VIRGINIA

Virginia Beach

Boaters from Virginia Beach Fishing Center were limiting out on striped bass every day, some as quickly as 30 minutes, in the ocean along the beaches, and there was no slow down in the catches, John Crowley said. Trolling was hooking the fish up to 6 miles north and 20 miles south. Probably 50 of the rockfish were checked in that weighed 40 pounds or more. The season’s been very good, and the past couple of years were also good, but this year was a bit better. No bluefish were showing up, although they normally would. Anglers with smaller boats were also picking up speckled sea trout at the inlet. Head boats from the marina came back with decent catches of sea bass from the offshore wrecks this weekend. Virginia Beach Fishing Center features a marina, a tackle shop, charter boats and party boats and is located near the beach, boardwalk, hotels, ocean and Chesapeake Bay, near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Visit Web Site.

NORTH CAROLINA

Oregon Inlet

Rockfish kept biting for boaters who fished the ocean to the north, said Jenny Lippincott from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. They’d been landing the fish there for weeks, and the stripers were moving no closer, but big ones were drilled. A 61-pounder, only a pound less than the state record, was checked in, and so were a 56-pounder and some 51-pounders. Citation fish, or stripers over 40 pounds, were not uncommon. Bluefin tuna fishing dropped off, but a boat was chasing them today, so the marina was waiting to see whether that changed.
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Atlantic Beach

Giant bluefin tuna fishing was closed Thursday, bringing the season to an end, said Loretta Davis from Captain Stacy Fishing Center. She seemed to report a fair number of the fish boated this year. The weather was mostly too windy to fish last week anyway. The only other news was that the party boat Captain Stacy should start bottom fishing in the ocean March 1, after being repowered recently. Visit Web Site.

FLORIDA

Clearwater/Tampa/Tarpon Springs

Big, fat speckled sea trout to 5 pounds were smacking Power Tubes on the flats and up the Anclote River power plant discharge, and the fishing was excellent, Capt. Rich Knox from Absolute Flats Fishing said in an e-mail. The 4-inch tubes were fished under popping corks to keep them from fowling, while anglers hopped them slowly over grassy areas in the deeper water on the flats. Lots of permit and pompano were also attacking along the barrels at the mouth of the discharge, and Doc’s Goofy Jigs tipped with shrimp, reeled in just as fast as the current, got the strikes. Large redfish to 9 pounds were chomping down on live, free-lined shrimp or Power Shrimps crawled slowly over the oyster bars and near the docks in the Anclote. Snook, tarpon and jack crevalles were holding a ways up the river, hovering in the deep bends on the north banks that caught the sun. Charters are being booked for snook, redfish and trout fishing, and so are trips for giant tarpon at world famous Boca Grande in May and June. Call 727-376-8809 or 800-890-9373 or Visit Web Site.

Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Boca Raton

A charter yesterday on the Just Add Water went 1 for 2 on sailfish and nailed bonito, barracudas and a couple of big groupers Capt. Ron Mallet said. All the fish grabbed live pilchards in the ocean straight off the inlet in shallower water than usual, 60 to 80 feet, because a bunch of baitfish migrated along the patch reefs there. Ron talked with anglers farther north, and they seemed to catch nothing special, and water clarity, color and currents remained the same as last week, so he fished close to home. A warm spell was taking place, and anglers were waiting for the next cold front to push migrating fish like sailfish through the area. Spanish mackerel and bluefish were supposedly running along the beaches, though Ron targeted none. But when he does, live pilchards will catch them easiest, but small jigs or Krocodiles will also connect. Cobia were also showing up here and there, getting hooked randomly at the reefs. They gravitate toward structure but also follow fish like manta rays or also sea turtles that anglers can pitch baits toward. Jacks and barracudas swam the harbor, always an option on trips, one of the great things about Just Add Water. Some charters prefer the calm water instead of the ocean, and some choose to fish the harbor when ocean trips are weathered out.  Call: 954-423-8700. Visit Web Site.

Islamorada

A bunch of wahoos, lots of king mackerel and plenty of snappers and groupers were boated, said Capt. Bruce Anderson from Captain Easy Charters. Gary Nankervis’s charter on Thursday was the highlight of the week. Five big wahoos from 30 to 50 pounds, the anglers’ limits of kings to 25 pounds and a dozen mahi mahi were the catch on the trip. Spring and summer are the main seasons for mahi, but some always turn up now, often along the current edges along blue and green water. That’s where the ones on this trip were taken in 250 feet. The wahoos and kings were hooked in 90 to 200 feet on live bait, mostly speedos. Sailfishing was hit or miss, and some days produced fairly good action, and others were a little off. But when they do show up, charters usually swim live ballyhoos or cigar minnows in 100 to 200 feet for a hook-up. Call: 305-451-9578 or 305-360-2120. Visit Web Site.

Key West

Anglers fished on a three-day trip to the Dry Tortugas with Yankee Capts this past week, Capt. Greg Mercurio said. Mutton snappers, yellowtail snappers, king mackerel and a handful of black groupers were boated. Ballyhoo chunks, pieces of squid and chunks of the kingfish, cut from the mackerel that were hooked, were the baits. The season’s fishing was chugging along, typical so far, Greg said. Daytime highs reached the mid 70s, and nighttime lows dropped to the high 60s, and 15-knot, easterly winds were common. A two-day private charter to the Tortugas is next on the schedule. The 90-foot party boat fishes the Tortugas—about a 60-mile sail from its dock at Key West—on one-, two-, three- and four-day, open-boat trips in addition to charters. On the open trips, as many as 48 passengers live, sleep and eat onboard. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and beverages can be purchased. Yankee Capts has been fishing from the Keys for 30 years and currently offers the Tortugas trips through May. From Memorial Day to Labor Day the boat fishes for cod from Gloucester, Massachusetts, and in September and October it targets tuna from New Bedford, before returning to the Keys. Call: 888-88-CAPTS or 305-923-2926. Visit Web Site.

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