Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2019 i Sport Fishing

“THE BEHAVIOR OF FISH, WHICH DON’T UNDERSTAND POLITICS, LEAVES NO DOUBT OF THE OCEANS’ RISING TEMPERATURES.” Schools of good-size bluefin tuna crashing bait off Washington State. Anglers up there hooking California yellowtail, finding packs feeding around flotsam. Mahi, Sierra mackerel and croakers in the Pacific Northwest too. Hordes of blacktip sharks invading Long Island Sound. On and on it goes, around the world. As Buffalo Springfield sang in the’60s: There’s something happening here. And, the long-haired rock trio added prophetically, what it is ain’t exactly clear. But the point remains: It is happening, and while the ocean has been heating up for decades, the pace of warming has begun accelerating dramatically. The “it” here refers to migrations of fishes worldwide moving toward the poles, expanding their historic ranges, in order…

Shimano SP ORCA Baby subsurface lure $19.99 [C] PowerPro Moon Shine braid starts at $20.99 Soft Steel Fluoro-Stretch fluorocarbon $6.99 to $14.99 FishLab Tackle Carnada flutter jigs $7.99 to $10.99 Berkley Gulp! shrimp (3-inch) $6.99 (six) [A] Z-Man Weedless Eye jig heads $6.99 (three) [B] Halco Roosta Popper (5½-inch) $13 Savage Gear 3D Swim Squid $13.99 to $19.99 Sufix Advance fluorocarbon $24.99 to $199.99 Seaguar Gold Label fluorocarbon $18.99 to $34.99 Rapala X-Rap Twitchin’ Minnow $10.99 to $14.99 Yo-Zuri Crystal 3D Shrimp $8.99 to $9.99…

IN THE YIN AND YANG of tackle design, the development of specialized gear can be circular. Thus, with jigging gaining in worldwide interest and popularity, tackle manufacturers make better and better jigging gear. At the same time, with manufacturers making better and better gear, jigging seems to make commensurate gains in popularity. As a sport, jigging is a niche within the niche of saltwater fishing, and it has generated a range of reels and rods made especially for fishing jigs. But all jigging tackle is not created equal: There’s gear made for speed jigging and for slow-pitch jigging. The difference, in brief, is critical because each method requires different gear. Speed jigging generally relies on longer, thinner “knife” jigs that are worked upward with a rapid, rhythmic cadence. Slow-pitch jigging…

FLORIDA DOUBLE D CHARTERS Miami-Sport Fishing charters specializing in offshore live baiting, trolling, kite fishing for sailfish, swordfish, tarpon, wahoo, dolphin, marlin and much more! Call Capt. Dean Panos 954-805-8231 or visit www.doubledcharters.com. NORTH CAROLINA CAROLINA GIRL SPORTFISHING Specializing in offshore fishing. 53 foot custom Carolina. Tournament rigged and ready for any type of Bill fish, tuna Wahoo, Mah-mahi, bottom fishing and much more. Contact Capt. Jessie 757-560-1336. Check out website at www.carolinagirlsportfishing.com DRY TORTUGAS Dry Tortugas / Key West adventures aboard the Lisa B, a 43 ft. liveaboard charter boat located in Naples, FL. Please call 239-774-2344. COSTA RICA “COSTA RICA DREAM MAKERS” Sport Fishing Packages at the Los Sueno Resort & Marina WBS Championship winning boat charters, Luxury rooms, Condos, and Houses. Call us toll free today at…

One thing that all successful anglers have in common: They tie good knots. Many learned the hard way—by losing a big fish or watching the tournament winner swim away—that certain knots don’t hold up under pressure, and not all knots work for every situation. Some knots might be stronger than others; some might be easier and quicker to tie. Knots that fasten a leader to a lure must also allow the bait to swim properly and facilitate an efficient hook-set. Some inshore captains swear by loop knots, which let the lure swing and move unencumbered. But in the off shore world, where big fish slash and tumble bigger plugs, anglers might need a different connection. To sample a few of the options, I asked two captains—one inshore guide in Florida,…

On a routine schoolie striped bass trip a few years ago, I was releasing a striper during turn-and-burn action when the 25-incher flopped and stuck a dorsal spine in my left palm. Like most longtime saltwater anglers, hooks, knives, teeth, fins and gill plates have bitten, sliced, stabbed, chaffed and scarred my hands. This latest stick hardly hurt, and I thought nothing more of Two days later, my palm was puff y, pink and painful. I was unsure why until I examined it and remembered the spine prick. No big deal. By the third day, lines of red infection had traveled up to my armpit. Time for medical care. The doctor said this was serious, and he wouldn’t release me with just antibiotic pills; instead, he administered a six-hour intravenous…

“A dredge teaser will greatly increase the productivity of any trolling spread,” says Jupiter, Florida, captain Seth Funt, who uses them to attract fish from a distance while targeting a wide range of game species, including billfish, mahi, kingfish and wahoo. For many years, battlewagon-style sport-fishing boats dominated the practice of dredge-fishing. Their heavy-duty outriggers with tripod bases and spars with guywire reinforcements could withstand the strain of trolling the heavily weighted subsurface teasers. Today, however, specially designed booms allow anglers in center-console boats to pull dredge teasers, says Boone Oughterson, sales manager for Tigress Outriggers & Gear in Lake Worth, Florida. GAME CHANGER Booms such as the new 7-foot fiberglass Tigress Poseidon ($649) allow anglers in any kind of boat to pull dredges in clean water out to the…

Recently, I wrote about specialty charts, such as the high-res bathymetric products from CMOR Mapping. I had no idea that mere months later that specialty content would become mainstream. Garmin, Navionics and C-Map have all debuted what they call, respectively, Relief Shading, SonarChart Shading and Reveal. These charts show remarkable details in reefs, wrecks and other bottom structure offshore, and in a few nearshore zones. And while the regions covered remain select—mainly limited to areas of fairly dramatic relief—they can truly change a captain’s perspective, and open up previously unknown fish-holding features. FEDERAL SURVEYS “Primarily the data [for all high-res bathymetry content] is taken from official NOAA multibeam sonar surveys,” says Paul Wilson, customer relations and product specialist for C-Map, which is owned by Navico, makers of Simrad and Lowrance…

HONDA IST OUTBOARDS Honda Marine says its iST electronically controlled BF200, BF225 and BF250 outboard engines, announced last year, are available now at dealers. Mechanical versions have been out since early 2019. The BF200 and BF225 are powered by a new engine block: the 3.6-liter V-6, which also powers the BF250. All three feature multiple rigging options, a newly designed user interface and a multifunction color display. Available in aquamarine silver or grand-prix white, and with 20-, 25- or 30-inch shafts, the BF200 starts at $24,779; the BF225 at $25,950, and the BF250 at $26,962. MERCURY RACING 450R Mercury Racing has released a new 450R outboard that features the same 4.6-liter V-8 FourStroke powerhead used on 300R outboards. The new engine is boosted by an exclusive supercharger that produces 450…

When it comes to slow-pitch jigging, it can be tough to find exactly what an angler needs to jig successfully. A number of Japanese tackle suppliers sell this specialized gear, but dealing with language barriers, currency conversion, shipping costs and import duties makes these transactions difficult. I can attest from experience that it’s much easier to do business with tackle suppliers located in the United States, and in recent years, these tackle shops have made available the same cutting-edge jigging tackle previously available only in Japan. Also, domestic tackle manufacturers now generally offer rods and reels designed for slow-pitch jigging. Some of the tackle sources cited by jig-fishing experts include: BISHOPS FISHING SUPPLY Yorktown, Virginia bishopfishingsupply.net 757-591-9300 CAPT. HARRY’S FISHING SUPPLY Miami, Florida captharry.com 800-327-4088; 305-374-4661 OCEAN TACKLE INTERNATIONAL Egg Harbor…

Most redfish caught in the Gulf of Mexico swim in state waters (federal waters begin 3 to 9 miles from shore, depending on the area). At press time, here were the state-by-state regulations for each of the Gulf Coast destinations. Always check current rules before you fish a new location. FLORIDA: Daily bag limit: one fish per person. Legal size: 18 to 27 inches total length. Note: Redfish remain catch-and-release only from the Pasco/Hernando county line south through Gordon Pass in Collier County, including all waters in Hillsborough County, through May 31, 2020, due to impacts from red tide in that area. ALABAMA: Daily bag limit: three per person, which can include one oversize fish. Legal size: 16 to 26 inches total length. MISSISSIPPI: Daily bag limit: three fish per…

PAUL CHUA: Born and raised in Singapore, Chua began joining fishing adventures to Malaysia when he was 11. Since then, he’s fished the world, and been in the jigging and popping tackle business since 2007. Chua currently lives in the Northeast and is one of the jigging experts, along with Sami Ghandour, at Saltywater Tackle in Sayreville, New Jersey. BENNY ORTIZ: Florida-based Ortiz (@mrbennyortiz) is a jigging master, whose expertise and success in slow-pitch has made him a featured speaker at various seminars as well as the subject of coverage in many regional and national magazines, including Sport Fishing. He’s a member of several pro teams, including those for Temple Reef rods, AFTCO and Accurate. KIL SONG: Song has been described as a “jigging master”; since 1980, the New Jersey…