Anglers Journal celebrates the best writing, photography, illustration, design and sporting art on the topic of fishing. Come join some of the most prolific fishing editors and writers in the industry for the best angling experience on the water.
The eye of a fish is a window into the world it inhabits. Mahi-mahi, being visual feeders and swimming at speeds as fast as 50 mph, need a very “quick” eye. They are the fastest-growing fish in the sea, sometimes maxing out at 4 feet and 50 pounds in three years, which is as long as most live. They live fast and eat voraciously. Mahi are “feeding machines,” says Greg Stunz, director of the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation at Texas A&M University. Their eyes have a speed of vision almost twice that of swordfish so they can see their prey as they streak through the water, says Kerstin Fritsches, who has studied how fishes’ eyes adapt to their environment. Mahi usually feed near the surface, where there’s plenty…
Growing up on Marthas Vineyard was an endless summer for me. I lived for fishing on our 96-square-mile island, which lies about seven miles across Vineyard Sound from Cape Cod, Mass. My grandfather was a fisherman, as was my dad, so I guess its not surprising my brother and I would fish, too. My friends and I fished any time we could, including some nights when we sneaked out our bedroom windows to catch stripers, blues and enormous conger eels. You never found us home watching television when we could be fishing off the Steamship Authority Dock in Oak Bluffs, my home for 12 years. The dock watchman knew us, so we had the run of the place. We could catch something almost any day there. One day, when I…
I’ve fished cypress swamps for 50 years and never tire of the solitude and natural splendor. As the sun rises through the cypress, the swamp comes alive with bird sounds — the melody of warblers, the squawks of herons and egret leaving their roosts, the buzzing of chickadees and titmice gleaning insects. It’s like a concerto written for me, and as it grows to a crescendo it enriches my soul. The aromas of the bottoms are; mix of rich, earthy smells, the fragrance of clean water and the piney scent of cypress needles. I can conjure them even now, along with the gentle caress of a breeze; sightings of eagles, whitetail deer, black bears, turtles and snakes. As I enjoy all this, I am ever watchful for a cypress knee…
Welcome to the second issue of Anglers Journal. If you missed the first, we are happy to have you join us for our summer edition. The fact that you are holding it in your hands suggests we may be long-lost cousins, at least kindred spirits in the pursuit of fish, camaraderie and the kind of experiences you can only have when you’re living in the here and now, off the beaten path. How did we get here? It’s funny how we often circle back to a beginning, to some point that with age and the perspective of time and distance we recognize as a start. For me, one such beginning took place beside a small, unnamed tidal creek that flows through the salt marsh near my family home in Rhode…
RUSSELL CHATHAM is an accomplished fly fisherman, author and celebrated artist best known for his lithographs and paintings of Western landscapes. He lives in the San Francisco area. CHRIS DOMBROWSKI is the author of two books of poetry, most recently “Earth Again” (Wayne State University Press). He lives with his family in western Montana, where he has guided anglers for 17 years. GARY CAPUTI, a lifelong angler, is a marine journalist and the director of corporate development for the Recreational Fishing Alliance. He wrote the piece on marlin expert Bart Miller that appears in this issue. BARRY GIBSON, a former editor of Salt Water Sportsman magazine, has spent more than three decades in federal fishery management in the Northeast and owns a charter boat in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. DAVE LASKA…
Let me start by saying I have never written a letter to a magazine editor, either pro or con. That said, your new publication is the best I have ever read, and I enjoyed the entire issue. It seems most of the publications I receive are identical in format and pictures, lacking in interest. The contributors you have assembled are the best in the business, and I hope the format remains the same. I have been going to Cuttyhunk since the early 1950s. I met Coot Hall and Charlie Tilton Sr. in the early days. I have fished with Bob Smith, Roland Columbe, Charlie Tilton Jr., Jimmy Nunes, Pete Lehner and George Isabel. I know and admire Bruce Borges [on the cover above] and Dwayne Lynch. These guys all represent…
