Three boats sailed offshore today from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, Denise MacNamara said. No results were heard yet, and before today, Friday was the last time anglers got the weather to sail. Four boats motored from the marina then, and all came back with yellowfin tuna, and one returned with a 245-pound bluefin tuna and a wahoo. Trips had been catching yellowfins a while now. No striped bass arrived locally so far this winter. One customer said the rockfish swam thick off Virginia during the weekend but were scarce there Monday. Visit Web Site.

Hatteras

Bluefin tuna arrived, swimming close to shore, a report on Teach’s Lair Marina’s Web site said. Bluefins were sometimes reported located as close as a half-mile from shore, from Nags Head to Hatteras, found in different locations at different times. So, large boats weren’t mandatory to chase them, if anglers had the right tackle. Most center consoles would do, “in the right conditions,” the report said. “So if you were waiting to give the bluefins a shot, any time from here on in would be worth it,” the report said. Farther from shore, blackfin tuna were “where they should be,” the report said, and when sharks weren’t a nuisance, anglers could score big-time on blackfins. The blackfins were big. “We are talking world class,” the report said, and a few weighed 30 pounds. All the offshore charter boats at the marina offer vertical-jigging for the blackfins this time of year. Surf fishing was slow, but if anglers put in the time each day, they caught. One of the staff from the shop saw two sizeable summer flounder, a few speckled sea trout and two “upper-slot,” the report said, puppy drum that were beached. Shelling was spectacular on the South Beach, because of one front after another, a constant barrage of weather. Lots of big whelks washed up, and an unbelievable number of Scotch bonnets littered the shore. So when the fishing was slow, anglers sometimes took advantage to search for shells. The weather was unusually warm, and winter is a beautiful time in the area. Offshore fishing is spectacular, and one of the staff from the shop walked the beach in board shorts the other day. Plenty of boats are available for charter, and the shop will rig anglers up for whatever fishing they want to do. Visit Web Site.