NEW YORK

Point Lookout

Cod and ling will begin to be targeted on the ocean today on daily trips on the party boat Captain Al, Capt. Tom Weiss said. Reports were heard about private boaters catching cod. During the last few years cod were clocked on the Captain Al in inshore waters an hour from shore during winter. But if trips have to sail farther for them, they will. The fishing is an opportunity for anglers to catch cod close to home. Trips during the first part of last week were weathered out because of winds. But the boat sailed Friday through Sunday, mostly for blackfish, and New York’s blackfish season closes today until reopening January 17. On Friday the boat limited out on blackfish. On Saturday’s trip blackfishing was also good, and a few ling were landed. On Sunday’s trip blackfishing was tough in the morning but turned on well in the afternoon, and some ling were boated. A handful of mackerel were reeled aboard the trips. The Captain Al is fishing for cod and ling 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Call: 516-623-2248.

VIRGINIA

Chincoteague

The weather kept trips from striped bass fishing in the past days, said Capt. Perry Romig from Topless Fishing Charters. The fish were caught to the south, the last he heard, and forecasted strong winds would’ve created head seas too rough to sail there. Stripers will likely keep migrating south past Chincoteague a while, but waters within 3 miles from the coast were currently cold or 40 degrees. That will likely make the fish at Chincoteague  school beyond 3 miles, where striper fishing is closed. Warmer waters hugging the coast farther south made the fish swim close enough to target there, so trips will probably keep running that direction. The only way stripers will swim within 3 miles near Chincoteague the rest of winter is if a warm eddy gets pushed inshore from a blow or something. Waters are warmer farther from the coast in winter. Winds are forecast to blow until Friday this week, and snow is predicted possibly to fall on Saturday, a white Christmas. Five to 6 inches of snow fell at Chincoteague in the middle of last week, and that’s unusual. The weather so far has been cold, and steadily cold. Monday never became warmer than 35 degrees, and the morning was 23. If snow falls, that can chill waters right down near the coast. But one never knows if the weather will warm. Call: 757-824-5580. Visit Web Site.

Virginia Beach

Trips limited out on striped bass Sunday and Monday on the ocean with
Fin Seeker Sport Fishing, despite rough seas, Capt. Bob Robinson said.  Charters previously grabbed the fish to the north, but on these days located them 7 miles to the south. The 25- to 35-pounders were trolled on the outings, but a couple were hooked on a pitched Storm Shad. No bluefish, only the rockfish, were landed. January is usually a better month for the striper fishing, but trips cleaned up on the catches this December so far. Take advantage: ¾-day trips are discounted 10 percent in December. Call: 757-618-7421. Visit Web Site.

Anglers mostly honed-in on sea bass on the weekly party boat trip offshore on Saturday with Rudee Inlet Charters, Capt. Skip Feller said. Lots of the lumpheads were plundered, fishing as good as could be. The fish weighed up to 6.9 pounds, Skip believed, and several citation catches, sea bass 5 pounds or larger, were coolered. Sea bass that size make the angler eligible for a citation award from Virginia. The fish were pulled from wrecks 50 to 65 miles from shore, and the trip concentrated on the angling because sea bass season will close January 1. But the trip at the end of the day scooted to nearby Norfolk Canyon for tilefishing, and some blueline tiles were bagged. When sea bass season closes the trips, like every year, will fish at the Norfolk for bluelines, golden tilefish, black belly rosefish and groupers. The trips sail 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Saturday. But because none will sail on the Saturdays of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, one of the trips will run next week on Wednesday, Dec. 29, during the same hours. Afterward the usual Saturday schedule will resume. Call: 757-422-5700 or 757-425-3400. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Winds blew on most days, but one boat from the marina fished Saturday, limiting out on striped bass, landing 10 of the fish that weighed 30 to 38 pounds, said Pat Keating from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. The stripers were early, but the season was cold, and anglers hope the fish stick around. During some years the weather becomes cold enough to make the rockfish school in local waters, and that happened last year. One vessel from the docks fished offshore Saturday, and the trip racked up yellowfin tuna and a couple of bluefin tuna. Tuna including bluefins were here. No vessels sailed since Saturday because of winds. But some are slated to run in the next couple of days. Visit Web Site.

Hatteras

All three tuna – blackfins, bluefins and yellowfins – were boated when anglers got the weather to sail, said Steve Hissey from The Roost Bait & Tackle at Teach’s Lair Marina. Winds hammered the coast. Vertical jigging pancaked tons of blackfins and occasional king mackerel mixed in. Two bluefins big enough to sell, 73 inches or larger, were docked at the marina, and several were landed at other marinas locally. Sometimes boaters trolling big tackle for the bluefins got covered up with yellowfins. Amberjacks and other bottom fish turned up good catches, but seas were usually too rough for the angling. Closer to shore, a 13-1/2-pound striped bass was boated north of Buxton, and anglers hoped that was a sign that stripers might school the coast this winter. No run of the rockfish arrived last year, but this season could be cold enough. The surf was already 47 degrees, and puppy drum to 26 ½ inches and speckled sea trout to 21 ½ inches sometimes shoveled up catches. Most of both species were shorts, but keepers were around. Many of the fish in the surf were snagged on rubber grubs, because of cold waters. Big horse mullet also roamed the surf. Pamlico Sound was 38 degrees, too cold for fish to bite. Visit Web Site.

Atlantic Beach

No boats sailed for giant bluefin tuna, because of the weather, said Loretta Davis from Captain Stacy Fishing Center. She thought one giant was hooked but not landed recently. Otherwise none of the fish was found in past weeks, though normally giants would already be biting. But again, the weather prevented most trips. A few giants were caught farther north at Hatteras. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

South Beach

Carl LaManna, owner of Point Pleasant Beach’s Canyon River Club Marina in New Jersey, ran trips from South Beach, Florida, throughout the week on his C-Annamal, he said. He travels between South Beach and Point through winter, keeping his boat at South Beach during the season, returning the vessel to Jersey the rest of the year. Weather was difficult from South Beach. Winds kept him from crossing to the Bahamas to fish, but his trips scored well near the mainland on Spanish mackerel along the reefs close to shore and mutton snappers at the wrecks 1 ½ miles off. Mahi mahi fishing was mediocre a couple of miles from shore in the deep or 600 to 700 feet. Waters become deep quickly near the coast, and are 120 feet a little closer to the coast at the reefs where the mackerel are hooked. Water temps plummeted to 74 to 76 degrees this week from 77 to 79 degrees 10 days ago. When Carl can sail the boat to the Bahamas, wahoo fishing there is currently spectacular, and deep-dropping for yelloweyes and groupers is good. Weather was calm enough to cross the Bahamas on some days, but he looks for a long period of calm, so he can return to the mainland in four or five days, not becoming stuck at the islands longer than he’d want. Canyon River Club Marina, located on Manasquan River, is open all year, and some boats already arrived at slips for winter wreck fishing. Featuring all the amenities, the marina boasts convenient access to fishing, with no bridges before the inlet. Call: 732-616-3240. Visit Web Site.

Lake Okeechobee

The weather was cold, and was even damp from rainfalls sometimes, and both were unusual for the time of year, said Capt. Angie from Captain Angie Douthit Guide Service.  But largemouth bass and crappies hit in the lake. The bass were more active during warmer parts of the day, and water temps fluctuated wildly 15 degrees because of weather on some days, and that can stifle the bite. But cold triggers the bucketmouths to move off the beds and feed, and that creates quality catches. Angie, a professional largemouth bass angler who guides when not competing in bass tournaments, mostly hooked the fish on an East Texas Big Bass Lure and soft-plastic baits. The East Texas Big Bass Lure is a hard top-water plug with props on both ends. Through the past year she’s scored the best luck on largemouths with that lure she’s ever scored on the plug. But when the lunkers lurked in thick grass, her trips cranked the weedless plastic baits through the vegetation. A trip crappie fished the other day to put fish in the freezer, and minnows worked best like usual. The slabs were nabbed along the ledges and in the shallows. Like largemouth bass, crappies at certain times of day move into the shallows from the deep to feed. The lake was in the low 50s to 60s, and that’s cool. But temps are forecast to be in the low 70s consistently later this week, a warmer spell than lately. Angie loves to teach largemouth bass angling, if anglers would like, and is up on the latest techniques from the tournament trail. Call: 863-228-7263. Visit Web Site.

Miami

Few fished because of weather, but when they did, sailfish and mahi mahi were boated 2 to 3 miles from shore, said Jackie Glinski from the Blue Waters II. The cold that gripped the nation is actually good for fishing along this coast in winter. The low temps trigger the bait and fish like sails to migrate south to local waters. Participation in the area’s fishing mostly kicks off after the holidays. Call: 305-373-5016. Visit Web Site.

Islamorada

All trips focused on sailfish in the past week, landing good catches, said Capt. Bruce Anderson from Captain Easy Charters. On the last trip three sails were caught and released, and probably six or seven were on. The fish jumped on live ballyhoos slow-trolled outside the edge of the reef in 100 to 150 feet of waters. The trips did no bottom fishing, but bottom angling could pump in mutton snappers and groupers. Grouper season is open through the end of the year until closing in January for four months. The weather was somewhat cold early last week but now reached the high 70s and was pleasant, not often rough. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

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