Amidst all the bally-ho of big stripers from the ocean come reports of outstanding sea bass action on the ocean wrecks. Parties aboard the Rudee Head Boats out of Virginia Beach are hammering the large and tasty sea bass – in my mind, the best eating fish in the ocean. The season for sea bass closes December 31st. Currently, any boats that can find decent weather to make the run out to the wrecks are catching loads of both sea bass and tilefish. Some big bluefish could soon show up near the same structures.
Large rockfish are now moving out of bay tributaries into the main Bay. Look for them on the eastern side, near the Plantation Light and along Cape Charles. Anglers are drifting or slow trolling eels. Mann’s Stretch 25 lures and tandem rigs are also effective. A number of healthy, fat, 45-to-50-inch fish were caught during the recent Rockfish Shootout tournament. The crew on “Mystic Lady” took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the Shootout. They walked away with $42,785.80. Congratulations!
Slot-sized stripers in the 20-inch minimum, 36-inch maximum range are available by casting along the bridge pilings and around the artificial islands of the CBBT and in most rivers.
Tautogs are available on structure. The bay water temperature is at 51 degrees. Once it drops below 50, the ocean wrecks will produce best with fiddler crabs and quartered blue crabs the preferred baits. The Tautog season is open throughout the winter.
Speckled trout reports are still coming in. Last week, Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle registered several citations caught in Long Creek. Greg Licurance released a 24 1/2″ speckled trout, Brian Hostetter a 25″ speck, Randy Morton weighted a 5 lb. 8 oz. 24 1/2″ fish and Paul R. Ewing registered a 24″ release. Captain Todd Beck, Knot Wish’n charters says speckled trout fishing inside Rudee Inlets is still good, a lot of short ones but some nice ones mixed in. One went 7.5 pounds and measured 28”. Mirr-O-Lures and swim baits are catching fish.
This time of the year captains are on the lookout for bluefin tuna rolling in the surface. Some really large fish in the 600-to-900-pound range have been caught off the Morehead City North Carolina coast for several weeks now. Unfortunately, the bluefin capture season was closed by NOAA on December 14th.
Captains Jake Hiles’s 708-pound bluefin tuna, caught last year on February 16, 2020, was certified this week as the new Virginia State Record by the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament’s Director Lewis Gillingham.
On the OBX, cold weather has been a deterrent for surf anglers, though a few brave souls beached some keeper pups at The Point near Buxton. Skates and dogfish have followed the cold water towards shore and are biting baits from both pier and surf anglers. Some nice stripers are hitting at Oregon Inlet.