Thu., March 28, 2024
Moon Phase:
Waning Gibbous
More Info
Inshore Charters
Offshore Charters
Party Boats
Saltwater
Tackle Shops &
Marinas
Saltwater
Boat Rentals
Freshwater
Guides
Freshwater
Tackle Shops
Brrr ...
It's Cold:
Upstate N.Y.
Ice Fishing
Upstate N.Y.
Winter Steelhead &
Trout Fishing
Long Island, N.Y.
Winter
Cod &
Wreck Fishing

Offseason Fishing Report 2-21-17


NEW YORK

Point Lookout

Trips picked a few cod, keepers and shorts, the past few days on the party boat Captain Al, and the angling was about the same as before, Capt. Tom Weiss said. None of the fish was any size, but cod bit, and by this time of year, sometimes the fish school out of range because of cold water. But the ocean was 40 or 40.5 degrees on the fishing grounds, warmer than usual. Cod seemed to have no reason to depart. The cod were found in 80 feet of water or shallower, and that’s shallower than usual. Cod usually swim deeper by this time in winter, escaping colder water close to shore. A few conger eels bit, but no dogfish did. A few blackfish, out-of-season in New York, hit and were released. Baitfish were marked, including quite a few on Monday. They might’ve been bunker, because if they were herring, herring probably would’ve been hooked on the trips. All the cod were caught on clams. Sometimes cod can be jigged if baitfish like herring are around that jigs can imitate. The boat is this website’s only that targets cod in winter. If cod are in, trips exclusively fish for them. Otherwise, the boat fishes wrecks for cod, pollock and ling or whatever will bite. Trips are sailing 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Friday through Sunday. See More Info. Call: 516-623-2248.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

A 69-inch bluefin tuna was cranked in on one boat Thursday from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, a report said on the marina’s website. Three other boats from the marina that day “enjoyed fishing for yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna and mahi mahi,” it said. That was the most recent report at press time. A well-known charter boat, not sailing from the marina, was known to land three bluefins totaling 1,000 pounds, bagging two and releasing the other, last Tuesday. That vessel afterward was waiting for the weather to sail for them again. Visit Website.

Hatteras

One of the boats from Teach’s Lair Marina smoked a load of blackfin tuna on a trip, a report said yesterday on the marina’s website. That could be you on any day, if you booked a trip on a boat from the marina, it said. Blackfins up to 23 to 27 pounds were checked-in recently at the marina, many from the same boat. Fishing also released a 90-inch bluefin tuna on the same vessel recently. Another boat from the marina landed two sizable bluefins last week. See photos. Another released an 80-inch shark. No species was reported. Visit Website.

FLORIDA

Florida Keys

Sailfishing was fair on the ocean side, online reports said. Snappers including muttons were pumped in from wrecks in 200 feet of water on live bait. Spanish mackerel fishing could also be good on the ocean side. In the bay, the warm winter helped tarpon fishing. Though fishing for tarpon peaks later in the year, the angling scored some success. Permits could also be found in the area. Mangrove snappers could be picked up along the islands. The big ones like to hang underneath the growth. In the back country, catches included snook, and that angling seemed fair.

Back to Top