TW’s reports: The big news on the northern beaches of the Outer Banks was Mark Gwaltney’s 38-inch striper that weighed 24 pounds. Gwaltney was surf fishing at Kill Devil Hills when the school happened by. Also beached at Nags Head were blues, sea mullet and trout. On Wednesday, the SW winds were at 9 and the water temp was 61 degrees.
The Little Bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo causeway reported good trout fishing and some stripers.
Pier Fishing:
Avalon: Early morning bluefish.
Nags Head: Blues, sea mullet and trout.
Jennette’s: Sea mullet.
Outer Banks: Bluefish, sea mullet, trout and skates.
Near shore and inshore boats picked up drum, cobia, bluefish, flounder, croakers, and pigfish.
Bluewater charters returned with yellowfin, mahi, and a couple of big-eyes. There was also a blue marlin release.
Hatteras Surf
Red Drum & Tackle reports that there was a 70-pound Cobia caught Tuesday at the Point. Sea Mullet were caught on both the South and North Beaches. At 6:30pm, there was a Bluefish Blitz at the Point.
On Wednesday, anglers at the Point had 10 over-the- slot Puppy Drum. The south side of the Point had Sea Mullet and Bluefish, caught on metal. Flounder and small Stripers were landed at the Jetties. Ramp 49 had Sea Mullet and Pompano and one 8-pound Sheepshead.
Hatteras Offshore
The entire offshore fleet at Hatteras Harbor went fishing Wednesday. The summer-like day on the Gulf Stream did not disappoint. Dolphin fishing was excellent. A few Wahoo and some Blackfin Tuna were in the mix. Bottom fishing for Triggerfish was good and a huge, citation Grouper was caught. Inshore fishing was good for citation Cobia, Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish.
Check out these citations and special catches.
John Goding of Davidson, NC: 42-lb. Grouper on Good Times.
John Shreckhise III of Staunton, VA: 55 lb. Cobia on Hang On.
Cynthia Kelly of Mullica Hill, NJ: 49″ Cobia release and 45″ Red Drum release on Adventure.
Shawn Kelly of Mullica hill, NJ: 57″ Cobia release, Red Drum release and 90 lb. cobia on Adventure.
Amanda Freund of Glassboro, NJ: 45″ Red Drum release on Adventure.
Dennie Freund of Glassboro, NJ: 36″ Cobia release, 50′ Red Drum release, 60 lb. Cobia, and 59 lb. Cobia on Adventure.
Timothy Romans of New Boston, TX: Blue Marlin release on Sea Creature.
Virginia Saltwater Action Exploding
By Dr. Julie Ball
Now that winter seems a distant memory, the spring saltwater fishing scene is exploding. With numerous sightings of cobia within Virginia and Bay waters, the official start of the season on June 1st seems like an eternity. The official cobia season runs from June 1st to September 15th.
The big drum bite continues to draw anglers to the Eastern Shore, where boats are reporting good catches off the Eastern Shore barrier islands, especially with the recent full moon. Both red drum and some black drum are available along the shoals off Fisherman’s Island, Nautilus Shoal and the 9-Foot Shoal areas in anywhere from 10- to 25-feet of water. Many of the blacks are small, but a few fish are pushing 50-inches.
Flounder action is picking up, but there is room for improvement in the lower Bay. Folks are catching fish, but many flatties are falling short of the new 17-inch minimum size limit for this year. On the Eastern Shore, the flounder action out of Oyster is still good, with strips of squid and GULP baits working best.
Bluefish are out in force, common for this time of year. Snapper and chopper-sized bluefish are hitting within the lower Bay inlets and along the CBBT area. Many of the bluefish within Rudee and Lynnhaven inlets are 12-pounds and more. Surf anglers are also getting in on the bluefish action along the surf lines, particularly off the oceanfront. Striped bass are biting in the Bay, with scattered catches of rockfish to over 36-inches coming from the HRBT and the islands of the CBBT. Croaker also continue to delight surf and pier anglers as small to medium-sized hardheads take squid and bloodworms along the oceanfront, Ocean View, Willoughby and Buckroe areas. Some big sea mullet are also in the mix. These fish bite almost exclusively on bloodworms. A few grey trout are also lurking around the HRBT, but you can only keep one fish per person.
Anglers working Rudee Inlet and the Lynnhaven River and basin areas are scoring with speckled trout, nice puppy drum and croakers. School-sized striped bass are also biting in these same locations.
Spadefish are showing around the islands and pilings of the CBBT and the Chesapeake Light Tower, but the water needs to warm up a bit before the fish will respond. Sheepshead are here, with a few nice fish already boated, especially by those targeting drum.
With the re-opening of black sea bass season on the 15th, more boats will make the run to deeper water in search of these popular wreck dwellers. The Triangle wreck area and the Chesapeake Light Tower Reef areas are good spots to try. Anglers can keep up to fifteen fish per person at 12.5-inches or larger. Tautog are also caught in many of these same locations, but you cannot keep them, since tog season is now closed.
Deep dropping is still a good bet, with blueline tilefish, golden tilefish, blackbellied rosefish, wreck fish, and a variety of grouper still on the menu along the edges of the Norfolk Canyon.
On the offshore scene, tuna are now within range of the Virginia fleet, with a few boats returning with limits of fat 30-pound class yellowfins. Hopefully, this trend will continue to improve over the next few weeks.
