Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 30 Update:
We heard very little on the coastal front this week; the tog remain the primary catch off the coast recently, with Alltackle in Ocean City reporting that the bite isn’t letting up on crab baits. Although many boats are hitting the docks with their limit, captains are reporting that finding the fish can be difficult at times. They suggested anglers switch up spots when it becomes apparent that they aren’t catching, and embrace the wintry runs. Captain Monty on the Morning Star has been giving up-and-down reports, with good catching when the weather allows but also some days where the wind has kept him hemmed in close to shore and most of the catch has been on the smaller side. Pick your weather days, however, and there’s some great potential.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 24 Update:
Poor conditions over the past week made it difficult to venture into the ocean, but anglers making it out and hitting the inshore wrecks enjoyed some seriously good tog fishing. They’ve been quick to take green and peeler crab dropped down on the bottom. Alltackle in Ocean City let us know that while the waters haven’t been busy, some boats coming in have reported limiting out. Similar reports have come from boats departing to the north from Indian River and to the south from Virginia Beach. The biggest issue right now is weather, weather, and weather. Captain Monty on the Morning Star has also been reporting a consistent bite (at least, as consistent as it gets when it comes to tautog) with some or most anglers hitting their limit many trips. A few tog are still popping up along the rocks in the OC and VA inlets as well, although in limited numbers and small sizes, and with very few anglers pursuing them.
Reports of big stripers along the coast slowed significantly all around the dial with the recent drop in temperatures. Effort has tapered off but even those making it out reported slow to no action this week and anglers fishing the Lower Bay for ‘em had better luck (though still slower overall) than those heading for the ocean.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 17 Update:
Perfect conditions made heading to the wrecks absolutely irresistible some days in the past week. Captain Monty Hawkins on the Morning Star had a few productive days hitting the wrecks out of OC, (starting out the day dropping twenty-four cinder blocks plus a pyramid reef for the Ocean City Reef Foundation, before dropping the lines and landing tog). The Morning Star consistently brought in the fish, with the expected green crab baits doing the trick. Captain Hawkins reported that his crew brought in a 28.5 incher that weighed in at nearly nineteen pounds, plus multiple other double-digit fish breaking the seventeen-pound mark.
Alltackle in Ocean City didn’t have any reports from boats returning from offshore this week, but did mention that the sword bite on rigged eels and rigged squid dropped between 1,200 and 1,500 feet from the past few weeks has still been going strong. Same goes for the VA Beach fleet and it seems that huge numbers of swords have been swimming just beyond the canyon edges all fall and winter, so when that weather-window reappears…
Boats departing from Virginia Beach are also on the trail of tog, dropping crab at the wrecks. Some folks have turned their attention southward, however, as the big bluefin have made a winter showing off North Carolina; word is Morehead’s the place to be. Feeling bold…?
Closer to home, we heard zero from Delaware this week, while anglers in Ocean City reported a handful of small stripers caught up near the Route 90 bridge and also around the Route 50 bridge. And as reported in the Way South section, anglers who made it out during the recent warm weather found some specks by slow-rolling four- to six-inch soft plastics and sinking plugs near bottom inside the inlets and in the Elizabeth River. The recent change in the weather is likely to shut down that action for a bit, but during the next warming trend, keep this option in mind.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 9 Update:
Anglers with ocean-going boats have been enjoying the striper run as they push south, with tremendous fish coming out of the water. However, while the bite has been fantastic at times, the fish have been finicky. Alltackle in Ocean City let us know that the stripers appetite seems to be rapidly switching between large soft plastics and cut bait. They suggested that anglers are equipped to try out a number of different tactics to land them, and change things up if the fish aren’t biting. Remember that the fish have remained on the move and the best bite was briefly off Delaware (zero reports from there in over a week), then right off Maryland, and as we’re hearing of more big fish off Virginia, it seems the rockfish aren’t stopping anywhere for very long.
Many anglers are laser-focused on tog at this point, and the wrecks up and down the coast are producing. Green and white crab is, as usual, the best bait. Capt. Monty on the Morning Star reported this week that the bite was even decent close to home when rough seas prevented longer runs, and though the fish were generally smaller, they found plenty of keepers. The Virginia boats running a bit farther out are also finding sea bass along with the tog, and a surprising number of bluefish on the wrecks. We didn’t get any reports from all the way offshore this week, but up to now the daytime swordfish bite has remained steady between 1,000 and 1,500 feet of water and in all likelihood that’s still true if a sufficient weather window appears to go looking for them.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 3 Update:
Let’s start with offshore, since it’s the winter for gosh sakes, yet boats heading out of Ocean City and Virginia Beach are still banging the daytime swordfish drum with rather epic success. We had multiple reports of swords in 1,000 to 1,500 feet of water on squid and eel baits, including one private boat angler (pictured below) who had two successful swordfish trips in a row less than a week apart. If you see that weather window and you're rigged for swords, don't miss the opportunity! Meanwhile, angler Jeff Rosenkilde was surprised to discover a bigscale pomfret on the end of the line after a deep drop, and maybe even more surprised to discover it could be a new world record – the existing mark is 20 pounds, 10 ounces, and his fish tipped the scale to just over 22 pounds at Angler’s Sport Center. (Oh, and he had a swordfish rewarding his efforts, as well).
More big news: multiple readers checked in to let us know that the body of stripers holding off Delaware had moved south, and the past week has been off of Ocean City in excellent numbers. Alltackle confirmed that the fish are not only there but are utterly crushing everything from poppers to seven-inch plastics, while some other folks told us that the fish were acting choosy at times and preferred smaller baits. There are big schools of bunker just off the beach and plenty of the rock are reportedly well within the three-mile limit. To the south, reports from Cape Charles are of fewer fish but some spectacularly large ones up over 50-inches being caught, there mostly on eels. Wow!
Inside the inlets, anglers tossing crab and sand flea baits near the rocks are still picking up some tog, mostly shorts but a few keepers in the mix, and the bite is better the farther south you go. Here’s a Merry Christmas toggin’ pic we just couldn’t resist putting in here:
Better togging is reported from the wrecks, up and down the coastline. Capt. Monty on the Morning Star has shifted gears and begun focusing on them. However, reports from anglers hitting the wrecks off both OC and Virginia Beach also include good numbers of bluefish in a mix of tailors and choppers. Whew! That’s a lot of awesome options for fishing your way into the new year!