Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Sport Fishing

In this age of megasize center-consoles, some boatbuilders have gone beyond sheer size to garner the spotlight, filling the boat with family features such as expanded console cabins, bow loungers, open-air galleys, mezzanine seating, big-screen TVs in the cockpit, and more. Contender Boats chose a different tack with its new flagship, the 44 ST. As Sport Fishing’s group publisher Scott Salyers and I stepped aboard the 44 at Crandon Park Marina in Key Biscayne, Florida, we found an expansive, level deck left wide open, clearly dedicated to fishing. Oh, sure, you can customize the 44 ST with lots features, including a second row of helm seating. Yet in its purest form, this boat epitomizes the moniker “fishing machine.” Welcoming us aboard the company tournament boat, C1, on this early March…

THE MIAMI INTERNATIONAL Boat Show hosts many intriguing new-model introductions each February. This year, Regulator notched that list with its 26XO crossover. This first hull in the new XO series gives anglers access to bays, as well as offshore waters on calm days. While that’s technically what “bay boats” do, this vessel — at 26 feet, 9 inches long — does increase the opportunities inherent in smaller inshore vessels. The 26XO comes standard with a Yamaha F300 and SeaStar Solutions hydraulic jack plate. Interior deck space totals more than 122 square feet with loads of storage and seating, including flush-folding aft cockpit seating that converts to a casting platform. In the helm area, the tackle center — with a 32-gallon livewell — Garmin 16 Fish Package, and a fiberglass hardtop…

CATAMARAN BUILDER World Cat has introduced its new flagship 400DC-X, the initial model of an expected 400 Series, created in partnership with Tampa Yachts. This first dual-console layout can be built with one of 12 transom designs with port and starboard modules abaft the centerline transom door. Captains can also choose vinyls, fabrics, hard-surface materials and custom colors for a build-to-order boat. The 400DC-X’s wide beam provides more than 200 square feet of usable deck space. The broad bow area seats up to 12 adults and comes with two electrically actuated tables. The port console houses an air-conditioned queen berth; the starboard console is outfitted with a head and walk-in shower. Standard features include the integrated hardtop with sunroof and electric aft-cockpit shade, helm space for two optional 17-inch multifunction…

Whether trolling, drifting, casting or jigging, anglers’ lures typically mimic live prey. “Sometimes predators know whatever we’re pulling or throwing isn’t the real deal,” says Capt. Damon McKnight (superstrikecharters.com), “but when you put out a real fish with an actual heartbeat, it triggers their brain to attack.” ¶ This is particularly true for McKnight, fishing out of Venice, Louisiana, where oil rigs — often far offshore in cobalt-blue water over a thousand feet deep — present for predators permanent smorgasbords of live offerings. ¶ For most anglers, live-bait choices can be diverse. How can anglers be sure which to select and how to fish them? Nine professional skippers— spread far and wide — offer their advice here for live-bait choice, as well as tips to produce the most bites. HERRINGS,…

SMART STEERING Using three FLIR machine-vision cameras, Axiom multifunction displays and video-analytic technology, Raymarine hasdeveloped DockSense, an assisted-docking system that works with outboard and inboard propulsion. The system creates a virtual bumper zone around the vessel that detects objects such as pilings or vessels, and then corrects steering or throttle to avoid collision. Raymarine has tested the system with Mercury Marine on an outboard-powered Boston Whaler as well as on an inboard-powered Prestige Yacht. Raymarine expects DockSense to be available before the end of the year. As a factory-installed option, pricing will be set by the boatbuilder. MAKING MUSIC At February’s Miami International Boat Show, JL Audio unveiled the M6 coaxial speakers (part of a larger series that includes subwoofer drivers and enclosed speaker systems). JL designed M6 speakers to…

The Cabo name occupies a warm spot in my heart. I tested Cabo Yachts’ first model — the 35 Flybridge — in the early 1990s. I also own one of the original Cabo Marine models — the 216 CuddyCon — built in 1986. So, when production of Cabos was suspended in 2014, it struck a sad chord. But now Cabo is back with the launch of the 41 by New Bern, North Carolina-based Hatteras/Cabo Yachts. Hull No. 1 debuted at the 2019 Miami International Boat Show, and afterward it traveled to the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida. That’s where I caught up to the 41 in early March for a morning of offshore fishing. Greeting me at the dock were Capt. Jeff Donahue, sport-fish segment director for Hatteras/Cabo,…

AS ENGINEERING METHODS and materials evolve in sophistication, boatbuilders seem to pack more and more features into smaller, better-designed packages. Wellcraft says that’s what anglers will indeed find on the 162 Fisherman. The smallest in the Fisherman series — which includes seven other models from 18 to 25 feet — the self-bailing 162 employs the same high freeboard, signature bow flair and sweeping sheer line as its brethren. The spacious bow sports twin rod holders with hook keepers as well as flush-mount hinges to keep things smooth and snag free. The forward seat ahead of the console hides space beneath for stowing an optional, insulated battery-powered bait bucket. The console comes with a 12-volt receptacle and dual USB chargers. Wellcraft laid Marine Mat atop the console for secure storage of…

Sight-casting to gamefish prowling shallow water is hard to beat when it comes to getting a fisherman’s adrenaline pumping. And great flats fisheries around the world offer some amazing opportunities. Consider some prime examples — Islamorada in the Florida Keys for big bonefish, the Seychelles for permit, Belize for tarpon, Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon for redfish, and New York’s Jamaica Bay for bluefish. ¶ Bluefish? New York? ¶ If that item in the list above had you doing a double take, you’re forgiven. Bluefish are hardly considered a prime skinny-water sight-casting target. But as I discovered on a cool, calm evening in May a stone’s toss southeast of Brooklyn, blues offer one of the Northeast’s most exciting fisheries. TAILS, BOILS AND WAKES I’d flown into the Big Apple the day before…

CATCHING RED SNAPPER IS EASY. IN FACT, SOME GROUPER FISHERMEN WILL TELL YOU THAT IT’S TOO EASY BECAUSE THE AGGRESSIVE SNAPPER WILL GET TO THEIR BAITS BEFORE A GROUPER CAN EVEN THINK ABOUT EATING THEM. ¶ CATCHING TROPHY RED SNAPPER IS ANOTHER STORY. YES, ANGLERS CAN AND SOMETIMES DO LUCK INTO A 20-PLUS-POUNDER OR EVEN A 30-POUNDER, BUT TO CONSISTENTLY CATCH THE BIG GIRLS, SUCCESS TYPICALLY DEPENDS ON THREE FACTORS: FISHING THE RIGHT SPOT WITH THE RIGHT TACKLE AND OPTIMAL BAIT, SAYS CAPT. JUDY HELMEY (MISSJUDYCHARTERS.COM) OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. TOP SPOTS FOR SOWS When Helmey guides anglers for big red snapper, she typically fishes what are known as the snapper banks, located 28 to 35 miles offshore. When she gets there, Helmey looks for a very specific type of bottom…

For 11-year-old Dylan O’Connell, December 18, 2018, proved a memorable day, when he beached a 48½-pound red drum [a] at Ocracoke, North Carolina. The Mays Landing, New Jersey, angler landed the pending junior-angler record in 20 minutes (the current record is 37 pounds from Virginia in 2001). Another junior-angler record is pending for 9-year-old Juan Felipe Adlum of Ecuador; he landed an 82-pound, 6-ounce roosterfish [b] this past January, trolling a live bait off Salinas. The boys’ junior-angler rooster record currently stands at 68 pounds, 6 ounces from Panama. While fishing the depths of Wilmington Canyon off New Jersey in October 2018, Steven Sirc (hometown unknown) boated a pending all-tackle 38½-pound barrelfish [c]. If approved, it handily beats the 29-pound barrel caught off Big Pine Key, Florida, in 2010. Pending…

PURSUIT’S NEW DC 266 replaces the DC 265 as the fifth model in the company’s dual-console lineup, which stretches from a 235 to a 365. This family-friendly fishing boat features a fiberglass hardtop, tempered-glass windshield and vacuum-infused fiberglass frame. The open bow offers full wraparound seating and a stowable sun pad. A head and sink below the port console and a freshwater washdown in the cockpit provide easy cleanup after a saltwater swim, as well as changing space. Fishing features include vertical and horizontal rod storage, a 20-gallon recirculating insulated livewell, a 31-gallon insulated transom fish box, a tackle drawer and storage under the companion seat, and aluminum reinforcement plates and wiring for downrigger installation. At the helm, optional factory electronics feature a Garmin VHF and 12-inch multifunction display, and…

SeaStar has pioneered new technology with the Optimus Universal Electric Steering Actuator, built for use with the company’s Optimus Joystick and Electric Power Steering systems. The actuator mounts in place of the present hydraulic cylinder, and doesn’t need the separately mounted hydraulic actuators used in Joystick and EPS systems. No more pump-control module, hydraulic pump, hoses, hydraulic cylinders and fluid. With the new product, the electronic helm signal goes directly to the actuator, which moves the outboard. The actuator will be available for single-, twin-, triple- and quad-outboard boats later this year to certified installers; pricing is unavailable.…

Boaters face critical fuel issues that most motorists rarely think about. One issue, for example, is the long-term stability of the gasoline in the boat’s fuel tank. Many boats are not driven every day, as are most automobiles. Stored fuel can grow stale over time, and that can result in clogged carburetors and fuel injectors. Since vessels operate in a wet environment, boaters also face the issue of corrosion throughout the fuel system. Long periods of operation at the same rpm can lead to carbon buildup on the valves, cylinders, pistons and rings of a marine engine. And finally, there’s the specter of ethanol in gasoline that can attract moisture and, over time, result in phase separation that can damage fuel-system components as well as the engine itself. It’s not…