DELAWARE

Indian River

With strong winds and ice flow last week, the crew of the Bandit was unsure how tog fishing would go this weekend, Jerry the mate said in an e-mail. The boat made it out on Saturday, the only trip of the weekend, and started fishing in 85 feet. A few of the blackfish bit, but they never really got going. So the boat headed offshore to 105 feet, and patrons got into an instant flurry of hogs from 8 to 13 pounds. But then conditions changed, and hard southwest winds started blowing, and the fishing dropped to a pick of a large variety of sizes of tog. Catches that day ended up ranging from a high hook of eight to some anglers landing no keepers. Three anglers landed their personal-best tog, including a 12.3-pounder and a 10-pounder, and one group bagged a mess of 8- to 12-pounders. A slippery that topped 13 pounds won the pool, and another 13 pounder was also caught. Jerry wished more keepers were boxed, but considering the winds and ice, the crew was happy with the pick of bigger fish. The Bandit, sailing from Belmar, N.J. from spring through fall, is sailing for tog from Delaware for the winter, allowing anglers to bag a limit of 10 while Jersey’s limit is reduced this season. Open-boat trips leave the dock Fridays through Sundays, and call to reserve, and charters are available the rest of the week. Call: 732-692-9521. Visit Web Site.

VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

Boaters sailing from Virginia Beach Fishing Center bagged stripers from 20 to 50 pounds a mile from the marina, John Crowling said. Trolled Mojos, Stretch 25 lures and umbrella rigs scored the catches, and the anglers limited out on the fish yesterday afternoon, and rough weather kept them from fishing in the morning. A number of citation fish, stripers at least 40 pounds or 40 inches, were checked in recently, and the rockfish should continue to school through mid March, and the season closes after March 31.  Patrons on party boats and charter boats from the marina also boated plenty of sea bass, including citation ones at least 5 pounds, about 50 miles offshore. The party boats are sailing on Saturdays, and no party boats are targeting the stripers, but the charters boats are. If an angler doesn’t have enough people to make up a six-person charter, call Virginia Beach Fishing Center, and the staff will try to put together the angler with a group on a charter. Call: 757-491-8000 or 800-725-0509. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Striper fishing slowed down a lot near Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, but boaters from the marina got into big blues nearby, close to the ocean beaches, Jenny Lippincott said. Previously stripers were being hooked a full-day’s boat trip to the north, but that fishing apparently ended. The weather was too sloppy for boating most of the rest of the week, but some sailed offshore last week on Monday and reeled in tilefish. No reports were heard about anyone tuna fishing, because of the weather. Visit Web Site.

Hatteras

Surf fishers beached some puppy drum off Ramp 55 at Hatteras Village, which is across from the ferry that runs from Hatteras to Ocracoke, said Dave Hissey from The Roost Bait & Tackle at Teach’s Lair Marina. They also picked up scattered speckled sea trout in the suds when the water was clear. The drum grabbed cut baits or artificials including twister tails and Berkley Gulps. They bite depending on the water temp and are always around, and the fishing kicks in during spring and should start hopping in a month or so. The wash was probably 52 degrees, about normal for this time of year. The specks keyed in on artificials including twisters, Gulps and Gotchas. Dogfish and skates were also hitting. Few boaters and charters are fishing offshore during this season, but when they do, they’re finding scattered yellowfin tuna, some king mackerel and sometimes wahoo. Visit Web Site.

Atlantic Beach

The party boat Captain Stacy made it out on an offshore trip this weekend, and patrons grabbed mostly sea bass and groupers, said Loretta Davis at the Captain Stacy Fishing Center. The boat sails on weekends until March, when the crew tries to start running five days a week, depending on demand. Charter boats headed offshore and tackled king mackerel, and the giant bluefin tuna season is now closed.  Visit Web Site.

LOUISIANA

Venice

Rough weather kept all boats from the dock from sailing in a week, and another boat managed to sail offshore to the Midnight Lump yesterday, but the anglers said the fishing was lousy, said the fishing report on Paradise Outfitters’ web site.  But charters hoped to return to the Lump this week for tuna and wahoo. Last Tuesday was the last time Paradise fished the lump, and the charter that day put together a nice catch of two yellowfins, including a 190-pound whopper, four blackfin tuna, a big amberjack and a vermilion snapper. The big tuna was fought for 37 minutes and stayed on top during the last part of the battle, allowing the boat to back down on the Allison to land it. During the rough weather, Capt. Scott Avanzino took his kids deer hunting in Texas, and the kids killed their first whitetails, and although fishing charters that had to be cancelled were disappointing, he said it was great to escape Mardi Gras. Fishing at the Midnight Lump--a 200-foot mound in 400 feet where upwellings hold bait fish, triple-digit yellowfins and also blackfins and wahoos in the Gulf of Mexico in winter--lasts into March until the fish swim to deeper water. Paradise Outfitters fishes for big game and also targets rigs and wrecks for snappers, cobias, groupers, amberjacks and such species. Call: 985-845-8006. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Clearwater/Tampa/Tarpon Springs

Fishing was very good until back-to-back cold fronts this weekend, when strong winds and dirty water pushed the fish around, and it will take a few days for things to settle down, said  Capt. Rich Knox from Absolute Flats Fishing in an e-mail. He was expecting the action to pick up again during charters booked during the middle of this week, and mainly big speckled sea trout should turn back on, but redfish and snook should also put the feed bag back on. For the specks, it’s time to cover ground with artificials, casting along the deep drop-offs, and moving onto the grass flats dotted with sand potholes during high tides. MirroLure sub-surface plugs, jigs with shrimp imitations and jerk shads will do the trick. Air temps should return to the 70s or higher, and water temps should rise back to the mid to upper 60s. Trips are being booked for the run of giant tarpon in May and June, and anglers can usually expect to hook multiple 100 to 200 pounders in a day. Call 727-376-8809 or 800-890-9373 or Visit Web Site.

Jupiter

Sailfishing was excellent and probably improved a little, said Capt. Tony Matarese of Showtime Sportfishing Charters. It’s difficult to tell how long the action will last, but plenty of the fish were farther north and should keep migrating south, so the fishing might last another two or three weeks, and the run is late this year. Lots of dolphin were also hooked, and live bait on kites or riggers nailed both the sails and dolphin. Plenty of spinner sharks and blacktip sharks could be fought close to the beaches on live bait, and cobia grabbed baits near the beaches when the water was clear. Showtime catches the cobia by chasing manta rays that the cobia follow, and anglers toss live bait fish, crabs or bucktails to get the cobia to hit. King mackerel have been scarce, and a commercial fisherman said he was finding the kings far to the north off Sebastian, apparently because the water is warmer than usual this year. Most of the bait was also farther north, but Tony marked a bunch of bait lately, so maybe the bait fish were finally pushing south. Call: 561-743-6942. Visit Web Site.

Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Boca Raton

Colder weather pushed a variety of fish through local waters from the north this past week, and the flavor of the fishing depended on the conditions day to day, Capt. Ron Mallet from the Just Add Water said. Sailfish turned on during the beginning of last week and picked up again yesterday, and charters catch them on live baits on kites, flat lines and weighted lines, often with a spinner in front. King mackerel showed up by mid week and previously were scarce, but normally loads are hooked at this time of year. Trips got into the kings recently, including on Friday, when a charter landed 12-, 13- and 15-pounders on live bait drifted deep. Scattered dolphin were around, and a charter yesterday fought false albacore from 8 to 15 pounds. The weather was calm enough to fish the ocean all week, but when conditions are rougher, keeping Ron’s charters from fishing out front, they often fish the back in the harbor and canals, where fishing for barracuda and jacks on live bait is fairly dependable all year. So the fishing was good, and water temps dropped slightly to 73 or 74 degrees, cooler water that Ron likes to see in winter. Call: 954-423-8700. Visit Web Site.

Islamorada

Reef fishing was very good for plenty of snappers and lots of groupers for anglers with Captain Easy Charters, Capt. Bruce Anderson said. Amberjacks started to bite farther offshore or 11 miles from land, and blackfin tuna were also battled there. “Patch reef” fishing, or fishing at smaller patches of reef from half the size of the boat to 200 or 300 yards, on the inside edge of the main reef in 20 to 30 feet was best. Charters only had to sail a couple of miles from the dock to reach the bite, and the types of fish that could be landed included yellowtail snappers, mangrove snappers, mutton snappers and mostly red and black groupers. The smaller snappers or the yellowtails and mangroves are hooked on cut baits, and the larger mutton snappers and groupers will bite either cut or live bait. The amberjacks farther offshore get hooked on live bait like a blue runner or speedo 300 feet down, and the blackfin tuna are picked up on top with live ballyhoos, pilchards and cigar minnows. A few sailfish could be found, but sailfishing continued to be sub par, and the action was better at the beginning of the season, and anglers are now hoping it will turn on toward the end of the season. December through February is usually best for sails, but sometimes the fishing lasts into March and April, and that might happen this year. The water had been warmer than usual, but cold fronts moved in lately and dropped the water to more normal temps. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

Cold fronts made fishing a little tough recently, said Capt. John Oughton of Pretty Work Charters, a partner with Over Under Adventures.  Cobia fishing was decent, and a charter yesterday landed a bunch, pitching grunts toward manta rays that the cobias followed in 30 to 40 feet over sandy bottom. But the fronts made reef fishing a little difficult for snappers and groupers 4 miles from shore. King mackerel fishing was also affected, but the kings should start eating again later this week. Sailfishing’s been generally slow throughout the season, although anglers nabbed a handful of sails. Call: 305-481-6527. Visit Web Site.

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