A variety of fish are hitting baits for both surf anglers and pier jockeys. Pompano, bluefish, puppy drum, black drum, specks, spot and a few flounder were cooperative. Sound anglers were catching undersize stripers, some croakers, speckled trout, a few puppies and black drum. On Wednesday, offshore anglers brought in a slew of meat fish. Boats limited out on dolphin, and also boated plenty … [Read more...]

By Dr. Ken Neill, III   Offshore, the billfish bite continues to roll. It will slow soon, but we probably have a couple more weeks of good action. White marlin are the main catch though good numbers of blue marlin and some round-scale spearfish are around. Some sailfish are being caught. Boats overnighting and some deep-dropping during the day are having good success with swordfish. The … [Read more...]

By Dr. Julie Ball   Sheepshead action is still going strong as anglers entice big fish from the pilings and all four tubes of the CBBT. This action will resume once the water settles, but the bite will soon be winding down for the season. Before the storm, the fishing scene was on a roll. Cobia were out of control as the season came to a close, with many big fish making the end of … [Read more...]

Dr. Ken Neill, III   September is typically the best time to catch white marlin off Virginia’s coast. There are also good numbers of blue marlin around, an unusually high number of sailfish, a lot of round-scale spearfish and if you spend the night, swordfish are available. The yellowfin tuna bite should pick up again later in the fall. Some are being caught now along with some … [Read more...]

Dr. Julie Ball As summer comes to a close, anglers have enjoyed a few breaks from the stifling heat. Spanish mackerel action is still over the top, with big fish available, and plenty of them. Several citation-sized fish have already been caught and the action continues to sizzle. Boats are having good luck while trolling with small spoons around the tubes of the CBBT in Bay waters, and … [Read more...]

Tuna fish hit the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center docks on Wednesday, enough for a huge tuna fish salad. Multiple boats brought in yellowfin and some blackfin tuna. There were also several wahoo and dolphin reported and some limits of tilefish. Kayla Clark, Daniel Crosby, Patrick Healy, and Travis Spring had sailfish releases. Near-Shore anglers had a great day, bringing in good numbers of Spanish, … [Read more...]

No need to charter a boat and motor 30 miles to the Gulf Stream to catch a sailfish. In Nags Head, the water is so warm this week in the surf that several sailfish, though small, were caught off the piers. Southeast breezes raised the water tempearture to the upper 70’s, according to TW’s Tackle in Nags Head. Here is their report: Surf: Spot, Sea Mullet, Pompano and Flounder and Bluefish … [Read more...]

By Dr. Ken Neill, IIII Offshore boats are coming in with riggers full of flags. The white marlin bite has taken off early this year. Good numbers of blue marlin and sailfish are being caught, making for grand slam catches. Swordfish are being landed by boats targeting that species and bigeye tuna are being caught from the canyons. Some yellowfin tuna as well as wahoo are coming over the … [Read more...]

Dr. Julie Ball reports. The flounder action in the Bay is very productive. Good action is coming from near shore and inshore wrecks, where anglers are taking limits of nice fish running 22- to 24-inches. Some keeper sea bass will also take baits on the same wrecks. In the Bay, jigging and live bait are both techniques working well around all four islands of the CBBT, where flounder are running … [Read more...]