DELAWARE

Indian River

Tog-fishing trips left the dock Saturday and Sunday on the Bandit, and strong, full-moon currents affected the catch, Capt. Scotty said. But on Saturday a 12.8-pounder was the pool winner, and the high-hook reeled up 15 of the blackfish, keeping only his limit of 10. Still, some fared worse, only pulling aboard one keeper or none. On Sunday the bite was quite a bit slower, but an 18-pound 1-ounce fish nailed the pool, and a 12-pounder was boated, and so were a bunch of 10-pounders. The high hook grabbed eight keepers, and probably only 30 were bagged on the whole boat. The current seemed to chill down the water on the bottom by that day, making the tog reluctant to chew. The surface was 46 ½ degrees, but the bottom must’ve been much colder. The trip Sunday fished 70 to 100 feet and on Saturday hit 55 to 85 feet. Strong currents or moon currents have always seemed to put off the fish since the boat’s been fishing these waters. But Scotty was hopeful the fishing would pick right back up this week, coming off the moon and with warmer weather in the forecast. The Bandit, sailing from Belmar, N.J., from spring through fall, has been targeting tog from Delaware all winter for the second year in a row. Delaware’s tog grounds receive less pressure than Jersey’s, and the water’s somewhat warmer, both helping to put out better catches in winter. The boat will only run for the tog in the First State through this weekend and early next week before returning to the Garden State. Individual-reservation trips, usually with two or more groups, but also open to single anglers, will take place Friday through Sunday, and Friday is already full. No walk-ons are accepted. Tog charters are available the rest of the week through Monday or Tuesday. In Jersey the boat will charter for winter flounder on the Manasquan River in April before returning to Belmar to charter for bottom fish, bluefish and striped bass in the ocean this spring. Call: 732-692-9521.
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VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

Striped bass fishing definitely slowed down for the season near Virginia Beach Fishing Center, but a few were hooked, Mary Norton said.  But the slow down was normal for this time of year, and catches were great in the nearby ocean this past winter. Anglers now expected big blues to migrate to the waters anytime. Boaters at the inlet sometimes reeled up speckled seatrout and puppy drum and supposedly occasional flounder that had just begun to move in. The head boats came back with a bunch of sea bass and some tilefish. Virginia Beach Fishing Center features a marina, tackle shop, slips, launching, charter boats and party boats and is located near the ocean, beach, hotels and the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Rough weather rolled in a lot, but customers sometimes checked in a stray blackfin tuna, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, amberjack, king mackerel or mahi mahi from the offshore grounds, said Ashley Party from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. An inshore boater showed off a catch of tog yesterday, and inshore anglers were waiting for bluefish and maybe mackerel to migrate in.
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Hatteras

Terrible weather mostly kept anyone from fishing through the past week, said Steve Hissey from The Roost Bait & Tackle at Teach’s Lair Marina. But previously a few big drum were beached from the surf on the south side of Ocracoke, and probably a dozen slot puppies were pulled from the wash at Hatteras Inlet. So were a handful of whiting and sometimes 1- to 2-pound bluefish. Puppies that had been running rampant in Pamlico Sound dispersed since the weather, and nobody could know whether they’d school up again or move to the surf or ocean or disappear. When offshore boaters could make the trip they bailed blackfin tuna down deep on vertical jigs, and the popularity of the jigs was taking off locally. A handful of bluefin tuna, wahoos and king mackerel were trolled, and so were occasional yellowfin tuna. The weather sent wind chills down to 40 degrees and dropped water temps. Visit Web Site.

LOUISIANA

Venice

The weather was “relentless to say the least,” said Capt. Damon McKnight from Super Strike Charters. Very windy, he said, and March was living up to its reputation for winds, and sometimes rains fell. But trips managed to get out Saturday and Sunday to fish the Gulf of Mexico in seas a little too rough to run any distance, and another trip was fishing this morning when Damon gave this report. Charters lately were mostly tackling amberjacks, groupers, wahoos, yellowfin tuna and blackfin tuna. However, the wahoo bite was a little off, despite perfect conditions and all the right bait, and the yellowfins were 30 to 40 pounds, smaller than usual. “But we’ll take what we can get,” considering the weather, Damon said. Spring conditions seemed to be forming early, with warm water, bait, and rip lines that were appearing before they usually do. The weather at the moment was good, so Damon hoped more trips would now sail, and he expected fishing to improve as spring wore on. Super Strike fishes the Gulf of Mexico for big game and rig, reef and wreck fish. Call: 800-318-1720. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Clearwater/Tampa/Tarpon Springs

Springtime fishing was already going off, and so was “slam” fishing for snook, redfish and seatrout all in one trip, according to Capt. Rich Knox from
Absolute Flats Fishing in an e-mail. Snook of all sizes filled the mouths of the Anclote and Cotee rivers and also the creeks and bayous of the estuary. Schools of big redfish and large seatrout jammed the shallows. So a slam of all three could be nailed in one trip. What’s more, tarpon from small ones to 50-pounders were on a tear along the flats. Even more, big king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and large cobia swam a little farther out, along the reefs in 25 to 30 feet. If that’s not enough, trips are being booked for giant tarpon fishing in May and June in Boca Grande, world famous for its run of the silver kings, powerful bruisers to 200 pounds that explode with leaps and runs. Call 727-376-8809 or 800-890-9373 or Visit Web Site.

Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Boca Raton

Anglers were picking at king mackerel near the channel only a mile straight off the inlet on live pilchards, said Capt. Ron Mallet from the Just Add Water. Earlier in the season the kings were a no-show. Spanish mackerel swam closer to shore, not even a mile out, in 30 feet. Ron’s charters also toss out live pilchards to score them, but other boaters sometimes troll spoons or subsurface lures to pin them down. Plenty of pompano were running along the beaches and piers, although Ron doesn’t target those fish. Sailfish were scarce the past week, but the sailfishing’s not finished for the season, and they can pop up anytime. Locals were waiting for fish including sails to start migrating north past the area. Mahi mahi are one of the fish that should push through. The Just Add Water’s charters often mix in harbor fishing to round out a day on the ocean, and the harbor continued to hold jack crevalles and large barracudas to 3 feet. Light-tackle angling offered fast action with them, once again on live pilchards. The harbor fishing is one of the advantages of the boat’s charters, because it’s an option either when the ocean’s too rough or when anglers, such as those with children, prefer calm water. Million-dollar homes, big yachts docked behind them and the busiest cruise ship port in the world also create fascinating scenery in the harbor. The weather mostly continued to be warm, a warm season in general, and cooler, wintry conditions were pretty much finished for the year.  Call: 954-423-8700. Visit Web Site.

Islamorada

Blackfin tuna fishing turned on at the Hump the last few days, and charters were fighting the 20- to 30-pounders on light tackle and live bait like ballyhoos and cigar minnows, said Capt. Bruce Anderson Captain Easy Charters.  The Hump, a hill that rises to within 290 feet of the water surface, is surrounded by 600-foot depths and is an 11-mile sail offshore. Big amberjacks to 70 or 80 pounds also hovered around the Hump. Fishing there was the main action lately, but bottom- or wreck-fishing also turned up plenty of red snappers, mutton snappers and other reef fish. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

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