For the past 4 or 5 years, ribbonfish have been finding their way into more and more coolers. Once considered a trash fish (except for use as bait for king mackerel), anglers have discovered their value as a food fish. They are pretty fish as well – if you disregard their mouths full of sharp dentures.
Their tiny scales are bright silver, almost reflective. They have yellow eyes and a long mouth filled with sharp teeth. They are now being caught by recreational anglers from piers and in the surf from Virginia Beach to Hatteras.
Ribbonfish are a prized food fish in Japan but have yet to be widely embraced by Americans. The flesh is between flounder and sea trout – mild with a hint of briny, ocean flavor. The texture is delicate, with white, flaky meat. If you caytch one, by all means keep it!
Virginia Saltwater
The croakers have turned on in the Fort Monroe area of Hampton. Spot catches are improving daily, with some better fish showing up. The flounder bite is red hot and live spot are getting the best results. Good catches of red drum were reported last week. Cobia are being caught up in good numbers but are in the process of leaving the Bay. Bluefish are plentiful inside the bay, and along the oceanfront. The Spanish mackerel bite has slowed. Huge sheepshead are hitting crab baits near most any structure. Speckled trout and puppy drum fishing is improving as the water cools. Offshore boats have been hooking up with blue marlin, white marlin, and sailfish along with Mahi, and Wahoo. Surf anglers have been reporting bluefish, pompano, and Spanish mackerel.
OBX
The best fishing has been at dusk for puppy drum, trout, mullet, and some blues. The tides were off this week with high tide in the middle of the day. Bummer. The water temp is 72 degrees with a small swell and the wind has been calm. The piers have also been slow but as the north wind picks up, the drum should return. Nearshore boats had a good day with plenty of ribbonfish, Spanish, blues, drum, albacore, and reports of wahoo. The offshore report was also good with a lot of mahi and some nice bulls with yellowfin, blackfin, wahoo, sails, and white marlin.
