Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2025 i Salt Water Sportsman

For 40 years, Southern California saltwater anglers have enjoyed a good supply of Pacific sardines at live-bait operators. Ranging in length from 4 to 9 inches, sardines offer enough heft to cast well with the conventional tackle used for tuna and yellowtail. But now, sardines are scarce. Fishery managers warned us of declines. Some pointed to commercial overfishing; others blamed domoic acid toxicity caused by blooms of red tide. Yet, this is not a first. Populations collapsed in the late 1940s from overfishing and temperature fluctuations attributed to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. To quote Milton Love, Ph. D., a marine biologist at UC Santa Barbara: “While it is quite possible that the population would have tanked even without overfishing, the combination drove the sardine population into the toilet.” I did…

Grady-White is founded near some of the most treacherous fishing waters in the Atlantic. So the company is committed to making the most durable, safest fishing boats on the planet. The new Freedom 345 dual-console follows that objective. The trademark high bow, sweeping gently to gunwales is more than a style point; it is insurance for safe passage through menacing inlets. A safe boat first, the 345 brings lethal fishing capabilities to pure unadulterated luxury underway. The ride is gentle thanks to the SeaV2 hull. This trademarked hull design of every Grady smoothes the waves with a crisp stem and sharp deadrise forward that spreads out to 20 degrees at the transom. The effect cleaves seas, sliding through them without rattling hatches or teeth. It’s the flatter deadrise aft which…

You feel as if you’re watching an episode of Blue Planet, adding a spiritual dimension to the physical acts of casting, cranking, and hooking fish. Right there, about 100 feet off the bow, there’s a big school of yellowtail — CAST NOW!” yelled our pangero, Joel. At least, that’s what I think he said. I understand very little Spanish, even less when words are coming fast and furious, especially when distracted by a half-acre of boiling fish and crashing birds. Fortunately, the word “cast” is universally understood by anglers worldwide — provided the speaker gestures with sufficient flourish. So, that’s what I did. The Salas 7X jig arced a path and splashed down about 20 feet past the surface melee. After waiting a few seconds for the lure to sink,…

NO BONES ABOUT IT This spring, Florida will enforce a seasonal fishing closure at a 1.74-square-mile area of patch reef in Biscayne National Park. In a preemptive measure to protect a bonefish pre-spawning aggregation site, possession of fish or fishing gear is prohibited in the closure area (unless properly stowed) from March through May for the next five years. ¶ The closure area is a few miles off Elliott Key, south of Miami, where thousands of bonefish gather each spring prior to moving offshore to spawn. ¶ “Protecting this site during peak spawning season is critical to the continued recovery of Florida’s bonefish population,” said Jim Mc-Duffie, president and CEO of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT). “We thank FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) commissioners for their leadership…

It was a sunny and calm Bimini morning as Harry Vernon III and I headed for a yellowtail snapper spot which, for us, tenders a best-odds guarantee of catching them. However, upon our arrival, things were vastly different. With barely 1 knot of dirty, green-water flow—versus a moderate royal blue current—we anchored, chummed heavily and crushed cero and king mackerel, horse-eye jacks, big blue runners, ’cudas and other assorted predators, but not a single yellowtail snapper. Something was amiss. Having Simrad’s StructureScan side-scan sonar technology, which was new at the time, I activated it to confirm the absence of yellowtail prior to leaving. To our surprise, a large “ball” of ’tails appeared some 50 feet directly off my port side console! I made a cast up current of the boat,…

The Valhalla V-28 hardly listed when I stepped on board, putting all of my weight on its starboard side. Because of their low freeboard and shallow draft, many bay boats are tippy. Not this one. My first impression: This Valhalla is super stable with a 9-foot, 3-inch beam. My second impression: This boat offers a ton of fishing space. The forward casting deck can easily accommodate two anglers with room for a third if need be. “We designed this boat to provide as much surface area on the forward and aft casting decks as possible,” says Sean Healey, son of Viking Yachts President and CEO Pat Healey. Sean and his younger brother Justin played a pivotal role in the development of the Valhalla line of center consoles, which now includes…

Summertime in Stuart, Florida, is a time of slick seas and abundance. Baitfish swarm where the St. Lucie River meets the Indian River and flows out of the pass over nearshore reefs of the Treasure Coast. Threadfins, pilchards, sardines, goggle-eyes, croakers—everything a game fish loves to eat is available, sometimes in swirling masses, both inshore and off. And where there is forage, there will be game fish. Most anglers come to Stuart seeking big snook and sailfish—two very good reasons to start planning right now for next summer’s vacation, but more options abound. Trailer your boat or hire a guide; the action can be fast, and it’s surprisingly close to shore. “You know, Stuart’s a very unique, opportunistic place for fishermen because you have a wide variety of species you…

Invasive blue catfish are a big problem in the Chesapeake Bay, and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is joining the fight against their spread with $6 million in grant funding to turn more Chesapeake blue cats into food. ¶ Additionally, USDA and the Maryland Department of Agriculture are launching a one-year pilot program to purchase up to $2 million worth of blue catfish meat to feed families in need. ¶ These two programs are the latest salvo in a battle that has ramped up in recent years as the destructive nature and rapid spread of blue catfish has become more apparent. These freshwater fish are native to the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio river basins. Virginia introduced them to bay tributaries as a game fish in the 1970s with the…

It’s the middle of February, four hours into a battle with a monster bluefin tuna, and the only thing between me and the wind-driven sea spray is my rain gear. Six months later, a summer thunderstorm blows up and my rain gear protects me from driving wind and pelting rain. Rain gear used to leave us hot and wet or cold and wet, but the latest technologies and designs bring comfort in inclement weather. THE OLD SLICKS Polyurethane is an old technology finding new life. Polymercoated cotton isn’t breathable or light, but it is absolutely water-, wind-and stain-proof. It’s also durable and inexpensive. That’s why polyurethane (PU) remains the best choice for the worst fishing conditions. Grundéns is almost synonymous with PU-coated rain gear. I have a set of Grundéns…

IN the middle of December, in the middle of the night, on a tidal creek in Chesapeake, Virginia, I stand on the bow of a skiff and cast a twitch bait into the darkness. It’s cold, but I try not to shiver because I’m afraid it will affect the lure’s action. I steady my hands and give the rod tip a twitch, twitch, pause. I hold still and count to 10 while my lure slowly sinks. Twitch, twitch pause. What would get me out of bed and on the water on a cold winter night? Twitch, twitch, pause, thump. The answer strikes my twitch bait, and I hear a large speckled trout thrashing on the surface somewhere in the darkness. TROPHY HUNTING Virginia speckled trout fishing heats up in winter,…