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Offseason Fishing Report 3-15-16


NEW YORK

Point Lookout

Dogfish were a nuisance at first during fishing, at the Mudhole, on Sunday on the Captain Al, the party boat’s Facebook page said. Nothing but the dogs bit, but some cod and ling were found and caught late in the trip. The boat would now be brought to the boat yard to be prepped for spring fishing. The crew hopes to resume fishing aboard in two weekends. In winter, the Captain Al is this site’s nearest boat to New Jersey that fishes for cod daily. Late in winter, the trips fish every Friday through Sunday. The angling can slow late in winter, because of cold water from winter and runoff from melting snow. But the water might’ve been warming now, and spring is less than a week away. See More Info. Call: 516-623-2248.

DELAWARE/MARYLAND

Delaware’s surf was yet to give up catches this year, online reports said. Two or three weeks probably remain before catches like striped bass and blues show up. Blackfishing sounded slow off Delaware and sporadic off Maryland last week. Off Maryland, cold water seemed to make the blackfish sluggish on one day. But on another, fishing for them would turn on. Schools of stripers were reportedly seen 8 miles off Maryland, but that was unconfirmed.

VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

Seas were slick calm, and the weekly party boat trip to Norfolk Canyon sailed Saturday with Rudee Inlet Charters, Capt. Skip Feller said. The fishing was nothing spectacular, but all the anglers limited out on blueline tilefish. The tilefish weighed up to a 17-pounder, a good-sized one, and bluefish to 14 pounds were also fought aboard. Out-of-season sea bass were released, and dogfish bit but not horribly. The bluelines were hooked in 300 feet of water, and the ocean there was 53 degrees, the same temperature as lately. The trip tried fishing as deep as 450 feet, but current was a little strong in the deep.  When conditions are better for fishing in the deep, sometimes catches there include black belly rosefish, golden tilefish, wreckfish, barrelfish and groupers. Often, the trips fish for bluelines first, and when enough bluelines are caught, the trip pushes to the deeper water for the rest of those catches. The unique trips are sailing 3 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Saturday. Sometimes anglers are offered to sail that Sunday or Monday, if weather looks better then. Call: 757-422-5700 or 757-425-3400.
Visit Website.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Seven charter boats from the docks fished offshore Sunday, and the trips bagged a 63-inch bluefin tuna and released two bluefins 86 inches and 82 inches, a report said on Oregon Inlet Fishing Center’s website. A private boat from the marina also landed a 100-inch bluefin that day. Catches that day also included yellowfin tuna, including a 93-pounder, a blackfin tuna and a blue marlin. Ten boats from the marina fished offshore Saturday, and the catches included a 100-inch bluefin, a 92-incher, an 88-inch 353-pounder, a 396-pounder and some yellowfins. Bluefin fishing had slowed a moment last Tuesday for the fleet, and only yellowfins were taken that day. Then bluefins were caught again the rest of the week. Visit Website.

Hatteras

Two boats, Fin Again and Longer Days, fished offshore Sunday from Teach’s Lair Marina, a report said on the marina’s website. Fin Again was actually on an overnight trip Saturday to Sunday, and Longer Days just fished Sunday. Fin Again’s trip attempted to find bluefin tuna, but also wanted to catch whatever was possible. No results were posted about Fin Again’s trip at press time, but the outing on Longer Days scored well on blackfin tuna and also reeled in a bunch of amberjacks and false albacore. That trip also saw a blue marlin, and the boat was headed back out the next day, yesterday, to try to hook the year’s first blue marlin from Hatteras.  In the surf, one heck of a bluefish bite exploded Saturday. The 18- to 22-inchers were beached from Ramp 55 to Cape Point. Several big drum were heaved from the surf on Ocracoke Island, the island south of Hatteras, recently The next southwest wind should shove a bunch into the local surf at Cape Point. A few puppy drum, a few black drum and lots of blow toads were dragged from the surf. Some of the ramps or beach-buggy accesses have been flooded this season. The flooding was backing off but remained at some places. Anglers should avoid driving through the flooded ones and use other accesses, because the saltwater will corrode a vehicle’s undercarriage. Visit Website.

FLORIDA

Islamorada

Wind blew for days, keeping the Stray Cat docked, Capt. Mike O’Neill said. But weather became gorgeous Sunday, and a trip pasted yellowtail snappers and mutton snappers that day aboard. That was at the reef in 90 feet of water, several miles from port. Out-of-season red groupers to 15 pounds were released. The trip also tried for sailfish with live bait fished from a kite. None bit, and sailfishing was off that day, except for a couple of boats that fought sails early that morning. Stray Cat has been fishing from the Florida Keys at Islamorada for winter, and will be sailed back to home port in Longport, N.J., beginning April 15, probably arriving on April 20. Then the vessel will fish from New Jersey the rest of spring through fall.  Call: 609-391-9630. Visit Website.

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