Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i Sport Fishing

WHILE ANGLERS BUYING BOATS often focus on deck layouts and brand reputations — important considerations for sure — a fishing vessel’s hull design and indeed its transom can also speak volumes about its fishability and comfort. Consider that most fishermen spend a great deal of time at the aft end of the cockpit, and it’s easy to realize how integral a transom design can be: Does it allow easy passage of a rod over the outboards? Does it permit easy boating or releasing of fish? Does it create more usable fishing space? Does it properly counterbalance heavy outboards? And in today’s world, where family fishing and boating has started to outweigh hardcore angling on the minds of more and more buyers: What does the transom design offer the nonanglers aboard?…

Anyone familiar with the television show Seinfeld understands why I refer to weakfish in the Northeast United States as “Mackinaw peaches.” When the fish arrive, people go crazy for them. But they’re not around long, so anglers have to jump on the action quickly. Kramer loves his Mackinaw peaches as much as some diehards, like me, love targeting weakfish in spring. When fishing for weakfish, keep in mind that their finesse outweighs fight. Weakfish get their name because of their paper-thin mouths. In fact, they have an obvious resemblance to their Southern speckled trout cousin, which also have a tendency to come unhooked easily. Leave the booming hook-sets at home when testing your wits against these tricky game fish. Beyond that rule No. 1, from my years of experience with…

“What’s the game plan?” That was the question I posed to Capt. Chris Wittman as we departed the marina at the South Seas Resort on Florida’s Captiva Island aboard the new Boston Whaler 280 Outrage “We’re going to fish a wreck for king mackerel about 6 miles down the coast,” Wittman replied. Joining us for the day were Traci Davis, manager of content development and events for Boston Whaler, and Sport Fishing videographer Christopher Balogh. As Wittman advanced the Mercury digital throttles and turned left out of Redfish Pass, we were met by tightly spaced 2- to 3-foot waves, all sporting frothy whitecaps with streaks of foam across their faces. While I initially braced for a rough ride, I soon realized that Whaler’s deep-V running surface was pampering us. With…

Successful tournament anglers need every edge they can find — from perfectly prepped baits to key ocean and weather predictions. For the latter scientific details, many turn to online and app-based services. Three of those services with somewhat differing products include ROFFS (Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service, which launched in 1987), Hilton’s Realtime-Navigator (2004), and relative newcomer (2013) FishTrack. These subscription-fee services offer a variety of data and information, from how-to fishing articles and colorful sea-surface-temperature charts to professional oceanographic analyses. As a result, prices vary greatly — from as little as $70 for a single, one-off ROFFS oceanographic analysis, $200 a year for the first national region (Hilton’s), and $79.95 a year (FishTrack) to as much as $1,500 for multiple Hilton’s national/international regions, and $2,500 for unlimited in-season ROFFS…

Baja striped marlin are caught mostly by sight-casting live bait to feeding or sunning fish. At least that was the case until 2005, when Miami Capt. Ray Rosher (missbritt.com) won the Rolex/ IGFA Offshore Championship in Cabo San Lucas by trolling dead baits and dredges. The following year, Rosher and his wife, Charmain, joined by Tom Schramm and Scott Segal, again showed the all-star fleet just how productive dredges are with a tournament-record 24 marlin released for another win. “Going into a tournament like that, with 60 or 70 teams, you feel like you need some kind of edge,” Rosher says. “I didn’t know what to expect, so I brought everything but the kitchen sink, from Mylarstrip dredges to kite stuff.” With sub-60 percent hookup averages on lures, and realizing…

The Yellowfin Yachts 36 Offshore first hit the market in 2003. Designed to provide the seaworthiness, performance and range needed by serious offshore-tournament anglers, this model — with its classic, swoopy sheer and proud bow — soon gained a loyal following of anglers that has elevated the 36 to one of the most sought-after center console boats in the country Since its debut, the 36 has also undergone periodic tweaks and tuneups, including a set of refinements for 2017. That was all the excuse I needed to jump aboard veteran tournament captain Mark Maus’ Yellowfin 36 on a sunny but breezy February afternoon in the middle Florida Keys. The crew for this Fish Trial included Mark’s wife, Jennifer, Capt. Chris Trosset and Sport Fishing videographer Stevan Llewelyn. Both Maus and…

No technique proves more effective than kite-fishing for presenting baits along the frothy transition between air and ocean. It not only stands as the No. 1 method among tournament sailfish teams in South Florida, but it also proves productive for kingfish, mahimahi, tuna and other species. Kite-fishing requires lots of specialized equipment, a high level of skill, and an attentive, hard-working crew, as well as a boat that’s designed for the job. While traditional sport-fishers certainly prove kiteworthy, big center consoles — boats with 37 to 42 feet of LOA or more and quad outboards — offer unique features that make them ideal platforms for kite-fishing. Brands such as Boston Whaler, Contender, HydraSports, Invincible, Jupiter, Regulator, SeaVee, Yellowfin and others offer such models. These boats fish anglers safely and comfortably…

THE SIGHTS, SCENTS AND EXHILARATION of a tournament morning attract thousands of anglers each year to events held throughout the coastal regions of this hemisphere. Experienced and novice tournament challengers alike will find abundant opportunities to showcase their skills and hopefully claim their share of prizes and accolades in the 2017 lineup. The World Cup Blue Marlin Championship: Fished on July 4 each year, this event fosters true global competition by allowing anglers to fish any waters and compete for a single prize awarded to the top blue marlin heavier than 500 pounds. The MidAtlantic tournament blends hospitality and camaraderie with outstanding fishing for anglers running out of New Jersey and Maryland ports. The same goes for Ocean City, Maryland’s renowned White Marlin Open. This year’s event includes a new…