Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2019 i Sport Fishing

Call it a bad moon. Call it fisherman’s luck. Call it skills misapplied, or even call it good baits poorly presented. Whatever excuse you apply to our day of fishing the Blackfin 332CC, I’m obliged to report that we caught only one small barracuda. Though we put nothing on the dinner table, the 332 put everything on the line for us. That’s the side benefit to a slow day of fishing—a fun boat ride. I left Florida’s Boca Raton inlet on a mid-May morning with Rene Moore, Blackfin’s marketing manager—a short crew for an aggressive day of fishing. We planned to hunt offshore for mahimahi, and then make a few drops on the reefs. We tried everything we knew, everything the boat could do, and kept trying until we caught…

GRADY’S SIX center-console Canyon models range from a 27-footer up to the company’s flagship 45-footer. This new 326 fits comfortably in the middle, and offers space, luxury and a full complement of fishing features. “This boat fills a niche in our model line,” says Joey Weller, Grady-White vice president of sales. “Its numerous built-in features, the latest in innovative design, style and comfort, combined with a variety of options, make the 326 a great addition to our already extensive lineup.” The 326 incorporates Grady’s integrated, full-height windshield to provide an expansive view forward. Because of its broad beam, the boat’s three-across helm seats tuck in beneath the hardtop and are fully protected behind the windshield. Anglers will appreciate both its transom and portside doors, a 32-gallon full-column recirculating livewell, three…

Even as Capt. Lori Deaton wrapped the anchor line around a cleat, I cast across a canal a short run from the boat ramp at Simmons Park in Ruskin, Florida. As my Yo-Zuri 3D inshore twitchbait touched down about a foot from the grassy bank, in inches-deep water, I quickly began a jerk-pause retrieve to keep it off the bottom. About three jerks into it, something smashed the lure, and a small snook sailed out of the water. Hardly a trophy, but still, a pretty nice payoff for the first cast of that fall day. Deaton, who runs Ladyfish Charters in Tampa Bay, fishes from Apollo Beach to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. She had promised we’d find willing snook on the low flood tide, and so we did. That was…

WHO We fished with Capt. Lori Deaton, Ladyfish Charters (ladyfishcharters.com, 813-967-5032). Good knowledge, good rig, good gear; easy to recommend. Special kudos to Deaton for her people skills—her patience and great sense of humor make her an exceptional guide for families who want to fish the bay. If Deaton is booked up, you can try an outstanding alternative: Capt. Ray Markham (captainraymarkham.com, 941-228-3474). WHERE We stayed on Anna Maria Island, which guards the yawning entrance to Tampa Bay at its southern end, due west of Bradenton. There, we spent several days and nights at Waterline Resort (waterlineresort.com, 941-238-6262; shown in photo at left) in one of its Island Suites, and were thoroughly impressed. The suite was provisioned more like a luxury home than a vacation unit, and the kitchen had everything…

Northwest winds howled as Capt. Mike “Dog” Nickerson positioned the party boat Pacific Dawn over an oceanic ridge that parallels the southern shore of Santa Rosa Island off California’s Ventura County coast. The drift would carry the boat over depths of nearly 400 feet. As baits and lures reached the bottom, all 11 anglers immediately hooked up. Bent rods lined the windward rail as anglers battled lingcod and rockfish. Nickerson repeated the drift two more times to ensure that each angler landed his two-fish daily bag limit for legal-size lingcod. Each trip over the ridge—a spot that the captain calls “Jurassic Park”—resulted in a flurry of hookups. The waters surrounding California’s Channel Islands archipelago (of which Santa Rosa is a part) offer some of the world’s best bottomfishing, but this…

(And Win Up to 10,800 Yards of Line!) SEND IN YOUR QUESTION and any relevant photos of your mysterious catch or observation for our experts’ ID and feedback. If we publish your question and you have a shipping address within the United States or Canada, you’ll win a 3-pound spool of Berkley Pro Spec ocean-blue or fluorescent-yellow monofilament (1,000 to 10,800 yards, depending on line strength) or a 1,500-yard spool of Spiderwire Stealth braid up to 100-pound-test! Send questions and images via email to fishfacts@sportfishingmag.com (include your hometown) or via post to Sport Fishing Fish Facts, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789. SPONSORED BY SF FISH FACTS EXPERTS NORTHEAST Mike Fahay, Sandy Hook Marine Lab, New Jersey SOUTHEAST Ray Waldner, Ph.D., Palm Beach Atlantic University, Florida…

Q This past August, while netting bait shrimp in a shallow creek in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, I found two of these little guys in the bottom of my bucket. I’ve caught some uncommon flatfish in the past, such as windowpane flounder and hogchokers, but none as narrow or tapered as these little guys. What do the experts say? RJ Green Socastee, South Carolina A You caught two tonguefish, members of the family Cynoglossidae, RJ. While I can’t be certain of the species from looking at your photographs, I believe your catches were freckled tonguefish, Symphurus nebulosus. This isn’t exactly a large species; it reaches a known maximum length of only just over 3 inches. Its range extends from New York through much of South Florida’s Atlantic coastline. The freckled…

TOUGH TACKLE Shimano says its new SLX baitcasting reels are built for anglers who demand bulletproof durability in their fishing tackle. The six new models feature solid-aluminum frames with the company’s six-pin Variable Brake System for casting control and Curado K-type long handle. Models include the 6.3-to-1 SLX150 and left-hand retrieve SLX151, the high-speed (7.2-to-1) SLX150HG and 151HG, and the extra-high-speed (8.2-to-1) SLX 150XG and 151XG. Each reel weighs 6.9 ounces; spool capacities range from 150 yards of 20-pound braid to 105 yards of 40-pound braid. They cost $99.99. TICKET TO RIDE Hobie has introduced the new Mirage Passport 10.5 pedal-driven fishing kayak, built with simplicity and versatility in mind. The 10½-foot hull features a 34-inch beam and can carry 325 pounds. Unrigged, the kayak itself weighs 65 pounds, and…

Dual-console models rank as one of the fastest-growing segments in the saltwater-boat market, and after spending time aboard the Cobia 240 Dual Console, I gained a greater appreciation for this popular phenomenon. From the trailerable size, stylish lines and ample seating to the angling amenities, smooth ride and brisk performance, this boat offers everything you need for fishing and other on-water activities. This boat is also built for years of service. The 240 DC’s decks stiffened with carbon-reinforced beams, hand-laid fiberglass with thermal barriers (to maximize gelcoat cosmetics), and fiberglass? encapsulated, reinforced thermoplastic-polymer-foam stringer systems provide outstanding durability. FISHING HERITAGE I was joined on my test day in early April by Charlie Johnson, director of marketing for the Maverick Boat Group, which includes Hewes, Pathfinder and Maverick, as well as…

VIKING, RENOWNED builder of top-quality convertible sport-fishers, will introduce in September three new outboard-powered center-consoles—33-, 37- and 41-footers—under the Valhalla Boatworks brand. To create the V Series, Viking’s team worked with designer Michael Peters, using Peters’ patented Stepped-V Ventilated Tunnel running surface that reduces drag while increasing speed, stability and efficiency. Design traits of Viking’s convertibles will appear throughout the center-consoles, the company says, including proud bows, gently sloping S-shaped sheers, double forward chines, helm pods, raised toe rails, and mezzanine seating. Viking says the V Series will also be customizable per fishing region. Standard items include a raised transom livewell (90 gallons in the V-41), in-deck fish boxes, a sea-chest livewell-pump system, Gemlux flush-mounted rod holders, and tackle storage. The V-41 can accommodate up to 1,600 hp; all models…

My outing with Capt. Lori Deaton in lower Tampa Bay offered me a first chance to fish from a Blue Wave bay boat—in this case, the 2400 Pure Bay. With a 300 hp Suzuki, it jumped onto plane almost immediately and was clearly capable of running faster than we needed (factory tests with a 300 topped out at nearly 60 mph). The generous casting decks fore and aft meant that all four anglers aboard could fish without encroaching on each other’s space. The spacious stern livewell kept a passel of pilchards frisky all day. Rigged out with a hydraulic jack plate and the optional second station, Deaton’s Pure Bay truly proved itself a bay-fishing machine.…

I wouldn’t describe my father as a hardcore boat guy. He owned a cabin cruiser and a few sailboats during my childhood, but he spent much more time on the golf course. ¶ That’s why it came as a big surprise, in the mid-1960s, when Dad—ever the gadget enthusiast—built himself a boat: a catamaran, in fact. ¶ Now, I don’t recall spending much time aboard his homemade multihull, but I do recall sailing with him aboard the Hobie Cat he bought shortly thereafter. Cat boats evoke fond memories for me, however I’ve been a monohull powerboat owner ever since. In the offshore-fishing world, I represent one side of the historic divide between V-hull owners and cat-boat enthusiasts. Make no mistake: V-hulls still dominate, but more American boat buyers have started…

Q I caught this fish 120 miles offshore out of Freeport, Texas, while chunking for tuna at Hoover Spar. No one aboard had seen one before. What in the world did I come across? Mikkel Simoes-Correia Spring, Texas A Mikkel, you caught a real prize: That’s a black jack, Caranx lugubris. And it is for sure a rarity in the northern Gulf. But the species is exceptionally widespread, found in all of our planet’s major tropical oceans, especially around oceanic islands. Since it favors offshore waters, usually in depths of more than several hundred feet, not a whole lot is known about the species. Although I’ve not seen one more than 20 pounds, they do get larger: The IGFA all-tackle world record weighed 41 pounds, 7 ounces, caught in the…

Q I caught this while jigging off Madagascar. It looks like some sort of goatfish? Can you identify it and tell me more about it? Julien Lajournade Fishing & Travel Paris A What you have there, Julien, is a very nice gold-saddle goatfish (Parupeneus cyclostomus) in a rare red color phase. This species can display any of several color variations, most commonly a purplish-gray body with blue edges to the scales. But it can also be entirely yellow. This one, however, is the rarer reddish-pink phase that has provided this species the alternative name of red mullet. You can still see the very faint yellow color of the “saddle” covering the upper side of the caudal peduncle (tail wrist), and if you look very closely, you can see several short narrow…

When I head offshore, I actually enjoy tinkering with the onboard electronics, exploring their capabilities, diving deep into the menus. My husband, not so much. When it comes to using electronics, he wants to power up the multifunction display, and see a chart with GPS coordinates on the left and sonar with a depth reading and water temperature on the right. In truth, that’s pretty much all you need electronically for offshore fishing, save a fixed-mount, properly set up VHF radio. In some coastal zones, radar is equally necessary because of frequent fog or other weather impediments. But for many anglers, radar is a “nice-to-have.” SONAR SETUPS “Offshore, to me, means deep water,” says Raymarine/FLIR marketing manager Jim McGowan. “I’m thinking 500-plus feet deep.” For sonar to provide detailed returns…

HERE HE COMES! my mind screamed. But I held my tongue: I didn’t want to spook the fish or my nephew, Hunter Salyers. Coming straight toward us was an overslot redfish, as subtle as an 18-wheeler rolling through South Beach. ¶ Hunter held a 10-pound spin outfit armed with a righteous blue crab, prepped just in case we came across one of Biscayne Bay’s rare, albeit hero, redfish. His finesse, 10-foot straight-on touch cast landed perfectly as the fish surfaced only 20 feet ahead. We had done our part to get the bite this mid-October morning; the rest was up to the fish. Hunter crouched on the casting platform to avoid detection as I steadied the boat. The redfish submerged where the crab had fallen. I couldn’t see the hookup…