The Billfish bite off Virginia’s coast is “White Hot”! The end of last week saw some of the best White Marlin action of the year. Boats encountered dozens of fish each day, many releasing more fish than they hade bragging flags. Conditions were prime before Gabrielle, so now we just need another weather window to see if the fish are still around.
Boats fishing from the Norfolk Canyon to just north of the Cigar found themselves in a soup of White Marlin. Some areas resembled coastal striper season with the numerous amount of boats fishing in one spot. Fleets from as far as Ocean City, MD traveled nearly 100 miles to reach these fish. Several boats from Oregon Inlet even joined in the hunt. The activity was amazing. White Marlin cutting the surface balling up bait, 4-6 boats simultaneously backing down with multiple hook-ups; zigzagging their way through the maze of boats, and multiple fish entering spreads at the same time causing controlled chaos in the pit for brief periods. Every direction you looked, you saw fish airing out trying to throw the hooks they found in the baits. It’s the fishing that many dream about.
VBSF Sponsor “Backlash” scored big during this awesome bite. They caught and released 18 white marlin, running out of flags to fly. Capt Steve also put his charter on a Blue Marlin , just for some variety. “High Hopes” got into the action releasing multiple Whites and a Blue Marlin as well. “Waverunner” put its charters on several White Marlin during this awesome bite.
“Wired Up” headed out on Saturday and went right to the hot spot. Neal Klar put his crew on the fish and the morning action was what they’d been waiting for. Bob DuBell of Team ‘Still Think’n” took a day off from behind the wheel and entered the pit. He caught and released two White Marlin. I had the pleasure of fishing with them and got a couple Whites myself. “Wired Up” ended the day with 5 White Marlin flags flying back at Rudee Inlet. All their fish were caught by Noon.
Large Mahi have made a showing this week as well. Trina Williams of Maryland fished on “Frog Pile” and landed a 38 pound dolphin. Shawn Key of Gainesville, VA fished on “Backlash” and boxed a 25 pound Cow. He also found himself in a tug-of-war with a 36 pound Wahoo.
Several Yellowfin Tunas made it back to the scales. ‘TopNotch” caught several in the 60 pound range. The Fall tuna run is close at hand. Boats fishing the Hudson Canyon off New Jersey are already boating large Yellowfin, some scaling 100 pounds. With each cold front that enters our area, the water temps will drop ushering in those Yellow Buses. It’s also nearing time for the Longfin Tuna or True Albacore to arrive. These are the smaller cousins of the Yellowfin, but they are hard fighters nonetheless. Not to mention, their table fare is out of this world.
False Albies are making their presence known around the Fingers, Cigar, Weather Buoy and even around the near shore wrecks. These are great fighters on light tackle. Some can reach a pretty substantial size. Remember, a 32 incher gets you a release citation from the VA Saltwater Tournament.
The Chesapeake Light Tower and it’s surrounding reefs and wrecks are holding some large Amber Jack and Jack Crevalle. VBSF Sponsor “Paige II” put its customers on a few release citation Jack Crevalle last week. These fish are taking live spot or croaker, but can also be had on top water plugs. They won’t be here long, so get out there soon.
Oregon Inlet, a.k.a. “Tuna Town”, is still hosting some great tuna action. Big Eyes continue to take top billing. Boats are returning daily with fish topping 100 pounds. One scaled yesterday at 196 pounds. Several Yellowfin in the 70 pound range were caught post Gabrielle. The fleet is still tracking down some wonderful billfish action. Blues, Whites, and several Sailfish were released including a Grand Slam for one lucky boat.
The Hatteras Fleet was tied up at the docks for a few days due to the storm, but once the weather cleared, they were right back on the fish. Mahi action improved as well as the Wahoo bite. Several Hoo’s neared the 50 pound mark. A few Blackfin Tuna were invited back for dinner for a few crews. King Mackerel are scattered, but will start to show in better numbers as the season progresses.
Don't forget to check the VBSF homepage for weekly Inshore, Offshore, Surf and Pier Reports.
Get out there and Catch ‘em Up!!
Full Version: VBSF Offshore RunDown 9/14/07
Virginia Beach Sport Fishing > VBSF.net Sport Fishing Forums > Offshore, Gulf Stream & Canyons (Ocean City MD to Hatteras NC)
QUOTE (skinnys-kid @ Sep 14 2007, 07:30 AM)
The Billfish bite off Virginia’s coast is “White Hot”! The end of last week saw some of the best White Marlin action of the year. Boats encountered dozens of fish each day, many releasing more fish than they hade bragging flags. Conditions were prime before Gabrielle, so now we just need another weather window to see if the fish are still around.
Boats fishing from the Norfolk Canyon to just north of the Cigar found themselves in a soup of White Marlin. Some areas resembled coastal striper season with the numerous amount of boats fishing in one spot. Fleets from as far as Ocean City, MD traveled nearly 100 miles to reach these fish. Several boats from Oregon Inlet even joined in the hunt. The activity was amazing. White Marlin cutting the surface balling up bait, 4-6 boats simultaneously backing down with multiple hook-ups; zigzagging their way through the maze of boats, and multiple fish entering spreads at the same time causing controlled chaos in the pit for brief periods. Every direction you looked, you saw fish airing out trying to throw the hooks they found in the baits. It’s the fishing that many dream about.
VBSF Sponsor “Backlash” scored big during this awesome bite. They caught and released 18 white marlin, running out of flags to fly. Capt Steve also put his charter on a Blue Marlin , just for some variety. “High Hopes” got into the action releasing multiple Whites and a Blue Marlin as well. “Waverunner” put its charters on several White Marlin during this awesome bite.
“Wired Up” headed out on Saturday and went right to the hot spot. Neal Klar put his crew on the fish and the morning action was what they’d been waiting for. Bob DuBell of Team ‘Still Think’n” took a day off from behind the wheel and entered the pit. He caught and released two White Marlin. I had the pleasure of fishing with them and got a couple Whites myself. “Wired Up” ended the day with 5 White Marlin flags flying back at Rudee Inlet. All their fish were caught by Noon.
Large Mahi have made a showing this week as well. Trina Williams of Maryland fished on “Frog Pile” and landed a 38 pound dolphin. Shawn Key of Gainesville, VA fished on “Backlash” and boxed a 25 pound Cow. He also found himself in a tug-of-war with a 36 pound Wahoo.
Several Yellowfin Tunas made it back to the scales. ‘TopNotch” caught several in the 60 pound range. The Fall tuna run is close at hand. Boats fishing the Hudson Canyon off New Jersey are already boating large Yellowfin, some scaling 100 pounds. With each cold front that enters our area, the water temps will drop ushering in those Yellow Buses. It’s also nearing time for the Longfin Tuna or True Albacore to arrive. These are the smaller cousins of the Yellowfin, but they are hard fighters nonetheless. Not to mention, their table fare is out of this world.
False Albies are making their presence known around the Fingers, Cigar, Weather Buoy and even around the near shore wrecks. These are great fighters on light tackle. Some can reach a pretty substantial size. Remember, a 32 incher gets you a release citation from the VA Saltwater Tournament.
The Chesapeake Light Tower and it’s surrounding reefs and wrecks are holding some large Amber Jack and Jack Crevalle. VBSF Sponsor “Paige II” put its customers on a few release citation Jack Crevalle last week. These fish are taking live spot or croaker, but can also be had on top water plugs. They won’t be here long, so get out there soon.
Oregon Inlet, a.k.a. “Tuna Town”, is still hosting some great tuna action. Big Eyes continue to take top billing. Boats are returning daily with fish topping 100 pounds. One scaled yesterday at 196 pounds. Several Yellowfin in the 70 pound range were caught post Gabrielle. The fleet is still tracking down some wonderful billfish action. Blues, Whites, and several Sailfish were released including a Grand Slam for one lucky boat.
The Hatteras Fleet was tied up at the docks for a few days due to the storm, but once the weather cleared, they were right back on the fish. Mahi action improved as well as the Wahoo bite. Several Hoo’s neared the 50 pound mark. A few Blackfin Tuna were invited back for dinner for a few crews. King Mackerel are scattered, but will start to show in better numbers as the season progresses.
Don't forget to check the VBSF homepage for weekly Inshore, Offshore, Surf and Pier Reports.
Get out there and Catch ‘em Up!!
Boats fishing from the Norfolk Canyon to just north of the Cigar found themselves in a soup of White Marlin. Some areas resembled coastal striper season with the numerous amount of boats fishing in one spot. Fleets from as far as Ocean City, MD traveled nearly 100 miles to reach these fish. Several boats from Oregon Inlet even joined in the hunt. The activity was amazing. White Marlin cutting the surface balling up bait, 4-6 boats simultaneously backing down with multiple hook-ups; zigzagging their way through the maze of boats, and multiple fish entering spreads at the same time causing controlled chaos in the pit for brief periods. Every direction you looked, you saw fish airing out trying to throw the hooks they found in the baits. It’s the fishing that many dream about.
VBSF Sponsor “Backlash” scored big during this awesome bite. They caught and released 18 white marlin, running out of flags to fly. Capt Steve also put his charter on a Blue Marlin , just for some variety. “High Hopes” got into the action releasing multiple Whites and a Blue Marlin as well. “Waverunner” put its charters on several White Marlin during this awesome bite.
“Wired Up” headed out on Saturday and went right to the hot spot. Neal Klar put his crew on the fish and the morning action was what they’d been waiting for. Bob DuBell of Team ‘Still Think’n” took a day off from behind the wheel and entered the pit. He caught and released two White Marlin. I had the pleasure of fishing with them and got a couple Whites myself. “Wired Up” ended the day with 5 White Marlin flags flying back at Rudee Inlet. All their fish were caught by Noon.
Large Mahi have made a showing this week as well. Trina Williams of Maryland fished on “Frog Pile” and landed a 38 pound dolphin. Shawn Key of Gainesville, VA fished on “Backlash” and boxed a 25 pound Cow. He also found himself in a tug-of-war with a 36 pound Wahoo.
Several Yellowfin Tunas made it back to the scales. ‘TopNotch” caught several in the 60 pound range. The Fall tuna run is close at hand. Boats fishing the Hudson Canyon off New Jersey are already boating large Yellowfin, some scaling 100 pounds. With each cold front that enters our area, the water temps will drop ushering in those Yellow Buses. It’s also nearing time for the Longfin Tuna or True Albacore to arrive. These are the smaller cousins of the Yellowfin, but they are hard fighters nonetheless. Not to mention, their table fare is out of this world.
False Albies are making their presence known around the Fingers, Cigar, Weather Buoy and even around the near shore wrecks. These are great fighters on light tackle. Some can reach a pretty substantial size. Remember, a 32 incher gets you a release citation from the VA Saltwater Tournament.
The Chesapeake Light Tower and it’s surrounding reefs and wrecks are holding some large Amber Jack and Jack Crevalle. VBSF Sponsor “Paige II” put its customers on a few release citation Jack Crevalle last week. These fish are taking live spot or croaker, but can also be had on top water plugs. They won’t be here long, so get out there soon.
Oregon Inlet, a.k.a. “Tuna Town”, is still hosting some great tuna action. Big Eyes continue to take top billing. Boats are returning daily with fish topping 100 pounds. One scaled yesterday at 196 pounds. Several Yellowfin in the 70 pound range were caught post Gabrielle. The fleet is still tracking down some wonderful billfish action. Blues, Whites, and several Sailfish were released including a Grand Slam for one lucky boat.
The Hatteras Fleet was tied up at the docks for a few days due to the storm, but once the weather cleared, they were right back on the fish. Mahi action improved as well as the Wahoo bite. Several Hoo’s neared the 50 pound mark. A few Blackfin Tuna were invited back for dinner for a few crews. King Mackerel are scattered, but will start to show in better numbers as the season progresses.
Don't forget to check the VBSF homepage for weekly Inshore, Offshore, Surf and Pier Reports.
Get out there and Catch ‘em Up!!
Thanks for the great report Don! Glad you also got some press as an angler.
Stand by for some great action as this weather finishes off later this week! Can't wait to try those new custom Chugger Birds on the tuna!!!Tight lines.
Dave
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