Sport Fishing March 2015

THE PACIFIC BLUEFIN TUNA IS IN THE WORST SHAPE BY FAR; NOAA ESTIMATES ITS SPAWNING-STOCK BIOMASS IS DOWN TO JUST 4 PERCENT OF UNFISHED LEVELS Bluefin tuna are widely considered one of the world’s very greatest of game fishes thanks to their size, strength and stamina. They are of course also one of the most valuable of fishes commercially, thanks mostly to the coveted status of prime bluefin flesh in the sushi/sashimi market in Japan (which some estimates suggest gobble up as much as 80 percent of bluefin tuna consumed worldwide). There are three recognized bluefin tuna (BFT) species on Earth: the Atlantic, Pacific and southern bluefin. All attain an impressive size, with Atlantic BFT reaching at least 1,500 pounds. None of the species can boast of populations in good…

Stay away from crooked baits or rigs; the lure should always swim true. capt.Jeff Poe WITH THE PLETHORA of plastics available today, soft baits are utilized in all but the most specialized fisheries. And even then, there’s probably an angler revolutionizing the fishery right now with a homebrew soft-bait rig. In fact, I know of one particular captain who catches swordfish in the northeast canyons by jigging 10-inch soft baits at night. Because local and national manufacturers make soft baits so readily available to anglers, competition is fierce to produce the most lifelike imitators in terms of design, body and appearance. That leaves plenty of options for you and me. Sport Fishing interviewed pros and lure manufacturers about their favorite soft-bait setups; from there, we whittled it down to 10…

FISH FACT ARCHIVES INSIDE: A JAW-DROPPER OF A JACK 20 NOT CUDDLY: RED-TIPPED FIRE WORM 22 NOT CUDDLY: RED-TIPPED FIRE WORM 24 TREVALLY’S A REAL JAW-DROPPER I saw this photo in the great French fishing-travel magazine, Voyages de Pêche, and was immediately intrigued to see a trevally with a prognathic lower jaw. I’ve never seen the like, and am wondering if this is an aberration or in fact an actual species and, if so, I would like to know more about it. Paul Sherman Anacortes, Washington What you’ve found there, Paul, is not a deformed individual but a prime specimen of the longrakered trevally, Ulua mentalis. This fish, also known as the cale cale trevally, is one of the more enigmatic members of the family Carangidae. They’re occasionally encountered by…

By now, if you aren’t aware of the quality, affordable high-definition cameras available to anglers, you might still be watching VHS tapes. In the January 2015 issue of Sport Fishing magazine, I highlighted in the Game Plan column how to take engaging video of your fishing adventures but didn’t lend much insight into which video camera to use. You’ve probably heard of GoPro — for good reason, because it continues to blaze a trail among action cameras. But other options are available too, each offering different features to fishermen. Most quality video cameras incorporate impressive specs, including waterproof protection, high 1,080-pixel-resolution video, live viewing modes, 10-plusmegapixel sensors for photos, and Wi-Fi capability. Storage on most cams is massive too, ranging from high-capacity SD and micro SD cards to cloud storage.…

1. POWERFUL MEDIUM Mercury says one-third of its engine market share goes to midrange products. So it’s no surprise that the company circled back to that range with its new FourStroke outboards, including the four-cylinder 115. The new outboards (75, 90 and 115 hp) offer higher output, lighter weight, and lower emissions with lower maintenance costs. Mercury avoids expensive valve adjustments by offering a selfadjusting valve train. The 2.1-liter 115 weighs 363 pounds. Mercury also offers a new gear-case option called Command Thrust. The 2.38-to-1 gear ratio helps boost midrange power. The 115 costs $10,610 to $10,975. 2. ROAD WORKERS St. Croix built its Legend Trek travel series rods with highmodulus/high-strain SCIV graphite blanks and the company’s fortifi ed-resin-system technology. The eight, fast-action, threepiece spinning and casting rods range from…

A whole lot of bull for a wispy 4-pound-test tippet — but fy-rodder Dotty Ballantyne of Bozeman, Montana, showed this Venice, Louisiana, 26½-pound redfish [A] who was boss nearly two hours after it struck her Big Bird Minnow fy. If approved, this defeats the existing women’s 4-pound tippet record by exactly 2 pounds. An hour was enough for 13-year-old Ben Bruce of Souris, Prince Edward Island, Canada, to land this 868-pound, 9-ounce bluefintuna [B] off PEI’s North Lake. The giant hit a mackerel. The existing junior-angler record is 764 pounds, 3 ounces. A 12-pound, 12-ounce kahawai [C] made for a 47-minute touch-and-go battle near Rowboat Rock off the Western Australia coast for Rhyss Whittred of Spearwood, WA. Also known as Australian salmon, Kahawai are popular light-tackle game fish around New…