Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2018 i Salt Water Sportsman

YOUR CATCH To send in your catch photo, email us at catches@saltwatersportsman.com. DROP US A LINE Got a piece of good news to share? Want to gripe? Like to see your thoughts on the pages of Salt Water Sportsman? Send your letters, manuscripts and any relevant comments to editor@salt water sports man.com or via U.S. mail: SWS Editor, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL32789. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcomed but will not be acknowledged or returned unless accompanied by an SASE. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES: saltwatersportsman.com/cs or 800-759-2127. Outside the United States: 800-979-6828; Back Issues: 800-464-2819; Bulk Reprints: 877-652-5295, ext. 117.…

Getting a handle on accurate fish population data has always been a time-consuming and labor-intensive effort. Forage fish and predator species both need accurate research methods. On the high seas, NOAA Fisheries research vessels conduct index surveys to understand how pelagic populations are trending. In the process they have killed a lot of fish. For anadromous fish populations, there are a variety of manual and electronic counting methods. Wouldn’t it be great if researchers could come up with the needed data without killing any fish or installing complex electronic monitoring? We may be getting closer to that day. For the open-ocean data needs, the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science & Technology has been working on a project that can count fish going through an open-ended net. Researchers, led by…

This simple but dazzling preparation of fresh flounder fillets, while seeming complicated at first glance, actually goes together easily and quickly. Prepare the okra, corn and vinaigrette ahead of time; then it’s just few minutes to finish the fillets and pull the whole meal together. Pair Well Wine: Unoaked chardonnay, such as Hanzell Sebella Chardonnay Beer: Hoppy red ale Ingredients SAUTÉED FLOUNDER: Four, 6-ounce flounder fillets • 2 Tbsp. butter • sprig of thyme CREAMLESS CREAMED CORN: 4 cups fresh corn, off the cob • 1 Tbsp. honey • ½ tsp. Tabasco • 2 tsp. sherry vinegar • salt • white pepper FRIED OKRA: 2 cups okra, ¼-inch slices • 1½ cups buttermilk • 1 cup all purpose flour • 1 cup cornmeal • 1 tsp. paprika • salt •…

LENGTH: 23'7" | BEAM: 8'10" | DRAFT: 17" WEIGHT: 3,500 lb. | FUEL: 125 gal. | MAX HP: 300 PRICE: $80,000 w/Yamaha F300 COBIA BOATS: cobiaboats.com Built on Cobia’s proven hull for superior performance, fuel efficiency, and a smooth open-water ride, the 240CC, the builder’s new 24-foot center console, sports a contemporary deck layout that incorporates a wide, open cockpit, level floor from bow to stern, and a wealth of premium fishing-related features, like twin 40-gallon in-floor fish boxes to chill a good day’s catch, a 28-gallon livewell to carry a substantial live-bait supply, and an aft tackle station sure to please the most demanding anglers. The 240CC is more than a fishing machine. It also offers comfort and amenities perfect for entertaining. A forward-entry head and an aft foldaway…

Striped bass, previously considered a marginal species in Canada’s cold waters, were present in small numbers in only New Brunswick’s Miramichi River and Quebec’s Saint Lawrence River. But over the past decade, stripers have spread around the southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence, including Bras d’Or Lake, Nova Scotia’s giant inland brackish sea, and even several locations in Labrador. The Miramichi River, long revered for its world-class Atlantic salmon fishing, has seen the striped bass population grow from 5,000 to more than 300,000 spawners in its lower reaches, and research indicates they’ve been eating as much as 18 percent of the river’s young salmon. Perhaps not coincidentally, Atlantic salmon numbers in the Miramichi have plunged. While correlation does not prove causality, this is a smoking gun, given that the young salmon…

George Poveromo What fish are eating provides the clue to productive baits or lures. Just how crucial is it to closely match your lures and natural baits in size and coloration to the predominant baitfish? The vast selection available in lure color and design and varieties of live baits makes your choice quite confusing at times. What’s the real scoop? SELECTIVE FEED When a particular baitfish species gathers within an environment, game fish often dial in on them exclusively. For instance, snook foraging on migrating mullet schools likely will ignore other baits, such as pinfish or herring. It’s a form of piscatorial tunnel vision in coastal, inshore and off shore waters. Case in point: Dee Kaminski and I trolled along an Islamorada weed line, occasionally watching dolphin pursuing tiny flying…

A little prep makes exploring new areas fun and fruitful. Whether prompted by a vacation or business trip, or simply fueled by the desire to catch different species, sooner or later the appeal of distant waters pushes anglers to travel away from home. Some research and preparation prior to taking off for parts unknown ensures trouble-free navigation and a fun, successful outing. The first and most important aspect when fishing away from my base is navigation,” says Capt. Brant McMullan, a North Carolina pro who has enjoyed tremendous success on the king mackerel trail and various big-game tournaments. He and his crew typically make six to eight major trips along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts each year, and most of the time, they go out early and come back in…

My chart plotter contains more than 1,160 waypoints and counting. These represent more than 35 years of on-water research. Many are treasured fishing spots that I expect to hand down to my kids, who might then pass them down to their own kids. If these waypoints were ever lost, I would be crushed, and I imagine many others feel the same about their spots. That lends impetus to the need to wisely manage and archive such electronic data to help ensure it will not mysteriously disappear into the ether one day. Wise waypoint management extends to how you organize the data. That might be about as scintillating as filing a tax return, but ongoing organization of waypoints makes you more efficient in returning to productive structure to find fish. NAME…

LENGTH: 32' BEAM: 10'8" DEADRISE: 22.5 degrees FUEL: 311 gal. WATER: 30 gal. WEIGHT: 8,975 lb. plus power MAX HP: 700 PRICE: $259,900 w/ twin Yamaha F350s SEA FOX BOATS: seafoxboats.com When Sea Fox designed the newest and largest member of its popular Commander series, the builder addressed every major need for the serious angler and incorporated a layout that leaves ample room for the crew to stretch out. The elegant appearance and the soft-riding stepped hull add to the appeal of this burly center console, and a close inspection reveals attention to detail and superb fit and finish. In case fishing tournaments and lengthy angling expeditions are in the plans, Sea Fox includes an array of desirable design elements and equipment as standard. Rod storage for 36 outfits can…

The Bahamian government has suspended the controversial flats fishing regulations and licensing requirements that went into effect in January 2017. In a statement, the Abaco Fly-Fishing Guides Association expressed relief over the suspension of the regulations, which called for foreign vessels wishing to fish Bahamian flats to obtain the usual sport-fishing permit and required all non-Bahamians over the age of 12 who wished to fish the flats to apply for a personal angler’s license and pay a fee (from $15 for a single day up to $60 for an annual license). The Abaco group blamed the stringent regulations introduced by the former Christie administration for causing a major decline in anglers visiting the Bahamas to bonefish. According to the AFFGA, the licensing process proved difficult and confusing. There was no…

MATERIALS/TOOLS • Egg sinkers, variety of sizes • Sturdy long-shank hooks, sized to sinker • Side cutters and a hammer ASSEMBLY 1. Choose a hook with a shank slightly longer than the egg sinker and clip the hook, just beyond the start of the bend. 2. Insert the hook shank into the egg sinker. Hook shanks with barbs hold best if you can locate the right size. 3. Hammer the sinker flat so the hook shank is secured inside. 4. To make a slip sinker, use only the straight part of the hook shank, then place the flattened sinker in a vise and use pliers to pull the hook shank out. WIN THIS REEL! Send us your original ideas, along with a sketch or photo. If we use your tip(s),…

LENGTH: 25'6" | BEAM: 8'6" | DRAFT: 12" WEIGHT: 3,600 lb. | FUEL: 83 gal. | MAX HP: 400 PRICE: From $97,695 CREVALLE BOATS: crevalleboats.com Designed to double as both a hardcore-fishing and family boat, Crevalle’s 26-foot center console boasts great looks and a wealth of standard features. With a 16-degree deadrise and an 8-foot-6-inch beam, the hull of the 26 Bay delivers a smooth ride on a stable platform and fits a range of uses. Anglers appreciate the storage for 10 rods in the foredeck, another four under the gunwales, and vertical rod tubes on the side of the console and the backrest of the leaning-post-style helm seat, as well as two built-in 72-quart insulated fish boxes, three livewells, in-deck storage for a cast net or 5-gallon bucket, raw-water…

In 1545, a Spanish ship met its fate on a treacherous and previously uncharted reef 70 miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Sailors who survived the shipwreck and made it back to the mainland described the coral-encircled islands as “more dangerous than a scorpion, which once it stings, it kills you slowly and painfully.” Thereafter, this remote network of islets, flats and shallow coral reefs became known as Arrecife Alacranes — Scorpion Atoll. Situated in a major shipping route in the Gulf of Mexico, the reef remained a risk to navigators and sailors for centuries. Just as the reef drew hapless ships to destruction, today the same remote atoll beckons anglers, albeit only about 50 each year, in pursuit of the largest bonefish and permit in the Caribbean.…

Head boat (hed’ bot): A large vessel on which two- to four-dozen strangers, many of whom have never fished or aren’t good at fishing, gather for many hours simultaneously to entertain and annoy captain and crew of said vessel. See also: party boat, snapper bus. My first offshore fishing experience, at 8, was a nighttime drift out of southeast Florida’s Hillsboro Inlet with my father and grandfather. I caught a king mackerel — still carry a thumb scar from trying to stop the spool — and fell in love with open-water fishing. Since the ocean was rough and the adults consumed alcohol, I also learned a bunch of colorful new words. The crew that night spent much of its time untangling lines, distributing bait and, at least twice that I…