‘He said to them: Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore; and now they were not able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes.’—John 21:6
Some are calling it epic, others insane, crazy, awesome, while some say Biblical, and many are just plan speechless. What they are talking about is the numbers of Billfish being released off of Virginia Beach, VA over the last week. Now anglers aren’t using nets, but they have definitely found ‘the multitude of fishes’!
Last week ended with boats returning with 164 White Marlin releases. Those catches were spread between 11 boats. Nine of those were fishing the Big Money Open and were responsible for 143 Whites, including Canyon Express’ 24 releases. Those in the fishing world thought that was the pinnacle of a fantastic bite. Could it really get any better than that? Well, apparently it can.
As I was driving to a meeting yesterday, I got a call from David Bailey. He said, “Have you heard?!!?” He went on to tell me some of the early reports of epic numbers of fish being caught around the Norfolk Canyon. Then those reports spread like wildfire and phones were ringing off the hook…pardon the pun. What was about to be witnessed was simply amazing.
Sixteen boats ventured out to a warm water eddy that has been pushing down the edge of the 50 fathom curve from as far north as the Spencer Canyon. Once on site, it seems the action was on. Boats were encountering 4-5 Whites at a time, barely able to keep baits in the water without hooking up to fish. Crews reported seeing three to four times as many fish then were actually caught and released. Balls of bait were being hit by cutters slashing through them for quick meal. I spoke with Jared Bailey and Mark Connors on Outcast. They were fishing with only three people, that’s one at the helm and two in the pit. They ended the day with 19 Whites and a Blue Marlin. Jared said he was holding two rods at the same time and using his chin to set the drag. Mark also told me about a site never seen in his many years of being on the water. They were hooked up to a rat White that was doing it’s usually greyhounding across the water. Then there was a boil behind the fish that was different. All of a sudden the White sped off and jumped 50 feet across the surface, only to be followed by a huge Blue marlin that was looking to eat it.
Most of the fleet extended their fishing day well into the evening, not caring about a run home in the dark. Leaving a bite like this is very difficult to say the least. The first of the boats started to come in around 8:00pm, hanging anywhere from 10 to 20 Billfish flags. With their return came more news of what was still to come. When it was all said and done, the 16 boats tallied 326 Billfish. There were 6 Blue Marlin, 1 Sailfish and 319 White Marlin. Capt Steve Richardson and crew on Backlash scratched 41 White Marlin and a Blue. Rebel came off an overnight trip and ended up with 30 Whites and 3 Blues. Waterman, Caroline, and Juggernaut all scratched 25. Kelly on Juggernaut told me that the next generation of anglers got into the action on their boat. Trey, who is 13 years old, caught 6 Whites, as did twins Ty and Trent who are 9 years old.
The rest of the fleet scored out as follows:
Sniper 24 Whites, Reel Passion 21 Whites, Just Right 20 Whites, Time Flies 18 Whites, Keyed Up 16 Whites, Victory Lap 15 Whites and 1 Blue, Tippecanoe 15 Whites, Oblivion 10 Whites, Friendship 9 Whites and a Sailfish, and No Patience 6 Whites.
This was truly a record setting day!
The day prior, Billable Ours set out with a partial crew from across the pond. Bill Arnold and Steve Cupples are from Portsmouth, England and had a mission to get Steve his first Billfish. As we crossed over the Norfolk Canyon, the Tiki Bar in the center of the spread gets crashed by a Billfish. Then the Spanish Mack on the right short goes screaming. Dave Bailey drops the bait back as it was rigged on a circle hook and its game time for Steve. He is hooked up to his first Billfish. He fights the fish and we get it boat side for a tag and a clean release on a nice White marlin about 60 pounds. Well at the end of the day it was mission accomplished plus some. Steve and Bill ended up bailing 17 gaffer Mahi as well. Steve not only caught his first White marlin, he also boxed a 22.5 pound Mahi. It was a trip to remember.
Mahi are starting to show up along the Canyon walls and in the scattered weeds. Fish are ranging from 4-5 pounds up to near citation weights. Several nice Wahoo were also caught this week including a 54 pounder on Oblivion and a 56 pounder on Keyed Up.
Tuna are showing in great numbers as well as size out of Oregon Inlet. Boats are retuning with limits of Yellowfin with some fish topping 75 pounds to as much as 80. Wahoo to 50 pounds are also hitting the docks. Some boats are running north to get into the Billfish action and are being rewarded for their efforts with good numbers of White marlin and Sailfish.
Hatteras continues to produce a mixed bag of fish. Mahi, Blackfin tuna, some scattered Yellowfin, Wahoo and King mackerel and rounding out the buffet offshore.
This is a great time of the year! Don’t be left sitting wondering what you would have caught if you went out. Get out there and…
Catch ‘em Up!! Make everyday a Blue Marlin Day!!!
Full Version: Offshore Report Sept 25th
Virginia Beach Sport Fishing > VBSF.net Sport Fishing Forums > Offshore, Gulf Stream & Canyons (Ocean City MD to Hatteras NC)
incredible. Good thing I moved to CLT. 
Don,
One of your best reports! Keep up the great work and thanks. Glad to have you part of the team.
Tight lines.
Dave
One of your best reports! Keep up the great work and thanks. Glad to have you part of the team.
Tight lines.
Dave
QUOTE (skinnys-kid @ Sep 24 2009, 10:50 AM) 
‘He said to them: Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore; and now they were not able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes.’—John 21:6
Some are calling it epic, others insane, crazy, awesome, while some say Biblical, and many are just plan speechless. What they are talking about is the numbers of Billfish being released off of Virginia Beach, VA over the last week. Now anglers aren’t using nets, but they have definitely found ‘the multitude of fishes’!
Last week ended with boats returning with 164 White Marlin releases. Those catches were spread between 11 boats. Nine of those were fishing the Big Money Open and were responsible for 143 Whites, including Canyon Express’ 24 releases. Those in the fishing world thought that was the pinnacle of a fantastic bite. Could it really get any better than that? Well, apparently it can.
As I was driving to a meeting yesterday, I got a call from David Bailey. He said, “Have you heard?!!?” He went on to tell me some of the early reports of epic numbers of fish being caught around the Norfolk Canyon. Then those reports spread like wildfire and phones were ringing off the hook…pardon the pun. What was about to be witnessed was simply amazing.
Sixteen boats ventured out to a warm water eddy that has been pushing down the edge of the 50 fathom curve from as far north as the Spencer Canyon. Once on site, it seems the action was on. Boats were encountering 4-5 Whites at a time, barely able to keep baits in the water without hooking up to fish. Crews reported seeing three to four times as many fish then were actually caught and released. Balls of bait were being hit by cutters slashing through them for quick meal. I spoke with Jared Bailey and Mark Connors on Outcast. They were fishing with only three people, that’s one at the helm and two in the pit. They ended the day with 19 Whites and a Blue Marlin. Jared said he was holding two rods at the same time and using his chin to set the drag. Mark also told me about a site never seen in his many years of being on the water. They were hooked up to a rat White that was doing it’s usually greyhounding across the water. Then there was a boil behind the fish that was different. All of a sudden the White sped off and jumped 50 feet across the surface, only to be followed by a huge Blue marlin that was looking to eat it.
Most of the fleet extended their fishing day well into the evening, not caring about a run home in the dark. Leaving a bite like this is very difficult to say the least. The first of the boats started to come in around 8:00pm, hanging anywhere from 10 to 20 Billfish flags. With their return came more news of what was still to come. When it was all said and done, the 16 boats tallied 326 Billfish. There were 6 Blue Marlin, 1 Sailfish and 319 White Marlin. Capt Steve Richardson and crew on Backlash scratched 41 White Marlin and a Blue. Rebel came off an overnight trip and ended up with 30 Whites and 3 Blues. Waterman, Caroline, and Juggernaut all scratched 25. Kelly on Juggernaut told me that the next generation of anglers got into the action on their boat. Trey, who is 13 years old, caught 6 Whites, as did twins Ty and Trent who are 9 years old.
The rest of the fleet scored out as follows:
Sniper 24 Whites, Reel Passion 21 Whites, Just Right 20 Whites, Time Flies 18 Whites, Keyed Up 16 Whites, Victory Lap 15 Whites and 1 Blue, Tippecanoe 15 Whites, Oblivion 10 Whites, Friendship 9 Whites and a Sailfish, and No Patience 6 Whites.
This was truly a record setting day!
The day prior, Billable Ours set out with a partial crew from across the pond. Bill Arnold and Steve Cupples are from Portsmouth, England and had a mission to get Steve his first Billfish. As we crossed over the Norfolk Canyon, the Tiki Bar in the center of the spread gets crashed by a Billfish. Then the Spanish Mack on the right short goes screaming. Dave Bailey drops the bait back as it was rigged on a circle hook and its game time for Steve. He is hooked up to his first Billfish. He fights the fish and we get it boat side for a tag and a clean release on a nice White marlin about 60 pounds. Well at the end of the day it was mission accomplished plus some. Steve and Bill ended up bailing 17 gaffer Mahi as well. Steve not only caught his first White marlin, he also boxed a 22.5 pound Mahi. It was a trip to remember.
Mahi are starting to show up along the Canyon walls and in the scattered weeds. Fish are ranging from 4-5 pounds up to near citation weights. Several nice Wahoo were also caught this week including a 54 pounder on Oblivion and a 56 pounder on Keyed Up.
Tuna are showing in great numbers as well as size out of Oregon Inlet. Boats are retuning with limits of Yellowfin with some fish topping 75 pounds to as much as 80. Wahoo to 50 pounds are also hitting the docks. Some boats are running north to get into the Billfish action and are being rewarded for their efforts with good numbers of White marlin and Sailfish.
Hatteras continues to produce a mixed bag of fish. Mahi, Blackfin tuna, some scattered Yellowfin, Wahoo and King mackerel and rounding out the buffet offshore.
This is a great time of the year! Don’t be left sitting wondering what you would have caught if you went out. Get out there and…
Catch ‘em Up!! Make everyday a Blue Marlin Day!!!
Some are calling it epic, others insane, crazy, awesome, while some say Biblical, and many are just plan speechless. What they are talking about is the numbers of Billfish being released off of Virginia Beach, VA over the last week. Now anglers aren’t using nets, but they have definitely found ‘the multitude of fishes’!
Last week ended with boats returning with 164 White Marlin releases. Those catches were spread between 11 boats. Nine of those were fishing the Big Money Open and were responsible for 143 Whites, including Canyon Express’ 24 releases. Those in the fishing world thought that was the pinnacle of a fantastic bite. Could it really get any better than that? Well, apparently it can.
As I was driving to a meeting yesterday, I got a call from David Bailey. He said, “Have you heard?!!?” He went on to tell me some of the early reports of epic numbers of fish being caught around the Norfolk Canyon. Then those reports spread like wildfire and phones were ringing off the hook…pardon the pun. What was about to be witnessed was simply amazing.
Sixteen boats ventured out to a warm water eddy that has been pushing down the edge of the 50 fathom curve from as far north as the Spencer Canyon. Once on site, it seems the action was on. Boats were encountering 4-5 Whites at a time, barely able to keep baits in the water without hooking up to fish. Crews reported seeing three to four times as many fish then were actually caught and released. Balls of bait were being hit by cutters slashing through them for quick meal. I spoke with Jared Bailey and Mark Connors on Outcast. They were fishing with only three people, that’s one at the helm and two in the pit. They ended the day with 19 Whites and a Blue Marlin. Jared said he was holding two rods at the same time and using his chin to set the drag. Mark also told me about a site never seen in his many years of being on the water. They were hooked up to a rat White that was doing it’s usually greyhounding across the water. Then there was a boil behind the fish that was different. All of a sudden the White sped off and jumped 50 feet across the surface, only to be followed by a huge Blue marlin that was looking to eat it.
Most of the fleet extended their fishing day well into the evening, not caring about a run home in the dark. Leaving a bite like this is very difficult to say the least. The first of the boats started to come in around 8:00pm, hanging anywhere from 10 to 20 Billfish flags. With their return came more news of what was still to come. When it was all said and done, the 16 boats tallied 326 Billfish. There were 6 Blue Marlin, 1 Sailfish and 319 White Marlin. Capt Steve Richardson and crew on Backlash scratched 41 White Marlin and a Blue. Rebel came off an overnight trip and ended up with 30 Whites and 3 Blues. Waterman, Caroline, and Juggernaut all scratched 25. Kelly on Juggernaut told me that the next generation of anglers got into the action on their boat. Trey, who is 13 years old, caught 6 Whites, as did twins Ty and Trent who are 9 years old.
The rest of the fleet scored out as follows:
Sniper 24 Whites, Reel Passion 21 Whites, Just Right 20 Whites, Time Flies 18 Whites, Keyed Up 16 Whites, Victory Lap 15 Whites and 1 Blue, Tippecanoe 15 Whites, Oblivion 10 Whites, Friendship 9 Whites and a Sailfish, and No Patience 6 Whites.
This was truly a record setting day!
The day prior, Billable Ours set out with a partial crew from across the pond. Bill Arnold and Steve Cupples are from Portsmouth, England and had a mission to get Steve his first Billfish. As we crossed over the Norfolk Canyon, the Tiki Bar in the center of the spread gets crashed by a Billfish. Then the Spanish Mack on the right short goes screaming. Dave Bailey drops the bait back as it was rigged on a circle hook and its game time for Steve. He is hooked up to his first Billfish. He fights the fish and we get it boat side for a tag and a clean release on a nice White marlin about 60 pounds. Well at the end of the day it was mission accomplished plus some. Steve and Bill ended up bailing 17 gaffer Mahi as well. Steve not only caught his first White marlin, he also boxed a 22.5 pound Mahi. It was a trip to remember.
Mahi are starting to show up along the Canyon walls and in the scattered weeds. Fish are ranging from 4-5 pounds up to near citation weights. Several nice Wahoo were also caught this week including a 54 pounder on Oblivion and a 56 pounder on Keyed Up.
Tuna are showing in great numbers as well as size out of Oregon Inlet. Boats are retuning with limits of Yellowfin with some fish topping 75 pounds to as much as 80. Wahoo to 50 pounds are also hitting the docks. Some boats are running north to get into the Billfish action and are being rewarded for their efforts with good numbers of White marlin and Sailfish.
Hatteras continues to produce a mixed bag of fish. Mahi, Blackfin tuna, some scattered Yellowfin, Wahoo and King mackerel and rounding out the buffet offshore.
This is a great time of the year! Don’t be left sitting wondering what you would have caught if you went out. Get out there and…
Catch ‘em Up!! Make everyday a Blue Marlin Day!!!
Does anyone know what happened to Backlash? I heard they hit a submerged floating piling and tore the gear off the bottom. Hope all is well.
I was fishing Rudee Wed. night and saw a boat come in with too many flags to count. Definitely a hot bite goin' on...
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.