As winter winds down, anglers along the Mid-Atlantic Coast prepare for the spring migration of trophy-size bluefish with great anticipation. Fishermen who winterize their boats and focus on other things during the coldest part of the year eagerly anticipate their arrival as a sure sign of spring. Year-round anglers look forward to pursuing a greater variety of fish species as coastal waters warm. While winter fishing for resident redfish and stripers satisfies our fishing fever, we welcome the arrival of chopper blues as the days begin to get longer again.

Usually by Easter, the first wave of bluefish shows around Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, as water temperatures start to respond to the gradual warming trend. When the wind starts blowing southwest, clean water pushes into North Carolina’s inlets and coastal sounds. The bluefish move in with the slightly warmer water, readily eating flashy metal lures and topwater stick baits and chuggers. 

Some years, the run along the Outer Banks is fickle without much warning. They come and go before many people realize they’ve shown up. Other years bluefish tend to hang around and really get the locals amped on their migration into the area. Be ready and have your gear organized — they will make a mess of even the most seasoned angler’s equipment. 

With a voracious appetite and marauding pack mentality, it’s best to have multiple rods rigged and ready for their arrival. There’s not much more fun than catching a big Hatteras bluefish on a topwater pencil popper! Find them schooled up in shallow water, cruising the shoals and flats along our coastline, for a special sight-casting experience. 

How to Find Bluefish

Locating the fish as they move inshore can be tricky. Often when cruising tight to the beach, locals will see the schools of 60 to 80 fish resting just under the surface. The fish are not actively moving, but reserving energy as they ride the current into nearshore waters. Sometimes, boaters see their fins sticking out of the water. Look for that “dark spot” that appears on the horizon. Make a slow approach and a well-placed cast — suddenly they come to life. Watching four or five blues break away from the school fighting over a plug is very exciting. On a few occasions, I have hooked two bluefish on the same lure, trying to take the plug away from their counterpart. 

Anglers also find them pushed up on the ever-changing shoals around Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout in huge schools. These conditions require a skilled captain to put an angler within casting range as the fish like to get up in the shallow slop tight to the shoreline. Using a lure that allows for a long cast is imperative in this style of fishing, as they can get an unsuspecting boater in trouble. These dynamic zones are battered by waves coming from every direction. 

Bluefish Fishing Tackle

As far as tackle goes, I prefer to use a medium-action rod capable of casting up to two ounces of weight. The current can be strong here, forcing anglers to use a heavier jig. A 4000-class reel spooled with 20-pound braid gives the angler enough power to quickly pull the fish out of the school without getting broken off by another bluefish. I choose to tie a short, 50-pound fluorocarbon leader to my main line. 

The best lures to use when targeting the big blues make some commotion or flash when pulled through the water. A variety of metal casting spoons and jigs will get an angler tight. Try long-casting lures from 1 to 3 ounces that go the distance and have great action with a varied retrieve. You can keep them up on the surface with a fast steady retrieve or let them sink and jig them along the bottom. These lures also work extremely well surf fishing for blues as they run along the beach. 

The most exciting lures to use when casting to blitzing fish are surface lures. Sometimes they like the walk-the-dog style topwaters such as the Berkley J-Walker, but often a popper will entice a strike when they seem less interested. It is hard to beat a Berkley Cane Walker worked erratically on the surface in those scenarios. 

In most situations when you find the choppers schooled up, they are not skittish. On the best days, it seems like they’ll happily eat any offering you throw at them. For that reason, blues are great for introducing young anglers to the art of fishing with artificial lures. Their forgiving nature allows for a new angler to figure out how to cast and retrieve. Many of us were first introduced to the adrenaline rush of saltwater fishing thanks in large part to a bluefish attacking a poorly presented lure. While they are often forgiving in nature, they put up an amazing fight, leaping from the water multiple times. Blues have seared many fond memories into anglers’ minds all up and down the Atlantic seaboard. 

The post Spring Choppers and the Hatteras Blues appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Recent emergency regulations from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources have canceled the striped bass trophy season in 2024, affecting the Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay. Currently, anglers can continue to catch-and-release fish for striped bass in Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries until the end of March. From April 1 to May 15, fishing for striped bass is now prohibited.

The changes, approved by the Maryland General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review, were made to bolster striped bass spawning populations. Chesapeake Bay is a crucial spawning and nursery area for 70 to 90 percent of Atlantic Coast striped bass, so the emergency measures aim to safeguard mature fish during their spring spawning migration.

More Striped Bass Changes

These Maryland-specific actions are in addition to coast-wide recreational measures set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). In January, ASMFC approved an addendum (PDF) to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass that aims to reduce fishing mortality in 2024. For Chesapeake Bay anglers — which includes charter boats — the addendum implements a 19- to 24-inch slot limit and a bag limit of one fish per person, per day. For anglers fishing in the ocean, the addendum implements a 28- to 31-inch slot limit and a coast-wide daily bag limit of one fish.

What Caused the Emergency Striper Closures?

To be blunt, five years of below average spawning success for striped bass has been disastrous. In 2023, Maryland’s annual striped bass young-of-year index had a value of 1.0. That’s significantly lower than the long-term average of 11.1. This key index measures reproductive success. Unfavorable environmental conditions, such as warm winters and low water flows, were identified as contributing factors to the decreased spawning rates.

“The recent recruitment numbers of juvenile striped bass show that additional management efforts are necessary to protect the overall population,” said Lynn Waller Fegley, Maryland’s DNR Fishing and Boating Services Director.

The repercussions of these lowly spawns are expected to really show in the adult striped bass population over the next few years, as the juveniles mature, leading to reduced abundance of legal-sized fish. A comprehensive striped bass stock assessment is scheduled to be released in 2024 to determine how the species responded to previous management actions made by Maryland and other coastal states.

What’s the Future Hold?

Don’t be surprised if the emergency trophy season closure becomes an annual occurrence. Maryland is considering establishing these new rules permanently. In past years, the striped bass trophy season has taken place during the first two weeks of May. This is when large female striped bass typically make their way up the Chesapeake Bay to spawn in the same rivers where they hatched.

Maryland is also considering extending the recreational and charter boat summer closure by an extra week — from July 16 to Aug. 7 — and closing the commercial hook-and-line season during the recreational and charter boat summer closure. Data show this period is the hottest part of summer when striped bass are most vulnerable to dying after being caught and released. 

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A jack commonly caught in Costa Rica and the Gulf of Mexico was recently landed off the coast of North Carolina. Officials at the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries established a new state record for the species: an Almaco Jack (Seriola rivoliana).  

Angler Matt Frattasio, of Massachusetts, caught the 26-pound, 15.6-ounce fast-growing fish near the D Wreck off Morehead City in early November. He was aboard Riptide Charters fishing in 80 feet of water, baiting with a live menhaden on 50-pound gear. There was no previous state record in North Carolina for almacos.

Frattasio’s fish measured 36.4 inches (fork length) and had a 26-inch girth. The fish was weighed and identified by fisheries staff at the Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters in Morehead City. Almaco jacks are part of the Seriola genus (amberjacks) — not surprisingly, they look similar to an amberjack.

Almaco Jack or Amberjack?

Anglers can have a tough time differentiating the two. Here’s the trick: Almacos are deeper-bodied and less elongated than amberjacks. Also, check the dorsal fins. That second dorsal is higher than the first dorsal on amberjack, but it’s nearly twice as tall as the first dorsal on almaco jacks.

Record Almaco Jack Catches

In Georgia, the current state record almaco is just over 7 pounds, while Florida’s state record tops out at 35 pounds, 9 ounces. The all-tackle world record stands tall at 132 pounds, caught in 1964 in La Paz, Baja California, Mexico. Most IGFA men’s line-class records for the species hail from Costa Rica and Panama.

Still, some almaco jack world records sit completely vacant. Part of that might be because they’re misidentified or possibly it’s that anglers fast-track the great-tasting fish straight into the cooler. At least five women’s line-class records are empty, most of them for fly tackle. The All-Tackle Length fly and junior records are also wide open.

For other instances of warm-water fish catches in states farther north, check out Connecticut’s tarpon, Maryland’s barracuda, New Jersey’s king mackerel and Washington’s dorado.

The post A New Record for North Carolina appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

When it comes to fishing, Ocean City has a long history, recreationally as well as commercially. Until 1933, the town lacked an inlet. When boats returned to land, full of fish, teams of horses dragged the vessels up the beach. But that changed in 1933 when a powerful unnamed hurricane ripped open what is now the Ocean City Inlet. Suddenly safe, navigable access connected the back bays to the Atlantic.
    
Fishermen took full advantage in ensuing years, and one day in 1939, 171 white marlin were boated out of Ocean City. The label of “white marlin capital of the world” followed shortly after.

Maryland’s main beach-resort community (population just under 7,000) is a nine-mile strip — between Isle of Wight and Assawoman bays and the Atlantic Ocean — that runs from the inlet at the south end north to the Delaware state line.

With so much water, inshore and offshore, the level of interest and effort here in fishing shouldn’t surprise. For one thing, Ocean City is a great jumping-off place to head out to the productive canyons and fish for offshore pelagics such as white marlin, blue marlin, swordfish and tunas — yellowfin, bigeye, bluefin and at times, albacore — as well as wahoo and mahi. 

But simply running out to the canyons and the continental shelf (figure 60 miles to start but at times well past 100) isn’t a guarantee of fast fishing, says Josh Lowery, a captain on the 58 B&B Reel Current. He says the warm-water eddies that spin off — or at times don’t — from the Gulf Stream are critical magnets for bluewater big game. Lowery acknowledges that the 2023 season was a bit lackluster, noting that the ocean off Ocean City didn’t get many good pushes of eddies. But there’s no reason to believe that 2024 won’t be a standout year for eddies again concentrating bait and fish in these waters.

Despite the enduring passion among local-based private yachts and charters for billfish, in recent years, tuna have often taken center stage, Lowery says. Bluefin tuna can be thick at times, though as the season progresses, quotas may limit the fishery. Yellowfin and bigeye frequent the canyons from some time in May into October, Lowery says. Some years, longfin tuna (true albacore) might turn up in the mix, and, closer to shore, expect blackfin tuna.

Though far fewer anglers target swordfish than they do tuna, the action for broadbill can be good from June through early fall, but some years even into December. Most who do seek swords drop deep by day, but Lowery says nighttime drifting can be quite effective.

But Ocean City offers more than bluewater. Less glamorous but much more accessible and easy — and many would argue, no less fun — is the inshore fishing, from just off the beaches to the jetties to the acres of protected back bays. The list of species that inshore anglers catch here is considerable and includes flounder, rockfish (striped bass), tautog, sea bass, red drum, black drum, weakfish, speckled trout, croaker and sheepshead. At times snapper bluefish and Spanish mackerel can be numerous — 2023 proved a better-than-average year, Lowery says. 

While things definitely slow down in the cold-weather months and pick up in the spring for most of these species, tautog and rockfish can be found through the winter. Larger stripers can be found in late spring, when they migrate out of the Chesapeake and head north, then again in the reverse pattern during the fall. 

Tournaments figure large in the fishing picture here. Among the long-running events: the OCMC Labor Day White Marlin Tournament (66th annual coming up in 2024), OCMC Small Boat Tournament (45th annual coming up), Ocean City Marlin Club Canyon Kick-Off (42nd annual coming up), Ocean City Tuna Tournament (37th annual coming up July 12-14), and the White Marlin Open (51st annual coming up August 5-9). At the Open — one of the world’s largest tourneys — 400 boats participated in 2023 with 605 billfish caught and an impressive 602 of those released. Highest single-boat winning total topped $6 million.

Planning a Trip

What to Expect

Anglers will find plenty of infrastructure to serve them. Private boaters are facilitated by full-service marinas, such as the Ocean City Fishing Center and Sunset Marina, where they can launch, moor, and buy bait and supplies. Offshore charters abound and many center consoles offer guided fishing inshore and nearshore. Also popular here are headboats (party boats) that take open groups on large boats to queue up along the rail and drift for flounder, sea bass and pretty much anything the natural baits attract. While largely populated by tourists and casual anglers, these boats do offer a few hours of easy and fun fishing (particularly for families) at an affordable price. Even more affordable and surprisingly productive is fishing the jetties, bridges, piers and surf. 

Helpful Links

For more general information about Ocean City and planning a visit here, visit ococean.com. Also check visitmaryland.org for more information. All fishing regulations can be found at dnr.maryland.gov.

The post There’s More to Ocean City Than White Marlin appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Spend much time on the waters of North Carolina’s Crystal Coast and the origins of that moniker should be pretty clear. The waters here are some of the clearest in the Mid-Atlantic. The Crystal Coast, what can be described as the Southern Outer Banks, is a designation for roughly 85 miles of beaches (56 of which are protected) and coastal towns from the New River north to Cape Lookout. This includes Beaufort, Morehead City and the Cape Lookout National Seashore.

There’s no shortage of fishing opportunities on the Crystal Coast. Many are seasonal, but whatever the season, there are fish to be caught. While many destinations require bringing or hiring a boat, the coast of North Carolina boasts some of the world’s best surf fishing. Among the many species taken on beaches here, the two high-status game fish are red drum and striped bass. Very large reds prowl along the beaches in the fall. How big? Consider the IGFA all-tackle world record that angler David Deuel landed on an Outer Banks beach in November, 1984 — a fish weighing an extraordinary 94 pounds, 2 ounces.

Those without a boat can also hit the piers that jut out 1,000 feet from the beach into the ocean — the Bogue Inlet Pier (at Emerald Isle) and the Oceanana Fishing Pier (at Atlantic Beach). In addition to the many species that surfcasters catch, pier anglers target red drum, cobia and kingfish spring through fall, as well as croaker, bluefish, flounder and more.

Yet another land-based fishery involves wading in inshore waters, but these waters are much more accessible to those with skiffs or kayaks. Kayakers can access Back Sound and Bogue Sound from Fort Macon State Park and several spots around Harkers Island.

Located near the easternmost protrusion of the Outer Banks, the Crystal Coast offers a relatively easy run to the Gulf Stream and blue water often teeming with prized game fish. The list of summer-time targets includes marlins (blues and whites), sailfish, mahi, wahoo, tunas (yellowfin and blackfin) and more coastal species such as cobia, snapper, amberjack and kingfish.

One of the most exciting cold-weather fisheries here sees larger charter and seaworthy private boats running out to fish just a few miles off the Outer Banks for huge bluefin tuna. Bluefin approaching the grander mark have been taken on sport-fishing boats, and tuna larger than 1,000 pounds have been caught commercially. The past season, in fact, was one of the best ever, and included not only giant bluefin but those of a more modest size (relatively speaking). While not as coveted as bluefin, blackfin tuna can be caught in numbers here at times and in the winter will run 25 to 30 pounds — large for the species.

Tournament fishing is big on the Crystal Coast; you’ll find offshore, inshore and surf events here. Notably this includes one of the fishing world’s premier tournaments, the Big Rock Blue Marlin, as well as other billfish tournaments in the summer. The fall schedule includes plenty of events for king mackerel.

Planning a Trip

When to Go: Everyone wants to be here in the summer. That translates into lots of visitors, higher rates, busier roads. But it is a wonderful time of year to enjoy the beaches and offshore variety, along with calmer seas. Just book far in advance, as much as a year ahead. On the other hand, fall and winter offer special fisheries — big drum in the surf and then giant bluefin just offshore — at a time when visitors find things considerably more laid-back and less crowded here. Certainly, things get windier in mid-fall and winter; those who want to fish beyond the inlets would be wise to plan to stay at least a week, looking for a calm day or two.

Where to Go and How to Get There: The closest major airport is in New Bern (EWN), just over 30 miles away, served by a number of major carriers. Raleigh-Durham International Airport is just under three hours by car. More distant air options include international airports in Norfolk, Virginia (NIA), or in Charlotte (CLT), about a 4- or 5-hour drive, respectively. Many choose to drive to the Southern Outer Banks. From Atlanta, figure nearly eight hours drive time; from Boston, about 13 hours.

What to Expect: For visiting anglers, the infrastructure is generous, with plenty of inshore guides, offshore charter, launch sites and marinas. Also, take advantage of local bait and tackle shops, often the best source of information, especially for surf and jetty anglers. Private boaters fishing offshore will need a boat large and seaworthy enough to negotiate Bogue and Beaufort inlets; like all inlets, they can be tricky. Check the shoaling alerts online for up-to-date information when planning routes.

Crystal Coast accommodations are many and varied from budget (hard to find in high season) to five-star. Check with various local real estate brokers since they handle vacation rentals for the many amazing ocean-front homes along this coast.

Families who join anglers here need not be bored. Besides enjoying the endless Cape Lookout National Seashore beaches, visitors can paddleboard and kayak inshore waterways and marshes; climb to the top of the iconic Cape Lookout Lighthouse (Wednesday through Sunday); make historical visits to Beaufort’s North Carolina Maritime Museum and to Fort Macon; see the famed wild horses of Shackleford Banks Island; hike the Croatan National Forest; and plenty more.

Helpful Links

• The Crystal Coast
• Crystal Coast Visitors’ Guide

The post North Carolina’s Crystal Coast is a Gem appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Louisiana’s robust marshes around the mighty Mississippi River might be the most-recognized backwaters in the country. The same can be said for Florida’s Everglades and its maze of mangrove-lined creeks and bays. But these two states don’t have a monopoly on backwater fisheries. Quite the contrary. Any of the states lining the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean have backwaters worth exploring, so check out the areas below. Some of these spots may be completely new to you.

1) Thousands of Miles of Maine

Clouds of baitfish dart by my feet, glittering mesmerizingly like the facets of a diamond in the marigold yellow of false dawn. A violent splash out in the channel yanks my attention from the minnows.

Was that a striper? Perhaps a shad? A native brookie venturing into the brine? An elusive Atlantic salmon?

Maine is a cold-water paradise, with expansive mazes of pristine shallows that are home to a variety of fish. Thousands of miles of tidal shoreline—more even than California—give anglers virtually unlimited room to roam alongside the bald eagles, black bears and moose that call it home. The opportunity to find an unfished secret spot, devoid of other anglers, is easier than anywhere else on the East Coast. —Jerry Audet

2) Massachusetts Backwaters

While open-sand beaches and boulder fields get a lot of attention, Massachusetts’ tidal estuaries are an untapped labyrinth of shallow-water-fishing and sight-fishing opportunities. They are quiet and serene, but don’t let that fool you. Estuaries draw in fish of all sizes, including trophy-class striped bass. With thousands of miles to unlock in places such as Cape Cod and the North Shore, Massachusetts backwaters are ripe for exploration from shore, kayak, or skiff. —Jerry Audet

3) Long Island’s Salt-Marsh Complex

Though the nearby island of Manhattan is home to 8 million people, Long Island’s salt marsh is decidedly less populated. The soft, waterlogged soils that comprise this habitat slowed the pace of progress, leaving it mostly devoid of buildings, save for the occasional bay house. Instead of concrete and rebar, you’ll find invertebrate life holding the fertile meadows together. And instead of subways or yellow cabs, the inhabitants here move around with the aid of fins or feathers. —Joe Albanese

4) Crabs in the Delmarva Peninsula

Springtime along the mid-Atlantic, blue crabs emerge from the mud, as hungry redfish, speckled trout, flounder, tautog, striped bass and sheepshead line up at the seafood buffet. Blue claws are the heart of the Delmarva Peninsula, and provide meals for man and fish alike at every stage of their life cycle.

First, as they grow, crabs peel out of their old shell, offering a soft and defenseless snack. While mating, the immobilized crab couples make for two meals in one. Then, to release their eggs, female blue crabs swim along the surface, unable to hide from their enemies.

Anglers use whole blue crabs for big red drum and striped bass, a quartered crab for sheepshead and tog. Peeler crabs are a favorite for speckled trout and redfish. The best thing about fishing with blue crabs: When the trip is over, you can eat the leftover bait. In a large steamer, add equal parts vinegar and water. When the liquid boils, drop the live crabs into the basket and cover with Old Bay seasoning. The crabs are ready when their shells turn bright red. —Ric Burnley

5) An Ode to South Carolina’s Lowcountry

When the smell of puff mud at low tide hits my nose, I know I’m home. Palmettos and old oaks draped with Spanish moss give way to miles of wide-open marsh. Early fall brings a chill to the air and chases away the bugs. As the bait migrate out of the backwater, redfish become more aggressive.

I launch my kayak in water too shallow for any motorboat to reach and ride the last of the incoming current far into creeks and oyster flats. Then, as the tide changes and the marsh exhales, I wait for redfish to leave the flooded grass. Nothing gets my blood pumping like paddling around a marsh corner and seeing a half-dozen bronze backs slowly cutting a V-wake. A long cast with a light lure barely makes a splash.

Through the tannin-stained water, I see the school respond, attack, and my line comes tight. Redfish are called bulls for a reason: They fight headfirst and with their heart. Run, charge, cut and head shake—just when I think the fish is finished, a red will always find a second wind for another round. Then, when the gleaming bronze, gold and orange redfish is lying on my lap, I admire the iridescent blue-green tail with the trademark black dot before releasing the red to fight another day. —Ric Burnley

The post Five Great Backwater Fishing Destinations appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

“The fishing was so good, I could only fish two rods and I was getting worn out,” reported Capt. Kenny Louderback after a recent trip where he landed 23 giant redfish between 44 and 48 inches. “The day before we caught redfish up to 53 inches!”

Capt. Kenny Louderback was fishing shallow shoals at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and along Fisherman Island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. 

The day of the epic bite, he marked fish on his fishfinder in 30 feet of water and deployed the anchor. The deep hole was close to shore making a natural funnel for the redfish to travel into the surf zone. 

With two anglers steadily cranking in giant redfish, Louderback was busy baiting hooks, landing drum and reviving the released fish. “Before I release a redfish, I use a fish gripper to hold it in the water,” he explained. (Don’t hold a fish vertically with a lip gripper.) Once the fish swims on its own, he unclips the gripper and lets the red swim free. The captain laughed, “As soon as the bait hit the bottom, I’d have two more fish to release.”

How to Catch Chesapeake Bay’s Red Drum

Fishing with a whole or half hard crab on a 9/0 hook and 50-pound leader, Louderback uses a fish-finder rig with 8 to 10 ounces of lead. To fish the heavy rig and big bait, he utilizes a 6-foot boat rod and PENN Squall 20 spooled with 30-pound braided line. He threads a fish-finder slide over the mainline and ties the line to a swivel. The swivel is connected to one to three feet of 50-pound monofilament and the 9/0 circle hook. 

Up until recently, red drum fishing has been slow. Louderback reports cold water and bad weather are putting a damper on the red drum bite. “A hard northeast wind has caused the water temperature to fluctuate.” He sees 68 degrees one day and 64 degrees the next day. Since the water temperature started to stabilize, Louderback has had consistent action on big red drum. With the slow start, he hopes for a longer season as the water warms into the lower- to mid-70s.

In a couple weeks, Louderback will turn his attention to sight fishing for cobia and red drum. He searches the mouth of Chesapeake Bay looking for the schools of redfish and cobia swimming on the surface. When he spots fish, he casts a two-ounce bucktail or live eel with a medium-heavy spinning rod and reel. He looks for sight fishing to continue through summer and into early fall. 

Outer Banks Redfish Fishing Techniques

Farther south, North Carolina’s Outer Banks have been covered up with trophy red drum since February. “Red drum fishing is awesome,” said Capt. Tim Hagerich, from the Black Pearl Charters out of Hatteras Inlet. When I texted Hagerich for a fishing report, he replied, “I’m on a school of drum right now!”

Hagerich finds drum two ways. When the weather is clear and the seas calm, he heads into the ocean toward Diamond Shoals. Searching the shoals, he finds schools of drum in the clear water. “Sometimes the school has 2,000 fish,” he marveled.

Once he spots a school, Hagerich casts a 2-ounce bucktail toward the fish. “Jig the bucktail anywhere near the school and the fish will pile on,” he explained. 

Hagerich stopped using the ubiquitous rubber curly tail jig on his bucktail. “It takes too much time to fix the tail after catching a fish,” he complained. Hagerich said it’s more important to cast again while the school is nearby. “Bucktail color doesn’t matter, either,” he added.

Big Red and Black Drum Mixed Together

On a recent trip, Hagerich found big redfish mixed in with a school of large black drum. The water on Diamond Shoals was crystal clear and Hagerich spotted a school of black drum in 20 feet of water.

“Black drum won’t bite so I drove around the school four times and didn’t make a cast,” he recalled. Another captain took a chance and pulled a redfish out of the black school. Hagerich chuckles and said, “The moral of the story is don’t believe your eyes.”

Wind, What Wind? When the wind blows, Hagerich fishes behind the islands. “The harder the wind blows, the fishing gets better,” he said.

Focusing his efforts on Hatteras Inlet, Hagerich finds breaking waves on a shallow shoal and anchors his boat. He casts a chunk of mullet on a fish-finder rig into the breakers and along the deeper slough. Fishing in the wind is no problem: “We fished three days in 30-knot winds last week,” he said.

Hagerich expects drum fishing to remain good through the summer and into fall. As the water warms, he turns his attention to slot and over-slot redfish on the grass beds and shallow flats.

The post The Best Place to Catch Trophy Redfish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Part of the fun of fishing is not knowing what you’re going to catch — even if you’re an avid and experienced angler. Jeremiah Elliott, his brother Zach, Chandler Butler, and Trevor Burns were wrapping up an afternoon of swordfishing on Jeremiah’s Regulator 26 center console 60 miles off Morehead City, North Carolina, when they hooked something strange.

Jeremiah began retrieving the buoy line on a rod with a manual reel, only to find he had a fish on. It was not a species he recognized. It was probably a world record. And it tasted good.

Unusual Species from the Deep

Pomfrets are a deep-water fish belonging to the Bramidae family, which contains about 35 species worldwide. Though they can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, most species are somewhat rare. The bigscale pomfret, which is what Jeremiah hooked, is the largest in the family. And Jeremiah’s is as big as they come.

Pending World Record Pomfret

Heading in, the anglers called Chasin’ Tails Outdoors Bait & Tackle in Atlantic Beach, “making sure we had the scales ready at the shop as they were coming through the Beaufort inlet with a possible world record fish,” the shop reported on Facebook. “We really had no idea what they had as it was hard to hear them over the phone.”

The rod was rigged with 80-pound braid, 130-pound leader, a 10-pound weight, and an 18 inch squid. The 35.5-inch pomfret took the bait 1,700 feet down, salvaging the afternoon. “No luck on the swords,” Elliot said. That morning, the group caught three mahi and a number of bottom fish.

The paperwork is being prepared to submit Elliot’s 26-pound, 11.4-ounce bigscale pomfret to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA). The current IGFA bigscale pomfret record is 20 pounds, 10 ounces, caught by W. Gordon Davis in St. Augustine, Florida, in Oct. 2004. Along with the pending IGFA record, Elliot’s catch is also tops in North Carolina, which had no statevrecord prior to the catch.

“We’ve already cleaned it and it was delicious,” Elliot said. “Odd fish, but it tasted good.”

The post Unexpected Catch Leads to Potential Record appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

“Patient anglers are prevailing,” reported Capt. Kane Bounds. Bounds fishes out of Ocean City, Maryland, for trophy tautog throughout the winter. Recently, angler Jen Zuppe caught a 23.4-pound tog aboard his boat, the Fish Bound IV. Zuppe’s catch has a great shot to be the next IGFA Women’s World Record in the 30- or 50-pound line class. 

Bounds says Zuppe played the game perfectly and was rewarded with a trophy tog. “She had just moved closer to the bow,” Bounds remembered. “While the rest of the crew fished from the stern, Zuppe took her bait rig away from the crowd.” 

The record-breaking tautog gave up a good fight, but Zuppe is an accomplished angler who knows how to beat a big fish. “Last year, she caught a 13-pounder with me,” Bounds said.

Have Patience When Tautog Fishing

Bounds says if fishing is slow, he moves the boat several times during a typical trip. Anglers who fish hard and pay attention will be rewarded with trophy blackfish. “Find a little structure, keep the bait on the bottom, don’t move it, and wait,” Bounds recommends.

Fish Bound IV has been fishing 10 to 30 miles offshore, between 60 and 120 feet of water. “If the wind has been blowing — and the wind always seems to blow in the winter — go farther offshore in search of clear water when the wind is more manageable,” Bounds says.

Really windy days keep the boat closer to shore or at the dock.

Even when a tog bites, Bounds warns against acting too quickly. “Quit trying to set the hook prematurely; let the fish eat,” he says. Cold water blackfish move slowly and suspiciously. “I was just fussing at people today about setting the hook too soon,” Bounds laughs.

Tog fishing should remain steady off Mid-Atlantic states, as long as the water temperature is above 42 degrees.

Tautog Fishing Tackle

For tautog tackle, Bounds recommends a medium-heavy rod with a soft tip and considerable backbone. “Most of the anglers are using a Jigging World Night Ranger rod,” Bounds says. 

The rod is matched to a conventional reel spooled with 50-pound braided line. “A slower reel, 3:1 to 5:1 retrieve ratio, brings the tog to the surface slowly, improving chances of survival after being released,” Bounds explains. 

To the end of the braided line, Bounds adds six feet of 50 pound monofilament for abrasion resistance and stretch. He ties a three-way rig with a 5/0 octopus hook and 6- to 12-ounce bank sinker. “Switch sinkers to match the current,” Bounds suggests. Adding weight as the current increases ensures the bait stays in the structure directly under the boat.

When the current drops, anglers switch to lighter spinning gear and a 2-ounce jig with a short-shank hook. The jig makes it possible to place the bait directly on the bottom, even in heavy structure. 

Top Baits for Blackfish

The top bait for Mid-Atlantic anglers is green crabs. “Sometimes the fish want a big crab, sometimes a small one,” Bounds adds. He says blackfish are picky and will prefer a whole crab or half, legs or no legs. “I keep experimenting until I find what works that day,” he says.  

The post Best Bets for Winter Blackfish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Catching yellowfin tuna was red hot for the commercial fishing boat “Luna Sea” off Brielle, N.J. on Oct. 22. That’s when Capt. Matt Florio of Brick, N.J. hooked, fought and landed a different kind of tuna, reports the Asbury Park Press.

It was an albacore or longfin tuna that has unofficially become the New Jersey record, beating the old top mark for the species. The soon-to-be-former N.J. record albacore was caught almost 40 years ago by Dr. S. Scannapiego in the Spencer Canyon, weighing 77-pounds, 15-ounces.

The “Luna Sea” crew was hammering tuna in the East Elbow of the Hudson Canyon, located nearly 100 miles east of the mouth of the Hudson River when Florio boated his 78-pound, 1.5-ounce albacore.

Florio’s fish was weighed on certified scales at Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle. The paperwork making the heavyweight albacore the new state record currently is working through the process handled by New Jersey Fish and Wildlife.

The whole crew aboard the “Luna Sea” that day are commercial fishermen. They included Luke Florio, Chris Steinert and Sean Lodzinski all of Brick and Sam Messler of Stafford, N.J.

Albacore or longfin tuna have worldwide range in warm temperate waters, according to the IGFA. However, the deep-water sportfish make seasonal migrations into colder waters, such as those found off the Northeastern U. S.

Albacore usually are easy to distinguish from other tuna by oversize pectoral fins that appear more like wings on the fish than fins when its cruising the water.

The highly-regarded gamefish can be caught multiple ways, including jigging, trolling and chunking with bait. The fish is prized as a table fish for its desirable white meat.

The IGFA All-Tackle record albacore weighed 88-pounds, 2-ounces and was caught in 1977 by angler Siegfried Dickmann in the Canary Islands, located off the northwest coast of Africa.

The post Nearly 40-Year Old Albacore Record Likely Broken in New Jersey appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.