Sport Fishing July/August 2018

“THE DRIFT-NET FISHERY THROWS AWAY MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF WHAT IT CATCHES.” Among states that most of us associate with being “green” and environmentally aware, California would come to mind as at or near the top of the list. So how then to explain that this icon of progressive thinking, on our Pacific Coast, would be the only place in the United States and Hawaii — and indeed, most of the world — that still allows one of the most destructive forms of high-seas fishing? How is it that in a state busy worrying about things such as taking split shot out of the tackle boxes of anglers, drift gill-netters continue to legally put out what have been widely termed their “walls of death”? Mile-long drift gill nets ensnare…

If any fishing tool is as ubiquitous as rods, reels and hooks, it might be floats. Buoyancy comes into play whether you’re using a bobber to suspend an earthworm for bluegills in a pond or a balloon to drift a butterfish chunk to yellowfin tuna in blue water. Floats can be so effective that they’re virtually omnipresent on all bodies of water. The retail market provides a dizzying array of floats, including some shaped like shotgun shells and others with built-in night lights. But for off shore saltwater fishing specifically, floats can be homemade as often as store-bought. FLOATING IN THE DEEP “WE USE A TWO-LITER SODA BOTTLE AND ATTACH IT WITH A NO. 64 RUBBER BAND LOOPED AROUND THE LINE AND BACK AROUND THE NECK OF THE BOTTLE, WHICH…

MINI MACK Q I’m hoping you can help me identify this fish caught on my boat near Fort Pierce, Florida, in the month of September. While I cast-netted white bait for the day’s charter, this little guy (3¼ inches long) slipped through the mesh of the net onto the deck. It didn’t look like the small herring or pilchards I was after, and upon a closer look, I could barely make out the posterior soft dorsal fins, the forked tail and what looked like teeth. We took a quick photo before releasing it back into the water. My first guess is a king mackerel, but I’m not sure. Can your Fish Facts experts identify this fish and offer any insight into how this guy came to be in the Indian…

You’ll hear an awful lot of talk about the tip of a rod. Its action, sensitivity and strength are all topics of conversation. But when’s the last time you heard anyone talk about a rod’s butt? You might hear someone ask if a rod’s butt is gimbaled, but that’s usually the extent of the conversation. Isn’t the rear of the rod just as critical as its tiptop? Truth be told, probably not. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore the part of a rod that lies aft of the reel seat. This is the section that you handle constantly, and its design and materials can significantly impact your effectiveness as an angler — especially for fishing styles such as casting and retrieving, when you’re constantly holding the rod. LENGTH AND…

LAUDABLE LAUNCH In a Mercury Marine mega-release in May, the company debuted 11 new outboards among four recreational-boating engine lines. Chief among saltwater-focused rollouts include naturally aspirated 4.6L V-8 250 and 300 hp Verado (600 pounds), FourStroke (527 pounds), and Racing engines. Creating a base V-8 powerhead to anchor this higher-horsepower lineup gives Mercury an easy platform to customize an engine to any market — from Verado’s refined performance to FourStroke’s fuel efficiency and rigging versatility to Racing’s speed and power. In addition, V-8 FourStrokes and Verados are available in a wide variety of cowl color options with color panels, and feature Mercury’s new Top Cowl Service Door for easy maintenance. Mercury also introduced new 3.4L V-6 and 4.6L V-8 Pro XS outboards from 175 to 300 hp. OCEAN SUPPORT…

A lovely 16-pound, 10-ounce golden trevally [a] is now the pending small-fry record for 10-year-old Jessica Hornhardt of Karratha in Western Australia. The young angler required 1¼ hours to land the tough trevally this past January. Currently, a 15-pound, 13-ounce golden holds the female small-fry record. The 6-pound, 11-ounce Spanish mackerel [b] that struck a jig fished off Islamorada, in the Florida Keys, by 10-year-old Leah Hill of Crosby, Texas, is pending as the small-fry record. If approved, it will best a 5-pound, 8-ounce record Spanish. An amazing 7-pound, 8-ounce spotted unicornfish [c] (of the tropical family of surgeonfishes) grabbed the squid bait that Steve Wozniak of Alamo, California, fished off Kona, Hawaii, this past March. Pending as the all-tackle record, it nearly doubles the existing record of 4 pounds,…