Sport Fishing April 2019

When it comes to hooks on lures, a growing number of saltwater anglers have joined the less-is-more school of thinking. That is, having more hook points doesn’t necessarily translate into more fish or better fishing. That might seem counterintuitive. A hard-body lure with two trebles means six sharp points, any number of which might find their way into the mouth of a fish. The same lure with two in-line single hooks has, obviously, 67 percent fewer hook points. SINGLE HOOKS ARE GREAT FOR ANGLERS BUT BAD FOR EMERGENCYROOM BUSINESS. And experience suggests some truth to the idea that an angler might enjoy more initial hookups with trebles. But what happens after a fish is hooked provides some advantages to singles. First, hooked fish are more likely to stay hooked with…

A topwater plug, jerkbait or diving lure with multiple treble hooks commonly snags fish in several anatomical locations: mouth, side, belly, tail. That keeps the fish hooked, but it certainly hampers a quick release. Thoughtful captains who release all or most of their fish usually replace treble hooks with single hooks. Of course, single hooks don’t off er as high a hookup rate as trebles, in part because of basic math: Replacing two trebles with two single hooks means using only two hook points instead of six. But removing single hooks from a fish is easier and faster. “If I know I’m going to catch-and-release fish, I don’t want a treble on my lures,” says Capt. Glyn Austin (goingcoastalcharters.com) of Palm Bay, Florida, who fishes the Indian River for snook,…

(Stereolepis gigas) INSIDE PANAMA POMPANO Q We caught some African pompano while kayak-fishing off Panama. This isn’t that, though I’d guess it to be in the same family (jacks and trevally). What exactly did I catch? Mitchell RofferMelbourne, Florida A This is likely the paloma pompano, Trachinotus paitensis, Mitch. These are particularly abundant in lagoons where they may be one of the most important predatory fishes. However, anglers often encounter larger individuals along the open coast, mostly in schools along sandy beaches, but occasionally down to depths of more than 300 feet. Palomas grow to 20 inches long and occur from Redondo Beach, Southern California, to Chile, including the Gulf of California and Islas Galapagos. There is no world record established at this point. I have found such invertebrates as…

Successful captains always carry a pair or two of high-end glasses on their boat. Their binoculars help them spot birds that are on fish, floating debris that might harbor dolphin or wahoo, and tournament boats that are fighting sailfish or marlin and don’t want the rest of the fleet to know that they’re hooked up. The best binoculars feature image stabilization, which allows captains to find what they’re looking for even when they’re perched in the tuna tower in rough seas. Good optics are expensive, but compared with the cost of a boat, tackle or fuel for a day’s fishing, they’re a bargain. BINO BENEFITS Capt. Matt Carter grew up fishing out of North Carolina’s Oregon Inlet and has skippered boats all over the Atlantic Ocean. He doesn’t leave the…

TECHNICAL TRANSFORMATION Shimano has fully redesigned its Tekota 500 and 600 star-drag reels, implementing the company’s latest technologies to make the reels more compact, ergonomic and lighter. The new models feature Hagane bodies and CoreProtect technology for water resistance, and come in left- or right-hand retrieve standard and line-counter versions. All haul in 38 inches of line per crank with 6.3-to-1 gear ratios. The 500 (pictured) can carry 240 yards of 50-pound braided line and costs $209.99. The 600 holds 330 yards of 65-pound-test braid and costs $219.99. CALAMARI COPYCAT Savage Gear used a scan of an actual squid to design the new 3D Swim Squid bait to better mimic the undulating cephalopod. The 3D Swim Squid can be cast-and-retrieved, slow-jigged or trolled. The two-part design allows anglers to add…

I had anticipated this day for more than two months, ever since first seeing the Sea Vee 322Z at the 2018 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. From the carpeted floor of the convention center, I checked out the twin-step, cross-ventilated running surface, then climbed aboard to tour the new layout and imagined myself fishing from the deck. Now the day had arrived for the real thing. I found the same exact boat from the show docked in the canal behind the North Miami, Florida, home of Jimmy Montes, who welcomed me aboard the 322Z that he now owned. Also joining the crew on this early January morning were Sea Vee’s Eddie Juan and Sport Fishing group publisher, Scott Salyers. Montes had a floating pen tied at his dock full of…