Coastal Fishing Report, November 29, 2019 Update:
A few big boats made it out to the canyons this week, and found that the daytime sword bite on rigged squid and eels dropped 1,200-plus-feet is still happening. A handful of bigeye were also in the mix, coming on suspended buoy lines. Southern-based boats running even farther south during the weather-window were rewarded with some yellowfin, as well. If the wind drops out, opportunity calls!
Captain Monty Hawkins reported that this week he wasn’t eating turkey dinner for Thanksgiving, but instead enjoyed a hefty platter of sea bass. He let us know that the bite off of Ocean City has been absolutely stellar when it’s on and still productive when it has been “slow”. Earlier this week the Morning Star limited out in just under an hour and a half after heading out at sunrise, fishing in 20-plus fathoms at the reefs. Spiny dogs are still being reported in some of the areas close to home, and if you encounter them, the advice is to pull anchor and look to deeper waters. Some of the Virginia Beach boats focusing more on tog also had home-run hits this week, with excellent numbers on green and white crab and a few 10-pound-plus fish being reported. Ocean City and Indian River inlets are also still seeing plenty of tog action on green crabs, as well as sand flea. Much of the catch reported this week was still undersized but there were a few keepers in the mix.
What about the stripers? We’re waiting… and still waiting… as reports of the large fish off New Jersey continue. A smattering have been caught at night in Indian River by those soaking live eels, but they’re reportedly few and far between.
Coastal Fishing Report, November 22, 2019 Update:
Mission Control, we have a problem… the spectacular sea bass bite on the inshore wrecks just became a bit tougher to get in on, at least close to home. Capt. Monty reports that spiny dogfish have moved into some areas, and made fishing a lot more difficult. They still filled the coolers on the Morning Star, but it took more work than previously and he notes that trying multiple locations and making longer runs will likely be necessary for the short-term.
Luckily, tog action has picked up at the Indian River and Ocean City inlets, with sand fleas and green crab producing lots of bite. Just know that you’ll have to weed through a lot of undersized fish to get keepers, and bring plenty of extra rigs because if you’re not fishing right near the rocks (and snagging with some regularity) you’re probably not catching.
While keeper-sized stripers haven’t yet showed up in big numbers, a few were caught in Indian River at night last week on live eels. By all reports, however, the bulk of the big fish remain off the Jersey coast. Stripers are also around in OC (both in the inlet and at the bridges) but mostly smalls and we didn’t hear of any that made the grade this week. We did hear of a few specks in OC though, which is great considering that after first popping up a couple weeks ago we didn’t hear a peep about them last week. Speaking of specks – they’re still the main game at the Virginia Beach inlets, where the awesome fall run hasn’t yet abated. In fact, this week we heard the sizes have improved, with a better share of the catch reaching into the mid-20-inch range.
What about offshore? We didn't find anyone who made it out this week, but we suspect there remains a very good prospect of day-time swording with the possibility of a bigeye. Finding a weather window, naturally, would be the key... and we don't see on in the next few days, at least. We also didn't get any solid intel on the surf front this week, but that's likely to remain quiet until and unless stripers move down the beach.
Coastal Fishing Report, November 14, 2019 Update:
For those still willing to brave the chill in offshore waters, we have some very good news and some very bad news. First, the good: daytime-droppers continue to pick up swordfish up and down the line in the canyons, fishing squid baits about 100 feet off bottom in 1,000 to 1,400 feet of water. In the southern reaches of our area, Virginia Beach boats are also finding good numbers of wahoo (some hitting the 100-pound mark), excellent yellowfin fishing, plus albacore tuna (Wendy Brockenbrough’s 70-pound, 11-ounce albacore – caught while deep-dropping for swords – was certified by the state as a new record last week).
Now, for the bad news: unless the weatherman is waaaay off-target, the entire weekend and early next week will be a complete wash. NOAA’s wave height prediction ranges between nine and 20 feet, not dropping back to a mere seven to 12 feet until Tuesday. Ouch.
The weather report will also likely mean no wreck fishing for the immediate future, which is a shame. The Morning Star has been racking up the sea bass when the seas are calm enough to get out of the barn, and Capt. Monty recently noted that with the chill in the air it’s been a “light rail” with plenty of spots available – if you love catching sea bass but you don’t like fishing a crowded boat, this is probably the very best time of year to jump aboard. Reports from both Indian River and Virginia Beach also reflect an excellent bass bite when the seas are down.
Back at the inlets, in Indian River and Ocean City two stand-outs have been keeping anglers busy: tautog along the rocks and bulkheads (sandfleas on bottom rigs are producing), and stripers (mostly on plastics and plugs or live eels at night) in the inlets and in OC, at the bridges. However, the tog need to be weeded through to find keepers and the big keeper-sized stripers haven’t yet moved down from up north, so that's really a catch-and-release game right now. In the Virginia inlets there are also some tog on structure, fewer stripers, but far more speckled sea trout plus an occasional redfish. Flounder are still being reeled in here and there, while most seem to have departed from the northern inlets.
Surf action has slowed significantly, and is likely to remain tepid until (if) stripers migrate down the beaches.
Coastal Fishing Report, November 8, 2019 Update:
Offshore, a few weather-windows have allowed some boats to make way for the canyons and the results have been noteworthy to say the least. The docks of Indian River, Ocean City, and Virginia Beach have all seen either swordfish or bigeye tuna hit the docks - or both - with chatter of the fish from Baltimore Canyon clear down the line through Virginia's offshore waters. In southern areas, wahoo are also on the feed and multiple-fish catches have been the norm for boats focusing on them. Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow says he was lucky enough to hitch a ride on a boat (Thank you, Derek!) mated by Josh Lowery, and after running out of OC they went five for eight on swordfish bites in water between 1,400 and 1,000 feet. Rigged squid and rigged eels dropped to the bottom both produced hits, using the day-drop tactics (including rigged baits dropped behind dual multi-color strobes and eight pounds of weight) credited to Matt, James, and Victoria of the Longshot. (Thank you, Longshot crew - can we get a how-to feature out of you folks for FishTalk next fall? We know our readers would love it!!)
Inshore, anglers have been having great success hitting the wrecks for sea bass and a few flounder. Plenty of boats are coming back after limiting out on sea bass early in the day, often with a flattie or two mixed into the catch and plenty have been sizeable.
Reports from the surf were thin this week, with a scattering of snapper blues popping up on cut bait from Assateague south. No word of any serious striper action in the suds just yet, but of course, everyone has their fingers crossed that as the fish move down from Jersey (where there are plenty of reports of 30-inch-plus fish being dragged through the breakers) they’ll stick close to the coast.
In Indian River and Ocean City inlets, it’s togging time. Word is that sand fleas placed near the rocks (bring plenty of extra rigs!) are taking the most fish, and although the majority are undersized it’s possible to put together a decent catch by putting in some time. In the OC inlet and nearby areas of the bay there are plenty of small stripers around as well, especially by the Rt. 50 bridge, but they’re not close to keeper size. More interesting is that some speckled trout have also made their presence known here. This run’s usually short-lived, so if you want to pursue OC specks act fast. Or, maybe just head for Virginia’s inlets. Speckled trout are still being caught in solid numbers, along with some flounder, in Rudee and Lynnhaven. Four-inch plastics and GULP! jigs in whites and greens have been producers and we also had a reader report having luck with a red/white MirrOlure.
Coastal Fishing Report, November 1, 2019 Update:
Weather continues to make running offshore a tough decision, but check out Coastal Correspondent John Unkart’s Wa-Wa-Wahoo article if you need a refresher before targeting these fish because good numbers of wahoo are in the mix now – particularly at the southern canyons and just inshore. In fact, one breaking the 100-pound mark came to the scales in Virginia Beach this week. The tuna bite has also been good for those who make it out there and troll ballyhoo and bars, particularly in the southern areas of our region.
Anglers targeting flatfish at the wrecks are doing better than those inshore size-wise, bringing up the occasional doormat when the flounder are on, but the wrecks from Delaware down through Virginia have been providing a much more noteworthy killer sea bass fishery. Capt. Monty on the Morning Star out of OC has had several limit days recently, and Ocean’s East reported that a fair few boats are returning to the VA docks early in the day with their limit on board. Many are bringing home triggerfish, as well, as they drop clam and squid baits down to the bottom. Bluefish are making their way back south, and as they pass through the wrecks it hasn’t been uncommon to pull them up, too.
As flounder make their way out of the bays, they’ve been targeted in the inlet and channels leading to it in Indian River, Ocean City, and Rudee, providing a fair bite (by all reports better in OC then better yet again in Rudee) for anglers drifting cut bait and bouncing pink, white, and chartreuse Gulp! and BKD soft plastics off bottom. We didn't hear from anyone in Wachapreague or Chincoteague this week, but it's a fair bet both would be worth visiting right now. Tog are in the region’s rip-rapped inlets as well, huddled around the rocks, hitting sand fleas and crab baits. Most are throwbacks, but keepers do come up now and again.
Few reports came from the surf this week, and nothing beyond a few kingfish and puffers on bloodworms and snapper blues on mullet. Reports from Jersey indicate that (big) stripers were on the beach there recently, and hopefully these fish will be heading our way sooner rather than later.