NEW YORK

Montauk

Cod trips will launch Saturday on the party boat Helen H, Carol Huckemeyer said. The boat will arrive Thursday at Montauk, and the daily trips will sail into March. The results of this weekend’s fishing will be reported here next week. Call: 508-790-0660. Visit Web Site.

Point Lookout

Fishing aboard shoveled up very good catches of cod, ling and sometimes sea bass, a mix of fish, Capt. Tom Weiss from the party boat Captain Al said. Some of the cod were healthy sized or 12 to 15 pounds. Plenty of ling bit, and the sea bass were socked before sea bass season closed January 1. All the fish were hooked on clams, and some anglers jigged for cod, but jigging seemed yet to attract bites. Trips fished around 17 Fathoms or in 70 to 120 feet. The Captain Al is this site's closest Long Island cod boat to New Jersey. Trips run 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. See More Info. Call: 516-623-2248.

VIRGINIA

Chincoteague

Capt. Perry Romig from Topless Fishing Charters sold the boat, discontinued chartering, he said. Business was tough in this economy, probably wouldn’t improve for at least a couple of years, he thought, and chartering was no longer profitable. Twenty-seven charters were booked this year, and forty need to be booked to make money. Much of his business came from the Northeast, and lots of anglers called from there about trips who had two or three anglers to go, but not six to make up a charter. No striped bass swam within 3 miles from shore, where bagging them is legal, within the last week. But stripers were hooked along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Those rockfish seemed to migrate from farther north in the ocean, apparently swimming offshore of Chincoteague to get there. But striper season closed at the tunnel or in Chesapeake Bay to 3 miles off the bay on January 1. They arrived later than usual, so anglers only got a quick shot at them.

Virginia Beach

The weekly bottom-fishing trip to Norfolk Canyon was weathered out with Rudee Inlet Charters two weekends ago, so the trip was rescheduled for Thursday’s good weather, Capt. Skip Feller said. The fishing was great, pummeling blueline tilefish and sea bass. Trips through then had been making effort to fish for sea bass, before sea bass season closed on January 1. But this trip did fish deeper, too, and seven golden tilefish to 50 pounds were hauled in. Sixteen-hour trips are sailing to Norfolk Canyon every Saturday from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. for catches including blueline tilefish, golden tiles, black belly rosefish, wreckfish and groupers. In other news, anglers on other boats lambasted bluefin tuna that were mixed in with striped bass right off Rudee Inlet in the past days. Most of the bluefins weighed 100 to 200 pounds, and a 300-pounder was seen at the marina. Striper fishing was hit or miss, putting up all the stripers anyone could want on one day, and a few on the next. The angling sounded good most recently. Call: 757-422-5700 or 757-425-3400. Visit Web Site.

Bluefin tuna began to be docked at Virginia Beach Fishing Center, according to reports on the marina’s Web site. On New Year’s Day one trip released a 300-pound bluefin and kept a 135-pounder. A 67-incher and a 64-incher were reported released on other trips that day. Bluefins checked in at the marina that day included a 150-pounder, a 131-pounder and a 127-pounder. Striped bass fishing closed on Chesapeake Bay on January 1, and boaters checked in stripers, including 40-some-pounders, from the bay until then. Striper trips will have to sail the ocean now. On the day that striper fishing closed on the bay, anglers from two trips reported releasing a 45-incher and a 44-incher. But photos were posted on the site showing quality catches of stripers bagged after the closing, so apparently trips found the fish on the ocean. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Hatteras

A few trips vertical-jigged for blackfin tuna, whaling them, a report on Teach’s Lair’s Facebook page said. The trips marked the fish on the fish finder, dropped down 7- or 9-ounce jigs to the tuna, “violently crank(ed) and jig(ged) like a spaz,” the report said, and waxed loads. The fishing is a blast and will last all winter. Good catches of yellowfin tuna were socked to the north. King mackerel, false albacore and amberjacks were also aced. More than 800 pounds of fish was docked from one boat. “Those folks will be eating fish well into next summer,” the report said. In the surf, speckled sea trout fishing “remained fickle,” the report said. The fish were around, could be caught, but the angling took work, and anglers had to keep moving. One group of sharpies was focusing on the specks the past month, managing to bank a few keepers and some throwbacks each trip. Warms waters seemed to keep surf fishing from picking up. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Islamorada

A little of everything bit, serving up very good catches, Capt. Bruce Anderson from Captain Easy Charters said. Sailfish, king mackerel and cobia were some of the notable catches, but the usual array of other fish like mutton snappers were wrangled in from the wrecks. Sailfishing was good, mostly on slowly-trolled ballyhoos offshore of the reef, but sometimes inshore of the reef. When the fish bit inshore of the reef, they swiped live baits cast to them when showers of bait busted the surface that the sails chased. King mackerel fishing was smoking, giving up the fish to 40 pounds, on slowly-trolled live baits like cigar minnows. Cobia showed up for the first time this season, and anglers aboard sight-fished for them 2 or 3 miles from shore. To find the cobias, trips looked for big rays along the water surface, because the cobias followed the rays, eating forage the rays kicked up with their wings. Anglers pitched live baits like grunts or pinfish toward the rays to nail the cobias. Trips castnetted the live bait before the fishing. Grouper season closed on January 1, and previously trips angled good catches of black and gag groupers. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

Annual traveling trips to the Florida Keys kicked off aboard last week, said Capt. Joe Hughes from Jersey Cape Guide Service from Sea Isle City, New Jersey. Fishing in winter, most of the trips are weekend getaways. But sometimes the outings sail at other times, like this past holiday week. The first trip fished a short time that Monday, jumping a tarpon, landing a bunch of mangrove snappers and some groupers and jacks, at the reef. The next trip on Tuesday motored to the back country in the Everglades near Flamingo. Redfish, speckled sea trout, jacks, ladyfish and blowfish were clapped. Winds blew on the next trip on Wednesday, so the trip fished close to port, mostly at the bridges, reeling in jack crevalles, barracudas and snappers. Joe was out again Wednesday night, fly-rodding for tarpon when he gave this report over the phone. He later e-mailed a report from a trip Sunday that fished near Flamingo, winging a bunch of specks, 20 reds and some jacks. Some of the reds were hooked while the trip sight fished while poling the flats. Most of the trips fished with artificials like Gulp shrimp on jigheads or live shrimp. But sometimes they fly fished. Visit Web Site. Call: 609-827-3442.

Lots of yellowtail snappers were bailed on the party boat Miss Islamorada, Capt. Ben Loy said. Four or five king mackerel were clocked per trip, and more should arrive soon, like every year. To catch the yellowtails, the boat was anchored in 30- to 40-foot shallows at the reef 5 miles from shore. A chum slick was set up, and anglers fished with small chunks of bait. To beat the kings, trips anchored in waters somewhat deeper and farther from shore, set up a chum slick, and fished live baits or dead ballyhoos. The weather was beautiful, with temps in the 80s during the daytime and 65 to 70 at night, and winds were light. But a cold front was arriving like in the rest of the eastern United States, predicted to drop nights to 40s in the Keys. Call: 800-742-7945. Visit Web Site.

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