Captain Jake “Fishing was slow but any trout in February ain’t bad. A couple of degrees in water temperature can make a big difference”.

Virginia anglers wrapped up another short February black sea bass season. When weather permitted access to the reefs and wrecks, bottom fishing for sea bass and tautog was good. Unfortunately our sea bass season is over …… but the tautog season continues.

There’s been reports of speckled trout. Louis Glaser and Douglas Wilburn posted about a good bite on the Elizabeth River. They caught 10 specks Sunday using MR 27 Mirror Lures and Z man baits on 1\4 oz heads.

It’s time to keep an eye on the water temps as they start rising. Usually when you see 60 degree water at the point in Buxton NC, red drum are a possibly. Bay temperatures in the low 50’s usually supports a good tautog bite at the CBBT.

Water Temps
Cape Henry VA Surf: 45.0 F
Cape Charles VA: 45.0 F
CBBT: 45.7 F
Rudee Inlet: 46.0 F
Lynnhaven Inlet 47.0 F
Duck NC Research Pier: 42.6 F
Duck NC Wave Buoy: 46.6 F
Oregon Inlet NC, Soundside: 44.4 F
Buxton NC, The Point: 60.0 F
Hatteras Inlet Soundside: 47.3 F
Diamond Shoals Light: 73.0 F

Nice tuna, Wanchese NC

North Carolina tuna fishing has been excellent. Bluefin tunas have generated most of the excitement. Boats fishing from Oregon Inlet are finding bluefin tuna in the 400 to 900-pound range. The recreational season is over …. the commercial guys enjoyed a few extra days …. but now that our quote has been reach its all catch and release. Many captains say “just” the strike alone on a hookless bait is worth the price of admission.

During the recreational season, Captain Jake Hiles and Jeff Landis fishing onboard the Toro made a long run from Rudee Inlet to the Tuna Hole in federal water off North Carolina and fished with the Carolina boats. They picked up a fish measuring 109 inches and weighing 708 lbs. By departing from and returning to Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach it qualified their catch as the new Virginia State record. Congratulation to the crew on the Toro. Quite an effort.

Yellowfin, blackfin, school size bluefin and big eye tuna are also available off the OBX. Most of the blackfun are being caught off Hatteras Inlet, jigging.

Some great news on our Menhaden fishery, New legislation has been approved by Virginia House And Senate

The Virginia House and Senate have passed bipartisan legislation to transfer management of Virginia’s menhaden fisheries from the General Assembly to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). This comes after many years of work by the conservation and angling communities to move management of Virginia’s largest fishery to VMRC, where all other marine species in the Commonwealth are managed.

https://www.cbf.org/news-media/newsroom/2020/virginia/menhaden-legislation-approved-by-virginia-house-and-senate.html

Saturday and Sunday, VBSF sponsor the Rudee Angler took advantage of favorable weather and Virginia’s special February black sea bass season.

Anglers caught black sea bass, bluefish and even released a few blueline tilefish!

https://h1q.f32.myftpupload.com/virginia-beach-charters/head-boats-rudee-inlet/

Nice Sea Bass on the Rudee Angler

Virginia’s sea bass fishery is open until the end of the month, it’s a special one-month fishery. A special no-cost permit is required by the boat captain, reporting is mandatory, and you must tell VMRC when you are fishing so they have the opportunity to have a biologist meet you when you return.

Regulation: “It shall be unlawful for any person fishing recreationally to take, catch, or possess any black sea bass, from February 1 through February 28, without first having obtained a Recreational Black Sea Bass Permit from the Marine Resources Commission. It shall be unlawful for any black sea bass permittee to fail to contact the Marine Resources Commission Operation Station at (800) 541-4646 before returning to shore at the end of the fishing trip during the February black sea bass season. The permittee shall provide the Operations Station with his name, VMRC ID number, the point of landing, a description of the vessel, and an estimated return to shore time. Permits can be obtained online here or at an MRC Licensing Agent. Reporting can be done online through the Saltwater Journal or using forms provided by the VMRC.”

All this is an effort to collect data on this wintertime fishery that was closed for several years.

Limits of Big Black Sea Bass being caught!

VBSF sponsor the Rudee Angler (Head boat) enjoyed a successful sea bass trip last week. Fishing was excellent, with everyone catching a limit of sea bass. A few bluefish were caught as well. Weather permitting trips are scheduled on February 16th, 22nd, 23rd, and the 29th. These trips can sellout, so if you want to get in on the action call ASAP.

https://www.rudeetours.com/fishing-trips

Dr Ken Neill and crew on the Healthy Grin did some wreck fishing February 9th. It was a beautiful calm day with an easy run in and out. They caught a 6-person limit of sea bass. They also caught a lot of bluefish, one weighed in at 18 pounds. They caught a couple of tautog to 12 pounds and a monkfish.

Anglers are finding tautogs on bay and ocean structure and tile fish at the canyons.

Captain Jake Hiles, 90 inch Bluefin, Pretty Work!

Giant bluefin tuna are showing up south of Virginia Beach, down to Morehead City NC. There have been some nice size yellowfin and blackfin tuna caught off the OBX.

OBX, NC surf anglers are catching nice size sharks. Anglers fishing nearby artificial reefs are finding hungry tautogs waiting. On the sound side there continues to be some speckled trout and stripers available.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Artificial Reef Program, in partnership with the Oregon Inlet Artificial Reef Committee, sank the first of three tugboats off the coast of Pea Island recently.

The towing vessel American is the first addition to AR-165, a new reef site, about 7 miles south of the Oregon Inlet sea buoy off Dare County. This tug is part a project to place three vessels and 7,000 tons of concrete pipe on the reef that was organized by the Oregon Inlet Artificial Reef Committee. Funded by a Coastal Recreational Fishing License grant and a large donation by TW’s Bait and Tackle of Nags Head, the project will be ongoing through early spring.

The American is an 88-foot tugboat built in 1951 by the Chesapeake Marine Railway Company of Baltimore for the Consolidated Gas and Electric Company of Baltimore. Originally named G&E #3, the tug has since gone through several owners and name changes and was retired from service in 2012.

The tug was cleaned of environmental pollutants in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulations prior to reefing. Its placement leaves a navigational clearance of approximately 30 feet.

The division plans to sink remaining tugboats, America (104 feet) and Valley Forge (110 feet) later this winter. Concrete pipe deployments will occur in early spring.

GPS coordinates for AR-165 are: 35° 41.672’ N, 75° 26.313’ W.

NEXT REPORT: February 29th

The winds finally cooperated and the experts aboard the Rudee Angler headed out to fish for black sea bass. Fishing was excellent, with each guest catching their limit.  A few bluefish made their way on board also!

The sea bass season is open for the rest of the month, so don’t miss out on a chance to fish with the Anglers skilled crew.

https://h1q.f32.myftpupload.com/virginia-beach-charters/head-boats-rudee-inlet/

The February recreational black sea bass fishing season is back. It opened February 1st and closes February 29th, 2020. A recreational black sea bass permit is required ONLY for the captain or operator of the vessel and it is their responsibility to report all trips taken and black sea bass caught or released during the February season.  Below is a link to more information.

https://mrc.virginia.gov/Notices/2020/BSB_February_season_notice_2020.pdf

Tautog are a possibility along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, around wrecks and artificial reefs. Surface water temperatures are around 45 degrees.

Big striped bass are available in the bay from Cape Charles north, but the action is strictly catch-and-release.

Offshore deep-droppers are catching golden tile fish and sea bass.

Humpback whales are feeding off the Virginia Beach shoreline. Captains are reminded to be on the lookout and use caution while running. Several VBSF sponsors are offering whale watching trips. They offer an unforgettable day watching the world’s largest and most beautiful marine mammal. VBSF sponsor Rudee Tours is running educational trips in search of whales, dolphins, seals, and several species of birds.

OBX, NC

Captains are catching giant blue fin tuna off Oregon  Inlet. Along with bluefin they’re picking up big eye tuna, yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna and nice swordfish.

Down at Hatteras captains report a good yellowfin and blackfin tuna bite.

Surf fishing is slow. There’s been a few puppy drum, and black drum caught near Buxton.

Next Report 15 February. 

There are still a few big stripers hanging around the bay, but it’s all catch and release now. The capture season closed midnight Dec 31^st. Most of the big fish … a few over 50 pounds … are falling for live eels fished by those launching out of the Cape Charles, Kiptopeke VA area. The best action has been between buoys 38 and 42. That’s about a 25 mile run up the bay from Lynnhaven Inlet.

The IGFA has a “release world record category for stripers”. It will be interesting to see how many anglers get involved. This could be a boost for local sport fishing businesses. With striper numbers down and new regulations in place it might popularize catch and release fishing and keep anglers busy during the closed season. Qualifying for the release world record is labor-intensive. Along with an IGFA fee, anglers must fill out a two-page form; take pictures of the rod, reel and net; and supply a line sample, the hook used and information from witnesses. The fish’s length has to be photographed on an official IGFA measuring board and everything has to be notarized. For more information you can visit the IGFA website.

There have been some nice trout landed recently by those fishing their secret spots. But good luck getting them to tell you where that is!!

Tautog fishing has been good on the ocean wrecks. And there are plenty of seabass there also, but unfortunately the sea bass season is closed as well.

When fishing offshore be on the lookout for big bluefins. Watch for working birds and signs of bait fish.

If you are without a boat and interested in whale watching, several VBSF.net sponsor boats offer whale watching trips throughout the winter.

OBX, NC

Around OI there have been some puppy drum and black drum caught. Angers fishing around the bridges for stripers reported little action.

A few nice trout have been landed in Buxton at the jetty.

The big news is the arrival of big bluefins off Hatteras.

NEXT REPORT FEB 1st

Hope everyone is enjoying a great holiday season!

Local angling is officially entering the winter season. We still have a few days available in our sea bass and bay striper season. Both close midnight December 31st. After that it’s all catch and release.

This time of year hearty anglers turn their attention to wreck fishing. Tautogs will be the main focus, but look for some flounder and bluefish to be caught as well. Dr Ken Neill and crew fished the wrecks recently. Action was good. They caught limits of jumbo sea bass, bluefish, tautog, almaco jack, triggerfish and some red snapper. Snapper in Virginia at Christmas are unusual.

Depending on how harsh our winter gets speckled trout will continue being a possibly. On warmer sunny days I’ve seen them warming themselves over boat ramp concrete. While they are still hungry they move very slow in the cold water. So slow your retrieve to a crawl.

Offshore deep droppers will continue catching tilefish at the Norfolk Canyon. Swordfish are still available to those targeting them. Look for tuna in any warm eddies you run across. On the ride out and in watch for bird activity, this time of year giant bluefins can show up anywhere there’s schools of bait fish.

OBX, NC

Boats fishing out of Oregon Inlet are catching yellowfin. One boat limited recently.

Surf anglers on Hatteras Island are catching some trout, black drum and puppy.

Next Report January 15th

Large rockfish are moving out of bay tributaries and into the Bay. Look for them on the Eastern side of the Bay. Anglers are drifting or slow trolling eels near Plantation Light and along Cape Charles. Mann’s Stretch 25’s and tandem rigs are also effective. School-sized rockfish are available for anglers casting along the bridge pilings and the artificial islands of the CBBT.

Tautog are still available on structure, but the bay water temperature has dropped to 49 degrees. Ocean wrecks will probably produce best now. Fiddler crabs and quartered blue crabs are the preferred baits.

Speckled trout reports are still coming in from Long Creek. Mirr-O-Lures and swim baits are working well.

Jumbo sea bass are available on many ocean wrecks. Seabass become off limits at the end of the year, when the season closes. Some big bluefish could show near the same structures. Flounder can also be found around offshore structures. Fresh strip baits are best flounder. This is the time of year boats are on the lookout for bluefin tuna rolling. They have been off the Morehead City North Carolina coast for several weeks.

When boats can make it out to deep drop they are finding good numbers of tilefish and sea bass.

OBX, NC

Surf anglers are catching big red drum, black drum, puppy drum and sea mullet. School sized rockfish are being caught trolling soundside along the Manns Harbor Bridge.

Offshore, when weather permits the tuna and king mackerel fishing has been excellent. Look for giant bluefins to start showing up off Hatteras any time.

NEXT REPORT, CHRISTMAS.