Big kingfish can be caught year-round in Key West, but in January and February more smokers migrate south from the Gulf of Mexico. With the right timing and tactics, anglers can catch the biggest kings of the year.

“It’s just so cool,” says Key West captain Casey Hunt, who grew up fishing in Pompano Beach, Florida. “Catching 20-pound kingfish here is like catching 5-pound kingfish out of Hillsboro Inlet. They’re so plentiful.”

And these big macks grow really big. A few years ago, Hunt caught a monster that weighed 71 pounds in his boat. He notes that the same fish, gutted, actually weighed 72 pounds on a fish house scale. In a fairly recent Key West Kingfish Mayhem Open Tournament, the winning fish came in at 51.7 pounds; seven other kings topped 41 pounds.

Kingfish Haven

Capt. Ron Mitchell, a well-known Florida angler who has fished Key West king mackerel tournaments for nearly 30 years, has caught many kings over 50 pounds, including a 63-pounder. He also got a firsthand look at a 78.66-pounder caught by another tournament team in 2015.

“There’s so much life there [in Key West], why would the fish leave?” says Mitchell, a member of the Southern Kingfish Association Hall of Fame. “It’s a big old ecosystem that’s holding tons of fish. It just seems like they get a little bigger and maybe they’re feeding a little differently, there are more in an area this time of year.”

Mitchell also thinks that improvements in boats, motors, electronics and tackle contribute to the increase in the number of big kingfish caught in Key West. For example, his boat Bandit, with quad 400-horsepower outboards, allows him to cover much more water. Mitchell says it takes him one hour to get to spots that used to take him three hours, allowing him to fish longer. His boat features six livewells, each with two pumps in case one pump breaks or if he wants to increase water flow to accommodate hundreds of baits.

Smoker Kingfish Tactics

To target big kings, Mitchell emphasizes making the extra effort to select the liveliest baits. “I tell my guys to always find the best baits in the livewell. Look in there and find that bright-eyed, crisp blue runner or goggle-eye or speedo or whatever and put him out. He’ll get hit quicker than anything you’ve got in your spread,” he says.

Hunt uses his Simrad sounder to find bait and slight changes in water temperature. He also uses CMOR mapping on his multifunction display to find wrecks and other structure. “Sometimes the current hits the reef differently and there’s bait that’s balled up there,” he says. “Sometimes the water will get really cold, and when you find it bump up a little bit, even if it changes a half a degree, it can mean fish there.”

Winter weather also plays a role as front after front rolls through. “If you go down there for a week, you’re going to have a couple good days and you’re going to have a couple horrible days,” Mitchell says. Before the front arrives, the kingfish start feeding, and then they shut down. After the front passes and the weather calms the fish start eating. “But I always think that if you put a beautiful bait in front of a kingfish, no matter what’s going on — they might not even be hungry — they see that thing and they’ve got to hit it.”

Finding Key West King Mackerel

Hunt, who runs CN-It Adventures, charters with his 26-foot Twin Vee and also guides anglers on their personal boats. He catches most of his big winter kings about 40 miles south of Key West along a ledge that drops from 60 to 120 feet.

“The bait is holding right where the ledge starts to drop down, and the kingfish are shooting up to eat the bait,” Hunt says, adding that yellowtail snappers also hang on that ledge. “You can fish for yellowtails there as well and hook a big kingfish. Someone caught a 61-pound king on a 12-pound outfit while yellowtailing. There are plenty of wahoos there, too, when the water is clean.”

Mitchell adds that most of his prime spots lie 40 to 45 miles out of Key West. Among his favorites include Tail End Buoy, the Rockpile, the Rocket, the Critter, eastern and western Dry Rocks, Cosgrove Shoals and the current hotspot, the Banana Bar.

Kingfish Tackle and Bait

When targeting big kings, Hunt prefers a 3- to 5-pound live blue runner (his 71-pounder ate a runner) or yellowtail snapper. He bump-trolls the baits, taking the engines in and out of gear to keep the bow edging forward, and fishes only three flat lines at a time. He staggers the lines 30, 60, and 100 feet behind the boat. “The bite is so fast and furious; if the fish are there, they’re going to eat,” he says. There’s no waiting around.”

He doesn’t employ a downrigger line, usually a popular tactic for kingfish anglers, because a deep bait mostly likely will catch a black grouper (grouper season is closed most of the year), an amberjack or a jack crevalle.

Read Next: King Mackerel Fishing Tips

Mitchell prefers to fish five lines: a big runner or bluefish 300 feet behind the boat, two flat lines, and two downrigger lines at different depths. However, when seas grow rough, he might not even set two baits. And when the bite goes off: “You throw a bait out the back of the boat, and it gets hit immediately. It can get that good.”

Like many kingfish tournament anglers, Hunt uses very light drag settings. Still, his 71-pounder took only 10 minutes to land. “We let them zip out 200 yards of line and wear themselves out, then we go after them with the boat,” he says. But even if a king bites through the leader or otherwise breaks off, chances are the fertile Key West waters will deliver many more opps to smoke one.

The post Winter Hotspot: Key West Kingfish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

My alarm rudely interrupted my sleep at 2 a.m. I launched from slumber and headed for my laptop on the table in the salon. Within a minute, I was reviewing the latest sea surface conditions from overnight satellite passes. The weather still looked great for a canyon run, but the water had shifted from the last clear images I saw a couple days ago. Now we would have to run to the Norfolk Canyon instead of the Washington to intercept a strong temperature and color change I knew held our best chances for tuna and billfish. Without that intel, we might have searched for hours in an area that held fish several days ago, but would have been a desert that day. 

In today’s world, if you’re not using satellite mapping to study the water and gather information in the days prior to an offshore fishing trip, you’re missing out. The ocean is a bit like a desert, in which most of the fish congregate in oases of favorable water conditions amid vast swaths of unproductive water. By doing your homework on ocean conditions, it’s possible to home in on likely areas and launch with a gameplan that can greatly increase your catching-to-fishing ratio.

How to Best Use Satellite Images for Fishing

Satellite images are an incredible tool giving offshore fishermen a way to watch the ocean’s movements and predict where to find pelagic species. By learning which indicators show conditions that concentrate fishing action instead of dispersing it, anglers can often predict when, as well as where, the bite is likely to be the hottest. As a warm-water eddy spins off from the main current, you can watch for days. Putting all that intel together will help you save fuel by spending more time fishing in productive water, rather than randomly searching the ocean for a bite.

Look for boundary zones to improve your fishing. Consider how the water is going to interact with the bottom structure. Look for indicators in satellite images that help you find the signs on the water that lead to that “20 percent of water that holds 80 percent of the fish.” Don’t focus too heavily on an exact temperature or color, think edges.

Find Waters Holding Fish

While anglers cannot see fish from satellites, they can see the physical conditions that fish prefer. Fish do not have an ability to change a thermostat, so they need to move with the water temperature they’re comfortable in. While tuna and swordfish have some limited ability to self-regulate their internal temperature, they move with favorable temperatures just like highly temperature-sensitive species such as dolphin and wahoo. Additionally, fish live to eat, and pelagic fish species have a knack for finding forage fish. Today’s satellite mapping might not be able to show you fish, but it absolutely can show the ocean conditions pelagic species prefer.

How to Read Sea Temperature Data

Temperature, color and altimetry are most useful for offshore fishing. Water temperature seems obvious, but satellite sensors can only see the very surface of the ocean, or skin temperature. During early morning hours the surface appears cooler, while after a hot day it appears warmer than the temperature displayed on your on-board water temperature sensor. And this is just the surface temperature. Don’t get hung up on the absolute temperature on your gauge or in a satellite image, rather use the temperature as an indicator of the features and circulations of different water bodies like the Gulf Stream’s warmer waters versus cooler coastal currents. 

Best Chlorophyll Levels for Fishing

Some satellites provide ocean color, while others provide chlorophyll concentrations—where more chlorophyll typically means greener water and less is clear blue water. This helps us to see the clarity and the plankton or suspended sediment content of the water. Satellites can measure the top layer of water down to as deep as 100 feet, depending on just how clear and clean the water is. The key is not necessarily to identify a specific color, but rather where the boundaries are, what the circulation is like and where the current comes from. For example, anglers rarely find yellowfin tuna, wahoo or marlin in turbid coastal waters. More often they are found in the cleaner, bluer offshore waters.

Does Water Height Matter in Fishing?

Satellite altimeters measure the height of the ocean’s surface. Areas where the surface is higher typically indicate a downwelling where the water is nutrient poor and less likely to hold fish. Areas with lower sea surface height tend to coincide with upwellings that have more life. Once again, use these images to focus on the boundary areas between highs and lows.

READ NEXT: How Fishing Charts Have Revolutionized Sportfishing

Fish the Eddies of Ocean Currents

Ocean currents like the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic or the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico tend to be comfortable for pelagic fish and the bait they love to eat. When eddies spin off these currents, the eddies often carry fish with them. Following the motion of these spin-off eddies is key to finding the best fishing conditions. Off the northeast US, the offshore season’s success is largely dictated by how and when these spin-off eddies come off the Gulf Stream and how fast they move west and south, before eventually being swallowed back up into the Gulf Stream.

Notice the Gulf Stream eddy labeled A in the image below (top). This eddy is circulating clockwise, while moving from east to west. Usually, these eddies hold pelagic fish like tuna, mahi and billfish. Ideally, anglers want to fish where the current pushes from deeper to shallower into a canyon wall. You can also notice that the sea surface temperature cannot be seen through clouds. The white areas in the image are cloud locations that have been removed from the image.

In the image above (bottom), from a few days later, the eddy has pushed west. I would choose to fish along the 100-fathom curve around the “triple zeros” of the Hudson Canyon. This is where the circulation is pushing good Gulf Stream water from deeper to shallow, creating an upwelling effect against the canyon wall which is likely driving bait toward the surface. I would avoid the area north of the Hudson Canyon where water is pushing from shallower to deeper water.

Marlin Fishing in an Upwelling

Upwelling is another condition to watch for. This occurs when current hits a canyon wall or seamount. The water must go somewhere, so it goes up and over the structure. This brings cooler, nutrient-rich water toward the surface, where the sun’s energy then grows the phytoplankton, which are eaten by the zooplankton, which then becomes food for the small baitfish, who then become feed for our target species.

Large-scale upwelling can be seen on the west coast of the U.S., but any upwelling is good, especially when it has been stable for a few days. Always try to track the circulation as you are looking at imagery and find areas where the water is pushing from deep to shallow. Baitfish and other forage are either attracted to these areas or are pushed closer to the surface by the upwelling, increasing your chances for finding tuna, wahoo, dolphin and marlin. 

Why Convergence Zones Attract Gamefish

A convergence zone is where two bodies of water come together. A divergence zone is an area where the water bodies are being pulled apart. Most of us have been lucky enough to see the visual signs of a convergence zone when our boat approached a weed line, or the edge of a strong green-to-blue front on the water, like the color break at the edge of the Gulf Stream. Generally, look for areas of convergence versus divergence along the edges of two water bodies.

When two bodies of water come together, one cooler than the other, the cooler water will go under the warmer water and all the sargassum and flotsam will create a weed line at this convergence edge. Bait is attracted to these areas, making it much more likely to find fish concentrated in the area hunting the bait. In a divergence zone, the weeds will be scattered and breaking up. While anglers still might find some life along divergence zones, the action is likely subsiding, as the bait is being dispersed instead of being concentrated. 

Where to Find the Best Satellite Images for Fishing

While you can dive into the internet and find inexpensive, even free satellite images, you most likely want to start out paying for a more complete service that helps point out optimal fishing spots. Engage these providers in discussions to understand what they are seeing and why they believe the bite will be at one location or another. This will help you to appreciate the sometimes very minor differences in satellite image data that will highlight your best chances for catching. Additionally, as these providers are typically talking with many fishermen in the same area you are fishing, they can help identify which water bodies have been holding fish or bait, again, increasing your chances for success.  

• Canyon Runner (www.canyonrunner.com) provides a concierge-level coaching service, including access to satellite images, weather and fishing reports. Their app allows you to see real-time locations of their pro staff and they highly encourage live conversations to help you develop a plan for your best chances for catching on the days you are able to fish.
• ROFFS (www.roffs.com) provides satellite images and oceanographic analyses to help direct your fishing efforts.
• Sirius XM Marine (www.siriusxm.com/marine) provides images and analyses directly to your boat.
• SatFish (www.satfish.com) provides low cost, easy to use satellite data in an app designed to help you view the images easily.
• Rutgers University (https://marine.rutgers.edu/cool/data/satellites/imagery) provides near real-time access for free to sea surface temperature data.

About the Author: Louis Chemi’s lifelong passion for fishing is deeply rooted in his extensive experience in the marine industry. From his early days fishing in Long Island Sound to his time as a captain and mate on various boats, Chemi has accumulated a vast amount of on-the-water knowledge. With a strong foundation in engineering and marine physics, Chemi has also applied his technical expertise to the fishing industry. He has worked in various roles at Raymarine, Simrad, Lowrance and B&G, including developing fish-finding services and designing marine electronics. More recently, he spent time growing Freedom Boat Club’s franchise business. Today, Chemi continues to explore new fishing waters and share his expertise as a board member of the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation.

The post Improve Your Fishing with Satellite Mapping appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The frigid seas of the Gulf of Maine are home to a diverse blend of bottom fishing opportunities, with species such as cod, haddock, and pollock routinely filling anglers’ boxes. However, famed Atlantic halibut are also once-again beginning to show in increasing numbers. 

Recognized as the largest member of the flatfish family, the Atlantic halibut inhabits a broad range, stretching from the icy waters of Labrador and Greenland across to Iceland, and down through the Canadian Maritimes. Within U.S. waters, Atlantic halibut are most frequently encountered by anglers in the Gulf of Maine. These demersal fish inhabit the seafloor at depths ranging from a few hundred feet to deeper than 6,000 feet. 

The largest Atlantic halibut on record was caught by a commercial angler in the early 1900s off the coast of Cape Ann, Massachusetts. It weighed more than 600 pounds even after the head had been removed.

The Crash of the Atlantic Halibut

Throughout the late 1800s, the growing population centers of the Northeast drove an increasing demand for fresh fish. In response, commercial fleets focused on Atlantic halibut for its impressive size, sweet flavor, and signature flaky texture. Records show that at least 12 million pounds of Atlantic halibut were harvested annually in the Gulf of Maine during this period.

Atlantic halibut are an extremely slow-growing species that require 10 years to reach sexual maturity and can live past 50 years of age. Over time, the extreme fishing pressure began to take its toll, and the U.S. population of halibut had all but crashed by the 1940s. 

Little effort was made to restore the fishery until the early 2000s when the New England Fishery Management Council stepped in to put in place a rebuilding plan, through tactics such as seasonal and year-round area closures, limited commercial and recreational harvest, and annual catch limits, the goal remains to get the population back to a target level by 2055. Yes, that’s another 30 years. 

Atlantic Halibut Rebounds

For an insider’s take on the current state of halibut fishing in the Gulf of Maine, I had the chance to connect with Capt. Bruce Sweet, of Sweet Dream Fishing Charters, based in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Sweet and his team routinely target Atlantic halibut along the Fippennies Ledge section of the Gulf of Maine, an underwater shoal located around 65 miles northeast of Gloucester. 

While the fishing is not consistent, Sweet says, “Over the last 15 years or so, the fishing is trending up; they are hardly abundant, but you are hearing about more and more being caught.” These days, strict recreational regulations continue to help Atlantic halibut maintain growing population levels, with only one fish measuring at least 41 inches able to be harvested per boat, per trip. 

Sweet also highlights that the surge in halibut activity has drawn increased interest from anglers, particularly as New England groundfish species have seen decreased bag limits for the past few years. 

Tips and Tactics for Targeting Halibut

For Sweet, the peak of his halibut fishing season occurs toward the end of May, into early July. The biggest reason for this is that once the Gulf of Maine hits a water temperature of 60 degrees, the area becomes inundated with dogfish and blue sharks that make getting any fish to the boat nearly impossible. 

Offshore shoals with depths of 200 to 300 feet, featuring gravel bottoms or scattered boulders, are great areas to start. While most halibut are caught as bycatch during pollock and haddock trips, targeting areas with abundant bait and other biomass is important. Along with Fippennies Ledge, anglers might also consider making the trip to Jeffreys Ledge off the coast of New Hampshire, where commercial tuna fishermen and recreational ground fishermen occasionally hook halibut that rise from the bottom to strike suspended live baits.

The massive specimens of the past are still a distant memory. Sweet reports that most fish caught by his clients weigh between 50 and 60 pounds, with the largest of his career surpassing 90 pounds. As a result, using the right gear to bring large fish up from deep water is essential. Anglers typically target Atlantic halibut with traditional three-sided Norwegian jigs, often accompanied by a series of teasers, ranging from 12 to over 20 ounces to account for current — requiring heavy conventional tackle to impart action and maintain bottom contact.

While the full recovery of the Atlantic halibut population remains uncertain, strict regulations and careful management are driving the species’ resurgence, giving anglers the opportunity to target these remarkable fish once more. With continued efforts, one day it may not take a trip to Alaska for U.S. anglers to wrestle with the king of flatfish.

The post The King of Flatfish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

What does a lingcod eat? Anything it wants. These deep-water reef predators rule the bad neighborhoods where they live, feeding on octopus, sand dabs, rockfish and anything else they can fit in their cavernous, toothy maws. They readily attack prey seemingly too large to swallow, a reason they are often caught by anglers as “hitchhikers” literally lock-jawed onto hooked rockfish as they’re reeled toward the surface.

Savvy Southern California anglers know this and appeal to the lingcod’s ravenous appetite and aggressive nature by tossing super-size swimbaits. The technique has developed somewhat of a cult following: Small groups of swimbait aficionados gather in the bow of partyboats to “chuck the rubber,” while the majority of the passengers deploy dropper-loop rigs with 1-pound weights meant to carry live or cut baits into depths that can reach 300 feet or more. The fall season is probably the best time of the year to target big lingcod in this way. As temperatures cool, lings move into shallower waters and feed aggressively. Smart anglers venture out on skiffs and party boats to meet them, swimbait outfits in hand.

Make no mistake, plenty of anglers catch lingcod on live mackerel, live sardines or even whole or stripped squid fished on “shrimp fly” rigs. Large lings are sometimes taken this way in between reeling up vermillion, chucklehead or any of a wide variety of rockfish species. But if you want to catch lingcod almost exclusively—and the largest ones on the boat—switch to big swimbaits. I say “almost exclusively,” because truly large rockfish of 5 pounds and up sometimes jump on these soft-plastic lures, as well, adding variety and quality to the equation.

California Swimbait Fishing

What do I mean by a big swim bait? Lure companies like Kustom Kraft, Candy Bar and Savage Gear have developed specialized lures for this technique, with beefy, sturdy plastic bodies boasting large paddle tails for maximum action and vibration. Up to 10 inches long, these tails pair with heavy, wedge-shaped leadheads sporting 7/0 to 10/0 hooks. Depending on the depth of the structure being fished, leadheads can range from 4 to 16 ounces. Some lures, like those from Savage Gear, feature molded leadheads designed for use with specific integrated tails.

Working a lure that must be retrieved can be a challenge when fishing craggy, rocky structure in waters up to 300 feet deep. Swim the lure as close to the bottom as possible for as long as possible. Partyboat anglers should stay clear of other anglers fishing bait rigs straight up and down. The technique involves casting your lure from the bow or downwind corner of the stern. Toss it as far as possible and let it sink quickly to the bottom, then work the swimbait with a steady, medium-speed retrieve for about 15 to 20 turns of the reel handle. If you don’t get bit, freespool back to the bottom and repeat. As the boat drifts over and eventually away from your line, you will have to recast and begin the process again.

If the boat drifts too quickly, you might have to use a more vertical presentation. In those situations, I just wind quickly for about seven to 10 cranks, drop back and repeat. It takes some dedication to do this, but the reward is worth the effort. At times, however, conditions just won’t allow for working a swimbait. When this happens, I switch to my second-favorite lingcod lure, which is a heavy metal jig. Fish these lures vertically and bounce them just off the bottom. To create a large target worthy of attracting the attention of big lingcod, I replace the usual treble hooks with a large single siwash hook, onto which I thread a 6-inch plastic or Berkeley Gulp! grub.

Best Techniques for Swimbait Fishing

New anglers trying to master the swimbait method must resist the natural impulse to set the hook. Lingcod often grab the lure by the tail and hold on, and if you swing the rod, you pull the lure out of its mouth (often ripping the tail off in the process). Instead, just keep turning the reel handle at the same speed until the rod loads up and the fish is solidly hooked.

If the fish lets go or comes off after a few head shakes, immediately drop the lure down a few seconds and start reeling. Lingcod hate to let any meal—even a fake one—get away. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sealed the deal after two or three re-bites. Lings are also very competitive, and it’s not uncommon to have one or more free-swimming lingcod accompany a hooked fish on its way to the surface, ready to pounce on the lure should it become dislodged.

To increase the number of solid hookups, I often rig my swimbaits with a simple trap-hook system. I loop an Owner 5/0 Assist Hook over the tip of the main hook and cinch it tight at the hook’s bend. Depending on the length of the swimbait, this provides a large trailing hook near the tail of the lure. I’ve caught plenty of big lingcod on the trap hook alone.

Maintain a slow and steady retrieve when fighting a big ling. They usually make a strong run toward structure once hooked, and after that, it’s usually heavy weight with just enough head shaking to rattle your nerves. If you keep steady pressure, lings usually stay fairly calm until they get near the boat.

Swimbait tails come in a wide variety of colors, and I’ve seen them all work. Shades of red and brown certainly match the natural coloration of juvenile rockfish.

Capt. Mike Nickerson, of the popular Channel Islands-based sport boat Pacific Dawn, likes a custom-poured tail he calls Blue Bass, the common name for the ubiquitous blue rockfish that populate these reefs. At the same time, I’ve caught plenty on gaudy colors like glow in the dark, chartreuse, pink-and-white striped and pearl white. I don’t think color is all that important as long as you work the lure effectively in the strike zone and maximize bites when they happen.

Swimbait Fishing Tackle for Lingcod

It takes a specific style of rod and reel to effectively fish these heavy lures. Relatively stiff, fast-action graphite-composite jig rods of 8 to 8 1/2 feet work best for lobbing lures that might weigh up to a pound. Conventional reels can be either star or lever drag, as long as they hold 300 to 400 yards of 65-pound braided line.

Using straight braid with only a few feet of 40-pound test monofilament or fluorocarbon leader allows lures to sink quickly and keep you in direct touch with the lure and your fish. The short length of leader (joined with a back-to-back uni-knot) provides some added shock absorption and makes it easier to break off if you snag the bottom.

The post Catch California’s Lingcod with Swimbaits appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Capt. Richard Stanczyk stays busy overseeing everything at Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada. But this time of year, when the weather cools in the Florida Keys, he always sets aside a few afternoons to take family and friends bonefishing.

Thanks to a combination of factors that has greatly improved the water quality in Florida Bay around Islamorada, flats fishing has flourished. “When I used to take people bonefishing, I would tell them, ‘I guarantee you one thing: a beautiful sunset.’ Now I can almost guarantee them a bonefish,” Stanczyk says. “The flats are better, there’s no question. The overall water quality has been the best this year that I can remember in many, many years.”

Best Flats and Conditions for Bonefish

Although anglers can endure the heat and catch bonefish during the summer, Stanczyk says fall ranks as his favorite time of the year to pursue the gray ghosts. “Temperature is important, and usually we’re just coming off extreme heat,” he explains. “You’ve got to fish real early in the morning because of the cooling effect that takes place overnight, and then there’s a window late in the afternoon.”

However, bonefish become difficult to catch on the flats when water temperatures dip below 72 degrees. When a November cold front approaches, Stanczyk says the bonefish leave Florida Bay and move to the deeper, warmer water on the ocean side of Islamorada.

While Florida Bay’s water temperatures remain comfortable for bonefish, Stanczyk hunts a variety of flats. With more than 40 years of experience fishing those shallow waters, he has a pretty good idea of where the fish should be based on the tides and the wind direction.

He looks for a mix of healthy, green grass and sand and gravel. He avoids flats with brown, matted algae and what he calls “rusty-looking dust,” which indicates low water flow.

“Sometimes you get big broad flats, and you’ve got a lot of sunlight, and those types of flats [the fish] don’t like to commit to them so much, so they’ll stay around the edges, and that’s especially during calm weather. The wind will help you a little bit,” he says.

He also finds fish around what’s called a strip bank—where a narrow strip rises up, and the water churns as it flows over the obstruction. Fish often mill around those locations and want to feed, he says.

Fishing Live Shrimp for Bonefish

When he first came to the Keys in the 1970s, Stanczyk exclusively fly-fished for bones. He’d propel his skiff across a shallow flat and look for tailing fish or the shadows from swimming fish.

Of course, water levels have risen over the last 20 years, he notes. Bonefish flats that once featured 6 inches of water now flood with 2 or 3 feet of water, making the fish harder to see.

Some sharp-eyed backcountry guides still pole across the flats, but at this stage of his life, Stanczyk prefers a technique known as dead-boating or staking out. “Instead of me hunting them down, I let them find me,” he says.

Stanczyk eases his skiff onto a flat where he believes he’ll intercept bonefish, and where the wind and current move in the same direction. He plants his push pole in the sandy bottom and secures the boat to the pole with a rope.

Once settled, he baits two to four spinning outfits with live shrimp and casts them to specific spots on the flat.

Stanczyk thinks of the flat like a road map with one route on and off the zone. With the right conditions, he knows the bonefish will travel that route and find the shrimp.

Rigging Light Tackle for Bonefish

One of Stanczyk’s other keys to dead-boating bonefish involves putting the bait on an edge with grass and sand. That makes it easier for the fish to find the shrimp by sight and scent.

He recommends using light spinning outfits with 12-pound monofilament line. “You don’t want to over-tackle bonefish,” he says. “It takes away the excitement, the challenge and the fun.”

He places an egg sinker weighing 1/8 to 1/2 ounce, depending on the strength of the current, above a swivel tied to 12 to 18 inches of 12- to 20-pound monofilament leader. He completes the rig with a 2/0 Gamakatsu Offset Worm EWG hook. A smaller hook could be swallowed by a bonefish.

Read Next: Bonefish on Artificial Lures

Stanczyk breaks off the tail off a shrimp and threads it tail-first onto the hook, so the entire hook is concealed. After casting the shrimp, he puts the spinning outfits in rod holders and watches the tips for movement.

“What you’re really watching is the bonefish trying to pick up the shrimp,” Stanczyk says. “As he’s nosing down on your bait, he’s sending you a signal. Pick up the rod, but don’t spook him.”

When the fish takes the shrimp, reel, don’t jerk. “If he’s not there, stop reeling. He’ll pick it back up,” Stanczyk notes. “If he is there, he’s going to be off and running. Let him make his first run, because you’re not going to stop him.”

After another run or two, the bonefish tires, and that trophy comes boatside for photos. Once you notch the first fish by letting it come to you, you can try hunting and scouting. Look for tails and shadows. But if you strike out, remember, you can always stake out.

The post Fishing for Bonefish in the Florida Keys appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The word ‘relief’ has multiple definitions that seemingly have nothing to do with each other, and the most peculiar is “a difference in height from the surrounding terrain.” South Louisiana has no such relief. It’s as flat as Bangladesh, with the only difference in geographical height being the human-made levees that parallel the Mississippi River on either side, preventing it from spilling over its banks during spring floods, inundating homes and bankrupting insurance companies.

Saltwater Creeps Up the Mississippi to New Orleans

Because the region is so flat, the water in the Mississippi doesn’t actually fall into the Gulf of Mexico. It must be pushed with force from water upstream that is in fact impacted by the forces of gravity. But autumn is typically dry across much of the continent, and that means there ain’t a whole lot of water reaching the river — at least in relative terms — and most years, it’s not enough to hold the Gulf at bay.

At the river’s Bird’s Foot Delta, green, salty water takes advantage of the weakness, shoving its way as far upriver as New Orleans, some years even threatening the potability of the city’s drinking water. With that salty surge comes fish that aren’t generally associated with rivers — redfish, flounder and a whole lot of speckled trout — and best of all, because the banks of the river are armored, turbidity is never a problem. The river and its passes stay pristine, with visibility typically measured in feet, even after big blows associated with autumn cold fronts.

The river typically begins its annual descent some time in the summer, and by September, is below the 5-foot mark at New Orleans’ Carrollton gauge. That allows the passes and the river itself downstream of the Plaquemines Parish town of Buras to absolutely load up with redfish that move in to feast on estuarine bait stocks that spent most of the year growing in the nutrient-rich water, completely shielded from such predators.

Flounder also take root at points, drains and along edge walls in numbers that frequently defy belief. The species is typically an incidental catch for South Louisiana anglers, but in the autumn months at the mouth of the river, they are often targeted.

Louisiana Speckled Trout Fishing in Fall

In September and most of October, reds and flounder are the stars of the show, but annually in low river years, speckled trout join them right around the time kids are picking out their Halloween costumes. The specks set up along deep ledge walls in high-current areas, and ignore their bursting bellies to stuff their faces without ceasing. Though the techniques for targeting them can be unique, they’re the easiest fish in the world to get to bite.

Regular anglers often cast double-rigged 3/8-ounce jigheads teamed with soft-plastic paddle tails, sometimes having to level up to 1/2-ounce heads when currents are particularly swift. Double hookups are common, and the fish are often the biggest specks anglers will catch all year, measuring 25 inches and weighing up to 5 pounds.

A Hot Seatrout Bite in the Mississippi River

Last November, fishing buddy Justin Bowles and I hit a ledge in the river itself near the popular port of Venice, and found action that could not possibly have been better. We cast downcurrent, and worked our baits up a ledge that clearly held a school of specks that numbered in the hundreds if not thousands.

I went with the double-rig setup, while Bowles opted for a drop-shot rig anchored by a 1-ounce bell sinker. As soon as our baits reached bottom, bites were almost instantaneous. We were, at most, five minutes from Venice, and it remained in our view the entire trip. The water beneath our feet was green, clean and pristine. In the autumn war between Gulf and river, the Gulf had clearly won every battle.

The post Louisiana’s Fall Fishing Bite appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

When Should I Fish a Jig?

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.

Jigging is now extremely popular for almost all offshore fishisng, except billfish. Bottom species such as groupers, rockfish and snappers eat jigs. The mid column and surface species such as jacks, yellowtail, mackerel, wahoo and mahi slurp a jig. Even the mighty tuna, with its species variety, attack a jig.

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 means relying on longer, thinner “knife” jigs that are worked upward with a rapid, rhythmic cadence. Slow-pitch jigging involves considerably more finesse; these jigs are moved with a quick upward lift, then allowed to drop a short distance as they take up the slack line created by the lift.

What Reel is Good for Jigging?

Types of Reels

First up in determining what reels will work best for your fishing: the type—spin or conventional. The majority opinion among experts suggests that for speed jigging, either spin or conventional can be fine. But for slow-pitching, think conventional.

“Slow pitch is all about finesse and sensitivity,” says Paul Chua, a jigging expert at Saltywater Tackle. It’s also about “understanding the underwater conditions, jig action, and currents through your line and rod to the angler. Conventional reels don’t have the gyro movement of a spinning reel and can better transfer all the movements of a jig to the angler.”

For speed jigging, Chris Wong, of Jig Star USA rods, also favors conventionals. The conventional reels not only handle heavier jigs better, but they also deal with the “brutality of mechanical [speed] jigging,” including dealing with big, tough fish such as yellowtail and tuna. “With spinning gear,” he says, “I found myself struggling to even turn the handle” after hooking such species. “Spinners struggle in this area, whereas conventional reels excel.”

Slow-pitch enthusiasts require lighter lines, often in the 20- to 40-pound range. Some slow-pitchers will go considerably lighter, seeking the thinnest braids they can find, to get jigs very deep—more than 2,000 feet for some Japanese experts, Wong says.

Jigging Reel Weight and Power

Jigging requires endlessly lifting reel and rod repetitively; lighter reels are a huge plus. The trend toward smaller reels for jigging has produced some remarkably compact conventional reels capable of holding plenty of surprisingly heavy line (it’s far more difficult to radically downsize spinners without losing key performance parameters).

“Once you’re over 20 ounces a reel, it gets to be a bit much,” says Benny Ortiz, a Shimano pro staffer. “Over 25 ounces, and it is too much.” He cites a time not so long ago when jig anglers had to rely on reels weighing 30 to 40 ounces (which in case your math isn’t so good, means a couple of pounds or more). Now, he says, he can jig 800 feet of water with a tiny lever drag weighing about 15 ounces. But Ortiz does caution against “sacrificing strength for light weight,” which in part is where the quality of the reel comes into play.

Fishing Reel Gear Ratio

Here again, the nod goes to conventionals because many offer an option for two speeds. The high speed (typically at least 6-to-1) helps speed jiggers move the lure quickly, and also works well for slow-pitchers, Chua says. The low gear, of course, offers power when winching a fish away from bottom.

Fishing Reel Line Capacity

Keep in mind line capacity as well. If you intend to use a rig for dropping into really deep water, you’ll want to go conventional because many hold far more line for their size than spinners.

Fishing Drag

Clearly how much available drag a jig angler needs has much to do with his quarry. For smaller fish, most good reels of any type are likely to suffice. But for bigger game, 25 to 50 or more pounds of maximum drag will help win battles. Chua says drag is particularly important with slow-pitch jigging because when hooked up, the reel tends to do most of the work. (In speed jigging, the angler relies heavily on the rod to tire the fish.)

The Price of Quality Fishing Reels

Performance differences between the two types of reels aside, cost can be a factor, Wong says: “It’s a fact that a premium spinning reel will cost more than a premium twin-drag conventional.” You want a jigging reel to be machined with tight tolerances: “no back play or handle slop,” as Ortiz puts it. He also says he prefers a taller, narrow-spool reel because it gives you a more consistent rate of retrieve. In wide-spool reels, the smaller line-on-spool diameter you’re left with when fishing deep means fewer inches per crank. Star-drag conventional reels are fine, but experts tend to prefer lever drags.

What is a Jigging Rod?

Jigging rods are designed for one purpose, Ortiz says: “to impart an action on a jig.” Not many rods truly do this effectively, he adds. A quality rod for jigging should, in Ortiz’s opinion, “have the ability to properly work a jig at various depths. The hallmark of a good jigging rod is an ability to effortlessly move a jig in deep water.”

Before picking out a jigging rod, Chua advises, “know where you’ll be fishing, with what types of jigs and weights, what line class, and in what depth and currents.” Also, “beware of manufacturers who rebrand inshore blanks with a reconfigured grip and guide layout, and then call them slow-pitch rods,” Ortiz advises. Serious, purpose-built jigging rods should show a rating both for braided line and jig weight. Some key parameters experts consider in rods for jigging include:

Rod Action

Wong recommends rods with softer parabolic actions for most jigging. That allows the rod to load up on the upstroke and release on the downstroke. “It’s this loading and unloading recoil the angler feels; this will assist in developing the rhythm that’s so essential,” especially for speed jigging. Stiffer rods can still function this way if an angler uses larger, heavier jigs. Chua agrees that a parabolic (“slow”) action is best; its bounce-back capability is useful and less fatiguing both in working jigs and fighting fish.

The Length of a Fishing Rod

For deeper jigging, Chua’s speed-jig rods range from just over 5 feet to 5 feet, 7 inches. He says in shallower water, where water resistance is much less, he likes a rod from 5 feet, 7 inches to 6 feet, 3 inches. Most slow-pitch rods run 6 to 6½ feet.

For speed jigging, Wong prefers short rods — 5 feet or a bit more. But for anglers using a less aggressive style than his, somewhat longer rods might be preferred, particularly with spinning reels. Song generally fishes 5- to 6-foot rods, noting that he prefers a moderately fast action in slow-pitch rods, with a “soft and delicate tip” but plenty of backbone.

A Lightweight Fishing Rod

In jigging, where anglers are lifting repeatedly for long hours, weight—as with reels—is key. Good jigging rods are generally light. Recent advancement in rod design and materials allows for feather-light jigging sticks that are remarkably strong. Chua cites jig rods weighing about 10 ounces that can handle 300-pound tuna—“no kidding!” He says nano carbon fiber and graphene are probably the most advanced materials available for jigging rods.

Many of these rods are available only overseas and at steep prices. It’s worth noting that most tackle manufacturers in the United States are now offering excellent jigging rods, including those specifically for slow-pitch enthusiasts. Examples include Accurate’s line of Valiant rods, Okuma’s Metaloid slow-jigging rod, and Shimano’s Grappler Slow J1 and Trevala S jigging and casting rods.

Picking Jigs for Fishing

Best Metal Jig Styles

For speed jigging in deep water, Wong recommends streamlined, tail-weighted jigs. “These get down fast and are less likely to be pushed around in the current.” But, he points out, these also have less action on the retrieve, so the jigger has to work them hard and fast to make them swim. Chua’s also all about bottom-weighted, or tail-weighted, jigs for speed jigging. These drop in a sharp darting, wobbling, sliding action.

Long knife jigs with a wider profile are Chua’s pick for tuna in particular; for grouper and amberjack, he’ll fish those long tail-weighted jigs. On the other hand, Song prefers short, center-balanced jigs for tuna.

Center-weighted jigs that are long, wide and flat are Wong’s choice for water that’s shallow or moderately deep. “These have a lot more action on the lift and drop. Their flutter also offers more hang time, which is especially valuable where shallower depth means less area to cover in the water column.”

For slow-pitch jigging, Wong likes the “original, wide-body keel jig, the jig that made slow-pitch so popular. It’s easy to fish and responds to all nuances of rod movement.” He also likes “short, cigar-shaped jigs,” particularly in deeper water. “When worked, these exhibit a rolling, tumbling action, different from conventional tail-weighted jigs. Chua prefers slow-pitch jigs that are flat on one side and rounded on the other.

Ortiz points out that “it’s a common misconception that slow-pitch jigs have to be short, fat and flutter a lot.” In fact some longer, narrow jigs work well for slow-pitching, and their shape gives them a very quick fall into deep water. “The trick,” Ortiz says, “is knowing how every jig in your bag will fall.”

Opinions vary on colors, but Chua mentions a preference for glow jigs that luminesce, particularly for deeper waters. As for size, many experts use jigs no heavier than necessary to reach bottom or any level they desire in given conditions. Chua also points out that, particularly with slow-pitch fishing, it’s paramount to match jigs, per their weight, to a rod’s action.

About the Fishing Experts Mentioned in this Article

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. He’s a member of several pro teams, including Shimano.

Kil Song: Song has been described as a “jigging master.” Since 1980, the New Jersey resident has averaged more than one in three days on the water, many in some of the most productive jigging grounds around the world. Song operates the popular online specialty shop: jignpop.com.

Chris Wong: An angling enthusiast who also runs a fishing-tackle import/distribution company in his native New Zealand, Wong’s regular trips to Japanese tackle exhibitions have given him an appreciation for the development of speed (“mechanical”) and slow-pitch jigging. Since 2007, he’s been producing his own brand of jigging rods—Jig Star—with frequent trips to New Zealand’s Three Kings Islands and Ranfurly Bank, which are among the world’s toughest testing grounds.

The post How to Choose Jigging Fishing Tackle appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Thanks to harvest limits and voluntary catch-and-release, anglers have lots of opportunities to catch red drum these days, especially the adults whose tenacious and dogged fight has earned them the well-deserved sobriquet — bull reds.

Tipping the scales at an average of 30 pounds, adult red drum eat voraciously, consuming a variety of fish and crustaceans by quickly swallowing their prey and relying on crushers in their throats to prepare the meal for digestion. This aggressive feeding behavior can lead to deep-hooking and injury when anglers present natural baits on J hooks with weights and long leaders.

However, a veteran North Carolina angler named Owen Lupton discovered a while back that when he positioned the sinker a few inches above the hook redfish hesitate to swallow the rig past the weight. Also, the location of the weight provides leverage, enhancing the function of the inline circle hook.

Inline circle hooks — their points align with their shanks — work better than offset circle hooks, which tend to attach in soft tissues such as the tongue or throat, negating the rig’s ability to reduce deep-hooking. This kind of short-leader-circle-hook rig usually hooks bull reds in the corner of the jaw or in the lip, causing very little harm to the fish and facilitating a quick release. Some anglers opt to flatten the hook’s barb for easier removal. However, in areas with strong currents or turbulent water movement, bait retention on a barbless hook can be an issue.

Bull Redfish Fishing Rigs

Here’s the list of materials needed to build three variations of this terminal red drum rig:

• Mid-wire, non-stainless, inline circle hooks with a gap between the point and shank of at least a half inch.
• 80-pound- and 150-pound-test monofilament
• Double-barrel sleeves for 80-pound-test mono and .080-inside-diameter (size 4) single-barrel sleeves
• Plastic beads to fit 80-pound and 150-pound mono
• Three-way swivels, 70-pound test
• Duo-lock snaps, 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length
• Barrel swivels, 80-pound test
• Sinker slides
• No-roll or egg sinkers, 3 to 6 ounces
• Crimping tool

Snell a circle hook to a 10-inch length of 80-pound mono. Pass the tag end of the mono through one side of a double-barrel sleeve, a plastic bead, a no-roll or egg sinker, a plastic bead, one side of a second double-barrel sleeve and through the eye of a barrel swivel.

Then, reverse the process and pass the end of the mono through the unused side of the closest double-barrel sleeve, back through the beads and weight, and finish by threading it through the unused side of the double-barrel sleeve closest to the hook. The weight and the beads now lie between the two sleeves.

Position the weight so that it is no more than 6 inches from the hook. Pull the tag end of the mono snug, crimp the sleeves, and cut off the excess monofilament. Tie the main line to the barrel swivel at the top of the rig. You can modify this basic rig by replacing the no-roll or egg sinker with a sinker slide that comes with a clip to attach a pyramid sinker, making it suitable for surf fishing.

Three-Way-Swivel Rig for Bull Redfish in the Surf

Snell a circle hook to an 8-inch length of 80-pound-test mono. Use a double-barrel sleeve to connect the leader to one eye of the three-way swivel so there is no more than 4 inches between the hook and the swivel. Crimp the sleeve and remove the excess mono.

Tie the main line to the second eye of the three-way swivel.

Connect a duo-lock snap to the third eye of the three-way swivel, and clip the snap to a pyramid sinker of the desired weight. This version can be used for surf fishing and bottomfishing from a boat or pier.

The Heavy-Duty Rig for Bull Redfish

This variation of the short, circle-hook rig is used by Capt. Greg Hildreth who fishes the Brunswick-Golden Isles area of coastal Georgia and often finds himself tangling with sharks and even tarpon while pursuing adult redfish for his clients. The longer and heavier leader facilitates catching and handling fish weighing triple digits while also reducing deep-hooking of the bull reds.

Snell or tie a circle hook to a 4-foot length of 150-pound-test mono. Pass the end of the mono through a single-barrel sleeve, a plastic bead, a no-roll or egg sinker, a plastic bead, and another single barrel sleeve.

Position the sleeves, beads, and weight so that the distance between weight and hook does not exceed 6 inches. Lightly crimp the sleeve closest to the hook to fix it in place being careful not to damage the mono. Pull the plastic beads, weight, and top sleeve snug against the crimped bottom sleeve. Lightly crimp the top sleeve.

Finish the tag end of the leader with a double-overhand knot to form a loop. Connect the rig to the main line using a 150-pound-test coast-lock snap swivel. If you want to be able to change weights, replace the no-roll or egg sinker with a sinker slide to attach a pyramid sinker.

In most of the coastal Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, adult redfish cannot be kept. That means that each year, tens of thousands, if not more, bulls are released. It is the responsibility of anglers to do everything they can to ensure these released fish survive.

The short, circle-hook rig is so effective that hundreds have been given to anglers and guides as part of the Fish Smart Red Drum Conservation Project. Help make sure we have plenty of redfish in our future by using this rig and asking your friends to do likewise.

The post How to Tie Rigs for Bull Redfish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

I eyed a spot at the southwestern tip of the Cameron, Louisiana, jetties and made a cast. My lipless crankbait hit the water.

As the lure sank, I began my normal seven-count before making the first pull. I stopped at three. It felt as if the lure had hit a rock and got stuck, so I set the hook — just in case.

The rod immediately doubled over, the drag screamed, and for the next 15 minutes, a super-sized redfish put my muscles and tackle to the test.

Catching redfish is fun. Catching big redfish is really fun. And one of the best ways to do that in early fall is with crankbaits at jetties.

Gearing Up for Fishing Crankbaits

Endless varieties of crankbaits flood the market, especially for bass fishing, but the most effective crankbaits for redfish are lipless.

As the name implies, these lures feature no protruding lip, a characteristic that allows this kind of bait to be fished at specific depths. Lipless versions can be more versatile because the angler essentially controls the fishing depth.

Rat-L-Trap has long led the industry, but my favorite is the Super Pogy by Bomber Saltwater Grade. It comes with a high-pitch rattle that I’ve found effective. Other options include the Nobondo Lipless Crankbait, Nomad Design Madscad and Biospawn Rattle Bot.

Best colors include chrome, white/black, chrome/pink, and bronze. I use a casting reel rigged with a 30-pound green P-line braid tied directly to the lure because I fish in dingy water. In clear water, add a 36-inch fluorocarbon leader if needed.

I like a medium-heavy action, 7 1/2-foot rod but have a particular preference for its composition. I learned about this while fishing over the years with four-time Bassmaster Classic champion and living legend Rick Clunn.

Super-sensitive rods actually work against you when fishing with crankbaits, Clunn told me. A fish actually pushes the lure in pursuit; if you’re fishing a super-sensitive (graphite/composite) rod, you’ll set the hook before the fish actually has the lure.

Clunn collaborated with Wright & McGill a few years back to create the S-Glass Series of rods that incorporate traditional fiberglass technology with a modern flare. I use these rods for crankbaits and have had serious success everywhere from the Mississippi River near Venice, La., to the Cameron jetties.

With glass rods, I have had far more hookups than misses because I can’t feel the bite until the fish takes the lure. You’ll find numerous fiberglass crankbait rods on the market, and they can make a massive difference in the pursuit of redfish.

Location and Technique

Around the jetties, start fishing near the boat cuts [Ed’s note: Texas jetties feature breaks in the rock wall about halfway out that allow small boats through] to take advantage of reds foraging on baitfish moving between the channel and Gulf side of the jetty rocks. “You get shrimp, shad and crabs pushing through, and the reds will move in and feed,” says veteran jetty angler Bill Killian.

Anchor up-current of the cut and work the lure against the flow. “Throw it out toward the cut, let it sink a few seconds, and then reel it in as fast as you can. The pressure of the current will allow the rattles to work really well,” he says.

Also look for jetty reds in the deep holes usually found around the southern tip of the rocks and northward about 50 yards. At these spots, the current wraps around the jetty structure and carves out large holes. Reds congregate around large boulders that have fallen off the main wall into these holes.

Read Next: More Redfish Fishing Tips

Throw out the crankbait, let it sink to the level of the rocks, and rip it. I pull a few feet and then reel a couple of cranks. Repeat that three or four times and recast. The reds usually hit just after the first pull and sometimes on the fall.

While it might sound counterintuitive, if you see dolphins feeding in the area, that’s a fortunate sign.

In my logbook, I’ve noted dolphins feeding in the vicinity every time I’ve caught lots of bull reds. The times we had fewer fish, I saw no dolphins feeding. The presence of dolphins often indicates menhaden, a primary forage species for big reds.

Releasing for the Future

As everything from algae blooms to bycatch in the menhaden fishery puts pressure on redfish populations, catch-and-release becomes increasingly important — particularly for the big, breeding-size reds that inhabit jetty systems.

Scientists say the discard mortality rate for all sizes of redfish averages around 8 percent, though the type of terminal tackle used plays a major role. In general, lures deep-hook fewer fish than J-hooked natural baits.

In fact, one fish Killian caught at a nearshore gas platform off the Sabine Pass, which I tagged for Texas Sea Grant, made a reappearance three weeks later two miles away at the Sabine jetties. As the super fat bull redfish surfaced, Killian netted it. We quickly noticed a tag covered with slime.

I removed the growth, and my heart raced as I realized the tag said Sea Grant.

After examining our data, we realized it was the same fish Killian caught a few weeks before. It taught me firsthand that releasing big fish pays off, and I will carry that and deep respect for these bulls with me for the rest of my life.

The post Fishing Crankbaits for Gulf Jetty Redfish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Sunup at Ferry Beach, near Scarborough, Maine, had us excited to catch striped bass. The Scarborough, Nonesuch and Libby rivers dump into the Gulf of Maine, and that’s where we wanted to be as the sun popped above the horizon. Summer warmth kept us comfortable as we launched our kayaks and headed toward the pass.

Nearby, we heard a huge splash from a mystery fish that no one was able to get eyes on. The whole group turned toward the sound. “Probably a sturgeon,” guessed nearby kayak angler Daniel McFetridge, Old Town kayaks’ e-commerce and digital marketing manager.

Fighting an incoming tide, most of us were using the ePDL+ drive that propels Old Town kayaks via a lithium battery. Of course, anglers can assist and pedal with their feet for extra power. Ryan Lilly, marketing director at Old Town, was the first one to the spot which was chock-full of underwater boulders and feeding stripers.

A strong incoming tide made the area really hard to fish. We had to hold position in the cut and make pinpoint casts. A kayak with a spot-lock trolling motor might have been able to handle it, if the motor was strong enough to stay in position in the heavy current. Maine regularly experiences 8-foot tides, with little slack tide between the rising and the falling.

With his ePDL+ nearly at full power, Lilly locked his rudder steering in place to slice into the current. He was then able to stand up and make long casts close to shore. Prospecting with a topwater, Lilly hooked up on his third toss. And then a couple casts later.

The rest of us couldn’t replicate what he was doing. Some of us didn’t quite have the battery power to fight the current, which then required us to pedal sitting down. And sitting down meant we didn’t have enough casting distance to reach the fish. I didn’t risk moving closer to the fish, fearing I might run into submerged boulders. Soon the tide began to slow, the bite shut down, and Atlantic sturgeon were jumping around us so frequently I thought I’d become a pancake.

It was one of the most unique ways I’ve seen someone stand and fish from a kayak. Lilly obviously had experience standing in a kayak, which is necessary to fish an inlet. But I never thought I’d see standing — not sitting — kayak anglers fishing inlets and jetty rocks during a roaring tide. The experience made me think of two other instances on that recent summer trip to Maine when standing in a kayak was better than just sitting.

The Path Forward

On the backside of an island in Casco Bay, Maine, we dissected a shoreline in a way that any veteran Bassmaster would appreciate. Joe Albanese, editor in chief at Wired2Fish, and I cast plugs, Z-Mans and Slug-Gos at fishy-looking grass edges and rocky shorelines in the lee of the island.

We stood in our Old Town Sportsman BigWater kayaks, recognizing the higher elevation was a huge asset in this type of fishing. In the background, gray storm clouds blew up like popcorn near the Sandy Point Bridge. We needed every bit of sunlight and height to find the spots we wanted to land our lures. Albanese struck pay dirt first when he landed a striper off some vegetation. The striped bass were definitely selective in the heart of the afternoon.

Here’s how I handled it:

1. Standing in the 3-foot-wide kayak wasn’t a problem. Most wide kayaks with a wide-flat hull are plenty stable to stand up in. Standing is more of a confidence issue than anything. When you trust your footing, you don’t overcompensate and cause problems. Utilize a wide stance and loose knees to ride the swells, just like in a bigger boat. I’ve fished a ton in kayaks; be wary of kayaks that are too long-and-skinny or seemingly too lightweight for their size. Those are the ones most likely to dump you in the water while standing.
2. Next, I set the ePDL+ drive on its lowest setting to slowly creep along the shoreline. Every once in a while, I had to make an adjustment to my course, but it was as simple as making a rudder correction with the hand knob.
3. Finally, the other key element was skip casting. This was not as technical as casting underneath mangroves or docks, but I still used that underhand motion to land lures close to structure without making a huge splash. Executing a skip cast while sitting in a kayak isn’t easy.

Later that day, fishing a different part of the same island, we had success casting topwaters at a sandy beach and nearby shallow-water point. Out in open water, it was much less about precision casting — instead we were fan-casting a general area, looking for bait school marks on the side-scan sonar. Of course, we were standing and stretching our legs while casting.

In the Marsh

Sneaking back into the marsh was a blast. A certain type of angler from Texas to Maine really digs exploring a maze of shallow waters in search of surprisingly large gamefish. I’m that type of angler. Ideally, kayakers should allow a flood tide to push them into the labyrinth. But first, always make a stop at the entrance. That’s what we did and landed a couple striped bass off a flat. I let the current and wind drift me along a fishy stretch to maximize fishing time. 

Then it was onto the creeks. We had a short window — as we were fishing the outgoing tide — before the water left the creeks entirely. I had luck with an oversize Z-Man DieZel Minnow soft plastic. It looked like a hearty baitfish, or maybe an eel. And I didn’t have to sit down to re-rig or retie. Just grab what you need and pop right back up. Even releasing smaller striped bass was easy while standing.

The exploration was productive. Standing in a kayak in the marsh allowed me to see what was coming next, such as a creek mouth, island or shallow flat. In many cases, we were able to look over the marsh banks and reeds to prep for the next cast, which is something you just can’t do while sitting. With the water dropping, stripers were exiting quickly in the deepest water they could find. We had to lift up our pedal drives to float out, paddling over the shallowest points.  

Standing in a kayak takes getting used to, but most anglers become comfortable quickly. Start with a quality kayak in shallow water, and work your way up. Soon enough you’ll be fishing moving water in passes and inlets with the best of them.

The post A Balancing Act appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.