New Jersey Fishing Reports

A charter of 12 anglers on the Bandit on Thursday grabbed about 50 keeper tog, and the high hook pulled up nine, and a 7-1/2-pounder was the biggest fish, Jerry the mate said in an e-mail. On an open-boat trip Friday the bite was pretty good for 3- to 5-pound tog, and a few 5- to 7-pounders were caught, and a bunch of patrons limited out on 10 of the blackfish, and some even reeled in double headers of nice keepers. On an open trip Saturday fishing was fair for 3- to 5-pounders, and one group of five anglers all limited out and also won the pool. A couple of first-time toggers nailed seven or eight keepers, and others landed two to four. The bite was good in the morning and then dropped off but picked up again on the afternoon tide. The Bandit, which sails from Belmar, New Jersey, from spring through fall, is fishing for tog from Delaware for the winter, allowing anglers to bag a limit of 10 of the fish while Jersey’s bag limit is reduced this season. Open-boat trips take place Fridays through Sundays, and reservations are required, and charters are available the rest of the week. Call: 732-692-9521. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Anglers sailed north for stripers and averaged 10 of the bass per boat while trolling and jigging, said Jenny Lippincott from <b>Oregon Inlet Fishing Center</b>. The fish were still holding far enough north to warrant full-day trips from Oregon Inlet, and a couple of 35- to 37-pounders were checked in, and an angler on the Fin Galley nailed a 53-pound lunker. Not many boaters were fishing offshore, but anglers on one vessel limited out on tuna, so the offshore tuna fishing seemed good when anglers tried for the fish. Visit Web Site.

Hatteras

The cold weather mostly shut down the fishing, said Steve Robinson from The Roost Bait & Tackle at Teach’s Lair Marina. But he heard about a few stripers beached in the surf in the past couple of days, and some boaters fished offshore and landed tuna. The surf was 48 degrees, and surf casters were looking forward to red drum fishing in the spring. Tuna fishing should pick up in March, and mahi mahi action typically turns on during May. Visit Web Site.

Atlantic Beach

The fishing season has been closed for giant bluefin tuna, said Loretta Davis at the Captain Stacy Fishing Center. The party boat Captain Stacy’s bottom fishing trips were weathered out because of strong winds during the weekend, and the boat is sailing on the trips every weekend when the weather allows. Patrons on the trips land red snappers, groupers, triggerfish, amberjacks and such fish. Visit Web Site.

LOUISIANA

Venice

Several boats took a course for the Midnight Lump in the Gulf of Mexico last Friday with Paradise Outfitters, and it was another great day, the fishing report on its web site said. One boat nailed a 190-pound yellowfin tuna, four 50- to 80-pound yellowfins, some blackfin tunas and went 2 for 4 on wahoos. Another boat scored five yellowfins, including four Allisons over 120 pounds, and 10 blackfins and left early. Another bagged one 90-pound yellowfin and two blackfins and spent most of the trip fighting a big tuna that was lost 3 feet from the gaff. A fourth boat with Capt. Scott Avanzino, who runs Paradise Outfitters, spent the afternoon looking for wahoo and landed one of four that bit and also spent a couple of hours on anchor to catch a 150-pound yellowfin and two blackfins. Fishing at the Midnight Lump, a 200-foot mound that rises in 400 feet of water, is peaking for triple-digit yellowfins, wahoos and a mix of blackfins and should last until the fish swim to deeper water in March. Paradise Outfitters fishes for big game and also for rig and wreck fish, such as snappers, cobia, grouper and amberjacks. Call: 985-845-8006. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Clearwater/Tampa/Tarpon Springs

Recent cold fronts dropped water temps to where they should be in the 60s, and this brought big speckled sea trout onto the flats, Capt. Rich Knox from Absolute Flats Fishing said in an e-mail. Very good numbers of 3- to 7-pound specks were holding on many of the local flats and in the deep holes and channels. Redfish were also moving onto the flats near deep channels on high tides to feed on grass shrimp, small bait fish and crabs, and it was also a good time to fish the Anclote River’s power plant discharge for many species, including trout, pompano, permit, jack crevalle and more. Fishing for the specks on the flats was best with Berkley shrimp, 5- and 7-inch jerk shads and small MirrOLures, and when the trout were sluggish, a live shrimp under a popping cork turned on the switch. The redfish on the flats were spooky, so a stealthy approach was necessary. Anglers would make a long cast 10 feet in front of wakes or nervous water from the reds, working the cast back slowly, and then hanging on, because some of the fish were 10 pounds and 30 inches. Live shrimp hooked in the tail worked best for the reds, but slowly worked Berkley shrimp under a popping cork and gold spoons also drew strikes. Charters are now being booked for giant tarpon fishing in world famous Boca Raton, just south of Tampa, in May and June. The monsters range from 100 to 200 pounds and are fought on spinning or conventional tackle. Call 727-376-8809 or 800-890-9373 or Visit Web Site.

Jupiter

Sailfishing was phenomenal before last weekend’s full moon, and most boaters hooked at least five of the fish on a half-day trip, said Capt. Tony Matarese of Showtime Sportfishing Charters. The action was best a little north of Jupiter and a little north of Palm Beach Inlet, mostly in 150 feet from 3 ½ to 4 miles offshore, and live bait such as goggleyes and pilchards got the hits. A cold front seemed to trigger the bite, and the weather was rough the past several days and was expected to stay rough until Wednesday, and then Tony expected to head back out and nail the sails again. Sailfishing is very late this year, and it was impossible to know how long the best fishing would last or whether that was the main body of sails migrating south or whether most of the fish were yet to pass the coast. Before last week’s good sailfishing, dolphin had been numerous, and that was unusual, because normally sails outnumber dolphin at this time of year, and dolphin fishing picks up later in the season. But the abundant dolphin scattered when the sailfishing picked up last week, and a trip hooked a few large ones about 20 to 30 pounds Saturday, and the smaller, schoolie dolphin seemed to disappear, but a few larger ones are probably still around. The water close to shore was too dirty for cobia fishing, and the cobia prefer clear water close to the beaches. Tony’s charters catch the cobia by pitching baits to manta rays that the cobia follow. Spanish mackerel could be caught close to shore toward Stuart on small jigs or spoons. Call: 561-743-6942. Visit Web Site.

Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Boca Raton

A touch of colder weather pushed a few migrating sailfish south to local waters, and on a charter Friday five sails grabbed baits, and two were landed, said Capt. Ron Mallet from the Just Add Water. His charters fight the fish only a mile from shore in 110 to 200 feet on live pilchards. The sails recently were hitting deep, and none bit the baits on Ron’s kites, and they only hit the baits on flat lines and deep lines. This week is going to be cooler, so he expects the migration to keep turning on. The sailfishing is late this year, and the sails are trickling down the coast, and the fishing will probably hold up until April if not early May. February is normally the peak, and usually the fishing lasts into March. Early last week also brought plenty of schoolie dolphin from 6 to 8 pounds, and a few false albacore were also hooked. A few king mackerel were also landed, and fishing for the kings had been unusually slow so far this season. During rough weather Ron fishes the inland waters such as the harbor, where mainly barracuda and jack crevalles are jumping on live baits. Call: 954-423-8700. Visit Web Site.

Islamorada

Sailfishing’s been slow lately in the Florida Keys, and rough weather recently didn’t help, said Capt. John Oughton from Pretty Work Charters. A few sails were around, but he expected more of the fish to bite with better weather that was coming soon. He catches the sails 5 to 6 miles from shore in 100 to 120 feet on live ballyhoos and cigar minnows. The peak of the sailfishing is about now and should last until April. Anglers were starting latch into some bigger king mackerel, and some groupers were being pulled up on bottom-fishing trips. Other fish such as yellowtail snappers were also reeled in on bottom trips. John heard nothing about tuna fishing, because he hadn’t tried for tuna recently, but blackfin tuna are usually caught at least a dozen miles offshore. Call: 305-481-6527. Visit Web Site.

Fishing was becoming good, especially bottom and reef fishing, said Capt. Bruce Anderson from Captain Easy Charters. A charter Saturday with Larry from Cincinnati, who had come to Florida for the Super Bowl, produced 12 big yellowtail snappers to 5 pounds, about 8 almaco jacks, a 50-pound amberjack, tilefish, snowy groupers and porgies. The snappers were hooked in 60 feet fairly close to shore, and the tiles and such fish were landed while deep dropping in 400 to 600 feet 10 or 12 miles from land. Another charter last week bagged a bunch of yellowtails, cero mackerel, king mackerel, and two nice, 25-pound groupers at the reef 3 miles offshore. Bruce didn’t want to talk about sailfishing, he said with a half smile and disappointment. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.