Salt Water Sportsman covers the world of saltwater fishing. The magazine offers loads of how-to information, advice for those who travel within the greater U.S. and surrounding waters, and reviews of new boats, tackle and electronics.
nate.matthews@bonniercorp.com I’m just going to say it: Size matters when it comes to fishing. Can’t match the hatch? You’re not getting hit. Hook too small? You won’t come tight. And big-fish strikes are just more thrilling. You can’t beat the feeling of a giant on the line. There’s a reason you don’t see slot fish on the walls at your local tackle shop. Size matters in this issue too. George Poveromo gets straight to the point, with pro tips on how to use big baits to catch big fish. (Pro tip: A legal-size lobster will get you down past the sharks when you’re fishing for big snapper.) Doug Olander’s profile of the mahimahi asks why the fastest-growing gamefish in the ocean is shrinking in Florida’s southern waters. And Ron Ballanti…
RED SNAPPER POACHERS CAUGHT NEAR TEXAS The Coast Guard recently detained 22 Mexican citizens for allegedly poaching nearly 600 pounds of red snapper and sharks near the Texas coast. Boat crews, air crews and the Cutter Jacob Poroo caught the group in five lanchas—speedy, open boats the Coast Guard says are often used for fishing and drug smuggling—south of Corpus Christi in December. Video from the Coast Guard appears to show one lancha making a run for it, unsuccessfully. Aboard the lanchas were 590 pounds of red snapper and three sharks, along with gear, radios, GPS devices and high flyers. The Mexican nationals were allegedly fishing in the exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 miles beyond the 12-mile territorial sea of the United States. Coasties “detained the Mexican fishermen and…
Aquaculture may seem like an odd subject for a publication focused on saltwater gamefish, but its broader impacts affect a wide range of species popular with sport-fishing anglers. While the term “sport fishing” implies that we are just out having fun, it should be remembered that while using only about 3 percent of theoverall resource, we support an industry worth tens of billions of dollars. Also noteworthy is that in some fisheries, recreational anglers put more meals on the table than the commercial user. But this column is specifically about Atlantic salmon ocean net pen (ONP) aquaculture. While there are a lot of other aquaculture operations along our shorelines, salmon have the longest history here, and that helps us understand what the problems are. Most of the other existing aquaculture…
The worn adage “elephants eat peanuts” acknowledges that big fish sometimes consume small baits. But is that an exception that proves the rule? Big fish have insatiable appetites, hence their inclination to hunt for one or two satisfying meals versus expending energy herding tiny prey. In the offshore world, some prime examples include blue marlin keying in on mahi and tuna, big mahi cannibalizing smaller mahi, and wahoo gorging on tuna. UNLEASH THE HORSES Large and horse ballyhoo, popular for blue marlin, have long been my go- to baits when seeking big mahi on the troll. Whereas school mahi readily devour small- and medium-size offerings, oversize ballyhoo are generally too big for them to eat. The more soak time these big ballyhoo receive, the better the chances of hooking a…
You can just about stop a truck with a conventional reel that fits in the palm of your hand these days, but when big-game fishing was in its infancy, reels were little more than direct-drive winches. The evolution took a little over 100 years, but now anglers can beat 1,000-pound fish with reels that weigh mere ounces. W.H. Wood was widely credited with the first rod-and-reel tarpon, a 93-pounder taken at the mouth of Florida’s Caloosahatchee River in 1885. While landing a silver king of that size is a feat, it is even more impressive when the angler is using their fingertips and a patch of leather to slow the reel’s spinning spool. This accomplishment inspired New York-based tackle manufacturer Edward vom Hofe to develop a reel with an internal…
The first thing that pops up if you Google “What’s the best boat size for offshore fishing?” is a definitive answer: “Between 30 and 40 feet long.” Well, that was easy. Sadly, there is no magic-size boat that’s ideal for heading offshore. The best boat length for you depends on many factors: budget, type of boat, how far offshore you plan torun, where you live and the conditions you’ll face, how experienced you are and your tolerance for risk. WHAT IS OFFSHORE ANYWAY? If you live in the Northeast and want to go canyon fishing on the continental shelf, you might have to run more than 100 miles one way and will need a boat with the range capable of handling rough water. The Atlantic will start rocking at some…
