Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report 1/25/18 Update:
Getting offshore wasn't so far fetched this week, as warm weather moved through the Delmarva area. Hook 'em and Cook 'em had reports of anglers heading to the inshore wrecks, trying to get in on the tautog that have stuck around the area this winter. The best bait was green crab, and - surprisingly - they said that even catching founder wasn't an impossibility, as a few reports came in of flatties being caught.
No word on the stripers which headed outside the three-mile limit; at this point, we can't reasonably expect them to return... but we can always hope. Out of Ocean City and Virginia Beach, tog are also just about the only option. If you're headed down to Virginia Beach, note that the Virginia Beach Fishing Center is currently closed for renovations (though the docks are open).
Just for the record, since we do have a big NC bluefin on the cover of this month's issue: we still haven't heard of any solid action down there. There have been some big blackfin caught, which is also an option at this time of year, but we're still waiting on the monsters to show up.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report 1/19/18 Update:
Tautog are still being reported off the coast on green crab fished on Snafu rigs, and Hook 'em and Cook 'em also reported a few black sea bass have been in the mix. Overall, however, fishing has been dismally slow, and the hope for some striper action generated by last week’s report of rockfish out in deeper water (well outside the limit) hasn't panned out for anglers this week.
A bit farther south in Ocean City, Capt. Monty on the Morning Star recently reported that the brutal weather has made getting out very difficult, but on the last trip two anglers on the boat limited out and most of the anglers aboard “had dinner.”
We weren’t able to find any Virginia boats that made it into the ocean this past week, but the tog should be just as willing to bite as they are a few miles to the north.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report 1/12/18 Update:
Tautog are the most reliable bite right now, with Hook 'em and Cook 'em reporting fish being caught on green crab baits on the rare occasions when boats can actually get out. They also noted that the rockfish didn't all head south, and some are actually still off the coast but well outside the three-mile limit. There is hope that if temperatures rise soon enough and quickly enough, some of those fish could move back within shooting range.
Coastal Correspondent John Unkart let us know that tog are also the fish to look for in the Ocean City area, for those with stout tackle and precise timing. He noted that white-leggers have become the bait of preference, even as compared to green crab, though they do die off easier. Virginia coastal anglers should have a similar focus on tautog if and when the weather allows them to get out, but we didn't get any first-hand reports in this week from the area - thanks to bad weather and ice more or less shutting down the inlets. We did get one unverified reader report of stripers still within range of Virginia Beach, however, distance off land was not stated and we suspect these fish were being caught illegally. Don't forget, federal law prohibits even catch-and-release fishing for stripers in federal waters! So until and unless they decide to move back to within three miles of shore, resist temptation and stay focused on those tautog. If you want to learn the ins and outs of targeting tog, check out Tautoug Fishing: These Fish Like it Cold.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report 1/5/18 Update:
Welcome to the first Coastal fishing report for 2018, anglers, but... unfortunately, this will not be much of a report. The recent Arctic Bomb Cyclone, as they're calling it (cool name!) has put the brakes on everything - and we mean everything - that was going on along the coast. A look at the last of the December Coastal Reports indicates that fishing the wrecks for tautog and bass (where legal; DE, MD, and VA do things a bit different so always check before you go) was still happening and there were even a few flounder still in the reports from Hook 'em and Cook 'em (up in Delaware), and Ocean's East (down in Virginia). There was also a great winter ocean striper bite shaping up, with fish between 30 and 50 inches being caught by both trollers and jiggers inside the three-mile limit. Unfortunately, again, it's been impossible to get out for several days now and we just don't know where the fish will be and what they'll be doing when this weather event moves on. That said, as we noted in the Way South and Virginia report, water temps even in the southern areas we cover have dropped down to the point (44 degrees at the Cape Henry buoy; below 40 at the CBBT) that those striped bass are likely swimming southward.
As for the surf, we have no report and don't expect that to change for a matter of months. As for long-range deep-drop trips for golden tilefish, prior to the storm water temps were in the upper 50's so after this weather passes through, we're afraid it may be too cool to count on being fishable, as hordes of spiny dogfish move into the area when temps drop below this point. (And running 50 or 60 miles only to encounter spiny dogfish is quite a let-down!) Hopefully, a week from now we'll be able to relay better news!!