Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2018 i Sport Fishing

GUIDING IS ABOUT PEOPLE — EVEN BEFORE IT’S ABOUT FISH. Our fans recently chose six top captains in the annual Sport Fishing Charter Captains of the Year contest for 2017. Congrats to captains Peter and Brian Bacon (Snug Harbor, Rhode Island), Rob Crocitto (Staten Island, New York), Adam Peeples (Destin, Florida), Jay Sconyers (Murrells Inlet, South Carolina) and Jason Stock (Anna Maria Island, Florida). (You can read more about them at sportfishingmag.com.) But, of course, there are thousands of great offshore charter skippers and inshore guides around the United States who might not be nationally recognized for what they do, but who are recognized day in and day out by anglers who come to fish with them and leave with great memories. To all these professionals, I say bravo and…

TOUGH, AGGRESSIVE, BEAUTIFUL AND TASTY — WHAT MORE COULD AN ANGLER WANT IN A LIGHT-TACKLE GAME FISH? YELLOW JACKS ARE COMMON OR OCCASIONAL PREDATORS OVER NEARSHORE REEFS OF THE TROPICAL WESTERN ATLANTIC AND GULF OF MEXICO, AND ARE FOUND ALONG EASTERN ATLANTIC COASTS AS WELL. THEY SPORT BRIGHT-YELLOW COLORS ALONG THEIR SIDES AND CAN BE A VIVID BLUE ALONG THE DORSAL SURFACE (SOMETIMES LEADING TO CONFUSION WITH THE SMALLER BAR JACK). YELLOW JACKS GENERALLY RUN FROM 2 OR 3 POUNDS TO 15 OR MORE. THE ALL-TACKLE IGFA RECORD: 23 POUNDS, 12 OUNCES, FROM DUCK KEY, FLORIDA, IN 2013. COLOR SWAP Q My buddy Dan and I were fishing off the lava rocks in Kona, Hawaii, this summer and caught all kinds of different reef fish that we were able to…

Try a Google search for “world’s best fishing lures” and you’ll get well over 3 million hits — but virtually all of them have one commonality: Almost every article or blog written about the greatest lures of all time includes the simple, time-tested spoon. Just how long spoons have been around is a matter of debate, but other than the addition of a weed guard, few technological advancements have been added to the spoon in the past 1,000 or so years. That’s because more tech hasn’t been needed — because the simplest weedless spoons catch fish, period. A well-designed weedless spoon can be cast a country mile; it will wobble through the water with grace and appeal, and attract strikes from virtually every game fish on the face of the…

The aptly named fish finder ranks at the top of every angler’s list of necessary electronics. But where does the chart plotter fit in that high-tech hierarchy? In the past, plotters helped anglers efficiently find the fishing grounds, and little else. But these days, using tracks, routes, waypoints, overlays, trolling-motor connectivity and sonar-logging features, plotter charts become more like treasure maps, leading anglers to optimal fish and bait concentrations. Pro fishermen and charter captains liken plotters to computers. Here’s how five of them use their units to find and catch more fish. ON THE JOB “I think of my boat as my office and my plotter as my office computer, and everything I need is on there,” says Capt. Phillip Wilds, who runs Anchored Charters Guide Service out of Panama…

If you’re hoping to exercise the kayak option off Guatemala on one or more of your days fishing there, let the lodge know in advance. Beyond the usual and recommended list of items to bring with you, any plan to fish from kayaks here entails some additional, specific gear. Suggestions: a reliable handheld waterproof VHF radio (I wouldn’t get in a kayak offshore without mine, which happens to be an ICOM IC-M25), an easily accessed quick-release line-cutting tool, a pair of good fishing pliers (I always pack a spare as well), GoPro or similar cameras with appropriate mounts/bands, and good fishing gloves (sailfish bills can be pretty tough on bare hands). I fashion lanyards with cord and carabiner clips to attach VHF, cutting tool and pliers either to me or…

When seas slacken and lie flat, “you want a lure with more action on the surface,” says Bermuda captain Allen DeSilva. He prefers a light lure, such as those from Fathom, instead of a heavier Black Bart lure he’d troll in normal to rough conditions. “When it’s calm, marlin are more likely to check out a lure, then move to another, or maybe give one a little tap,” he says. When marlin won’t eat, DeSilva entices bites by turning the boat left and right so lures cross the wake. “If you get a bite and not a hookup, wind the lure in fast until it pops on the surface,” he says. If that doesn’t work, free-spool so the lure sinks back 20 feet and quickly wind it in again. When…

Dredges might be a massive pain in the rear for many small-boat anglers. They can be expensive, bulky and heavy, difficult to stow, difficult to deploy and difficult to clear when a hot billfish zings from port to starboard at 5,000 mph. But dredges are also an essential part of your spread — one you simply shouldn’t do without if you want to have any prayer of competing with the big dogs. SIZE MATTERS “Don’t be scared to put a dredge into the water,” says Capt. Jeremy Hicks, who runs the 36-foot Calypso out of Hatteras, North Carolina. “And I mean any dredge. The fish don’t sit around reading Melton [Tackle] catalogs, so whatever type you choose, it will help fool them into at least looking at your spread. It’s…

(And Win Up to 10,800 Yards of Line!) SPONSORED BY SEND IN YOUR QUESTION and any relevant photos of your mysterious catch or observation for our experts’ ID and feedback. If we publish your question and you have a shipping address within the United States or Canada, you’ll win a 3-pound spool of Berkley Pro Spec ocean-blue or fluorescent-yellow monofilament (1,000 to 10,800 yards, depending on line strength) or a 1,500-yard spool of Spiderwire Stealth braid up to 100-pound-test! Send questions and images via email to fish facts@ sport fishing mag.com (include your hometown) or via post to Sport Fishing Fish Facts, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789. SF FISH FACTS EXPERTS NORTHEAST Mike Fahay Sandy Hook Marine Lab, New Jersey SOUTHEAST Ray Waldner, Ph.D. Palm Beach…

1. SUN SHIELD Columbia’s Solar Shade printed long-sleeve tee offers new Omni-Shade Sun Deflector technology, which actively deflects sunlight away from the body for better cooling and protection. Columbia adds small deflector dots to the Omni-Shade fabric to help protect against harmful UVA and UVB rays. Available in men’s and women’s styles, colors and prints — including digital camo (pictured) — the shirts carry the Skin Cancer Foundation’s seal of recommendation and cost $70. 2. LIGHT DUTY Available in 3000 and 4000 sizes, Shimano’s new Exsence spinning reels pull their weight in light-line saltwater situations, the company says. Exsence reels feature a cold-forged Hagane gear system and X-Protect to enhance water resistance. The saltwater-safe magnesium Hagane body features a magnesium rotor. The 3000MHG weighs 7.1 ounces, comes with a 6-to-1…

I have electronic throttle and shift controls on my boat, and I never wish to return to the good ol’ days of cable controls for my single outboard. That said, the previous system served me well for three decades. Given that cable systems still offer more-than- satisfactory performance, is an upgrade to electronic — or drive-bywire — controls really worth it? Here are factors to help you decide. TIMING IT Making the switch from cable to electronic controls usually coincides with the purchase of a new boat or outboard. That’s because you can’t just add electronic controls to an older outboard. The engine must be designed and built with drive-by-wire capabilities. While nearly all new multi-outboard boats now come equipped with drive-bywire controls, a fair number of new single- outboard…

CHINOOK SALMON Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, aka king salmon, can reach 60 pounds or more. Chinook are considered the most prized salmon sport fish by most anglers. The IGFA all-tackle record weighed 97 pounds, 4 ounces, caught in Alaska’s Kenai River. Killer whales, bears and seals also target the salmon for meals, so watch over your shoulder when fishing. COHO SALMON Oncorhynchus kisutch, aka silver salmon, are widely distributed and grow to 20 pounds. Jerry Lifton’s record catch in New York’s Salmon River weighed 33 pounds, 4 ounces. Coho are also available in cold-water landlocked lakes, such as the Great Lakes, after successful transplantations that began in the 1960s. SOCKEYE SALMON Oncorhynchus nerka, aka red salmon, possess oily flesh and generally run 6 to 15 pounds. Sockeye turn an obvious red color…

Far too many anglers deploy their dredges and lines, then troll, troll, troll until the day is done. You’ll catch more billfish if you actively “prospect” next to your dredges. Prospect with a pitch bait, usually a naked chin-weighted ballyhoo that is held just behind the transom and then freespooled so it sinks right past the dredge. With the bait about 10 feet behind the dredge, thumb the spool so water pressure forces the ballyhoo to swim back up to the surface. Let it swim there for a moment, then reel it in and begin the process again. Although spotting fish that come in on the dredge presents the ideal opportunity, plenty of fish swim up to a dredge and are never spotted from the boat, as anyone who has…

A 149-pound, 3-ounce Pacific bluefin tuna [A] took Newport Beach, California, angler Ali Pfleger an hour to land on 50-pound line last August, after it struck a flyingfish trolled near San Clemente Island. If approved, it will soundly defeat the current women’s record for that line class, an 83-pound, 4-ounce fish also taken off San Clemente in 2016. A 19-pound, 3-ounce Atlantic halibut [B] might not seem like a monster, but on 6-pound line, it took Dmitry Baturin, of Moscow, an hour to land. He hooked the fish out of Hasvik, Norway, last August. If approved, the catch will be the first record to occupy that line class. It remained vacant at press time. While trolling a live bait across the mouth of Oregon’s Rogue River, Lisa Griffith, of Rancho…