Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2020 i Salt Water Sportsman

Autumn arrives as we send this, the last issue of the year, out the door. Weather is changing, and bait is moving, and the predators along with it. While this may herald the end of the season in some places, in southern waters, it’s a great beginning, offering plenty to look forward to on the water as this year makes its exit. Not to tempt the Fates, but I’m looking forward to the next one. It’s past time to put this year in the rearview mirror. Between a monumental pandemic and all that entails, hurricanes, floods, fires and Americans forgetting we are one nation indivisible, 2020 can’t get the broom soon enough. Amid the challenges, we have enjoyed some good news, even if it’s only election-year largesse. One of the…

Dylan O’Dell 5, Maryland Dylan is a Chesapeake Bay and Magothy River regular, like his dad. He’s also an experienced hand in the back bays of Ocean City, Maryland, where he fishes with his grandparents, and landed this striper on light tackle. Owen Moore 8, New Jersey An avid fisherman since the age of 2, Owen enjoys fishing around his home in Egg Harbor Township. In August, with his dad and Pop, he landed these two keeper flounder, fishing in Grassy Sound, New Jersey. Freddy Drab 10, North Carolina Freddy is such an enthusiastic angler that he even enjoys getting up in the middle of the night so he can be on the water at first light with his dad. He caught this puppy drum (redfish) on the Outer Banks…

Not so long ago, if you wanted to add side- and down-scanning sonar capabilities to your fish-finding arsenal, you needed at least two transducers: one for the depth-sounder function, and another for scanning features. That’s no longer the case, thanks to a new breed of multifunction transducers that combine a number of sonar elements into a single, compact unit. Multipurpose transducers from major electronics brands such as Furuno, Garmin, Humminbird, Lowrance, Raymarine and Simrad can save you money because one transducer does the work that used to require two or more. They are available in a variety of through-hull and transom-mount versions. The latter style has proven most popular on boats under 30 feet in length, particularly because installation is simpler and doesn’t require cutting a large hole in the…

The Salt Water Sportsman National Seminar Series, presented by Bass Pro Shops and Mako Boats, kicks offits 2021 tour on February 6, in Fort Myers, Florida. The tour then visits Islamorada, Florida Keys (February 20); Wilmington, North Carolina (February 27); Port St. Lucie, Florida (March 6); Atlantic City, New Jersey (March 13); Charleston, South Carolina (March 20); Destin, Florida (March 27); and Foxborough, Massachusetts (April 3). George Poveromo, host of George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing on the Discovery Channel and SWS contributing editor, headlines the tour. Entering into its 34th consecutive year, the National Seminar Series is the nation’s foremost and longest-running educational seminar on recreational marine-angling techniques. The Pros Touring with Poveromo will be noted saltwater pros the likes of “Crazy” Alberto Knie, Nick Honachefsky, Harry Vernon III,…

LENGTH: 34'2" BEAM: 9'6" DRAFT: 31" FUEL: 418 gal. WEIGHT: 13,500 lb. MAX HP: 1,350 BASE PRICE: $284,900 FOUNTAIN POWERBOATS: fountainpowerboats.com FOUNTAIN WAS AMONG THE BUILDERS THAT DEFINED HIGH PERFORMANCE IN THE BOATING WORLD. ITS FOUNDER CAPTURED SPEED WORLD RECORDS THAT HELD FOR YEARS, AND LESSONS LEARNED IN RACING HELPED THE COMPANY DESIGN BOATS WITH THE ROUGH-WATER-TAMING ABILITY AND SPEED IDEAL FOR COMPETITIVE FISHING. But the new 34 TE is much more than a go-fast model. Thoughtful design, an ergonomic layout and detailed rigging show that Fountain understands the needs of hardcore offshore anglers. For starters, Fountain’s trademark forepeak design makes for a roomy cast-netting platform, and dedicated storage for buckets and gear bags resides in the bow, beneath both a central deck hatch and the center console’s forward seating.…

More than $1 million in recent funding came as a welcome shot in the arm for Mission: Iconic Reefs, a NOAA-led coral-reef restoration effort, unparalleled in scope and scale, launched in December 2019 with support from several key organizations. Since the 1970s, healthy coral in the Florida Keys has declined more than 90 percent due to ship groundings, pollution, hurricanes, disease, overfishing and warming ocean temperatures. Through Mission: Iconic Reefs, NOAA and its partners are using a phased approach to restore coral at seven sites in the Florida Keys: Carysfort Reef, Horseshoe Reef, Cheeca Rocks, Sombrero Reef, Newfound Harbor, Looe Key Reef and Eastern Dry Rocks. The chosen sites span the full geographic range of the region, a variety of habitats, and a diversity of human uses, plus they all…

1 Daiwa Dark Water Designed for East Coast offshore fishing, Daiwa’s Dark Water series rods include 21 medium- and medium-heavy-action models, in 61/22- to 71/22-foot lengths, ranging from 15- to 80-pound class. Starting at $179.99; daiwa.com 2 Old Town Sportsman Flagships in the seven-model Old Town Sportsman kayak fleet, the Autopilot 120 and 136 feature an integrated, saltwater-ready Minn Kota 45-pound-thrust trolling motor with Spot-Lock for hands-free positioning and cruising, and an iPilot remote, bringing a new level of control, effectiveness and efficiency to kayak fishing. $3,799.99 to $3,999.99; oldtowncanoe.com 3 Plano Edge Flex Tackle-box customization rules in the Edge Flex series from Plano. Interlocking, movable dividers allow an infinite range of configurations to accommodate tools and tackle, from snap swivels to oversize lures. The Dri-Loc O-ring keeps water out,…

TOP TACTIC Work surface lures along grass lines during a falling tide. HOTSPOTS Focus on pinch points, bars and drop-offs. PEAK TIME June and July—before mullet get too thick—are best for topwater action. The bone-colored plug was darting and snapping like a Spanish flamenco dancer across the surface of the water when a copper torpedo blasted it, launching itself and the lure a foot into the air. A second attack ensued as the topwater splashed down, but it was another near-miss, and just as suddenly as the redfish had disrupted the calm of the morning, it was gone. “That was awesome,” Capt. Jake Kight said as I stood on the bow of his bay boat, staring in disbelief at the spartina grass shoreline, scene of the brief encounter. “I don’t…

There are, and forever will be, two ways to learn: easy and hard. This past summer, Capt. Scott Null saved a couple of guys from a potentially nasty dose of the latter. Returning from a tarpon run just outside Pass Cavallo—the same cut that took out one of four ships under the captaincy of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in July 1684—Null noticed a small center-console bouncing off wave tops, well off shore. Null knows that pass is treacherous, especially if current and wind aren’t on the same page, so he kept a concerned eye seaward as he eased his way carefully through the safe, narrow eye of an otherwise broad, sloppy needle. The two men in the small boat had already taken a beating as they met the…

Mallory Moran was working the marshes off Beaufort, South Carolina, fishing with cut finger mullet under a popping cork, when she hooked up with this 27-inch redfish. She finessed it through the tall grass for more than 10 minutes before landing it for a quick picture and quicker release. YOUR CATCH To send in your catch photo, email us at catches@saltwatersportsman.com. 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@saltwatersportsman.com or via U.S. mail: SWS Editor, 480 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 236, Winter Park, FL 32789. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcomed but will not be acknowledged or returned unless accompanied by an SASE. We are not responsible…

We’ve seen this movie before. The problem is that the script keeps changing, and we are concerned that the ultimate ending will impact or eliminate recreational fishing access to a lot of this country’s oceans. I have said before that marine protected areas (MPAs) should be a tool in the fisheries managers’ toolbox; A tool that is used judiciously for a specific science-based reason. When politicians decide to use them in an arbitrary and capricious manner, the possible benefits to the recreational fishing industry are completely lost. That is happening in California. Back in 1999, the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) was passed in California. The MLPA directs the state “to redesign California’s system of MPAs to function as a network in order to: increase coherence and effectiveness in protecting…

Pursuit S 428 Pursuit has a new flagship, the S 428, a 43-foot addition to the brand’s Sport Series with the size, power and amenities to fish, cruise and entertain in style and comfort. The big center-console incorporates ample rod and tackle storage, as well as twin 36-gallon livewells, bait-prep areas, and three fish boxes: a refrigerated 68-gallon in the transom, a 24-gallon in-floor to starboard with optional refrigeration, and a 42-gallon in-floor to port. Side doors on opposite sides of the spacious aft cockpit simplify boarding and boating large fish, and extra-large fridge/freezer boxes hold plenty of bait or chum. The S 428 boasts premium helm seating, and a second row of powered, converting seats under the oversize hardtop. Multifunction, forward-lounge seating and a plush aft-facing seat are part…

THE MORNING’S FIRST SAILFISH SKIRTED ALL THE 20-POUND RODS, AND PROCEEDED TO DEVOUR A LIVE HERRING FLAT-LINED ON THE 12-POUND OUTFIT IN OUR SPREAD. ENGEL COOLERS’ PAUL KABALIN ANSWERED THE CHALLENGE. However, just prior to his hooking the sail, Reef Kabalin, Paul’s son, started battling a large hammerhead. With Reef’s shark trucking due south, and Paul’s sail now running full-steam to the east, we had a decision to make. A billfish reigns supreme over most fish, at least on my boat. So Reef broke off the shark, enabling us to pursue his dad’s fish, which had already emptied half the spool on the reel. The lengthy fight had us worrying about the 30-pound fluoro leader surviving the abuse. It did. Harry Vernon III billed the sailfish and removed the hook,…

There’s a wahoo fishery between Marathon and Key Largo that rivals any in the Southeast. It’s productive, easily accessible, and while not as well-known as other wahoo hotspots, it provides a proving ground for successful strategies and tactics. Through years of obsessive fishing, Ryan Van Fleet of Tavernier, Florida, has deciphered wahoo patterns in the Upper Keys, and developed reliable tactics for small-boat anglers. He says the universal precepts of wahoo fishing hold true in the Upper Keys. Think of the three T’s: tide, terrain and temperature. The full-moon and new-moon phases, when wahoo feed actively, are favored times to target them. Wahoo gather along reef drop-offs and actively feed during these big tides. Have lines in the water half an hour before dawn. When the surface temperature drops, hunt…

LENGTH: 32'9" BEAM: 10'4" DRAFT: 27" DEADRISE: 24 degrees FUEL: 265 gal. WEIGHT: 9,545 lb. MAX HP: 900 PRICE: $414,602 w/twin Yamaha 425 XTOs and Helm Master SCOUT BOATS: scoutboats.com THE 330 LXF FROM SCOUT BOATS, A SPORTY AND PURPOSEFUL FISHING MACHINE ALSO OFFERING APPOINTMENTS THAT RAMP UP COMFORT TO A LUXURIOUS LEVEL, EPITOMIZES THE EVOLUTION OF TODAY’S CENTER-CONSOLES AND SCOUT’S PERENNIAL QUEST FOR THE IDEAL BLEND OF FISHABILITY AND CONVENIENCE. Amenities like twin high-back helm seats, posh forward loungers, a retractable bow dining table, a lounger on the forward console, and an optional, motorized cockpit shade can spoil anglers accustomed to more spartan accommodations. According to Josh Slayton, Scout product specialist, the 330 LXF is one of the S-class models, built with double-stepped hulls for greater efficiency and performance.…