Boats fishing out of Delaware Bay ports and ports along the Delaware coast also enjoyed some decent tuna action. Most of the better fishing this past season -- and for the last several seasons -- has been in the Wilmington and Baltimore canyons.

How far offshore the boats must fish has to do with the currents along the coast on any given year. Some years, a good section of blue water breaks off from the Gulf Stream and moves closer to the coast. When this happens, it's not uncommon to see the tunas being caught on the inside edges of the canyons. However, if the blue water stays farther off, then it will be a longer run.

One nice thing about the offshore fishing in recent years is that anglers have been seeing more swordfish, makos, albacore and bonito, which have really been spicing up the catch.

Chunking with butterfish and other baits has always been the mainstay on the bigger boats. However, many charter boats score a lot of tuna by trolling, especially when the chunking is slow. There has also been a trend of better catches being boated by the light of the moon.

There you have it -- a look at the major game fish species found along the Mid-Atlantic coastline.

The last several years have seen increasing regulations on these fish and, let's face it, some tough weather. So keep your fingers crossed that at least the weatherman treats us to good conditions this year.

Find more about Mid-Atlantic fishing and hunting at: MidAtlanticGameandFish.com