slow, but it was a good day!” it said. In the most recent phone call to the marina for a report, Gabby Willis from the shop said weather was mostly too rough for boats to fish. Anglers from the docks mostly sail for bluefins in March, but this was the second trip that ran into bluefins in February this year from the marina. The other was on February 1, covered in a previous report here. That trip was the first to catch bluefins this year from the port. Visit Website.

Hatteras

Four bluefin tuna were landed last Tuesday on the Fin Again from Teach’s Lair Marina, a report on the marina’s website said. Three were tackled on the boat the previous day and two were pumped in on the vessel several days before, covered in the last report here. Last Tuesday’s trip was reported on the marina’s site after the last report here was posted. The marina’s site didn’t mention specific sizes of the tuna on last Tuesday’s trip, but said three were legal-sized for commercial fishing, and one was smaller. The crew at the shop believed Fin Again was the only boat to catch bluefins from Hatteras so far this year, as of that trip. No reports were posted since on the site at press time. Visit Website.

FLORIDA

Islamorada

Fishing was a little different every day, but was pretty good, and weather became calmer, said Capt. Bruce Andersen from Captain Easy Charters. Lots of king mackerel were lit into, and fishing for them was red hot. That was on live bait trolled offshore of the edge of the reef. The reef is several miles from port, and a few blackfin tuna, a sailfish or two and a mahi mahi or two bit in the same area. Farther from shore, deep-water bottom-fishing was great for big vermilion snappers and yelloweye snappers in 400-foot depths at ledges and hard bottom. Cut bait like squid hooked them. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Website.

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