By Astrid DeGruchy
icked Tuna is a show my ancé, Capt. Brandon Storin, and I like to watch. As an avid angler betrothed to a charter captain, I think it’s pretty cool to watch these guys reel in giants, but it’s even cooler to do it Brandon and I wanted this experience, so we went on a charter with the legendary crew of the “Hard Merchandise.” Docked in Gloucester, Mass., the boat is very spacious with a heated cabin, full head and all the latest electronics. Capt. Joe Marciano and his Mate, Jay, are exactly as they are from the show, and their skillsets for catching
During our time with them, conditions were a bit rough. It called for us leaving the docks earlier than anyone else, and while riding out, you could really see how meticulous they are in each part of the rigging and set up. During the boat ride, conversation was great, with plenty of laughs to go around. Before we knew it, we were at the tuna grounds.
In the midst of catching and soaking baits and waiting for the bite, the crew made us fresh breakfast and it was amazing. We had bacon and scrambled eggs with lobster.
e experience is very much like what you would expect from watching the show. ere’s lots of refreshing baits and waiting for a bite. When they mark sh on the sonar, the enthusiasm from the crew is amazing, just like on television. Capt. Joe and Jay jump up, yelling “WE’RE MARKING!” Adrenaline starts pumping with anticipation as you hope everything is lined up perfect enough to get a bite.
Fortunately, we did get tight, and I have never seen a sh take such a wild and ferocious run… several times. I was up to battle this sh with coaching from Capt. Joe and Jay. ere is nesse needed to ght a giant like this, and a cra in staying tight and knowing when to let him run. Every second spent reeling elevated the hope that we might land this big tuna. Yet there was also anxiety. If you’ve watched the show, you know that losing one of these monsters is a very real possibility.
We battled the sh for a while. Gaining where I could, adrenaline kept me pumping while the crew maneuvered the boat. e communication is constant as everyone works together.
Finally, I saw this huge beast start surfacing. Capt. Joe moved in with the harpoon, ready to take the shot. Everything happened so quickly! e beast surfaced, and Capt. Joe drilled it with a perfect gill shot. It wasn’t over yet, but it was just a matter of time. A er the sh made one last run, taking a bunch of rope, we hauled it back in and roped its tail. At that point, I knew I had landed my top bucket-list sh.
It was an amazing experience, and it felt like we were literally in an episode of Wicked Tuna. What you see from the show is what you get in person. ere is no script; nothing is fake. ere is only grit, talent and hope, and these guys have all that.
e Hard Merchandise team recently launched Angelica Seafoods, where one can order fresh blue n, lobster, scallops, oysters and more to be delivered to your door. If you plan a trip to Boston and want to catch a sh of a lifetime, book a charter with the Hard Merchandise.
For more information on the Hard Merchandise, visit www.angelica sheries.com/fv-hardmerchandise.
IG: @catching_astrid @bnmbean @hardmerchjoe @melodyredwing @hardmerchandisejay.
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That’s quite a headline for a 17-year-old high school student from Clewiston, Fla. who loves bass shing.
I spoke with Hilary while she was in Palatka, Fla. preparing to sh the Florida Bass Nation tournaments on the St. Johns River, and her enthusiasm and passion for the sport of bass shing were impressive.
Last year, at 16, she nished h at the State Championship of the Florida Bass Nation with a total weight heavier than 19 pounds. She’s hoping to do even better this year.
I asked her if she could remember when she rst started shing, and she laughed as she guessed that she was “probably only 2 years old.” A er all, she does come from a pretty well-known family of professional bass shermen.
Her grandfather, the legendary Roland Martin, is one of the greatest bass shermen of all time. Her father, Scott, won the 2011 Forest Wood Cup Championship, and also has 45 top-ten nishes and eight tour victories in the FLW and hosts the Scott Martin Challenge.
But things are di erent today than they were
By Don Norton
Iin the past. Today, social media is the key to reaching your audience, and Hilary has done an incredible job on both YouTube, with over 100,000 subscribers, and Instagram with 103,000 followers.
Most of her videos are bass shing, although she’s had some very interesting saltwater shing videos, as well.
Hilary said she started taking bass shing seriously when she was 15 years old, and at 16, joined the Florida Bass Nation Series.
She has her own bass boat, a 20’ Skeeter FXR, with a 250hp Yamaha, but she also shes out of her dad’s boat from time to time, because, “it’s got all the goodies,” she laughed.
Her biggest bass, a whopping 9.1-pounder was caught ipping a black/blue Sweet Beaver along the edges of cattails on Lake Okeechobee when she was only 14 years old. She hopes to break that personal best soon.
Her shing arsenal includes a Favorite Phantom Series shing rod, a Shimano Curado reel and braided or uorocarbon line, along with her favorite bait, a Zoom Speed Worm.
“I was shing out of a kayak and I saw this
far away, so I threw my Speed Worm just past the mark,” she recounted. “I started a fast retrieve when a big bass came up and just exploded on it. at sh drug me around for what seemed like forever before I nally landed it. It weighed just over ve pounds. e cover picture of me holding a bass was taken the day a er.”
Listening to her tell that story, her excitement, enthusiasm and passion for bass shing became even more obvious.
If you haven’t seen one of her videos on YouTube ( eReelHilarySue), I’d strongly recommend you check them out. ey’re fun to watch, and you might just learn something. She’s a natural.
What an incredible future this beautiful, talented young lady has in store. I think she’ll be one of the biggest names in professional bass shing in the years to come.
Don Norton is co-publisher of the Okeechobee edition of e Angler Magazine.
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Many years ago I happened into a group tying ies. All the ies seemed to be tiny and well beyond my abilities to see the hook let alone the thread and the little bits of fuzz seemingly involved. As hospitable as the group was I was intimidated by the tininess of it.
Flash forward a few years, or maybe more than a few, and I am here in Tidewater at the Virginia Coastal Fly Anglers. ey are tying ies that are big; like 2 inches long big. I can see what they are doing big. One of these big ies is the Clouser Minnow. I have mentioned these particular ies before but I really use them and they cost a minimum of a few dollars each to buy. Around here they are frequently used, and in my case, snagged on something. erefore, they are my gateway y to the addiction that is tying.
With the weather cooling down and shing opportunities being more limited this is the time of the year that I like to tie ies.
Many people I talk with already have a vise or even a y tying kit that some well-meaning person got them for a birthday or holiday. Assuming that you have at least a vise, all the other equipment that you need is a small pair of really sharp scissors and a bobbin to hold a spool of thread. If you have these the next part is pretty easy.
If I already lost you please watch the original creator of this y, Bob Clouser, tie one in a YouTube video he did for the Angler’s Journal just last year. Google “Clouser Minnow” and it is one of the rst choices. e traditional way to tie a Clouser Minnow involves just ve ingredients: - a shing hook; - a dumbbell or bead chain eye; - a deer tail; - the spool of thread; for this Flat Waxed Nylon is preferred but not required; and - some shiny bling usually referred to as FLASH.
We can get bogged but for now let’s keep it simple.
Put the hook in the vise. I started with a 2/0 hook. Around here the Mustad 3407 or 34007 is popular, but for our purposes any hook you are comfortable with will do.
Wrap a lump of thread around the shank of the hook a third of the way back from the eye of the hook.
Attach the bead chain eye to the hook using the thread that is still attached where you le it. Hold the bead chain next to the hook so that when you wrap it, the bead chain ends up on the top of the hook. Wrap the thread over the bead chain in the same direction a few times to snug it up to the thread lump you started with. It will not be straight yet. Come around the bead chain a few times from the other direction and it should straighten up a little. Again, if you are confused go on YouTube. Tighten the thread by wrapping the thread between the hook and the bead chain like you are spinning the end of a helicopter blade.
At this point, I usually cheat and put nail polish on the thread to help keep everything stable. With the thread still hanging there, I cut white hair from the deer tail right where it meets the skin. You only need a little. Maybe an amount the size of a match stick or skewer. A toothpick is not enough and a piece the size of a pencil is way too big.
e deer has fussy short hairs at the base of the clump that you cut. Grab the tip if the clump with one set of ngers and pull out the short fussys with the other and throw them away or they will end up everywhere. Trim the base of the hair straight and wrap the thread around it attaching it rst in front of the bead chain eye then behind. If you have not yet found the video now is a great time to refer to it.
Turn the hook over and attach some ash the same way. Again you just need a few strands. Now cut a little hunk of the brown hair from the tail and clean out the fussys as you did with the white hair. Tie this batch just to the front part of the hook between the bead chain eye and the hook eye. Cover all the hair and ash in that area with thread including some half hitches to keep the thread in place. Now you can cut the thread. Again, I use nail polish on the thread. In the video, Bob uses a product that is cured with blue light to cover and protect the thread and the eyes. at is a great product but for a few (hundred) ies I would just practice with the goal of the y lasting for more than one sh before the hairs starts coming out. Your rst y may look terrible but if it holds together and catches a sh it is perfect.
Consider visiting VCFA.org for tips and videos. e Virginia Coastal Fly Anglers would welcome you to our meeting usually held on the third ursday of the month at Bayside Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach. Fly tying starts at about 6:30 with the meeting to follow.
Next month I want to talk about an even simpler y that you can put together simply and easily to give away at Christmas.
ey say; “When Deer Season is here, the cat sh are near.” at’s great but, the remnants of Hurricane Ian blew the water out of the river and the wind wasn’t going to switch around and blow the water back for at least a week. As much as I hated to hang up my shing rods temporarily, I packed up my backpack and threw some camping gear into my truck. e plan was to head to the mountains and do some scouting for deer sign just in case I get the opportunity to do some deer hunting. It’s been at least 15 years since my last Virginia hunt. It was going to be great seeing my old Virginia hunting grounds again.
e ve-hour drive West was almost therapeutic. e view of the Blue Ridge Mountains getting taller in the windshield is awe-inspiring for this atlander. e time seemed to evaporate with new vistas around every bend. Exiting the interstate and getting onto the two-lane State Bi-Way soon turned into traveling down a single-lane county road which got even narrower following a gorge that only sees the sun ve hours a day. Anticipation was growing to get to our primitive campsite up an old re trail.
e road was everything my memory recalled. I could hardly wait to turn the corner and see…!!! “WHAT IS THIS!!” e entrance to the logging road was bulldozed out and a two-acre parking lot replaced the small campsites we once used among the once-standing mature trees. For a brief moment, I thought about camping there. On the positive side – at least I wouldn’t have to jack the truck up and level it by placing a rock under the tire to sleep comfortably. e trash littered around the perimeter of the parking lot was an indication that this was probably a location to avoid at night, so I moved down the road to an established campground hoping for more nighttime security.
Upon arriving at the campground, I drove around the various sites just to get an overall comfort level for the location. ere was just one other camping family in the back 40. I elected to give them some privacy and found a level site in the middle of the campground and upwind from the toilets which were little more than permanent woodshed-size porta-potties that smelled just as bad.
Once the truck was positioned next to the provided picnic table and grill, and sleeping quarters were set up in the back of the truck, I started to chill out and enjoy the peace and quiet - “aahhh.” at’s when this highly modi ed Land Rover drove through the campground kicking up some dust. Like me, the driver was probably surveying the sites. at said, he felt compelled to set up shop right next to me “ARRGGHH!”
His o road vehicle was amazing. It unfolded and erected into a 2-story condo with an accommodation ladder and external shower. I was reasonably impressed until he broke out the Honda Generator and cranked it up to half throttle. e generator was apparently necessary to run the LED lighting system that would have been at home at any heavy metal rock concert. Once the lights were on, he was able to unload the logs he brought with him. With maul and wedges, he commenced splitting wood for his camp re. And yes, while I was upwind from the non-porta-potty, I was downwind from Paul Bunyan’s warming camp re - at 9:00 PM it was 75 degrees out?? e purpose of the re was lost on me unless he was just trying to smoke me out. All night I kept saying to myself, “It’s just one night, just one night.”
I was never so glad to see the Intercoastal Waterway once I got home. I have a new appreciation for the cat sh slime covering my leaders and smeared all over the sleeves of my sweatshirt. And who can forget the sensation of a dink channel cat n spine skewering their nger? at’s better than espresso for waking up in the morning. Oh, how I miss cat shing. Let’s Get Slimed!
November outer banks shing. O shore yellow n tuna should be the headliner. Maybe even a scattered wahoo! Getting a good day to play 40 miles o the beach takes a great weather window. Trying to nd a day with 15knot or less winds and 2-3-foot seas not always a given. If you get the chance, grab a seasoned captain and charter and get out there! Purple-n-black, blue-nwhite, or black-n-blue sea witches with a ballyhoo should do the trick. If you don’t want the black-nblue muscles from shing a tuna, come on stay on the inside! Red drum will still be around. Stripers will be snacking on baits bumping the bottom. Not sure if we are gonna be able to keep any stripers this year but catch-n-release is an option. Inshore some seabass should be on the wrecks. e folks in Hatteras will still be whacking some monster kings! Super exciting hearing that line peel drag! So go on get out there see what kind of fun you can have!
Capt. Aaron Kelly rocksolid shing.com 252-441-657
It’s great to have the latest graph with all the bells and whistles. O en many features go unused, and buying the best and latest/greatest may mean overspending for features you don’t need or won’t use. For example, many boaters are not aware that a simple GPS speedometer can be purchased separately; you don’t need a $1000 sh nder unit to get a speed reading and map for your boat. You can download speedometer and navigation apps for your smartphone for free. If you’re not that tech-savvy, even inexpensive $100 handheld GPS units have a speedometer with “highest speed” recall capability; and if you don’t care much about nding sh but want to chart a trip across the lake and back, a handheld GPS will do the job…well…handily!
For those who need to do more than follow a map or see how fast they are, today’s sh nders are light years ahead in technology over those o ered just a few years ago. Given their capabilities, accuracy and resolution, it’s even more important to mount them properly, locate and mount their transducers correctly, and maintain them with care.
By John Tiger
e dah mounted screen must be large enough to see, yet small enough to t on your dash without obstructing your view ahead, and your view of vital engine gauges. You can select di erent mounting brackets such as swivel and pedestal styles that allow positioning of the graph perfectly to provide best location.
Special precautions must be taken when choosing a location and mounting the transducer puck. While transom mounted transducers are popular and easy to install, thru-hull performance—when installed properly—is as good or better than transom mount, and without the wire and puck exposed to potential damage.
mounting the transducer puck. While transom mounted transducers
It’s important that the power and ground to the unit are properly routed and connected. e power connection should be fused to provide protection to the unit. e hole drilled for the power and transducer cables must allow for easy pass-through when rigging; I’ve seen more than a few damaged by pulling the cable through the deck. As the wires pass through the deck, they should be covered by a stainless clam shell or similar suitable wire cover, stu ed with
suitable wire cover, stu ed with
and exibility. Problem is, transducer bottom
place—weighting it down as it cures form.
keep your hull core from allowing in
A clear signal path to the bottom is necessary for accurate and consistent performance. Most popular hulls use some type of core material (balsa wood, closed-cell foam, etc.) to sti en the hull and provide strength and exibility. Problem is, transducer pucks can’t read the bottom through core material. e solution is to (carefully!) remove the core material to t the puck, then epoxy the puck in place—weighting it down as it cures so no air pockets can form. Sealing the unit with more epoxy will ensure its performance for many years, and keep your hull core from allowing in water-and eventual rot.
silicone sealer to keep water out. e wire run from unit to dash underneath should have at least an inch or two of extra length to accommodate the unit’s swivel and tilt range.
Lastly—protect that expensive head unit with a cover, especially if you don’t remove it when the boat is not in use. Covers are typically available from the manufacturer, or one can be fabricated locally that provides better t and protection. Best protection, however, is to remove and store it when not in use.
Yes, it is still up there as one of our favs. A few tips for preparation.
First, season the bird liberally with your favorite Cajun rub. I recently bought some of Stalecracker Fire rub and it is really good “Duuude.” en take your bird and let it sit overnight in the fridge. I have also injected the bird with butter and that works well also.
Heat peanut oil to a solid 350 degrees. Be sure to let the bird get pretty close to room temp before submerging into the fryer.
Once the bird is fully cooked, let rest a good 20 minutes before slicing. While the turkey is resting, throw some chicken wings in the fryer, crisp them up good, and serve with dinner.
Happy anksgiving folks and JBOTV will see ya at the Oyster Farm for the 20th anniversary of the Mid Atlantic Rock sh Shootout!
by Jim Baugh reporting from Oyster Farm at Kings Creek, Cape Charles VA
It has been twenty years since the rst Rock sh shootout was held out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. My how time ies! Mike Standing and his excellent sta have always put on a rst-class event and JBOTV has been lming it since almost the beginning. Back in the day, Jim Baugh Outdoors TV was partnered with the Hampton CVB to produce shing shows as well has hold an annual Rock Tourney out of Hampton. at lasted around 15 years.
e Shootout was the big game in town with events sometimes reaching over 300 entries. is was back when the Rock sh were hitting right on the beach. Times have changed. With the ever-changing population of Rock sh in our three-mile ocean limit and the Chesapeake, tournaments have to adapt. With the current sh regulations and the number of sh entering the Bay, it was time to adapt again. So, for now, this will be the last Mid Atlantic Rock sh Shootout. One you don’t want to miss so register ASAP! https://www. midatlanticrock shshootout.com/
For the last 20 years there have been two annual events that JBOTV marks its calendar for: Sea Bassin in February and the Shootout in December. Unfortunately, last year the Sea Bass season was closed in February and now this is the last Shootout in 2022. e good news is there is still plenty of species to target and I for one will continue to improve my surf shing techniques.
For this years Shootout, book your slips and accommodations at the Oyster Farm: www.theoysterfarmatkingscreek.com
While in town, stop by the Lemmon Tree Gallery and check out some of my Metal Print Nightscapes. We have several in the Gallery including the Milky Way by the Love Sign. If you are coming through Virginia Beach, stop by and see my Nightscape Metal Prints in a new exclusive gallery location called 2Beaches Studio and Art Gallery located in the Bay Bridge Shoppes at 4465 Shore Drive. Give them a call at (757) 650-8424. Nightscapes make for a perfect holiday gi !
To view our online Nightscape Gallery check this QR
Jim Baugh, Jimbaugh.net, Jim Baugh Outdoors TV For more updates on our fishing trips and latest shows log on to: https://jimbaughoutdoors.blogspot.com/ for updates on everything, digital prints gallery, etc. Jim Baugh Outdoors TV Amazon Prime Video https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07Z9S825F/ref=atv_ dp_share_cu_r JBOTV Online Hubb: https://jimbaugh.blogspot.com/
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Iwould like to take a couple minutes and ll you in on some lessons learned while buying our new to us boat. Our family decided it was time to move up to a larger boat because we now have 2 1 year old German Shepards and they like spending time with us. Our 272 Grady was just getting to small to overnight with the crazy animals onboard. e wife and I started looking and di erent size boats and decided to start with something in the 42’ range. I really like the look of the Post so thats the rst boat we looked at. We were happy with the size and layouts so o we went to nd one in our price range. We landed on our rst contract and hired a well know surveyor to take a deeper look. Well this one was in pretty bad condition with way to many projects and wouldn’t pass survey. Here’s our lesson learned on this one. ere are 2 types of brokers, a seller broker and a buyer broker. If you are going to use a broker to buy a boat nd you a good broker that represents you the buyer. e broker on this boat had one thing and that was to sell the boat. Well we move on with no regret and land on another boat pretty quickly and its a little larger at 46’. is boat we had a good broker representing us and everything is moving along real good and closing is just around the corner. With all the excitement we started buying everything to make the boat ours, I mean everything! With closing set for the next day we had rental cars and hotels lined up to go take delivery but in comes a curve ball. e seller is no were to be found, missing in action. Well a er 2 days he was found and everything is back on track for a new closing day. Well with everything lined up yet again and excitement in the air we are ready to go but yet again another curve ball, a call from the broker and all the excitement is ripped right out of us. e seller has decided he doesnt want to sell! Yep the day before the last piece of paper was to be signed cold feet hits. Our lesson learned on this one is dont buy a boat load of stu until you have all the paperwork signed. Ya this one stung a little but nothing we can do but move on. I had a friend tell me your search isnt complete until you go to New York or Florida. So o to Savannah, Ga we go to look at another 42 Post. is one met our wants and needs and no broker. e boat showed well and started to get that excitement back. We put in a good o er and o to survey we go. One of the things we knew about was the generator was out getting a fresh overhaul so that was accounted for. During survey it was noted that one of the engines started smoking heavy black smoke around 1500 rpms, red ag. Another item noted was the forward HVAC unit wasnt working so some timelines and understandings was discussed to get the issues xed and have the surveyor back to check the issues. A lot of time goes by and items are very slow to get corrected. A er 45 days or so we decided to give a completion by date or we pull the contract. Well that day came and went so we pulled the o er. Lesson learned on this one was you dont need to go to New York or Florida to buy a boat especially with no representative in the state to keep an eye on progress. Well with our heads up and determination to buy a boat we go back to looking and nd a local boat that we had looked at 6 months prior but was out of our price range. e sellers dropped the price right into our range and it was a little newer and 48’. Set up to look at it again and put in a o er that day that was accepted. is one is a private sale as well. O to survey and a hand full of small items where noted, nothing major for a 1988 boat. Here’s the kicker on this one, insurance. Yep a er the boat was paid for, may fault, insurance was a real a pain to secure. Here’s the lessons learned on this. Insurance companies do not like to take the liability for someone going from a 28 Grady White to a 48 Viking even though I had larger boat experience 15 years ago so make sure you actually talk to a insurance agent not ll out the quote request. e other thing was I lled out my boating experience form incorrectly and was denied due to lack of experience. I went back and seen the mistake and asked the agent if I could ll it out again, nope you have one chance so make sure you are lling out the paperwork correctly the rst time because you will not get another chance. All in all it was a long process with several pumps in the road. I hope someone will learn from our mistakes and make your purchase go smoothly. We are now nally enjoying our new to us 48’ Viking, “J Hooked C”.
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In September, I embarked on one of the craziest adventures I’ve ever experienced to sh for crazy exotic species on the Rio Guaviare deep in Columbia’s Mapiri Jungle.
Just getting there was an adventure. We spent two days ying from Miami to Bogata and then to San Jose, Colombia, which was a buzzing little town where we picked up last minute supplies, ate a breakfast of pirahana head soup and got wrist bands tied by an elderly women and her pet spider monkey, Kiki.
At the port, we loaded gear in a small shaded boat powered by a Yamaha 200 2-stroke, with a spare lower unit tied on top. I was accompanied by my cameraman Adrian, from Poland, good friends Jake, Derek, Karl, and our jungle guide Diego, from Chile.
We set out downstream and rode for hours, passing through two army checkpoints, before we reached our halfway point at 118 miles. We stopped for lunch and to refuel at an isolated jungle town only accessible by boat. As we creeped up muddy stone steps, we were shocked to see a small town with convenience stores, restaurants, a playground, a basketball court, and happy people everywhere. It was a cool window into a di erent reality.
A er playing soccer with the local kids and a delicious fried sh lunch, we headed farther downstream. When darkness arrived, the jungle came alive and our driver did not feel comfortable navigating the rapids at night. So we stopped and Diego traded goods with an indigenous man for permission to sleep at his house. Some opted to sleep in the boat. e mosquitoes, hornets and massive cockroaches made it tough to sleep. A er long hours, the sun nally rose, and we headed another 45 minutes downriver to base camp, where we discovered we were in for even more travel.
We packed lighter for three days of shing and camping at a sacred waterfall inhabited by one of the jungle tribes. It was another 2.5 hours downstream to a small creek that would lead us up to a second camp. We shed our way up the creek.
On my rst cast, a 15-pound sardinata exploded on my popper boatside. Imagine a huge pilchard but with sharp teeth and hyper-aggressive topwater strikes. Fully grown, Sardinata can weigh 25 pounds. is one threw the hooks, and shing only got crazier from there.
I was throwing a 9-inch Countdown Rapala in Firetiger at the tree line and retrieving it to the boat. Almost every cast we hooked massive payara. is sh is similar to a tarpon, with silver scales, acrobatic leaps and a bony mouth that made hook sets di cult. Payara have long fangs on their lower jaw capable of slicing thick-scaled sh and shing line with ease. ey are without a doubt the most challenging, unique and aggressive jungle predators I’ve ever targeted. I managed to catch quite a few on y and spin tackle.
Another unique species was a matrinxa, a silver-scaled delicacy. ey are omnivorous and sit below trees to eat dropping fruits and nuts. ey also hit lures with insane power. ese sh were extremely hard ghting and very tasty. ey have teeth like human molars for cracking hard nuts.
Red bellied pacu are another ferocious species we caught. ey have a similar ambush style and diet to the matrinxa. ey are equally aggressive and display gorgeous hues of purple and black
Iwith a blood orange/red underbelly. Black and red bellied pirahana were in no shortage, either. A er three days of shing by the waterfall, we headed back to base camp for new species.
Heavy rains raised water levels, which busted our hopes to catch big peacock bass. But it opened a new door: catching monster cat sh.
I caught several new species of large cat sh. One of the most unique was a ripsaw cat sh. ey have so lips and a long face, similar to carp. ey also have a sharp chainsaw blade for a lateral line, earning them the nickname “Caiman Killer.” I caught small tiger shovelnose cat sh, as well as red tail cat sh. Red tail cat sh are one of the strongest ghting cat sh I’ve ever encountered. It took three days of break-o s before I was able to muscle one up. It weighed 40 pounds.
Fishing the jungle is tough, and it is not for everyone. is trip scarred me with bug bites from head to toe, and I su ered many bee and hornet stings. It is not comfortable in any sense, but it is good for the mind. ere’s no cell phone reception; you are stripped of everything. e only thing that matters is the present moment. For me, it is the biggest adrenaline rush to travel into the unknown and learn about new shing and culture.
Check out Ryan Izquierdo’s YouTube Channel, “Ryan Iz Fishing” for a series called “Jungle Jeopardy.” E-mail him at Ryanizquierdoyt@ gmail.com with questions or to nd out how you can go on one of these trips.
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more to Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula than world-famous salmon runs. e saltwater shing is also phenomenal, with species like halibut, salmon shark, ounder, yelloweye rock sh and ling cod being primary targets.
When you run out of Seward to Resurrection Bay, you might see some of the Deadliest Catch boats, and you might see multiple species of whale. We saw a lot of humpbacks this past summer. At more than 900 feet deep, with glaciers around the rim, the bay is awe-inspiring. ere are several good charter operations. Some make long runs for big halibut, while some o er shing that’s a little more local. Check with J Dock Fishing Co. in Seward for the latest shing information and charters. If you’re more of a DIY angler, Miller’s Landing in Seward o ers lodging and charters, and they also rent boats and shing equipment. If you want this option, book early. I have mine booked for next year, already.
Homer is the Halibut Capital of the World,
and it’s another great Kenai destination. We went with some friends and got on some good Halibut! I’m new to the electric reels we used. You had to time the hook-set just right. It took several bites to gure it out, but we caught sh once we got the hang of it. I pulled one a good way o the bottom before it decided it wasn’t coming in and broke a 150-pound-mono leader! We caught several good keepers and turned the smaller ones loose. ere are plenty of charters in Homer. North Country Charters is a great one that o ers halibut and salmon trips. ey will put you on some big halibut. My largest weighed 99 pounds, but North Country catches sh that are much larger.
If you want a long-run charter, check out Casino Charters. If you want to catch sh from the beach, check out Family Shore Fishing. ey set you up with a guide, shing rods and bait at Lands End, which juts out into the bay. Fishing low tide on the shelf, you can catch cod, ounder and halibut. We lled a cart with cod
and ounder in less than two hours shing from shore. en we went back another day without a guide and wore them out again!
Fishing in Alaska is just like anywhere else, once you learn what works, you can do it over and over. ere are lots of di erent kinds of shing there, but once you learn where and how to catch them, you can do it yourself.
On this past summer’s trip, as we were headed to the airport to go home, we drove along Cook Inlet and spotted a school of beluga whales swimming the shoreline. You never know what you’ll see in Alaska. Some things are just so amazing!
I’m currently pulling together next summer’s trip to Kenai, and I’m making a short guide of things traveling anglers might want to know. Feel free to shoot me an email with questions.
For more information, contact Gary Turner at gary@purgeright.com.
About 50 years ago, Ralph Vodicka lost one of his favorite rod and reel combos when his boat capsized in North Carolina’s unpredictable Oregon Inlet. Recently, Vodicka was reunited with his 9-foot rod equipped with a Fin-Nor 4 spinning reel, and it still works!
Here is a brief recount of the amazing story reported by Summer Stevens in e Coastland Times.
In fair weather in the early 1970s, Vodicka and three buddies attempted to return through Oregon Inlet a er shing o Hatteras National Seashore in a 17-foot 1966 Boston Whaler. e outgoing tide colliding with incoming rollers created rough conditions, even for a large trawler the anglers watched navigating the inlet. Vodicka was faced with a decision. ey could either wait for the tide change, which would force them to make their run in the dark. Or they could go for it.
“Waiting it out would put us in the middle of the night,” Vodicka remembered. “We decided that the best choice was to race on in while we could see. I told everyone, ‘Hold on, don’t move. We’ll ride on the back of one of the breaking waves. Even if it takes a little water, it’ll be ok.’”
In the middle of the inlet, as they were taking on water, a line caught in the prop and it stopped turning. e boat was at the mercy of the tide and waves, and an 8-foot breaker ipped it end over end. e story of the exciting rescue is reported in detail in e Coastland Times. It involves the captain of an old 25-foot boat and his grandson risking great peril to time the waves and rescue each of the anglers one at a time. Vodicka’s badly damaged Whaler was later recovered, and he lost a bunch of shing gear, including the rod and reel that began this story.
e details are lost to time, but apparently the Fin-Nor reel and the rod were hauled up in a commercial angler’s net. e unique set-up ended up doing decades of duty as a showpiece on the wall in Dennis Dudley’s Elizabeth City, North Carolina home.
Vodicka,” and Dudley tried to locate the Fin-Nor’s owner when he received the rod in the mid-1970s. Dudley’s phone book searches came up empty, and the search was forgotten… until recently.
Dudley, 78, remembered the mystery of the reel’s owner while going through his possessions. A quick Google search turned up Vodicka, who is 89 and living in Raleigh, N.C. e men met to eat lunch, and Vodicka was reunited with the beautiful rod and reel he lost half a century ago.
Amazingly, the antique Fin-Nor is already back in action. Instead of hanging it on the wall, Vodicka had it serviced and used it on the Neuse River over Labor Day weekend.
e reel was equipped with a custom plate engraved with “Ralph E.
“It worked. It worked ne,” he said. “It’s amazing that a er 50 years you get your favorite rod and reel back.”
To read the whole story, go to www.thecoastlandtimes.com.
Everyone hates a cheater, which is why it’s no surprise that tempers ared when two cheaters were caught red-handed at a Lake Erie Walleye Tour (LEWT) event on Oct. 1. e event was the tour championship for the series, and the Team of the Year would also be crowned a er weigh-ins. Team Crankin’ Hogs brought to the scales a ve- sh limit that weighed more than 33-pounds. It It would have secured Jake Runyan and Chase Cominsky well over $20,000 for the championship win and for Team of the Year honors. ey overplayed their dirty hand.
Tournament Director Jason Fischer suspected something was amiss when the sh hit the scales. Fischer later told CNN that the sh looked like they should have weighed 4 pounds each, but the total weight indicated they were much heavier. He handled the sh and felt something hard inside one of them.
In a now-viral YouTube Video, Fischer guts the sh as the cheaters stand by silently. “We have weights in the sh!” Fischer announced, and that’s when the shouting started as other anglers hurled obscenities at Runyan and Cominsky.
All-told, there were 8 pounds worth of lead weights, llets from other walleye and a pair of pliers inside Team Crankin’ Hogs’ sh. ey were immediately disquali ed and banned from the tournament series. Both men were later indicted by an Ohio grand jury on charges of cheating and attempted grand the .
It will be interesting to see if the team’s other tournament wins are called into question. ey have won numerous events over the last couple of years, including the 2021 LEWT Championship.
For more information, go to lakeeriewalleyetrail.com.
You raise the flags of the fish just caught to show you weren’t skunked.
Once onshore you can take it a step further showing your fellow anglers your catch of the day wearing “slippahs” from Scott Hawaii.
Berkeley County is a wonderland for outdoor enthusiasts, sports bu s, adventure seekers, and water lovers. From exemplary fishing for striped bass, or a trophy largemouth bass, to our hiking trails and water activities, along with scenic outdoors where you can catch a glimpse of white tail deer and gators, Berkeley County has activities to fit all visitors and families.
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