Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 26 Update:
A big warm up came our way this week after old man winter came with two rounds of snow. While fishing has been limited we do have a few reports we’ll get to in a moment, but first, there has been a lot of news from governing agencies this week. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has voted and set the coastal striped bass regulations for this year. The regulations will maintain the current slot of 28 to 31 inches and the seasons will remain the same. Sector separation has also been eliminated and both recreational and charter boat anglers are limited to one fish per person per day. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission also recently voted to open a special recreational black sea bass season for February 2024. If you are interested in participating, vessel captains can visit the VMRC website to obtain their free permit. Also make sure to read the recreational reporting facts sheet to read more about reporting requirements. Finally, The General category fishery for large/medium and giant bluefin tuna will close effective 11:30 p.m. Friday, January 26, 2024, as the quota has been reached. The fishery will reopen June 1, 2024. This action applies to Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and highly migratory species Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for bluefin tuna. Fishermen aboard General category permitted vessels and highly migratory species Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may tag and release bluefin tuna of all sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-and-release programs. Visit the NOAA Fisheries website to learn more.
Captain Monty on the Morning Star reports a rocky start to winter togging thanks to the weather. He was unable to get off the dock for quite a stretch, but finally made it out midweek. He said there were more small tog than expected after making a long run from the inlet, but some nice fish came over the rails as well. We checked in with Fish In OC who let us know that other captains have been battling the same issues with the weather this winter. A few weather windows opened up and Captain Kane Bounds of the Fish Bound has been seeing a decent amount of keeper fish with some very nice tog up to 12 pounds on recent trips.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 19 Update:
The weather has made things very tough for the start of the 2024 fishing season. Opportunities are limited along the coast this time of year with striped bass and tautog offering up the semi-reliable bites in the winter, but both fisheries have been tough to access thanks to windy conditions. We finally got some breaks in the weather this week and a few boats fishing out of Ocean City were able to make it to the tog grounds. Fish In OC checked in with the fleet and let us know that Chasin’ Tides charters was out and managed to put his anglers on quality tog in the chop. Their two biggest fish of the day were nine and a half and 15 and a half pounds. The Fish Bound was also out this week and saw some fish over 10 pounds come into the boat that were caught and released. Opportunities have been limited, but fishing has been good when boats are able to make it out.
Striper fishing has also been decent when the weather allows.We had reader reports of some nice catches in the bay in OC but the highest concentrations of fish along the coast have been in the Virginia Beach area with many fish wintering just inside the Bay. Eeling is a popular technique this time of year where boats will set out multiple lines with planar boards and drift live eels in the current. Hungry stripers usually can’t resist a live eel, so this technique is very effective. Charter boat SHO-NUF Sportfishing has had some stellar days this winter and is still catching the big ones this week. One trip produced six trophy sized fish with the biggest measuring 46 inches. The stripers will likely remain in the area until spring, so if you want to catch a personal best, now is the time to do it.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 11 Update:
The brutal weather often accompanied by winter is starting to show itself. Last weekend we were slammed with soaking rain and this week we had a serious rain and windstorm with gusts over 70 mph in some places. This is all to say that fishing conditions were less than ideal. We hate to be the spoiler of bad news, but this weekend’s forecast is looking rough with strong winds expected along the coast. The ocean was angry and kept just about the entire fleet of the water on most days this week, so reports are very slim. Before the nasty weather showed up, boats heading to the offshore wreck and reef sites were doing well on tautog. Fish weighing in the double digits were coming over the gunnels on most trips with plenty of keepers to go around once boats located a site with fish. The bite should pick back up where it left off when we get better weather, so stay tuned for that.
There are also some bluefin tuna still hanging around the Virginia Beach area that offshore boats were chasing in between blows. Now that the giant bluefin tuna season is open, fish over 73 inches can be kept until the quota is met. Playin Hookey Charters caught a big one last weekend measuring 87 inches and weighing 375 pounds. The fish was caught less than 30 miles outside of Virginia Beach. Big fish are out there folks, we just need the weather to cooperate so anglers can find them.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 5 Update:
Happy New Year folks! We are all looking forward to an action packed 2024 fishing season and you don’t have to wait for the warmer weather to get on a hot bite. Now that sea bass season has closed, tautog fishing has cranked up with the new year, and Capt. Monty on the Morning Star reports a decent bite out of OC. He also notes that more keeper-sized fish are going back over the side than into the fish box, and on a recent trip his clients chose to release 20 keepers while boxing just 10. And as usual, he added to the reefs out there on the way! If you fish out there and see him, be sure to say thanks. More solid reports rolled in from Captain Kane Bounds from the Fish Bound. In recent trips his anglers have seen 16 fish over 10 pounds with the two largest weighing in at 17 pounds.
There are still some big oceanic striped bass out along the coast, but many are just out of range in the Exclusive Economic Zone. When the tuna bite was hot, boats were picking up stripers inside that zone, so there is a chance they are close enough to target. It will take covering ground to find them though, so keep that in mind. Maryland and Virginias coastal striped bass season is open from now until March 31st with a slot of 28- to 31-inches. You can visit the Maryland DNR website and the VMRC website to view a map of the coastal boundary. There should also be striped bass still inside the Ocean City inlet near the Route 50 Bridge and rock jetties. Most of these fish will be below the slot but can offer fun catch and release opportunities.