Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i Sport Fishing

“WE’VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF SAFEGUARDING OUR MARINE FISH STOCKS, BUT WE’VE SUCKED AT SHARING THAT PUBLIC RESOURCE.” Who owns the fish? Those who earn their living by fishing commercially? You and me, as ardent sport-fishing enthusiasts? Environmentalists who want to fence them within no-take marine protected areas? The simple answer: no one. As author and angler Sid Dobrin argues in his new book, Fishing, Gone? (due out this April), fish are a resource to be safeguarded and shared. As a nation, we’ve done a pretty good job of safeguarding our marine fish stocks, with most now considered healthy. But we’ve sucked at sharing that public resource. The recreational-fishing community has for years noted that federal fishery management has been designed to serve and accommodate primarily the commercial-fishing industry.…

Polarized sunglasses are as indispensable to anglers as fishing rods, reels, lines and lures. But for the longest time, those whose eyesight wasn’t the sharpest either had to put up with their blurry vision while wearing sunglasses or grin and glare it while fishing with non-polarized prescription lenses. That has changed over the past few years, and several manufacturers of high-quality polarized sunglasses now offer the same high-quality, custom-made prescription lenses in a high percentage of their various frame styles. They include single vision, bifocal and progressive lenses. And many health- or vision-insurance plans cover prescription sunglasses. RECENT RX ADVANCES It used to be that good prescription sunglasses meant glass lenses. The majority of manufacturers now make Rx lenses of polycarbonate plastic, lighter than glass and scratch- and impact-resistant. Manufacturers…

Technology creates a tug of war among generations — whether we’re talking smartphones or marine electronics. Old Salts often prefer traditional fish finders with 50/200 kHz transducers: the better to see a bright-red fish blob. Younger anglers gravitate toward new innovations, from chirp to imaging to live sonar. When it comes to identifying game fish and bait on fish-finder screens, however, that mostly boils down to experience. Score one for the Old Salts. For now. Imaging sonar and live feeds — under the right circumstances — can show anglers almost snapshot-quality returns good enough to identify species. A tarpon really looks like a tarpon. A bait school looks like bait. But before you shout “Eureka!” remember that this photolike fish ID happens only in near-perfect situations. Again, for now. STUDY…

YAMAHA 425 XTO Yamaha’s 5.6L V-8 425 XTO brings to market several four-stroke firsts — from direct injection to electric power steering. Yamaha says its engineers rethought the outboard from the prop up to propel today’s large center-consoles and expresses. Highlights include the highest compression ratio in an outboard at 12.2-to-1, a new oversize prop, an oversize gear case, iridium spark plugs, quad thermostats, and a new exhaust-gas relief system that energizes the XTO in reverse, generating up to 300 percent more thrust than the company’s F350. Available in gray, white or unpainted (for color customization), and in 25-, 30- and 35-inch shafts (weighing 952 to 999 pounds), the XTO starts at $44,000. SHOCKWAVE S5 Shockwave predicts that within five years all recreational boats will come with suspension seating —…

As an old rod-and-reel commercial fisherman used to tell me, “You can’t cook what you can’t hook.” With that in mind, I’d wager that more game fish avoid being hooked and cooked because of bad casts. That includes casts that come up short, casts that don’t land anywhere near the fish, casts that spook fish, and casts that snag docks, rocks and mangroves. Matching your tackle with the conditions under which you’re fishing and the species you’re pursuing can make a huge difference in your casting. A light lure on a heavy-duty rod with a tiny reel probably won’t go more than 10 feet beyond the boat. “With any type of tackle, it’s all about balance,” says pro angler Bernie Schultz. “The rod, the reel, the lure and the line.…

A few months ago, I fished aboard a boat with no handrails around the center-console. The skipper had the advantage of holding onto the wheel, but I was left with nothing — a situation that grew more precarious as the boat traversed rough water and reached speeds in excess of 50 mph. This vessel exemplified poor planning when it came to crew safety. Thank goodness most new boats today offer plenty of places to hold on. Grab rails are critical when moving about the deck in heaving seas and when bracing yourself while underway. In the absence of handrails, crewmembers reach for anything nearby, such as the edge of an acrylic windshield or a fiberglass antenna, to steady themselves — and that can result in busted parts and pricey repairs.…

In addition to several countries already mentioned, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru all have roosterfish hunting in their inshore waters. Guatemala’s Pacific resorts widely seek roosters inshore as an alternative to the popular sailfishing offshore. The main issue when planning to fish in little-known or underdeveloped countries is finding a reliable outfitter who can arrange safe boats with knowledgeable crews. Following the recent ceasefire and peace agreement with the FARC terrorists, Colombia is already starting to attract an increasing number of sport fishermen; it certainly will become the next big Central American destination to draw anglers from around the globe — where, among other game fish, you can be sure they’ll target roosters.…

(Seriola lalandi)) BLOODY BEAUTIFUL FISH Q I caught this beautiful snapper off the coast of Madagascar. I’m anxious to know more about it! Phillippe Pletincx France A What you have there, Phillippe, is a great example of one of the more distinctive tropical snappers: the blood-red, or humphead snapper (Lutjanus sanguineus). This species occurs only along the west coast of Africa from Natal, South Africa, north to the Red Sea, including the waters around Madagascar. Adult blood-red snapper frequent rocky and coral-reef areas to depths of around 300 feet during the day. These fish have been observed by some anglers to prefer slightly silty bottoms, where they forage for crustaceans and mollusks, mainly at night and often in relatively shallow water (25 to 40 feet). Juvenile blood-red snapper are relatively…

Tommy Ruste of Aålvundfjord, Norway, has submitted a 7-pound, 6-ounce roundnose grenadier [a], caught this past July near Trongfjorden. The existing record came from the same area (in 1993) but weighed only 3 pounds, 11 ounces. Drifting bait off Southern California’s San Clemente Island earned Ali Pfleger of Newport Beach, California, a pending women’s 30-pound record for a 211-pound, 11-ounce Pacific bluefin tuna [b] this past August, after a 45-minute battle, while fishing with her record-holding father, Tom Pfleger. If approved, the catch defeats the 117-pound, 8-ounce fish that has held the category since 1968. A whopping 35-pound jack crevalle [c] will, if approved, be the new men’s 8-pound-tippet fly-rod record for the species. The fish was caught by Capt. Brian Vaughn this past September while fishing just off his…

EXTRA MIC CLIP Most boat helms have just one clip for the VHF radio mic, but I have two clips on my boat. This gives me the option to stow the mic out of the way or keep it handy. One clip is on the opposite side of the helm for those days when I don’t feel like talking much on the radio. The other is closer, making the mic more easily accessible from the wheel for times when I need to communicate often. You can buy spare mic clips for as little $2, and they are compact enough to install just about anywhere on the helm with just two small self-tapping screws. SEADEK CLEANER SeaDek nonskid deck material has become a popular upgrade on many saltwater fishing boats today.…

Anglers need a North Carolina saltwater recreational fishing license, unless they’re fishing on a licensed charter boat. A recreational license is available through most tackle shops or online at ncwildlife.org. Blackfin have no minimum size and no bag limit. FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO BOOK A TRIP: TACKLE SHOPS Frisco Rod and Gun friscorodandgun.com, 252-995-5366 Red Drum Tackle Shop reddrumtackle.com, 252-995-5414 Teach’s Lair Marina hatteraslanding.com, 252-986-2077 BLACKFIN CHARTER CAPTAINS Kenny Koci, Big Tahuna bigtahuna.com, 252-996-0448 Jay Daniels, Runaway wefishobx.com, 252-489-3646 Andy Piland, Good Times goodtimessportfishing.com, 252-216-9273 Dan Rooks, Tuna Duck tunaduck.com, 252-216-6160 PLACES TO STAY Breakwater Inn Fisherman’s Quarters breakwaterhatteras.com, 252-986-2565 Hatteras Harbor Marina hatterasharbor.com, 800-676-4939 PLACES TO EAT Hatteras Sol Waterside Grill hatterassol.com, 252-986-1414 Capt’n Rolo’s Bar and Grill facebook.com/captnrolo, 252-305-3012…