NEW YORK

Point Lookout

Cod were pummeled for the first time this season on the party boat Captain Al, Capt. Tom Weiss said.  Anglers aboard were waiting for that, and the fish suddenly showed up on Saturday. Fifty cod were smoked on that day’s trip, with 10 anglers. On Sunday’s trip, 40 cod and a mess of ling were tackled. On Monday’s trip, with seven anglers, 50 cod to 10 pounds were cracked. Before Saturday, no cod were caught, except a handful in December a moment. All of the sudden this weekend, they were in. The cod were landed on clams, and none was jigged. No baitfish schooled the waters. Cod tend to smack jigs when chasing baitfish. The trips fished in 50 to 60 feet, about 45 minutes from the dock. The boat’s cod fishing often peaks in January. Last year, a few cod began to appear in 17 fathoms in December, and that was unusual. More showed up in 60 feet during the final week of December, typical. The fishing aboard last winter ended up good, better than anyplace nearby. 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. When cod are in, trips target them. Otherwise, trips fish for a mix of cod and ling. See More Info. Call: 516-623-2248.

VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

Lots of sea bass, good-sized, and a variety of other cool catches were pounded on Saturday’s weekly party boat trip to Norfolk Canyon with Rudee Inlet Charters. Great trip, Capt. Skip Feller said, and at first, it fished shallow for the sea bass, and blueline tilefish to 10 pounds were also beaten. Everybody aboard limited out on sea bass, Skip guessed. Many were citation fish, larger than 5 pounds, and they weighed up to 6. Then the trip fished deeper, and anglers creamed a snowy grouper and golden tilefish, wreckfish, barrelfish and black belly rosefish. Blueline tilefishing’s been good on recent trips, and the trip took advantage of sea bass, because sea bass season opened last Tuesday. Sometimes trips get to fish deeper. Then catches can include groupers, golden tiles, wreckfish, barrelfish and black belly rosefish. Exotic stuff, and good-tasting. Some of the fish can be quite large, like the wreckfish and barrelfish. The trip fished in 200 to 750 feet. Weather was somewhat breezy in the morning then became great. Long-term forecasts look like this Saturday’s trip will sail. The unique trips, running 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Saturday, sail to Norfolk Canyon, 4 to 4 ½ hours from port, each winter. Sometimes when weather is predicted for a Saturday, anglers will be offered to sail on that Sunday or Monday, if weather looks better then. Call: 757-422-5700 or 757-425-3400. Visit Web Site.

Striped bass were “desolate” in past days, a report on Virginia Beach Fishing Center’s Web site said. The annual Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout was held Thursday through Saturday, and only one striper, a 30-pounder, was entered. So the boat with that fish won first place, and the rest of the money was raffled off. Two anglers who weren’t entered in the tournament docked two stripers to 45 pounds during those days. On Sunday no stripers were seen at the marina, but a 206-pound bluefin tuna was brought in.  A 158-pound bluefin was weighed in Friday. Last year, lots of bluefins appeared within a few miles from shore, mixed right in with stripers. Anglers waited to see whether the tuna fishing would happen again or was a fluke. Big stripers usually school the ocean off Virginia Beach in winter. The fish are the migration from the entire Northeast Coast, arriving to spend the cold months. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Manteo

Bluefin tuna fishing will be launched from Oregon Inlet in mid-February to mid-April with Canyon Runner Sport Fishing, an e-mail from Canyon Runner said. For the past three years, since Canyon Runner began the fishing from Manteo, the trips averaged 10 to 15 bluefins landed per trip. The fish averaged 100 to 300 pounds, and dozens weighed 350 to 600 pounds during those years. The fishing was as good as it gets, the e-mail said. What’s more, the bluefins swam only 20 to 30 miles from shore, and most were fought on light tackle with jigs or popper lures. Charters and open-boat trips will fish, and limited dates remain. Charters on one of Canyon Runner’s boats are almost full. Call: 732-272-4445. Visit Web Site.

Oregon Inlet

Boaters from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center mostly waited for fish to show up this season, Denise MacNamara said. No striped bass showed up yet, and during some winters they swim this far south, and during others they don’t. Cold winters usually make them push south. Last winter, the rockfish only schooled as far south as Virginia. A couple of offshore trips sailed in past days, but the trips were hardly worthwhile. A few scattered yellowfin tuna were hooked. Anglers hoped bluefin tuna would migrate south to off the local coast soon. Blue marlin fishing usually becomes good in late January into February. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Islamorada

Fishing was good, especially for sailfish, said Capt. Bruce Andersen from Captain Easy Charters. The most recent trip landed five sails, and trips averaged two to six of the fish apiece. Most were slow-trolled on live ballyhoos or pilchards along the offshore edge of the reef, a few miles from shore. Blackfin tuna, king mackerel and wahoos were mixed in with the sailfish catches. One trip sailed for swordfish farther offshore in 1,500 feet during daytime. Two swords, smaller ones 40 and 70 pounds, were cranked in. But swords were biting. Trips started taking advantage of daytime swordfishing in the past year. Swordfishing usually takes place at night. In the daytime fishing, bait like a whole, large squid is dropped all the way to bottom in depths like this trip’s 1,500 feet. Swords can be caught year-round during daytime, but the fishing requires calm seas in good weather. That happens more frequently in summer to fall. Still, the swordfishing is an option. Trips aboard this fall hauled in some large swords to 250 pounds.  Captain Easy didn’t do much bottom-fishing, concentrating on the sails and big game instead. But if trips wanted to bottom-fish, lots of mutton snappers bit at the reef. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

Weather was warm, about 80 degrees, so lots of yellowtail snappers hit for anglers on the party boat Miss Islamorada, Capt. Ben Loy said. A trip Monday limited out on yellowtails. To catch them, frozen chum bags are placed along the water surface. Anglers hook a chunk of bait, free-lining it out into the chum slick, nabbing the snappers along the surface. Yellowtails thrive in warmth. Sailfish were being seen on trips, and some were caught. They were either hooked on live bait fished from a kite while the boat was anchored for yellowtails, or were taken on pitched live bait when trips spotted a sail while traveling to the reef for yellowtail fishing. The boat would be stopped and carefully maneuvered to pitch the bait. Presentation is important either way the fish are targeted. The kite can keep the sail from seeing the leader, dangling the baitfish along the surface. Sometimes the sails grabbed a bait, and other times they ignored it.  Trips waited for the migration of large schools of king mackerel. Occasional kings were fought aboard, including one that was diamond-jigged on Monday’s trip. But winter’s cold fronts usually cause schools of the kingfish to migrate to local waters. Then trips will go after the tough-fighting, good-tasting fish, sometimes fishing for them exclusively. Visit Web Site.

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