Nags Head
TW’s reports: On Wednesday, two inshore boats fished and caught puffers and shark. The water temp is 48 degrees. One offshore boat fished and returned early with a few yellowfin.
Jennette’s Pier anglers caught skate and dogfish. The sound boaters caught and released stripers on Tuesday. That’s good news. In Albemarle Sound, the limit for stripers is 2 per person per day at 18” until April 1.
Virginia Saltwater
Spring can’t get here soon enough for most anglers, and this weekend it becomes official. With a slow, winter fishing season, hopes are high for a good spring fishery. And now with water temperatures rising quickly, things could track a little early this season. For now, anglers are watching for the first signs of the newly arriving species while still targeting the few available wintertime fish.
The most predictable species is still tautog. The tautog action on offshore water locations has been good for most of the winter, and this trend should continue into the spring. Some big fish have been available, with some hefty catches over 15 pounds. Nice sea bass are still competing for bait on these same structures, but they remain off limits. Water temperatures are pushing 50 degrees in the Bay, which is the optimal range for tautog feeding. Several boats are already reporting spotty catches of tog within Bay waters, with a few fish up to 9 pounds. Good tog bait has been difficult to acquire, but this weekend crabbers are back in business, and fiddler crabs are starting to show themselves in the marshes. Fiddlers are excellent bait for targeting tog in Bay waters.
Anglers anxiously await the first reports of flounder catches, which could happen any day now. This trend usually debuts in the shallow water and inlets on the Eastern Shore. Hook and line catches of croaker could also happen soon in the lower Bay and in the tributary rivers. After that, the next anticipated debut will be black and red drum.
Striped bass along the coast will become officially off-limits at the end of the month, but most anglers will hardly notice since folks gave up on rockfish earlier this winter. Right now, stripers can be intercepted heading into the Bay as they rush into the tributary rivers for their spawning rituals, but again, interest is low.
On the deep-water scene, nice blueline tilefish and other bottom dwellers are available along the ocean floor and near the edge of the Norfolk Canyon in over 300 feet of water. Dogfish continue to pose a nuisance for deep droppers, so expect to weed through these trash fish in order to reach bluelines, black-bellied rosefish, grouper, and wreckfish. Sea bass will also take your bait. The blue water action is picking up to our south, so the fleet is watching for movement in this direction.
Oregon Inlet
High winds over the weekend kept most boats at the docks.
On Tuesday, a few boats ventured out and brought in yellowfin tuna, some early season Mahi, and they had bluefin catch-and-releases as well. On Wednesday, a 96-inch bluefin weighing in at 534-pounds (after being gutted) was caught by a group fishing from their outboard.
Hatteras Surf
Wednesday Report: The water has started to warm again. The Hatteras Inlet water temperature was 61 today. You can still catch all the Blow Toads you want. Ramp 43 and 49 had them today. The Jetties had an undersize Puppy Drum. Tomorrow we should see some Blue Fish, Blow Toads, and Puppy Drum, hopefully, with the water temperature back on the rise.
Tuesday Report: There have been plenty of Blow Toads at Ramps 49 and 48. The wind has finally gone south and we will see some Drum show up as they did a week from this past Saturday. Just north of the jetties there was a 15-inch striper caught and released today. Fishing should just get better as the week goes. I am sure those Blue Fish will show again. There have also been a few Sea Mullet being caught.
Hatteras Offshore
On Tuesday, Hatteras Harbor reported that the wind was pretty gusty and offshore boats stayed put. An inshore boat tested the waters Wednesday, and while they did see some turtles and other sea life, the fishing was not productive. The sound waters are warming up every day so it won’t be long.
On Monday, the winds had laid down and out came the sun, which was great considering the last few days have been windy and cold. A few boats went offshore and had catches of Blackfin Tuna, Wahoo and some bottom fish including Sea Bass, Triggerfish, Vermillion Snapper and Albacore
Citations were recorded for Wyatt Goehring of Spraggs, PA with a 23-pound Blackfin Tuna aboard the Release. Matt Levere of Washington, DC had a 23-pound citation Blackfin Tuna also aboard the Good Times. Sandy Ouellette of Winston Salem caught a 50-pound Wahoo on the Sea Creature