Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2018 i Sport Fishing

A stiff autumn wind painted Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway with white streaks of foam on the morning I met Timo Turkki at the Bryant Park launch ramp in West Palm Beach. Turkki, general manager of the Marine Connection, the local Cobia dealer, had the new Cobia 301CC in tow. “Nice weather,” he said with a wry smile as we shook hands. “Actually, pretty good for a boat test but bad for fishing,” I replied. With a forecast for gale-force winds and offshore seas to 9 feet, we scrubbed our fishing plans. But we still launched the boat and put it through its paces. PROVEN HULL The 301CC replaces the 296CC in the Cobia family, utilizing the same proven running surface but with refinements to the interior that maximize cockpit space, enhance…

SEA FORCE IX, which traditionally builds high-end custom sport-fishing yachts from 70 to 95 feet, has announced a smaller, tournament-ready 41.5 Sport Center Console vessel to anchor a new line ranging up to 55 feet 6 inches. Remaining true to its roots as a custom builder, Sea Force IX says the options for the 41.5 and its sisters will be limitless. However, the company says it will deliver these features within production-build times at a competitive cost. Standard equipment includes three-wide helm seating with flip-up bolsters, a tackle-prep and -rigging station with freshwater sink, twin 100-gallon insulated fish boxes with macerated overboard drains, 50-gallon centerline livewell aft, and dual transom doors. Belowdecks, the 41.5 comes standard with sleeping quarters for two, air conditioning (also plumbed to the helm area), a…

Carefully, I laid a ballyhoo next to an R&R Tackle bucktail jig with two chained, long-shank 7/0 VMC hooks coming off the jig hook, to judge where each hook should be placed into the bait. I broke off the ballyhoo’s beak, then first inserted the last hook point into the ballyhoo’s belly just ahead of the pelvic fin; the middle hook went in just behind the bait’s throat area; and I sunk the first hook (the jig hook) into its chin and out its head just in front of the eyes. Then, from the stern of a 32-foot Yellowfin, on that early-winter morning off Key Largo, I cast out the bait-and-lure as far as I could in the direction the boat was drifting. The ballyhoo began “swimming” downward as I…

1. PERFECT 10 Humminbird introduced its new Solix series multifunction displays in January 2017 in 12- and 15-inch sizes. This winter, the company has added the Solix 10, available in two models: one with Mega Imaging, GPS and chirp digital sonar, and the other with GPS and chirp digital sonar. Mega Imaging provides a higher-frequency down- and side-imaging technology that offers cleaner, crisper photolike views. Solix 10 features Humminbird’s Cross Touch touchscreen/touchpad interface, Autochart Live, Bluetooth connectivity and Basemap, which includes freshwater and coastal saltwater charts. The units cost $1,999.99 and $2,299.99. 2. POWER DRIVE Accurate Fishing has added the BV2-800 and BV2-800N (narrow version) two-speed lever-drag reels to its popular Valiant series. Built for offshore trolling and live-bait fishing with 80-pound braid (600 to 800 yards), the new conventionals…

Granted, I fish mainly inshore on my bay boat, but still I find times when radar might be useful to me: when I can’t clearly see pelicans diving on pogies in the distance; when fog or low-light conditions make navigation tricky; when I want to see which way a rain system is moving and how fast. I would have to add a hardtop to my vessel to make use of radar technology, but my point is: Radar is really a no-brainer for many anglers. With today’s complex digital-signal processing, dome and open-array radars (both magnetron and solid-state) decipher returns better and more quickly for improved target resolution. So from among all the various radars out there — ranging in price from many hundreds to thousands of dollars — how does…

Tucked away in driveways, backyards, garages and self-storage lots are approximately 11 million trailer boats, based on my extrapolations of the most recent statistics from the National Marine Manufacturers Association (see sidebar). That helps explain why launch ramps become congested as this vast fleet funnels to and from the water via these portals to adventure. Even without crowds, however, coastal launch ramps pose challenges wrought by factors such as tidal fluctuations, strong currents, slippery pavement and, in some cases, surge or wave action. Veteran trailer- boating anglers have learned to handily meet such challenges, particularly at ramps that they visit on a regular basis. Yet even longtime trailer boaters can make mistakes when using ramp facilities that are unfamiliar to them. Launch ramps vary in hours of operation, cost, rules…

Alaska is, by nature, a wild place. The capricious and often-volatile waters of the Gulf of Alaska can turn inhospitable in a hurry. But when quiet, it offers incomparable beauty and unforgettable fishing. A few intrepid kayak-angling enthusiasts joined me in Seward in August 2017 hoping for just such an experience. We found it. TRIAL RUN Andy Mezirow had fished from Hobie Outback kayaks in warmer climes, such as Panama, catching yellowfin tuna, cubera snapper and other brutish beasts. So, thought the Seward, Alaska, charter captain: Why not here? Mezirow already knew the fundamentals of mothership-based kayak-angling, and he had the mothership: his 32-foot custom-built, twin-outboard-powered Radon, Gray Light, which carries his light-tackle clients into outer Prince William Sound on day trips and multiday/ overnight trips. Mezirow needed only to…

Early spring 2007, while photographing a billfish tournament off Miami, I gazed at an image of a swordfish caught and released midmorning. “I thought it was a free-jumping sailfish, but it looked different when it hit the water on the last jump,” said Capt. John Dudas, who was running Wound Up in the ESPN-televised BXRL fishing tournament. A quick quarter-mile move ahead of the fish, followed by a few antsy moments feeding it, finally paid off with a six-figure tournament-win payout. At that time, captains Richard and Scott Stanczyk in Islamorada, and R.J. Boyle in Hillsboro, Florida, were deep-dropping for swordfish but not yet broadcasting their success. The thought of hooking a broadbill by day in the Atlantic Ocean — and winning a tournament with it — was preposterous. Yet…

ANTENNA FISH FROM THE MEXICAN DEEP Q My brother was fishing in deep water off La Paz, Mexico — probably in 200 feet or so — trying for red snapper when he caught some of these fish. Can you identify it? The panga captain called it a “radio-antenna fish,” maybe because of the tall dorsal fin. Thanks. Gary Evans Santa Ana, California A Gary, that very long third dorsal spine and the yellow fin edges mean that you caught a hookthroat bass, Hemanthias signifer, a schooling reef fish found from Southern California to Peru, including the Gulf of California. Also known as the damsel bass, this species closely resembles the splittail bass, Hemanthias peruanus. However, the tail fin of a splittail has very long upper and lower lobes. Reaching only…

DESIGNED ON SOUTHPORT’S proven 33 running surface, the company’s new dual console — due out this spring — delivers additional family cruising and entertainment features while remaining true to Southport’s fishing heritage. Standard features now include the side boarding door and retractable sunroof in the integrated hardtop, once optional. Helm seating includes a captain’s chair to starboard and a portside co-pilot lounge area. The portside cabin includes twin 6-foot berths. To starboard, a head compartment features an electric freshwater toilet. Passengers can relax at the bow on the U-shaped cushioned lounge that converts to a full sun pad. Aft, the 33 offers mezzanine foldaway seating with a cooler. The cockpit comes with a bait-prep station/summer kitchen and 12-volt refrigerator. Southport says standard fishing features will include at least one livewell,…

QUELL THE SMELL DOES YOUR CABIN or console interior sometimes take on an odoriferous nature? I know that the small cabin on my boat does. It’s usually from mildew odors that originate in the bilge but somehow waft inside. Or, sometimes a crewmember forgets a smelly jacket that quickly ripens. It’s good to crack open a hatch or companionway to occasionally ventilate the interior (make sure there’s no rain in the forecast). In addition, I like to use dryer sheets, such as those from Bounce (about $2 for a 34-sheet box). I tuck a handful inside the cabin, and when I open the door after a few days, it smells fresh. You can also use Meguiar’s Boat/ RV Air Refreshers. You set off these little aerosol bombs inside, then come…