DELAWARE

Indian River

On the Bandit, fishing from Belmar, N.J., from spring through fall but currently sailing for tog from Indian River, Delaware, for the winter, a group of Jersey anglers fished Saturday and Sunday, an e-mail from the boat said. Lack of winds made anchoring tough Saturday, and the boat kept sliding and spinning, and no great numbers of the blackfish were hooked, but those that were caught were good-sized. Anglers had to be lucky and fishing in the right place at the right time, but probably a dozen of the fish weighed 8 to 11 pounds, and most of the keepers were 4 to 7 pounds. The pool was close, and three 11-pounders were in contention, and an angler with one that weighed 11.6 pounds won out. That was his personal best tog, and one of the other 11-pounders was another angler’s personal best. On Sunday just the opposite conditions kicked in, with winds making seas bumpy by the end of the day, and anchoring was no problem, but the fish didn’t cooperate. A couple of anglers landed keepers, but most didn’t fair well. Six keepers were bagged, and 12 fish were reeled in, and an 8-pounder was the pool winner. One angler grabbed two nice tog over 5 pounds apiece. Delaware’s tog grounds typically receive less pressure than off Jersey, and the waters can stay a few degrees warmer, keeping the fish biting longer in the season. Delaware’s bag limit is also 10 tog through March, while Jersey’s is only four. The Bandit is accepting individual-reservations, usually from two or more groups of anglers, for tog trips from Fridays through Sundays, but a single person can also book a spot. However, no walk-ons are accepted. Charters for the blackfish from single groups are accepted Mondays through Thursdays.  A discount is available at a local hotel for patrons from the boat. Call: 732-692-9521. Visit Web Site.

VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

The Virginia record for striped bass was shattered last week when Capt. Pat Foster on the Country Girl, sailing from Virginia Beach Fishing Center,  hauled aboard a 73-pounder from the ocean, John Crowley said. A 68-pounder was the previous record, and John said the 73-pounder was the third-largest rockfish ever caught on rod and reel. Striper fishing in the local ocean slowed somewhat but was still going strong. Winds blew some of the fish beyond 3 miles from land, where fishing for them is closed, and that caused the slow down. But lots of the fish were still swimming within 3 miles of the coast north and south of the marina, and probably 30 to 40 that were checked in weighed 40 pounds or larger this past week. Charter boats from the marina were keeping busy with the fish, sometimes running two trips a day. Speckled sea trout were sometimes taken from the inlet and from one of the well-known honey holes in the ocean. Farther from shore, party boats from the marina bagged plenty of big sea bass from 5 to 8 pounds. The vessels are bottom fishing offshore from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Saturday. Virginia Beach Fishing Center features a marina, a tackle shop, charter boats and party boats and is located near the beach, boardwalk, hotels, ocean and Chesapeake Bay, near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Striper fishing in the bay is currently closed, the same as in New Jersey. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Boaters from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center were coming back with good catches of striped bass from all-day trips, meaning they were running north in the ocean to find them, Jenny Lippincott said. On some days they were landing big ones like 35- or 40-pounders. On Saturday some of the boats headed offshore to the Gulf Stream and mostly hooked bluefin tuna, often limiting out on the fish, such as a 70-pounder that one angler claimed. Visit Web Site.

Hatteras

A handful of speckled sea trout were beached from the surf, but the water was cold and in the 40s, so not much was biting, said Dave Hissey from The Roost Bait & Tackle at Teach’s Lair Marina. The specks and also puppy drum were there, but temps in the high 50s will be needed to get them biting. So if a warm spells kicks in, so should the fishing. One angler two weeks ago targeted puppies in the suds and reeled in 30 of them. But no catches of the drum were heard about lately, and neither were catches of anything else besides the specks. The trout will grab artificials such as MirrOlures and Gulps, and the angler who bailed the puppies was also throwing artificials. One boater pointed the bow offshore and reeled up three bluefin tuna that he released. Dave said he’d expect king mackerel to be biting offshore, but the water was cold, with temps in the 40s close to shore and to 65 degrees out to 50 fathoms. Visit Web Site.

Atlantic Beach

Rough weather kept most boaters docked at Captain Stacy Fishing Center, but a few braved the seas and fought a handful of giant bluefin tuna, nothing to brag about, Kathy Peden said. Yellowfin tuna fishing should turn on in a big way in April. The party boat Captain Stacy was being repowered and was expected to start bottom fishing in the ocean in March. Visit Web Site.

LOUISIANA

Venice

Big-game fishing with Paradise Outfitters seemed to produce both on-fire bites and slower trips in Gulf of Mexico during the past week, according the report on its web site. Some of the better charters included one that fought to the boat four yellowfin tuna including a 175-pounder yesterday, and another charter that day picked up three blackfin tuna, one decent-sized wahoo, some bottom fish and a 200-pound mako shark that jumped five times until he cut the tuna leader after 15 minutes. That trip also looked for more wahoos but only found the one. The report also talked about a 120-pound yellowfin that wrapped the line around the rudder, and someone on the trip had to dive under the boat and free the line, “but a win in the end,” the web site said. One of the main attractions for charters during winter are big yellowfin tuna more than 100 pounds that swarm around the Midnight Lump, an uprising that attracts bait and fish about 20 miles from shore in the Gulf. Yellowfins mentioned in the report in the past week also included fish that weighed 160 pounds, 120 pounds and 104 pounds. Only a few wahoos were caught with Paradise in the past days, but the report said two boats came back to the marina with 40 ‘hoos, “a little excessive … but good news” for those who like to wahoo fish. Paradise fishes offshore in the Gulf for big game and also targets the Gulf’s rigs and wrecks for snappers, cobia, groupers, amberjacks and such. Call: 985-845-8006. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Clearwater/Tampa/Tarpon Springs

Speckled sea trout fishing was tremendous, despite cool water, Capt. Rich Knox from Absolute Flats Fishing said in an e-mail. The big, gator trout hit Berkeley Power Shrimp on ¼-ounce jigs, Texas-rigged Berkeley Jerk Shads and 12-Fatom Slam R’s along the barrier islands and also along the spoil islands in the Intracoastal Waterway. Redfishing was sluggish in the cold water, but patience was key, and live shrimp got the bites around the docks on the Anclote River and also around the residential docks in Clearwater. Snook to 12 pounds and small tarpon to 35 pounds were on the hunt in the Anclote almost to brackish water. Snook season opens February 1, only a few days away, and afternoons will be the best time to target both the snook and tarpon, and a variety of jigs, top-water lures and live shrimp will connect. Late winter’s warming water will trigger runs of baitfish or pilchards, threadfin herring, cigar minnows and scaled sardines like clockwork through spring, and predator fish including trout, reds, snook, tarpon, cobia, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalles and more will get the itch to feed heavily. So get ready, because the action’s about to begin. Trips are also being booked for giant tarpon fishing in May and June in Boca Grande, the Tarpon Capital of the World. This world-class fishery allows anglers to do battle with 80- to 200-pound tarpon either along the beaches or in the passes, where schools of the monsters come through on a migration. Chances for five to 10 hook-ups a day are not uncommon Several days of this fishing are recommended, but a package can be put together to suit any needs. Accommodations can also be arranged. All you have to do is telephone. Call 727-376-8809 or 800-890-9373 or Visit Web Site.

Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Boca Raton

Bonito, the name for little tunny in Florida, and king mackerel were mostly the catch lately, including on the Just Add Water during the past couple of days, Capt. Ron Mallet said. Charters grabbed the bites on live pilchards close to shore. Shots at one or two sailfish were possible, and anglers on a nearby boat hooked two yesterday, and locals were waiting for the main push of sails to migrate from up north. Ron predicts that the migration will arrive late, but it’s only January. His anglers also got into red-hot fishing for jack crevalles to 12 pounds and barracudas to 4 feet in the harbor on live pilchards. This option is one of the great things about Just Add Water, because even when the ocean’s too rough to sail, or when charters such as those with children prefer calm water, fights with the jacks and ‘cudas are a blast on light tackle. Million-dollar homes, big yachts docked behind them, and the busiest cruise-ship traffic in the world also offers interesting scenery in the harbor. Call: 954-423-8700. Visit Web Site.

Islamorada

Charters were sometimes finally hooking sailfish, said Capt. John Oughton from the Pretty Work and Over Under Adventures. The sails were migrating through during weather fronts, and anglers onboard swam live ballyhoos and goggleyes to catch them. Trips on the boat were also beginning to pick up good-sized king mackerel. One outing, for example, drilled four or five of the kingfish from 40 to 45 pounds and a number of smaller ones. Clear water at the reefs was making bottom-fishing difficult, but catches of yellowtails could be scraped together. A few shots at cobia were also possible on the flats. Florida cobia fishing typically involves searching the flats for fish like manta rays that stir up the bottom and cause cobia to follow, and anglers pitch baits toward the rays to hook the lemonfish. Over Under is also offering multiple-day trips to the Dry Tortugas from Key West, a 60-mile sail from this last town in the Keys. The company’s boat That’s Right, licensed for 15 passengers, is taking these trips and was weathered from one this past week. But more are slated soon. Call: 866-OUA-TUNA. Visit Web Site.

Capt. Bruce Anderson from Captain Easy Charters was running a charter last night when he gave this report, and the anglers had already limited out on king mackerel, he said. The kingfishing was good recently, and sailfishing was starting to be decent, much better than earlier this month, and some wahoos could also be fought. A trip the day before yesterday was great, and the charter landed two sailfish, eight or 10 kingfish, including some big ones to a couple of 35-pounders, and a large, 30-pound wahoo. Captain Easy’s bottom-fishing trips at the reefs were pulling up mostly groupers, including ones to 25 pounds, and a few mutton snappers. No yellowtail snappers were chomping baits on the charters. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

Key West

Yankee Capts left port on a two-day trip to the Dry Tortugas this past week, and the fishing was kind of slow, and the tide was running strong, but a 6-hour bite took place Saturday night, Capt. Greg Mercurio said. Patrons boated yellowtail snappers, mutton snappers, a handful of groupers and some king mackerel. A three-day trip to the Tortugas will run this week, and the difference between a two-day outing and a three-day one is more fishing time. Yankee Capts, a 90-foot party boat, fishes the Tortugas—about a 60-mile sail from its dock at Key West—on one-, two-, three- and four-day trips. The four-day outings, called Iron Man Trips, do allow patrons to sail farther to spots that are rarely fished. Passengers, as many as 48 per trip, live, sleep and eat onboard, and breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and beverages can be purchased on the boat. Yankee Capts has been fishing from the Keys for 30 years and currently offers the Tortugas trips through May. From Memorial Day to Labor Day the boat fishes for cod from Gloucester, Massachusetts, and in September and October it targets tuna from New Bedford, before returning to the Keys. Call: 888-88-CAPTS or 305-923-2926. Visit Web Site.

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