In the local fishing scene there are few men who can hold a line to the one I am about to talk about.

Jake Worthington has numerous awards from organizations like the Outer Banks Anglers Club and 13 citations from the state for fish such as blue fin tuna, striper and wahoo.

He has been on charter boats, private boats and more or less grew up on Avalon pier.

Worthington is a respected angler from Camden and is often invited to fish tournaments just because he is such a great man with a rod and reel in his hands.

What makes him so impressive to me is he that he is only 15 years old.

And when he gets a chance to go fishing ,this boy can fish. His father Jon and his mother Lori have been encouraging Jake with the sport since he was small and with their help he has had the opportunity to fish some of the best waters the east coast has to offer.

Jon Worthington is no rookie to the sport, He and his son have had the chance to fish together all their lives and they never miss the opportunity to get into a tournament or club function.

It is a rare thing that a father and son want to spend so much time together and even harder to find it when with a boy of Jake’s age. I have beenfishing with Jon and Jake many times and I have to keep reminding myself that Jake is still just 15 and doesn’t even drive a car yet.

We have fought many a fish together including cobia, mahi and even the occasional shark or two.

Jake is a member of the Outer Banks Anglers Club, the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club, the Southern Kingfish Association, the Billfish Association and the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association.

He has the opportunity to excel in a sport that he loves in an area that thrives in his sport along with the family support that will encourage him to follow his passion.

Jake is working on getting into a college in order to further his dreams on the water and expand the sport that he loves so much.

I wish that all families could get together and support their kids and introduce them to fishing the way Jake’s parents have.

Hats off to Jon and Lori and especially to Jake for all he does in our sport and I know we will be seeing him in our fishing reports in the future.

What’s biting, where ...

The fishing report is looking good with the offshore bite picking up and the tuna hitting.

There are reports of great yellow fin bites along with some black fin mixed into the bag.

The beach in Hatteras has had some puppy drum and blues hitting the sand but with this cold weather coming in the stripers should be showing up somewhere along the coast.

I went to Virginia Beach this past weekend but the fish had moved offshore again and there was not a fish to be had.

This big north wind should bring them back within striking range.

Meanwhile, the sound bridge in Edenton is still paying off with keepers coming to the boat on big stretch Yo-Zuri’s in chartreuse and blue colors but you will have to fish your way through the small ones in order to get the keepers. We have information that the crappie have started with Bobby Hunt reporting he and some friends limited out on the Northwest River this week on live shiners, One angler caught a huge catfish on eel. It looks like if you give the fish a shot they will cooperate so let’s get out and go fishing.

Corrections

I would like to apologize to readers for several factual errors in recent columns.

The regulations on striped bass (rockfish) fishing in Virginia changed on Jan. 1, and I did not realize it. As a result, my column on Jan. 18 contained incorrect information.

The new limit on keeper rockfish in Virginia is two fish over 28 inches as long as they are caught outside the Chesapeake Bay and not over three miles offshore.

This will hold true until the end of March when the season will close.

Also, in a column on Dec. 27, I wrote that you need to have at least two motors on your boat if you are fishing more than three miles offshore and that you could be fined by the Coast Guard if you didn’t.

It turns out there is no rule or law, state or federal, requiring two motors, although the Coast Guard recommends at least two motors as a safety measure.

I apologize for the errors and promise to do a better job of checking facts in future columns to prevent the distribution of incorrect information.

If you have any questions or something to report, email me at fishingwithmike921@yahoo.com or hit me up on my new Facebook page, Fishing with Mike.