Innholdsfortegnelse for November - December 2016 i Sport Fishing

ALLOCATION FORMULAS IN USE TODAY WERE SET YEARS BACK, WHEN THE POPULATION OF ANGLERS AND THE OVERALL IMPORTANCE OF RECREATIONAL FISHING WERE A FRACTION OF WHAT THEY HAVE BECOME. It’s the thought that counts. Perhaps that’s what the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration had in mind when it announced its new policy on the allocation of fishery resources to the recreational-fishing community. The agency billed the policy as “an important step to clarify how allocations of fish harvest among recreational, commercial and subsistence fishermen should be made.” At first blush, that seems welcome and long-overdue news for recreational-fishing interests. That’s because the allocation of limited fish stocks is critical. Simply put, the more that user group A is allowed, the less that user group B can harvest. For most mixed-use…

SPEED CAN MAKE or break your trolling success, and yet there’s not one single speed fishermen rely on day after day. Variables such as your heading (up-sea or down-sea), weak or strong currents you must cross, winds that vary in direction and strength, and the height of wave swells all affect your trolling speed daily. “The best way to control speed is to watch your skirted baits and keep bumping up faster and faster, until your baits start to spin,” says Capt. Anthony Mendillo, of Keen M Sport Fishing in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. “Then slow down until your presentation swims true, and you’ve found your peak natural-bait trolling speed for the day. “Use the same tactic when slowtrolling,” he explains. “Go as slow as possible until the baits no longer…

A monster 41-pound, 1-ounce shortraker rockfish [A] is a pending all-tackle record for David Utoft of Mastic Beach, New York, who caught the deepwater bottom dweller in Cross Sound, Alaska, on squid this past July. It would defeat a 40-pound, 11-ounce record shortraker taken in 2013 from the same waters. Pending as the junior-angler record for India Thompson of Launceston, Tasmania, is a 589-pound, 8-ounce swordfish [B], caught near St. Helens this past April on a mackerel. The fish required 45 minutes to land. If approved, it will smash the existing junior record of 364 pounds, 3 ounces, caught off New Zealand in 2012. From Honolulu, an all-tackle-record candidate is a 10-pound, 12-ounce sharpjaw bonefish [C]. Angler Matthew Ehnes of Honolulu hooked the fish on octopus bait and fought it…

Few fishermen describe their boat’s hardware as exciting or sexy. Yet marine hardware serves a crucial role aboard saltwater fishing boats, in the form of cleats, hinges, rod holders and more. And this field is advancing, with innovations emerging each season. Let’s look at eight challenges that boating anglers face and some cool marine hardware and other gadgets that help overcome those issues. 1 LIVEWELL HATCH WON’T STAY OPEN You open a livewell hatch about halfway to retrieve a bait, but the lid keeps slamming shut. In the past, a gas-assist strut helped keep the hatch open, but these pieces of hardware snag cast nets when you’re loading bait and interfere with dip nets. SOLUTION: Friction Hinges Available from hardware companies such as Gemlux, friction hinges are ingenious devices…

A recent video shows anglers catching longtail tuna after a drone places their baits 400 yards off a beach in New South Wales, Australia (see photo, page 76). Since at press time this video had enjoyed nearly 2 million views, odds are good you might have watched it. The video shows just one of many possibilities that drones might offer for fishing in the future. For example, midprice drones are capable of holding a bait on the surface and providing the resistance needed to release a kite clip. On the other hand, the roughly 20-minute battery life — less when carrying a heavy bait — limits drone use somewhat. Still, a drone’s built-in camera provides more than spectacular photography: The overhead view and territory- covering ability are perfect for scouting…

CHALLENGE OUR EXPERTS (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 fluorescentyellow 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 fish facts@ sport fishingmag.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,…

BEVERAGE KEEPER CUP HOLDERS ARE virtual necessities on today’s fishing boats, but there’s not always room on a boat’s horizontal surfaces to add recessed holders. An alternative is a folding cup holder that installs on a vertical surface. The West Marine folding cup holder (about $11) is made from corrosion-resistant plastic, occupies a 41∕8-inch square, and is only 7∕8 inch thick when closed. It holds cans, bottles or thermal mugs. I added a couple to the exterior of the transom bulkhead on my boat, where they handily unfold and hold a beverage while I fish off the stern. When the drink’s done, the holder easily folds away. — Jim Hendricks SAFETY FROM ABOVE LIFE JACKETS ARE items you want to access quickly in an emergency. Life-jacket storage bags that mount…