Sport Fishing April 2018

Many years ago, I penned an editorial titled, “I Go Fishing to Catch Fish!” Well, duh: I mean, that’s a no-brainer, isn’t it? Apparently not. I wrote that editorial in response to a study that intended to understand the reasons why people fish. To my surprise, catching fish was far down the list. Mostly, according to the surveys, people fished to relax and socialize. Maybe I put too much of myself into my response, but I had a hard time accepting those “real” reasons people fish. I mean, if I just want to relax and socialize, I can find plenty of (often closer, less expensive) opportunities. I don’t have to go fishing to do that. But I do have to go fishing if I want to catch fish. And, by…

SEA SNAKE Q I caught this long, black fish while hand-lining the 1,000-fathom line at night outside Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on the Big Island. This is the second one I have caught. What type of fish is it? Ty Sponchia Via e-mail A Ty, that’s a snake mackerel, Gempylus serpens (family Gempylidae), and from your photo, you can understand the name. Compared with the tuna in the inset, it’s easy to see how relatively long and thin this species is — snakelike for sure. Snake mackerel occur worldwide in all tropical and subtropical oceans. They’re a mesopelagic (midwater) species, found at depths of up to 2,000 feet but typically encountered at around 600 feet during the day. At night, adult snake mackerel grow more active and are known to migrate right…

I’ll never forget my introduction to kite-fishing, some 20-plus years ago on a Contender 31 during the Yamaha Contender Miami Sportfish Tournament. Having traveled south from the mid-Atlantic for this event, I found kite-fishing both completely foreign and utterly fascinating. From the moment we arrived at the fishing grounds, the Contender’s crew sent multiple kites aloft and kept six live baits deployed at all times, even as an unsteady wind forced constant throttle jockeying, line adjustment, and spar changes. To say the captain and crew worked like a carefully oiled machine would be like saying a Swiss watch works pretty well. This level of kite-fishing demanded the same level of professionalism needed to catch all four billfish in a quad hookup, and deploy a tournament-level trolling spread in three minutes…

1. STRIKE FIRST Garmin’s new Striker Plus series brings built-in GPS, Quickdraw Contours and Wi-Fi as upgrades to its current technology. The Plus models still offer chirp traditional and imaging sonar. Quickdraw Contours allows anglers to create and store their own 1-foot-contour fishing charts. The Wi-Fi capability allows users to tap into Garmin’s ActiveCaptain mobile app, which facilitates the transfer of waypoints and routes to the unit. The high-sensitivity GPS receiver in the units gives anglers the option to easily mark favorite fishing spots. Available with 4.3-, 5-, 7- and 9-inch displays, Striker Plus units cost $139.99 to $699.99. 2. TOP NOTCH Simrad has released the new NSO evo3 navigation system for larger sport-fishing vessels. The new NSO series offers a high-definition multitouch display — in 16-, 19- and 24-inch…

Is one hull better than two? That’s the monohull versus catamaran conundrum. Early catamaran designs certainly handled differently than monohulls: They were typically slower and tended to generate a lot of hull noise when running. Those characteristics turned off some potential buyers. But the all-new World Cat 280CC-X is a game changer. It offers fishing amenities and creature comforts with a redesigned hull and a new construction schedule that could sway even the most ardent monohull devotees. Case in point: me. Yes, I fall firmly into the opposition camp. I’ve tested several power catamarans and fished a lot more over the years with mixed feelings. So, would the opportunity to spend a day thrashing this new World Cat just reaffirm my preference for single-hull deep-V boats? After running the 280CC-X…

Scattered rain squalls, choppy seas and gusty winds aren’t the conditions about which typical boaters dream. But that’s what faced me as I met Doyle VanderPol, marketing manager at Group Beneteau, parent company of the Wellcraft boat brand, to run the new 302 Fisherman. “You ready to test a boat?” VanderPol quipped with a grin. “You bet — let’s go,” I responded with an affirmative nod. We suited up in rain gear and headed out on Tampa Bay, dodging the late-fall weather to find a stretch of water with decent visibility to put the 302 through its paces. On the positive side, we were in a good boat for bad seas. With an LOA of slightly more than 30 feet, this new model boasts plenty of hull length to bridge…