Last Saturday was an exceptional day for boats patrolling the Gulf Stream out of Oregon Inlet. The Mahi Mahi fishing was on fire. One boat returned with 50 of these spectacular fighters. In addition to the dolphin catch, there were also yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna, lots of king mackerel, wahoo and albacore gaffed and a sailfish release. At Nags Head, nearshore trips had catches of sea bass … [Read more...]

Tim Walts of Crozet caught and released this 29-inch walleye on the Rivanna River on Valentine’s Day. It was a sweetheart of a fish, that’s for sure. The Rivanna is an excellent but underutilized walleye fishery. Darrell Kennedy at Lake Orange says the walleye are putting on the feed bag there, as well. Smallmouth Bass The smallmouth bass are starting to feed on the North and South Fork … [Read more...]

By James Friend Dickerson   Great fishing last Saturday on the Roanoke River in Bertie County, NC. We caught 4 herring for every Hickory Shad (we had to throw the herring back). We ended up with 9 roe shad and some males!  Later, we found a man selling S.C. herring, so we bought some of those. We had a great discussion on fishing regulations and their non-conservation repercussions … [Read more...]

Rappahannock River Crappie are available around brush piles in the creeks and on the main river. White perch, yellow perch and stripers are also in the lower river. Rappahannock River There has been excellent fishing for blue catfish in the lower tidal sections. Many of the big fish are being caught on cut shad and herring bait. Some of these fish are weighing in at over 30 pounds. Fair … [Read more...]

The Tuna Duck set sail out of Hatteras this Wednesday, hoping to find some bluefin tuna.  No luck with the tuna, unfortunately, but the boat did happen upon a whale taking a nap in the ocean’s surface. That’s where they sleep, you know. Whales breathe air and they sleep in the surface – and so it was for this tired mammal. On Monday, the Tuna Duck had better luck with the fish. Mahi were biting … [Read more...]

  The giant bluefin tuna have made their way north and are busting tackle off the coast of North Carolina. Boats out of Oregon Inlet, Wanchese and Pirates Cove are returning with fish weighing from 500 to 800 pounds. A Virginia angler from Toano wrestled in an estimated 1,000 pound bluefin from a 22 ½ -foot boat. The monster tuna was 9 ½ feet long. That was something. In Virginia, the … [Read more...]

If you live long enough, you’ll see some strange things. One of the strangest things I’ve seen in the outdoors happened about 20 years ago on the Jackson River in the upper Hidden Valley area. I had been invited on a shocking expedition with the Game Department. For several years, I had urged the state to make that area catch-and-release, but they wanted to know if trout would hold over before … [Read more...]