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O P P O R T U N I T I E S
A V A I L A B L E
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THE LIGHTEST PENN REEL EVER MADE The Lightest PENN Reel Ever Made. The all new Conflict II matches an extremely light weight design with PENN’s legendary durability. Featuring our RR30 body, CNC Gear Technology and HT-100 Drag system, the Conflict II is the ultimate inshore reel.
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Solar Shade™ ZERO Long Sleeve Shirt
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CEO / EDITOR IN CHIEF : Ben Martin • camads@coastalanglermagazine.com COO : Tracy Patterson • tracy@coastalanglermagazine.com ART DIRECTOR : Rebecca Snowden • graphics@coastalanglermagazine.com EDITORIAL COORDINATOR : Nick Carter • editorial@coastalanglermagazine.com WEBMASTER : Derrick Oppelt • webmaster@coastalanglermagazine.com ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: Corporate Headquarters info@coastalanglermagazine.com • 888-800-9794
FLORIDA
BIG BEND : Mike McNamara • (850) 510-7919 • captmike@coastalanglermagazine.com BREVARD : Chris Milner • (321) 631-1001 • cmilner@coastalanglermagazine.com FLORIDA KEYS : Cliff Lumpkin • (305) 849-9093 • cliff@coastalanglermagazine.com FORT LAUDERDALE : Gene Dyer • (954) 680-3900 • gene@coastalanglermagazine.com FORT MYERS : Nadeen Welch • (239) 595-8265 • nwelch@coastalanglermagazine.com GREATER ORLANDO : Phillip & Giselle Wolf • (407) 790-9515 • phillip@coastalanglermagazine.com GREATER MIAMI : Gene Dyer • (954) 680-3900 • gene@coastalanglermagazine.com LAKELAND & SUMTER : Mary Brasher • (352) 598-4219 • maryf@coastalanglermagazine.com NAPLES : Nadeen Welch • (239) 595-8265 • nwelch@coastalanglermagazine.com NC FLORIDA/NATURE COAST : Cary & Lynn Crutchfield • (352) 372-4237 • crutch@coastalanglermagazine.com NE FLORIDA : Danny Patrick • (904) 742-4696 • danny@coastalanglermagazine.com PANAMA CITY/FORGOTTEN COAST : Randy Cnota • (229) 834-7880 • randyc@coastalanglermagazine.com PALM BEACH COUNTY : Barbara Ryan • (561) 373-8040 • barbara@coastalanglermagazine.com SARASOTA : Phil Prevoir • (239) 257-4684 • pprevoir@coastalanglermagazine.com TAMPA BAY : Chuck Atkins • (239) 464-5153 • chuck@coastalanglermagazine.com TREASURE COAST : Misti & Gary Guertin • (772) 285-6850 • treasurecoast@coastalanglermagazine.com
flahama@coastalanglermagazine.com
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ATLANTA : Bob & Brenda Rice • (706) 614-8231 • bobr@theanglermagazine.com CHARLESTON : Jane A. Redden • (205) 725-9616 • jane@coastalanglermagazine.com
Sam Buckareff • (843) 607-8629 • sam@coastalanglermagazine.com
CHARLOTTE/PIEDMONT : Mark & Haley Alberghini • (704) 651-1934 • mark@theanglermagazine.com COLUMBIA/MIDLANDS : John Lux • (803) 807-6885 • jlux@theanglermagazine.com MYRTLE BEACH : Mike Masiero • (732) 674-3019 • mmasiero@coastalanglermagazine.com SW GEORGIA : Bob & Brenda Rice • (706) 614-8231 • bobr@theanglermagazine.com TIDEWATER/OUTER BANKS : John Tiger • (757) 707-9654 • john.tiger@coastalanglermagazine.com
Laura Tiger • (757) 707-9655 • laura@coastalanglermagazine.com
WESTERN NC : Debra & Joe Woody • (828) 775-9663 • woody@theanglermagazine.com WILMINGTON/MOREHEAD : Charlie Lamm • (252) 205-6472 • clamm@coastalanglermagazine.com
NORTHEAST BOSTON : George Regan • (617) 488-2842 • boston@coastalanglermagazine.com LONG ISLAND : Lisa & Michael Danforth • (203) 321-7635 • lisad@coastalanglermagazine.com CONNECTICUT/RHODE ISLAND : Lisa & Michael Danforth • (203) 321-7635 lisad@coastalanglermagazine.com
GULF COAST MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST : Adam Nelson • (228) 627-5903 • anelson@coastalanglermagazine.com
You guys are everywhere.
A
nglers share some very unique commonalities. One trait that seems standard across the board is that whenever we find ourselves in a new destination, regardless of why we’re there, we always want to find out about “what’s biting.” Normally a quick trip to a local tackle shop gets us up to speed. I often hear from readers that they were in a different state or a different region and found a copy of our magazine at the tackle shop they went into. One such reader recently told me, “I live in Wilmington, North Carolina, and I read your Wilmington edition every month. I was in Mississippi recently on business and I saw a copy of your magazine at a local tackle shop. The next month I was in Key West, Florida and saw a copy of the magazine at a tackle shop there. I just landed in Connecticut today and can’t believe that I just picked up another copy of your magazine at a tackle shop here in Connecticut. You guys are everywhere.” It is true; we are available for free in over 30 market areas, but we’re not everywhere yet. Our franchise publishing model is changing the way American anglers view a local fishing magazine, and we’re looking to further expand our footprint. If you think owning your own business as the publisher of your area’s local fishing magazine is something that would fit your career and lifestyle goals, give us a call for information on potential franchise opportunities in your area. Previous publishing experience is not required. We have a complete training program and ongoing support system that enables our co-publishing partners to quickly establish the magazine as a primary resource for the avid angler nearly everywhere. Best regards,
Toby Nelson • (228) 623-1761 • tnelson@coastalanglermagazine.com
GREAT LAKES WEST MICHIGAN : Phil Belsito • (616) 957-1714 • phil@theanglermagazine.com
INTERNATIONAL PUERTO RICO/VIRGIN ISLANDS : Ace Bassue • (407) 285-9453 • ace@coastalanglermagazine.com COSTA RICA : Mike Erickson • (561) 262-2242 • mike@coastalanglermagazine.com © 2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Disclaimer: Coastal Angler Magazine / The Angler Magazine will not be held liable for injuries incurred while partaking in activities described herein, or for claims made against products or services provided by advertisers.
Ben Martin Editor in Chief info@coastalanglermagazine.com
1-888-800-9794
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WHO CARES ABOUT PUTTING YOUR LURE RIGHT ON TOP OF FISH?
All trademarks mentioned are owned by, or licensed to, the AkzoNobel group of companies. © AkzoNobel 2017.
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For over a century, a league of canned crusaders have been fighting to keep boats safe from barnacles, slime, algae and other aquatic evils that rob your boat of its true performance. With advanced know-how and unique capabilities, each antifouling is tailored to different conditions, and has the power to defeat fouling in all its forms. Micron® Extra leads the charge in all waters. Using its signature dual-protection with boosting Biolux® technology, it provides high-quality, multi-season protection that survives hauling and relaunch without the need for repainting. For super-powered antifouling protection and proven performance, choose Interlux®.
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Paddlesports Product Review CARIBE TIBURON INFLATABLE SUP You’ll be slithering through the waves with ease and gliding along in true mariner style when you hop on Caribe’s inflatable SUP. Decorated with a shark silhouette and further amplified by a cool camo print, this blue and black paddleboard is always a hit among water-lovers with a penchant for adventure. The Tiburon Inflatable Paddleboard comes with 6 D-Rings on the softpad so you can attach a variety of accessories like a cooler, 2 Kayak Seats, dry bags, etc. it also comes with a D-Ring on the front bottom deck, excellent for anchoring or towing the board. A very wide 34” design provides stability like no other board on the market. It’s ideal for fishing and long rides and has a smooth non-slip softpad that provides grip as well as comfort. Concerned about hooks on board or punctures from oyster beds? No worries! Double deck Tarpaulin layers protect the board from punctures while providing the most rigid inflatable experience out there. All Caribe’s boards come with a 2-year warranty against manufacturing defects.
WWW.CARIBESUP.COM
AIRHEAD SUP BONEFISH 1138 True to its name, the Airhead SUP Bonefish 1138 is a paddleboard specifically designed for fishing. This super-stable fishing SUP has two inflatable sponsons that give anglers the firm platform they need for fighting big fish and navigating rough water. There are four strategically placed mount pads on deck to accommodate four rod racks, Airhead SUP Fishing Racks and Bucket Racks. Two smaller accessory mounts are perfect for small rod holders or other accessories, and two stainless D-ring cooler tie downs round out endless possibilities for equipment customization. A classic teak-look EVA decking provides sure footing. At just 41 pounds, transport of the Bonefish 1138 is easy, and two molded handles fore and aft make carrying it to the water a breeze, even when it’s fully loaded. There is versatility built in with 10 stainless steel D-rings and two stretch tie downs. The Bonefish 1138 comes with a mesh backpack for transport and storage, a Hi Pressure hand pump for quick and easy inflation, a pressure gauge, valve wrench, board strap and repair kit.
WWW.AIRHEADSUP.COM
KAKU WAHOO 10.5 The new Kaku Wahoo 10.5 may be the baddest little ’yak on the water. It is a compact version of the Wahoo 12.5, which has proven itself as a superb fishing kayak. Kaku went and shaved a couple of feet and more than 10 pounds off of the original Wahoo to create a boat that is easier to transport and paddles very well in the tight environs kayak anglers often find themselves in. And while the Wahoo 10.5 gives up size, it does not sacrifice fishability or performance. It has all the features of the Wahoo 12.5. By flattening the rocker and lowering the keel, Kaku has designed a boat that tracks well and is easy to stand on. A sick deck pad rounds out the look of a quick little ’yak that is stable, comfortable and easy to handle.
KAKUKAYAK.COM
MANTA RACKS Whether it’s a mother-ship expedition offshore, a day-cruise to some isolated islands or exploration deep into the mangroves, there are a lot of places paddle-sports enthusiasts want to be that are too distant to access under paddle power. SUPs and kayaks take up a lot of room on the deck of the boat, and Manta Racks has come up with the perfect solution. The Manta Racks system stores your kayaks or SUPs securely to your boat, where they are out of the way, and it utilizes the boat’s rod holders, so there’s no need to drill any new holes for mounting. With a patented 360-degree locking swivel feature, paddleboards, wakeboards, kayaks, kiteboards, water skis and surfboards can be easily stored on the gunnel of the boat without drilling extra holes. All of your boards are out of the way of your passengers, securely fastened to your Manta Racks system. Go farther when you take your boards.
WWW.MANTARACKS.COM
WILDERNESS SYSTEMS RADAR SERIES With its new Radar Series, Wilderness Systems continues to build on its legacy of innovation, performance and quality in fishing kayaks. The Radar Series is Wilderness Systems’ first tri-powered kayak, which means it has paddle, power and pedal capabilities. It features S.M.A.R.T. Hull Technology that combines stability, maneuverability, acceleration, responsiveness and tracking throughout the entire design for ultimate
performance in multiple water environments. In addition to a flat platform for standing and freedom of movement, the Radar boasts state-of-the-art outfitting including expansive SlideTrax rails, a multitude of storage opportunities, and scupper options to deploy the Helix MD motor drive, Helix PD pedal drive and multiple options for electronics, including down-imaging, side-scanning or both. With Helix PD, a built-in steering control system allows for easy navigation that leaves your hands free for fishing. The AirPro Max seat complements the package with optimized positioning for any mode of travel.
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Paddlesports Product Review NUCANOE FLINT NuCanoe made waves when it introduced its new Flint kayak at iCast. Here is a boat jam-packed with features for serious anglers, yet the price tag is way below what you’d expect for such a high-quality kayak. At 11’3”, and less than 70 pounds, The Flint is the perfect boat for exploring creeks, rivers and backwater marshes. It is agile, responding nimbly to the paddle, and it also tracks very well despite its shorter length. Light enough for easy one-man transport, this boat is amazingly stable, and unique scupper hole design provides a firm deck. The Flint cockpit is wide open and fishes like a much larger kayak. There’s plenty of room and stability for standing to fish on an uncluttered deck, and the new Hawg Trough channel keeps your measuring board handy but out of the way. With five gear tracks, handy spaces for tackle boxes and angled flush-mount rod holders, NuCanoe has come up with a simple yet efficient and customizable layout for everything an angler needs. The side handle that doubles as a quick-clip paddle holder is a handy innovation someone should have come up with long ago. Cap it all off with the comfy custom-height Pinnacle seat NuCanoe is known for, and this is a top-notch fishing platform for a reasonable price.
WWW.NUCANOE.COM
PERCEPTION PESCADOR PILOT 12.0 Perception’s pedal-powered Pescador Pilot is a fishing machine that is extremely comfortable and functional for anglers. It excels in flat water and is an excellent kayak for inshore and bay fishing as well as on freshwater lakes and ponds. The Pilot Drive propeller system effortlessly propels the boat, even in reverse, while leaving both hands free. The spacious, sit-on-top design with generous storage and accessory mounts make the kayak easy to customize. Superior stability allows anglers to cast and fight fish while standing. Comfort is absolutely necessary for serious anglers spending long hours on the water. The Pescador Pilot is built for that. A roomy captain’s chair features zonal mesh to promote cooling airflow. On-the-fly seatback adjustment tilts back for relaxed pedaling or forward for sportier pedaling.
With performance, comfort, features, and storage that outdistance its price point, especially for a peddle-driven kayak, the Pescador Pilot is also a great value. This boat is proudly designed, molded and hand assembled in the USA and is backed by a 5-year warranty.
WWW.PERCEPTIONKAYAKS.COM
OLD TOWN PREDATOR PDL Prepare yourself for a totally new fishing experience. Old Town has taken boat control to new heights with forward and reverse via an efficient and easy-to-use propriety pedal-drive system. It gets you to the spot fast, and keeps you on the spot without paddling. With forward, reverse and agile maneuverability, you’ll experience precise boat control while your hands remain free to focus on fishing. The removable pedal drive installs in seconds and tips up instantly for shallowwater docking. The Predator PDL’s specially-designed hull combines the perfect balance of smooth pedal stroke speed and stand-up stability. The Old Town PDL pedals exactly like a bicycle, converting modest pedaling into maximum propulsion. A 10.3:1 gear ratio means that anglers can reach speeds up to 5.5 mph to reach fishing spots fast and efficiently. It also makes trolling through a range of useradjustable speeds easy and effective. The Predator PDL is infinitely customizable with rigging accessories from Cannon, Scotty, YakAttack, RAM and more.
WWW.OLDTOWNCANOE.COM
SEA EAGLE 350FX FISHING EXPLORER For anglers who like to go it alone, Sea Eagle’s 350fx is a terrific choice. The most stable and rugged entry in Sea Eagle’s Explorer Series of inflatable kayaks, it’s a lightweight (51-lbs.) and easily portable one-person fishing machine. Nearly indestructible, the 350fx features a double layer of 1000 Denier reinforced protective layers on the tubes and bottom, a 40-inch fish ruler, plus two spray skirts—each with three rod holders and accessory belts that hold tools, hooks and lures. A fully adjustable foot brace is easily positioned for maximum comfort and more power per stroke while a nifty anchor system quietly locks in advantageous casting positions. Suitable for paddling in waters rated to Class IV, 16 high-capacity self-bailing drain valves make this entry ideal for fishing in moderate whitewater rivers up to Class III. Close the valves to remain high and dry on flat waters, and insert the removable skeg to improve flatwater tracking. Fully inflated in seven minutes, the 350fx fits in a car trunk and handles electric motors up to 34-pound thrust. This inflatable fishing kayak is 11’6” long and has a maximum weight capacity of 575 lbs.
WWW.SEAEAGLE.COM
FLYCRAFT STEALTH The Flycraft Stealth is one of the most versatile boats in the world. Its unique construction and shape give it the functionality of many boats in one. From motoring on the coast or lakes to rowing rocky streams and mild whitewater, the Flycraft Stealth is your one boat answer. The boat’s lightweight and minimalistic design allow it to be easily carried on a roof or in a truck bed. No roof rack? No problem; this boat deflates and packs down to fit in a trunk or closet. At just 98 pounds, one person can easily transport or load this boat solo. For information, call 801-810-4022.
WWW.FLYCRAFTUSA.COM COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
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QUIK-CHANGE II ™ Our Innovative, Interchangeable Fixed Blade Cutlery System 9” FILLET 7” FILLET 5” FILLET 3” SERRATED
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FLY FISHING
Michelle Bowman with a Yucatan baby tarpon from an inflatable SUP.
For more Bowman, go to
CAMFLYFISHING.COM
GAME CHANGER Sea Eagle FishSUP Stand Up Paddleboard
Win th Sea Eagle e FishSUP Pro Moto r Fishing Rig Packa ge! Fu
www.Coa ll details at stalAngle rContest.c om
Fits in a Bag! Paddle or Motor
Incredibly stable, the new inflatable FishSUP FS126 Stand Up Paddleboard is an angler’s dream. Lightweight, packable, portable and ready in moments. The FishSUP fits in any car trunk and inflates in just 7 minutes. Stand, sit, fish, motor, troll, fresh, salt or brackish water...the FishSUP goes everywhere. 800-748-8066 M-F 9-5 EST Dept C2048B 19 N. Columbia St., Suite 1
• 12’6” long x 40” wide for exceptional stability • Motor mount holds up to a 55 lb. thrust electric motor • EVA foam pad for secure stand up footing • 36” Built-in fish ruler • Heavy duty two layer drop stitch construction for a solid, super tough SUP board • Multiple d-rings and elastic cord for gear & accessories
MSRP $1149!
Port Jefferson, NY 11777
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NO 26
The best fishing stories start with you getting away.
F F
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2018 242CC
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2018 220CC ® Exclusive Variable Degree Stepped (VDS) Hull for Performance, Safety & Stability ® 10 year Structural Warranty ® SailTech Construction: 100% Composite, Reinforced with Kevlar® & Carbon Fiber ® Lifetime No-Rot Guarantee ® Bow To Stern Intelligent Ergonomic Design with Premium Finishes ® Family Friendly Features for Fun, Comfort and Safety
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Take a
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You could get a discount when you combine your auto and boat policies.
geico.com | 1-800-865-4846 | Local Office Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Boat and PWC coverages are underwritten by GEICO Marine Insurance Company. Multi-Policy Discount available to auto insureds that have purchased a boat policy through the GEICO Marine Insurance Company. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. © 2018 GEICO
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Center sp
For a limited time, get Suzuki Extended Protection, Instant Savings and attractive financing on select Suzuki outboards from 25 to 350 horspower. See your participapting Suzuki Marine dealer for details or visit www.suzukimarine.com.
REPOWER FINANCE Six Years of Protection at no extra charge on all new outboards 25 to 350 HP.
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Rates as low as 5.99% on new Suzuki outboard on approved credit.*
Gimme Six Extended Protection promo is applicable to new Suzuki Outboard Motors from 25 to 350 HP in inventory which are sold and delivered to buyer between 04/01/18 and 06/30/18 in accordance with the promotion by a Participating Authorized Suzuki Marine dealer in the continental US and Alaska to a purchasing customer who resides in the continental US or Alaska. Customer should expect to receive an acknowledgement letter and full copy of contract including terms, conditions and wallet card from Suzuki Extended Protection within 90 days of purchase. If an acknowledgement letter is not received in time period stated, contact Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. – Marine Marketing via email: marinepromo@suz.com. The Gimme Six Promotion is available for pleasure use only, and is not redeemable for cash. Instant Savings apply to qualifying purchases of select Suzuki Outboard Motors made between 04/01/18 and 06/30/18. For list of designated models, see participating Dealer or visit www.suzukimarine.com. Customer and participating Dealer must fill out the appropriate form at time of sale. Instant Savings will be applied against the original dealer invoice (Suzuki will credit Dealer parts account). There are no model substitutions, benefit substitutions, rain checks, or extensions. Suzuki reserves the right to change or cancel these promotions at any time without notice or obligation. * Financing offers available through Synchrony Retail Finance. As low as 5.99% APR financing for 60 months on new and unregistered Suzuki Outboard Motors. Subject to credit approval. Not all buyers will qualify. Approval, and any rates and terms provided, are based on credit worthiness. $19.99/month per $1,000 financed for 60 months is based on 5.99% APR. Hypothetical figures used in calculation; your actual monthly payment may differ based on financing terms, credit tier qualification, accessories or other factors such as down payment and fees. Offer effective on new, unregistered Suzuki Outboard Motors purchased from a participating authorized Suzuki dealer between 04/01/18 and 06/30/18. “Gimme Six”, the Suzuki “S” and model names are Suzuki trademarks or ®. Don’t drink and drive. Always wear a USCG-approved life jacket and read your owner’s manual. © 2018 Suzuki Motor of America, Inc.
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SOUTHEAST
By Will Clements
B
ass move shallow in spring, and kayaks are some of the best crafts to follow them. Most kayaks draft only 4 to 5 inches and can get to many places that bigger boats can’t. Culvert coves are some of my favorite places to bass fish this time of year. On large reservoirs, culvert coves are the shallow coves cut off from the main lake by roads or other barriers. The water has to come through somewhere, and typically this is via a narrow concrete bridge or large culvert. Many of these backwaters are only accessible in kayaks or other small vessels. On lakes with significant winter drawdowns, some of these areas are dry through the winter, which allows terrestrial grass and brush
to grow. When spring rains bring lakes back to full pool, these areas are flooded, creating havens for bass moving shallow to spawn. A kayak can slide into these areas and escape the traffic and spring winds on the main lake. Many people bank fish from the road in these areas; a kayak can access the entire cove. Kayaks also give you the ability to sneak up on bedding fish. Often you can drift in slowly enough that the fish see your kayak as a floating log. Being quiet is the key to sneaking up on these shallow fish. Try putting peel-and-stick foam anywhere you lay your paddle or rods. Any slight bang against the plastic hull reverberates through the water and can spook fish. Also, be aware of your shadow. Kayaks inherently cast less of a shadow than larger boats, especially when the angler is seated. Try standing in your kayak only to spot bedding bass. Then sit down to sneak in for the cast. When bed fishing, release fish quickly back to their beds to keep our fisheries strong. For prespawn and postspawn bass, be sure to fish the creek channel and culvert leading into and out of these areas. Bass congregate in these areas before and after spawning. My favorite baits to throw in these areas are bluegill imitations and reaction baits. In these sheltered backwaters, bass encounter less fishing pressure and can be easier to catch. When bass are up shallow or protecting beds, I like bluegill imitations. My favorite is a swim jig. You can fish it slow like a jig, fast like a swimbait or anywhere in between. It comes right through the grass and brush. I also like buzzbaits and spinnerbaits. In stained water caused by spring rains, bass will jump all over a loud and flashy bait. These protected, stained backwaters will warm up faster than any other water in the lake. Bass will be searching for any warmth they can find. Keep an eye out for these secluded culvert coves, and keep your kayak ready. Will Clements is an Outside World Outfitters Fishing Team member (outsidegeorgia.com/), a club series coordinator with River Bassin (www.riverbassintrail.com) and a Nucanoe team member (www.nucanoe.com).
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NORTH CAROLINA
By TAM Staff
A
ccess to skinny water and the ability to launch anywhere are the two most prominent advantages to fishing under paddle power. At no other time is this more advantageous than during the spring spawning runs. When longer days and warming water temperatures spur the urge to spawn, many species go on the move. On reservoirs, ponds and lakes, bass, crappie and bream will all be shallow in some stage of the spawn. The shallow draft of a canoe or kayak allows anglers to sneak into backwaters to find the beds. But even more exciting this time of year are the species that run out of the reservoirs and up the creeks and rivers. Up any tributary
By Will Schmidt
F
rom bare bones to fully loaded, a stand-up paddleboard (SUP) is a great platform to fish from. Typically coming in under 30 pounds, it is easy to transport, it’s quiet and super stealthy, and with a standing view it makes for a fantastic platform to sight fish from. The portability and ease of clean up make it great for a quick after work trip with a rod, reel and handful of lures. Add a cooler and a few extras, and you are ready for a full day of fun on the water. To maximize your time on the board, here are my three top tips. • Paddle control is perhaps the most important thing about SUP fishing. Quickly storing your paddle to transition from paddling to
that feeds a good fishery, spring offers the best fishing of the year for one species or another. Each spring, white bass in huge numbers push up rivers and creeks to spawn. They stage in the current breaks and provide fast action for anglers throwing spinners, curly tail jigs, small crankbaits and even flies. In a canoe or kayak, white bass make for an interesting float trip. Drift down the river, prospecting with a few casts in each eddy. That first strike tells you it’s time to drop anchor. Where there is one white bass, there is usually a whole school. They might weigh a pound on average, but they can get up to 4 or 5 pounds and fight much harder than their weight. In many fisheries, walleye are most susceptible when they head upriver to spawn. For a fish that spends most of its time in the deepest water it can find, the spring run is really the only time a paddling angler can target them efficiently. They are consolidated in the river, where they school up near the bottom behind sandbars or other current breaks. They can be caught with deep-running lures bounced slowly along the bottom or a live baitfish fished with enough weight to keep it down near the bottom. The king of the spring spawning runs has to be the landlocked striped bass that state wildlife agencies stock in reservoirs. There is no freshwater fish so large and powerful that can be found in such skinny water. In many systems, the spring run is just a precursor to the larger summer runs that occur when reservoir water conditions become uncomfortable for the fish. In spring and summer, chucking an oversized swimbait to eddies created by wood structure or drifting a live baitfish on a circle hook under a balloon can lead to surprisingly large results. And the best thing about these spring runs is access to them can actually be better for anglers in little plastic boats. Bank-bound anglers are limited to one stretch of shoreline. Big boats are impeded by shoals and shallow water. With a canoe or kayak, the only limitations are private property and the distance you’re willing to carry a boat to launch. casting can be a clumsy noisy process, but I’ve found a simple and effective trick. Using a length of rope about 2 feet longer than your waist, tie a loop in each end. Then wrap the rope around your waist, putting one loop through the other. When you spot a fish, put the handle of the paddle through the hanging loop and the blade on the board, now you are ready to cast and still have quick access to your paddle if you need to maneuver while fighting a fish. • At some point you will need to hold yourself steady to keep from spooking fish while working a productive spot. An anchor works, but I like a stake-out pole. They are easy to deploy, silent and effective. There are nice commercial models available in the $100 range, but I made one easily for about $15. Most large gardening departments sell sturdy hard plastic tomato stakes. They have a point at one end that will penetrate on most flats. I also added a PVC T joint as a handle and a small piece of foam noodle as a float. This works well on soft shallow flats and can be tied to the board or run through an open-ended rod tube to hold you in place. • Gear management especially during an extended outing is something you will need to consider. I opt for strapping on a cooler, preferably one that latches shut like the Orion. This gives me a secure place to put gear that will not be lost in case of an inadvertent plunge. It also offers a comfortable seat, which doubles as a safety feature to lower your center of gravity in rough situations. Furthermore, the Orion has built-in Yak Attack rails, which allow you to attach Ram style accessories like rod holders. Light, quiet and fun, an SUP offers a great way to get to the fish whether for a quick trip after work or leisurely day of fishing. Will Schmidt is a seasoned tournament angler who has been writing about fishing for nearly two decades. Check out Orion coolers at Orioncoolers.com.
For more with Will Schmidt, go to
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crisp March air was cold enough to have me bundled up tight in layers and a heavy coat. To make things a little more interesting, the previous week of heavy rainfall had the dam wide open, causing swift current and massive waves in high winds. After fishing for half the tournaBy Ryan Kennedy ment day with no success other than a few short fish, I was feeling a little discouraged. have dreamed of certain That’s when things took a turn for the better. As my partner and days that would come I approached a stretch of rocky bank, I reached for a Red Crawdad along for as long as I have Rapala DT-6 crankbait and started slinging casts toward the bank. A been fishing bass tourna- few casts in led us to a small transition area where the size of the rocks ments. Those dreams turn changed. The first cast at this transition started with a bang. into goals, and those goals My St. Croix Mojo Bass Cranking Rod, which is a glass rod, was are attainable with hard work bent heavily. I was in for the first good fight of the day. After what and perseverance. It’s beyond seemed like an eternity, I was holding a 4-pound, 8-ounce Lake Gunamazing to me looking back tersville spotted bass. If you are familiar with the lake, you know a on my most recent tourna- spot of that size is something to appreciate. It’s just 3 ounces shy of the ment to see how God’s plan 4-pound, 11-ounce lake record. came together down to the My demeanor quickly changed for the better. Back on deck, with very rock that I bumped my one cast behind me after landing Spotapotamus, I was laser focused. I crankbait into before catching slung my crankbait as far as I could cast toward a log just past the same the fish I had always dreamed transition area. Within three cranks of the reel, my dream was about about. to become a reality. Moments later, I was holding a 9-pound, 8-ounce The goal that had elud- donkey of a largemouth. ed me thus far in my tournaTo get this straight, let’s go over what just happened. In three casts, ment career was catching an a near-lake-record spotted bass was in the boat, my new personal best absolute giant in a tourna- largemouth bass was in the boat, and 14 pounds of fish were in the ment. Don’t get me wrong, I am always excited to catch a big bass, but livewell. My partner and I ended up with over a 20-pound limit with whenever it happens it always seems to be while fishing for fun on the only four fish and qualified for the 2019 FLW Collegiate National lake or while pond-hopping around my house. This all changed, as I Championship! will forever remember, during the situation I am about to describe. Contact Ryan Kennedy at ryankfishing@gmail.com. Keep up with I was fishing at Lake Guntersville, Alabama, during the second his exploits on YouTube: Ryan Kennedy Fishing, Instagram: @ryankstop of the FLW Collegiate Southeastern Tournament Trail. The fishing and Facebook: Ryan Kennedy Fishing.
I
By Chris Beardsley
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North Carolina Spring is anything but predictable...that is about the same for spring fishing around these parts as well. So far we had a cold start to the winter and then pretty good overall after that cold snap. I think we’ll be a “little” ahead of spring temps and fishing but only by a little. Fishing-wise, here is what I look to target during April around Wrightsville Beach area waters. Towards early to mid-April the bonita and false albacore show up just offshore of Wrightsville. Trolling Clark Spoons and small deep diving lures can be the key to success some days for the bonita and albacore. When using the Clark Spoons, I would recommend the pink flash spoon in sizes #00, #0 and #1; the pink flash series has really helped me put more fish in the boat. A bird rig on top with a Clark Spoon about five to six feet behind it or a Bluewater Candy Spanish Daisy Chain (blue, silver, pink) have worked very well for me on top too. Looking for birds working or marking bait on your fish finder is the way to find the feeding fish. When the fish are not on top, I’ve caught some nice blues and a few bonita by casting a spoon out and letting it sink down before reeling it in. I’ve found that sometimes these fish are deeper and you can get them by getting down to deeper water. Another fish that really starts to show up around the inlets of southeast North Carolina is the good ‘ole bluefish, and during April you can catch some bigger bluefish too. These blues will hit seven-inch Berkley Gulp Jerkshads in colors pearl and pearl/chart pepper; hard baits like big poppers and spoons like a Sea Striker Jig-fish in one ounce or bigger will also get these choppers to bite. Don’t forget the steel leaders for these fish or they will get a free lure from you every time! Try light single strand wire in sizes #2, #3 or #4...it will keep your lures on the end of your line and not in a bluefish’s pocket! I catch blues in the one- to 15-pound range during April. There is one fish that a lot of anglers overlook in April and that is the black drum. What I love about these fish is you can catch them in good numbers this time of year and they’re great to eat! On top of all that, they are also easy to catch; use a light two-hook bottom rig with
no. 2 or no. 3 size Eagle Claw bait-holder hooks. I make my own rigs with 30-pound fluorocarbon leader by making two overhand knots to put the hooks on. I prefer as fresh as I can get shrimp for black drum fishing. Fish these rigs around docks, oyster rocks and inlets for black drum; you might even get a redfish mixed in as well. I will sometimes catch two black drum at the same time on the same rig; that’s what I call good fishing! Cape Fear River Striped Bass can bite very well in April too, but the fish move around a lot more during April...you’ll find them at one spot one day and the next day they have moved on. In April the stripers will start to move in to shallower waters, I look for the stripers in three- to ten-foot depths in the early spring. This is when you need to also shallow up your presentation and go lighter with your tackle. I prefer six inch Berkley Gulp Jerkshad and Berkley Havoc Grass Pig lures; I use colors pearl, chart pepper neon and new penny (swamp gas). Using TroKar swim bait hooks in sizes 8/0 or 9/0 in 1/4- to 1/2- ounce should put a striper on the end of your line! Look for Cape Fear River stripers around mud-flat edges, bulkheads and shallow reed-grass edges on sunny warmer days. Also in the Cape Fear River I really enjoy heading to Lock & Dam #1 on the Cape Fear River during April to catch large American shad on light tackle and fly tackle. Casting shad darts in bright colors and shad flies is my favorite way to catch the shad. I use a double shad dart rig; this makes it easier to cast the light darts and sometimes you get two shad at the same time! The shad run in the one to a few over four pounds; they’re super fun on fly and light tackle setups; that’s why they are called the “poor man’s tarpon”! Tackle run down: PENN Battle II & Conflict II spinning reels (1000 for shad fishing), 2500 & 3000 sizes for the other species. Rods: PENN Battalion rods 6’6” & 7’ medium and med/heavy action. Line is Spiderwire Ultra-cast in (six pound for shad fishing) 10- and 15-pound for the other species. I use Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader material for all my leaders. Thanks for reading Coastal Angler Magazine; good spring fishing and calm weather to you! Forecast by: Capt. Jot Owens Penn Tackle Elight Staff •Ranger Boats Pro Staff www.captainjot.com • 910-233-4139
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above: Bob from NC with a very nice Chopper blue caught fishing a shallow flat with Capt. Jot Owens. The big blue hit a MirrOlure Top Dog topwater around Wrightsville Beach.
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april 2018
wilmington/Morehead city 1
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Swansboro/Emerald Isle
April is always an incredible time to fish along NC’s Crystal Coast. Both our backwaters and our popular nearshore ocean areas will be teeming with a variety of fish. Species like our redfish, southern flounder and speckled trout that have wintered in the backwaters really turn on and will be feeding aggressively while, many other species like bluefish, sea mullet, Grey trout and other bottom fish have already migrated into our backwaters from offshore or southern wintering grounds. Anglers venturing out the inlets this month will also have plenty of options to hear their drag scream. The surface will be alive with albacore, bonito, bluefish and Spanish nearshore. Meanwhile, there will be plenty of sea bass, summer flounder, sea mullet, grey trout and other bottom fish around nearshore and offshore structure like our hard-bottoms, wrecks and artificial reefs. Anglers knowing what’s available both inshore and nearshore, the prime conditions to target these species and the most effective baits for each species will be very successful throughout April.
above: An April 2017 14-pound Hatteras bluefish that Ron, from Georgia, caught with Capt. Jeff Cronk while fishing a topwater bait on Bogue Inlet shoals.
every drop. Throughout April these deeper hard bottom channels will have plenty of sea mullet, bluefish, grey trout, blowfish, croakers Anglers looking to hook-up with redfish this April will find and even some rays feeding well on the falling tide. Days with a good plenty of fish working the shallow bays behind our beaches. These strong southwest wind are usually better. areas have many secondary channels that connect to our three inlets NEARSHORE which provide a direct path for fish migrating in from the ocean. The inlets and nearshore hardbottoms within a couple miles Schools of redfish will be moving throughout the backwaters feeding of the beach will be very active with plenty of bluefish, Spanish on blue crabs, fiddlers, mullet minnows and mud minnows. Anglers mackerel, albacore and bonito. The surf zone will also hold blues, wanting to target both the redfish and flounder with the same bait Spanish, albacore and a variety of bottom fish including redfish, should use 1/8- to 1/4-ounce jig heads or a spinner bait rigged with flounder, sea mullet, blowfish, black drum, grey trout and more. a scented soft bait like Berkley Gulp Shrimp, Pogys, or Swimming Trolling these areas with ClarkSpoons or hard baits such as fourMullet. Switching over to a topwater bait will produce some insane to five-inch Yozuri Crystal Minnows and Berkley Cutter Jerkbaits strikes from redfish, but then anglers will miss out on those flounder. will keep a rod bending with either bluefish or Spanish. Anglers Although there will be some southern flounder in these bays, the willing to move a little farther off the surf, around our nearshore better concentration of southern flounder in April will be in our hard bottoms will find bonito and albacore throughout April. The rivers, especially along the shorelines inside and outside large Bonito are excellent table fare and can be caught trolling the same creeks. Anglers wanting to target speckled trout will find the better baits or anglers can cast most one- or two-ounce metal baits such concentrations in the same river areas as the southern flounder. as Diamond jigs and Stingsilvers to surfacing fish. While on these Some of the absolute best baits for targeting trout in April are Bett’s nearshore hard bottoms, jigging a Bett’s Flounder Fanatic Bucktail Perfect Sinker Shrimp, Bett’s Halo Shad, MirrOlure’s MR17, and Paul tipped with a four-inch Berkley Gulp Shrimp WILL PRODUCE Brown Corkys. One of the features most critical to a good speckled hook-ups with big seabass, flounder and other desired bottom fish. trout bait is suspension time (hang time) and all of these baits share this as well as being available in a variety of colors and patterns. Topwater baits will also provide excellent action that speckled trout key FORECAST BY: in on when feeding in April. Capt. Jeff Cronk If you’re wanting to take the family out for some laid-back Fish’n4life Charters • Carolina Fishing TV www.nccharterfishing.com Ranger/Yamaha/PENN/Berkley Pro-Staff fun and a steady bite, then set up a standard bottom rig baited Cell 336-558-5697 • Home 910-325-8194 with shrimp or Fishbites and anchor down along the Swansboro jcronk@ec.rr.com waterfront or Emerald Isle bridge area and expect a bite almost
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above: Bonito like this seven-pounder Beth Sneed of Chapel Hill caught last April aboard Fish’n4life Charters will be schooled up on nearshore hard bottoms this month. 2 wilmington/Morehead city april 2018
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Kayak Fishing
Time to dust off your kayak
It has been a interesting March around southeastern North Carolina. One week, we’re in shorts and the rest of the month dealing with wind and rain. On the bright side, we did not get several feet of snow like New England, so I should not complain too much about the weather we had in March. Now here we are in April...the start of spring in the south. Longer days are here because we sprang forward; air and water temps are coming up and, well, this is when we all shake off the cabin fever and want to get back on the water for some great spring kayak fishing. This is a perfect time to start looking at your kayak and get it ready for this upcoming fishing season. If you are like me, I push my gear hard on the water and I am always working on something to make it more efficient for me while I am fishing, or I’m fixing something I broke or I’m just updating a piece of gear. Here are a few things that I check on my fishing kayaks in the spring that tend to need a little TLC. I’d rather do it now than in June when I would miss a day on the water, right? These are some of the easy ones. If you have the comfort style carry handles on your kayak, the ones with the rubber grip and nylon webbing that screw in to the bow and stern. Check to see if they are worn. These will eventually break. This is a simple fix that will run you about $20 for a pair of fresh new handles. Check your seat straps and their adjustment points. These can wear also and are another simple fix. If these go while you are on the water (and it has happened to me) paddling back with no back rest can be hard.
Now, here are a few that can take a little more time. If you have a fishing kayak with a rudder, check the sliding foot pegs and the cables. If they are not as smooth as they were last year, it could be that they just need a good cleaning to get the sand and grit out. Slide off the foot pegs and rinse everything with fresh water. Run some water down your rudder cable tubes also; sand loves to hide out in there and it will gum up the works. If you are fishing from some type of foot-driven kayak, this is also a good time to perform some maintenance on your system. Just think of it as changing the oil in your car every 3,000 miles. I recommend that you look on your manufacturer’s website for instruction on how to do this, or take it into the local shop you bought it from. We do a lot of Propel drive maintenance for Native Kayaks at this time of year. Now that the kayak is running like a European sports car, think about all the little things that got under your skin while fishing last year and what can you do about them before you head out this year. Is your cleat in the right spot? Could you move some rod holders around to make them more accessible? Did you YouTube a DIY project this winter without really thinking about how it might affect how your kayak is laid out now. Take a Saturday afternoon and give your kayak a good look from bow to stern. If you take the time now to get it right for this coming season, you will spend more time on the water, instead of sweating in the garage, fixing something you should have done now. I hope you all have a great time on the water this summer. Stay safe. wear your PFD and catch fish. See you all on the water. article BY: Chris Tryon Hook Line and Paddle Canoe and Kayak Outfitters, Wilmington, NC Phone 910-330-6999 • email: hooklineandpaddle@yahoo.com
Flying Around With Captain Lee
Wow, what crazy weather we have had so far this year...super cold the first of January, then in the 70’s, near 80’s, then super windy first of March...what is going on this year? Super low tides to super high tides, it is crazy! I think again as last year, the Atlantic bonita will be here right on time and should be found on the 15th of April. Red drum or already on the flats and they are happy to eat. The speckled trout bite is picking up again and will only get better as the month goes on. Flounder are moving in and I am seeing more of them all the time. Shad are up to Lock and Dam No. 1 and the stripers are moving up the river here. On the Roanoke River, the shad bite is off and running with catches of 100 fish a day and the stripers already showing up on the Roanoke. Atlantic bonita will be found within three miles of most of our beaches south of Cape Lookout. Look around the wrecks and artificial reefs and hard bottoms. Troll- above: Heather Pressley with a nice Roanoke River ing will produce them in good numbers using Clark Spoons or deep-diving Yo-Zuri striper, caught while fishing with Capt. Lee. lures. Sight casting is a popular way to fish for these speed demons. Casting lures like Crippled Herrings, Got-Chas, Maria Jigs and topwater baits work very well. My favorite is a 1/2-ounce grub head with a five- or six-inch Trout Killer in Bubblegum Ice color. Not too expensive unless you happen to get on the bluefish too! I’m like a broken record here...drum have been on the inside all year, and lately, New Penny, Root Beer or Chartreuse Gulp or Watermelon Red Fleck on a weightless worm hook has been the ticket for me. For live bait, we have been using mud minnows on 2/0 Khale hooks with no weight, due to all the grass. Dead bait or cut fresh shrimp is the way to go. Up until recently, the water has remained very clear, which made it easy to find the fish. Speckled trout are showing back up in their normal fall spots and the bite seems to be getting better all the time. We have been sticking to suspending baits as the grass is very thick right now and grubs will get grass on them as soon as they hit the bottom. Here again, a weightless worm hook with Slurp or Gulp Shrimp will work well for you. More and a little larger flounder are moving in the inlets. Live bait and Gulp have worked the best and, with the grass, I prefer looking and fishing for them on the flats this time of year. Shad are up at Lock and Dam No. 1 on the Cape Fear and at Weldon on the Roanoke; you will do well with then on shad darts and small drone spoons. Try a dart on the bottom and a spoon on the top. Rig the spoon with about an 18-inch piece of mono off the swivel and the dart 12 inches below that. White, Silver and Chartreuse are the “go to” colors. Stripers, with the snags in the river, I like a 1/2-ounce jig head in Chartreuse and a Pearl “Fluke” body. If you want to troll, a clown color is very good most days and sometimes they will like a blue and white bait. Good luck out there and remember, the days may be warm but the water is still very cold, so please be careful out there on the water. 4 wilmington/Morehead city april 2018
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About the author: Captain Lee Parsons 910-540-2464 • www.gottaflyguideservice.com Located In Wrightsville Beach at the Bridge TenderMarina COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
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april 2018
wilmington/Morehead city 5
3/18/18 4:14 PM
April Showers Brings Bass to the Shallow Waters
Most of the larger bass will be caught in the spring because the female bass come into shallower waters to spawn. Spring is a great time for anglers to finally get out on the water after a cold winter and get started fishing again. To find spawning fish, I first start looking for places for the fish to spawn that are protected. This can be from major creeks to the very back of coves. Spawning fish also like to have deep water near them. If there is a cold front and they haven’t locked in on their beds, then they will move out towards the deeper water to allow the sun to warm their shallow water areas up again. An ideal spawning area would be a pea gravel bank with structures around such as big rocks, stumps, laydowns and boat docks. One thing to remember is that not all the bass are coming into spawn at the same time. They will come in groves to spawn. When you are looking for spawning beds, you should be looking for a round spot close to the shore line. Bass will fan out a spot with their tails when preparing their spawning beds. To help you find the beds, you need to cover a lot of water on your trolling motor and be as quiet as you can when searching. A lot of times you will spook a fish, and when this happens, you can back off and let the fish come back to its nest or you could mark the area to come back to later. This way, you already know the fish is there and you can use a more stealthy approach. This is when I use my Power Pole to lock my boat down so that my boat will sit still and the wind will not blow my boat onto the spawning fish and spook her. Once I find a bed I will look to see what the bass is doing. Each fish has its own personality so that some will hit your bait right away or you can be there for a while trying to get her to bite. I will throw past the bed and even sometimes up on the shore line if the bed is really close to it so that I don’t spook the bedding fish. I like to throw a five-inch Deep Creek Lures DC Sink ‘N Catch Sinko-type worm in a watermelon red flake or white. Check out www.deepcreeklures.com. The white is easier to see when the bass grabs it. I like to dip the tail of the worm in SpikeIt Dye in chartreuse or red. I do this to help entice the fish to bite. I like to use a Daiichi 4/0 or 5/0 hook to ensure I can get a good hookset. You can rig this worm weightless on a Texas style (keeps the worm straight) or a wacky worm (hooked in the middle egg sack only). Sufix fluorocarbon line is a great choice for sight fishing. It is more resistant to abrasion and is harder for the fish to see than mono lines. Once the bait is in the bed you will want to find the sweet spot. You will soon find out what spot she is guarding in the bed. Once you do, you will want to quiver the bait in the spot. Once it is out of the spot, reel your bait back in and continue casting to the bed. You have to remember a bedding bass is not hungry but it will protect the bed. You will have to set the hook fast because the fish will spit it out as fast as she inhales it. A lot of times the bass will just grab the back end of your bait and drop it out of the bed. So keep trying! One of the most important tools to fishing the spawn is a great pair of polarized sunglasses. Bobby Vaughn of Flying Fisherman Sunglasses stated that their sunglasses such as the new Flying Fisherman Moray series polarized glasses have an AccuTint lens coloring system that eliminates glare on the water and allows anglers to see below the water’s surface to spot fish and structure. See www.flyingfisherman. com. I carry two different colors of lens–blue/green, which is best for blocking out the sun rays and I will use copper/amber when there is low light. Either way, polarized sunglasses are a must if you want to be able to find fish on the beds. Since you will have your boat in shallow water searching the shoreline for beds, you might want to look into installing a Gator Guards KeelShield to protect the keel of your boat. It protects against abrasion, 6 wilmington/Morehead city april 2018
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stretches and scars from rocky shorelines, stumps, concrete ramps, beaching and other hazards. Nick Barr of Gator Guards stated that KeelShield comes ready to install, just peel and stick. No downtime for your boat, Use your boat right away. KeelShield works on fiberglass, most aluminum and even treated wood. It is made in USA with 100% urethane polymers with a 3M adhesive system; as well as being available with Kevlar. It is available in 10 colors so you can match the bottom of your boat. Check it out at www.gator-guards.com. You can bet that my Bass Cat has a KeelShield on it. I wouldn’t have a boat without it! See you on the water,
Hal Abshire Tournament Angler
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3/18/18 4:14 PM
Surf City/Topsail
April is a great month to hit the water for anglers around Topsail. It’s the month that we see noticeable change from the wintertime patterns that have been in place for the past four months. The inshore species like redfish, speckled trout, and flounder are becoming more active and feeding more often. Look for the redfish that have been relating to the inlets and surf zone all winter to begin moving “inside” more often and onto the flats and creeks in search of food. The north winds will become less frequent and the southerly breezes will help to move those fish inside area inlets. Don’t expect them to be very widespread, but once you find the fish they should still be in fairly large schools. Scented soft plastics fished with 20-pound fluorocarbon leaders on 3000 series Diawa BG spinning outfits is a great place to start when targeting these fish. Fathom Inshore Pro Select Jig Heads in 1/8- and 1/4-ounce are what I throw, depending on wind and current. I will continue this month to accomplish the slowest sink rate possible while targeting redfish. Pro Cure Bait Scents are very effective when fished with Fathom Inshore Squirrely and Taddle Tails. The drum, trout, and flounder that have wintered over in the mainland rivers and creeks should be very cooperative in the weeks to follow. These fish will likely begin to spread out in smaller schools and begin to feed more actively. Soft plastics, live bait, and fresh cut bait will continue to produce the best action this month. Catch and release speckled trout fishing should be good this month for the fish that made it through the winter. Topwater plugs, soft plastics, suspending twitch baits, and live bait will get the job done while targeting spring trout. Due to the low numbers of fish currently in our system, take every measure to get them back in the water quickly and pinch the barbs on your jigs and treble hooks. If you elect to fish live baits for trout, then use a circle hook to prevent deep hooking these fish. We are relying on the fish to repopulate our area, so take good care of them! Oyster rocks, creek mouths, docks, and hard bottom are all great places to scout when looking for trout, drum, and flounder back in the marsh. Look for fish to present on these structures during all stages of the tide. They won’t likely leave, but they will reposition themselves to make the most out of the cover. Nearshore bottom fishing for sea bass should continue to provide good action. A good mix of keeper-sized fish in the four- to ten-mile range will remain throughout most of the month. Metal jigs in the 1/4ounce size and two- to three-ounce bucktails will get these fish to bite; tipping your jigs with FishBites and squid baits will improve the bite. Chicken rigs fished on the bottom with squid is a great way to see steady action. The bottom variety will likely get better this month with porgies, grunts, rings, silver snapper, and the occasional flounder showing up. The same baits used to target sea bass will also work for the rest of the mix. There will likely be a few gag grouper encountered while bottom fishing, but do remember that the season remains closed this month and they will need to be released. Perhaps the star of the nearshore fishing this month around Topsail Island will be the arrival of the Atlantic bonito. These fish typically start to show up in catchable numbers once the water temperatures reach the low 60’s. Look for bird activity and surface feeding fish around area inlets. Surface feeding fish will take a variety of small metal jigs retrieved quickly. Some of my favorite are 1/2-ounce Jigfish, epoxy minnows, and Diamond Jigs. These fish are also a great target for fly fishermen; effective flies include clousers, surf candies, deceivers, and sparsely tied EP minnows. Nearshore structure will hold numbers of bonito while they are here. artificial reefs, ledges, live bottom, and wrecks are great places to look for
these tasty fish. They can be encountered on the surface, typically early and late in the day. When the fish aren’t visible on the surface there are a few ways to catch them. Trolling with traditional planer and spoons in addition to deep-diving plugs will get these fish to bite. Vertical jigging with casting spoons is also an effective method for hooking up. It doesn’t matter if you prefer to fish from the surf, pier, kayak, or power boat there will be opportunities to catch fish for everyone. Remember to take a kid fishing and take care of each other out there. Be smart and visit your local tackle shop for advice and purchasing your tackle needs. Give your local charter captains a call and let them show you how good the fishing can be this month. Feel free to call us at South End Anglers for advice on fishing in April or to book a charter. Mention Coastal Angler magazine to receive special pricing. FORECAST BY: Capt. Chadwick Crawford South End Anglers • 540.460.3432 capt.chadwickcrawford@gmail.com • www.southendanglers.com
Offshore-Pelagics
Winter is finally in the rear view mirror, spring is here and it’s time to get your “mess” together and start fishing. The water will be steadily warming up and pushing back in closer to shore and back over all the “secret spots” that everyone likes to fish. The fishing should get started early in the month and improve steadily. It’s time to get out there! April has always been one of the best opportunities for catching some yellowfin tuna while fishing out of Beaufort Inlet. There were be some wahoo around and probably some blackfin tuna. The mahi should start making a showing as well and they will keep improving thru the month until we get into their prime during May. It’s fairly common to see a sailfish or two and someone in the charter fleet will usually find an early season blue marlin while poking our noses out into the deep. Look for the large temperature changes occurring over the usual good spots that hold bait. You will very likely find some changes that are several degrees in difference from 1 side to the other, all that starts a really good food chain type situation. If you learn how to read the satellite information you will begin to learn to spot some nice eddies or other similar features which will help you locate the fish. There will likely still be some longer runs required to reach the prime spots but all that should get closer and closer as we progress through the month. As always, preparation is a huge part of the ultimate success of your trip. If you get out there and find the mahi are thick, then focus on that. If you see the tuna you can add a couple of long wind-on leaders and sea witches on your longs and/or maybe add a cedar plug or cedar plug daisy chain or spreader bar into the mix. If you are finding the wahoo then run mostly wire and focus on that. Basically, now is a great time for a fun mixed bag of fish...you just have to be willing to pay attention to what you are being shown once you get there. I like to start with my typical spread this time of year – sea witches/mono leaders on the longs, my usual shotgun/bridge rod bait (usually on wire), planer rod working on one flat and a naked bait working on the other flat. My shorts vary depending on what we find and whatever feels right. Pretty basic stuff – that old KISS saying always holds true – Keep It Simple Stupid! April weather is still fairly unpredictable and the forecasts are generally still just a guess – it can turn on you in a minute. If you pay attention and pick good days you will have some great opportunities to find excellent fishing action offshore of the Crystal Coast during April. Finish up your prep work, sharpen your hooks and double check the safety gear – come on out there with us to get the season started! Tomorrow is never guaranteed - Plan ahead, be prepared and have fun! !
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FORECAST BY: Capt. Troy Pate 252-917-0445 • capttroypate@aol.com april 2018
wilmington/Morehead city 7
3/18/18 4:14 PM
• Trustworthy Staff • Competitive Pricing • Reliable Service
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www.SportsmansWarehouse.com 8 wilmington/Morehead city april 2018
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Atlantic Beach/Morehead City
We are finally starting to see a stable spring pattern now on the weather, March was very up and down. We started off with temperatures in the 70’s for a week or so then we were back down in the 30’s, even saw a little more snow which we rarely see in March along the Crystal Coast area. We can’t be happier to be seeing warmer weather and some fish starting to move in our area to get this season going. One thing for sure, the shop is fully stocked ready to go for all your saltwater fishing needs, Inshore, nearshore, surf and offshore, our professional staff can help you catch more fish. It’s time to start getting ready for cobia season. We’ve been told the season opens May 1 and will be open the rest of the year. The fish should be in our area come May 1...last year we were seeing fish the last week of April. Cape Lookout, Beaufort Inlet, Barden’s Inlet and in between along the beaches will be the hot spots. It’s really going to come down to where the bait is holding; these fish love to feed on menhaden so that’s where they will be hanging. Like always we’ll have our fresh caught menhaden and live eels ready for action come the first of May. We’ll have plenty of artificial lures ready to go. Also, we are proud to be pairing up with Bowed-Up Lures this year; we have a full line of their local handmade Cobia Bucktails...these bucktails were “hot” last year and caught lots of fish. Also, our new Cobia Shootout will start on May 1, but the format is different than our Cobia Challenge that we have been putting on. This year’s will be a boat tournament, $250 a boat and anglers could have a chance to win $10,000 for first place. You can find more info by calling the shop or looking on our web site. We’re beginning to see some sea mullets; they made a little later showing than last year with the colder spring we have been having this year. Most of the action will be around the Beaufort Inlet area, back toward the Turning Basin area. Local-made Sam’s Gitter’s Spec Rigs work the best, tipped with bait shrimp and Fishbites. The new color that we’re calling the Split Chicken has been working well, along with all the old standby colors. Anglers also will run across hogfish when fishing for the mullets, which are both very good table fare. Gray trout fishing has been solid with good numbers of fish around the Turning Basin area and the Beaufort and Atlantic Beach high-rise bridges. Most anglers have been jigging Stingsilvers for them, plus catching them on spec-rigs tipped with bait shrimp. We’re still seeing plenty of blowfish (puffers) along the beach up to the Cape. Some people don’t like to catch them but if you’re willing to clean them they’re some of the best fish you’ll eat from the ocean. They are pretty simple to catch; use a two-drop bottom rig tipped with shrimp. fishing along the beach is pretty much all you need to do, just simple bottom fishing. It’s chopper bluefish time in our area! Most of the fish will be from Atlantic Beach up to the Cape Lookout Shoals cruising the surf zone. Probably, the most effective way to catch these beasts is a Sea Striker Mullet Float Rig paired with dead finger mullet; this rig has been around a long time and still’s getting the job done. Also, you can catch these fish looking for schools working along the shallows, they will crush a topwater popper. They won’t stay in our area
long maybe a good month or so; when that water really starts to warm up they will head north. Along with the larger bluefish, we’ve been seeing plenty of smaller bluefish above: Joshua Lamb, part of the sales team at Chasin’ that have Tails Outdoors, with a nice marsh redfish, caught on a shown back Z-Man PaddlerZ. up from the winter. You can find them around the inlets and all up and down the beaches. As, we get further into the month and moving to May we could start to see a few Spanish showing up also, just depends on how quick the water warms up. Red drum fishing has been good all spring and continues right into April. We’re seeing them begin their transition out of their wintertime pattern now, seeing more fish move from the ocean back into the marsh areas where they’ll feed the rest of the year. You’ll also start to see the schools break up more now. This winter was so cold it had them bunched up in tight packs making them pretty easy to target. The fish are now hitting topwater lures like the Rapala Skitter Walks, Heddon Spook Jrs, Z-Man Plastics, Gulp Baits and Live Mud Minnows. The Haystacks area around the Newport River, Core Creek, Bogue Sound and North River all are good areas to scout out. We’re still seeing a few fish around the Cape Lookout Jetty but it does seem like these winter fish have started to make their move inshore. I’m very happy to report our speckled trout fishing has been good but they are unlawful to possess until June (catch and release only). Anglers were concerned that after the freeze we had this past winter our trout fishing wasn’t going to be good this year. But so far, anglers have been having great luck, with some reporting better fish than they saw this past fall when the fishing was really good. Most of the action has been in the backwater creeks up Core Creek going to the Neuse River. The MirrOlure 17MR has been the lure of choice; seems the Mardi Gras custom colors we have in the shop have been working the best, but we’re seeing some hit topwaters also. We’re starting to see the albacore move back in along with the bull redfish.Just off Cape Lookout has been the best area...just look for the birds and more than likely it’s feeding albacore working the area or bull reds. The small heavy Glass Minnow Jigs we have in the shop are working well; they’re just the right size and weight to be able cast long distances. Also, the Albie Snaks here in the shop have been working well...they are kind of an old local favorite. I’ve not seen that much flounder action but it’s time to start fishing for them out at the AR Reefs like 315, 320, 330 and 285. Good thing now is, if you find a reef that’s holding some flounder ,usually it’s pretty easy to pick up a limit of fish. Jigging two-ounce Spro Bucktails in the White and Glow colors tipped with a four-inch Berkley Gulp White Shrimp is the go-to lure. It’s been tried by many to duplicate, but still year after year nothing touches the catch ratio of this Spro and Gulp combo. Check our local weekly fishing reports at www.chasintailsoutdoors. com, we will keep you up to date on what’s going on. Things change a lot this time of the year.
a
bove: Chase Simmons with a chopper bluefish caught along Atlantic Beach on a Sea Striker Jig Fish lure. COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
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FORECAST BY: Capt. Matt Lamb Chasin’ Tails Bait & Tackle • Chasin’ Tails Charters Atlantic Beach, N.C. 252-240-FISH www.chasintailsoutdoors.com april 2018
wilmington/Morehead city 9
3/18/18 4:14 PM
What Lies Beneath? Spearfishing Photos Show All
Photos courtesy of professional photographer D.J. Struntz and Mark Laboccetta of Maverick-America.
THE 10 th ANNUAL
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AND NAUTICAL FLEA MARKET & WOODEN BOAT EXHIBITION
APRIL 13–15, 2018 at Oriental, NC’s
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Southport-Ocean Isle
tion, it will provide the guarantee of a strike! If you don’t have the time to marinate your Cedar Plugs then be sure to put Pro-Cure Super Sauce Tuna scent on your lures before deploying the bait spread; this attractant is super sticky and will provide a very powerful scent trail to guide “April showers bring May flowers” might be one of the most appro- the pelagics to your baits! Also be sure to have a set of ballyhoo rigged priate sayings when considering fishing the month of April in southeast- and ready in a bait cooler. Many times during the early spring while ern North Carolina. With March and April being the two “transition” trolling the plugs at a faster 7- to 10- knot pace, your boat will raise a months, we as anglers are anxiously waiting for the weather to stabilize school of fish and once they wise-up to the plugs then you will be preand the fish to go from biting good to biting great! April is the month pared to do a quick bait-and-switch on them and have a spread of natural baits to entice the when this happens next bite! and the closer we get Closer to the to May the better the beach, on the nearcatching should get for shore artificial reefs every species from the the spiny dogfish backwater to the Gulf sharks should be Stream. in full force during With water temthe beginning of peratures rising more April, and as the waquickly now the baitter warms, they will fish will be migrating move along on their in larger numbers tomigration. Cut bait ward the beach and and squid on nearly the predator fish are anything with a hook sure to follow. The will have you putting rocks and wrecks these hard fighting around Frying Pan characters into the Tower and the Horseboat; be mindful of shoe should be holdthe top fins, they are ing consistent numnamed “spiny” for a bers of king mackerel, above: Jordan Adams of Mason, OH, Jimmy and William Kendrick of Martinsville, VA, Wes reason! along with the occa- Smallwood of Louisa, VA, Marcus Warner of Tully, NY and Randy Wood of Walnut Cove caught Also trolling an sional opportunity at this nice mess of black bass, snappers, and other good-eating bottom fish on an April offshore ampedup Spanish battling an amberjack charter, with Capt Butch Foster. mackerel spread of #1 or cobia. Dead cigar minnows rigged on a weighted king mackerel rig such as a Pirate Plug and #2 ClarkSpoons on fluorocarbon leaders behind larger #2 and #3 by South Chatham Tackle will attract the attention of kings in the area, planers around these nearshore reefs will provide the opportunity to while a live bait –a cigar minnow or other small bottom fish jigged up catch Atlantic bonito as they pass by off our Beaches! As we near May, on a sabiki rig—threaded through the nose on a circle hook and tied if the water warms quicker than normal, the Spanish mackerel may onto the bitter end of your monofilament is more likely to provide that also begin to show up; however, May into June is typically when they amberjack or cobia strike. In these same areas you should be able to are more prevalent. drop a bottom rig down with some cut squid and be bringing up big In the backwaters the red drum, speckled trout, flounder, and black drum are all beginning to show up in better numbers and, as anticiblack sea bass two at a time until the water temps get too warm. pated, the catching of these will only continue to get better and better A little further offas the month of April progresses. It’s time to pull out the artificial baits shore, the Gulf Stream such as a Bett’s Halo Shad and Bett’s Halo Shrimp tipped with Promost likely will be ofCure Super Gel scents to entice the bite from these species. Much of fering nice catches of the live bait in the area is simply too small this time of year to catch wahoo, blackfin tuna, with a cast net; therefore, it is best we find to go straight to fishing and and even the occasioncovering ground around oyster beds, drop-offs, and transition areas al yellowfin tuna and where the fish are holding to get a break from the tidal currents. For mahi-mahi. Be sure to black drum it is always a good idea to have a small bottom rig with keep a close eye on the a couple of pieces of cut shrimp or squid on the bottom in the main weather and the winds creek channel where you are fishing; however, when the rod tip goes during April when vendown make sure you’re holding on tight as it might be a big red drum turing this far offshore, has actually taken the bait! A strip bait placed on the hook of a bucksince there are so many tail bounced around pieces of structure will often find you tied into a low-pressure systems nice flounder, all the while you are targeting a red drum bite as well! still moving through Things are shaping up for a great year of catching in 2018, no matter our area. A spread what you are fishing for! There are many great days on the water ahead of Cedar Plugs that for us all! We hope to see you on the water soon! have been marinat Fish ON!!!! ed in a 50/50 blend of FORECAST BY: Capt. Chris Foster Pro-Cure Sardine Bait Yeah Right Charters Sauce and Pro-Cure above: Bryant Freyer of Mocksville holds up www.yeahrightcharters.com Sardine Bait Oil will two of the nice black bass he and his family boat: 336-239-5429 office: 910-845-2004 not only get a weary caught on a late April offshore trip with Yeah wahoo or tuna’s atten- Right Charters. COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
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Morehead City Tides
Wrightsville Beach Tides Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina 34.2133° N, 77.7867° W april 2018
Morehead City, North Carolina
Sun 01 Mon 02 Tue 03 Wed 04 Thu 05 Fri 06 Sat 07 Sun 08 Mon 09 Tue 10 Wed 11 Thu 12 Fri 13 Sat 14 Sun 15 Mon 16 Tue 17 Wed 18 Thu 19 Fri 20 Sat 21 Sun 22 Mon 23 Tue 24 Wed 25 Thu 26 Fri 27 Sat 28 Sun 29 Mon 30
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8:44 AM 3:00 PM 9:07 PM 6:58 AM 7:32 PM 9:28 AM 3:38 PM 9:52 PM 6:57 AM 7:32 PM 10:14 AM 4:14 PM 10:39 PM 6:55 AM 7:33 PM 11:01 AM 4:52 PM 11:26 PM 6:54 AM 7:34 PM 11:48 AM 5:34 PM 6:53 AM 7:35 PM 12:35 PM 6:28 PM 6:51 AM 7:35 PM 1:22 PM 7:33 PM 6:50 AM 7:36 PM 2:12 PM 8:37 PM 6:49 AM 7:37 PM 3:09 PM 9:34 PM 6:47 AM 7:38 PM 4:12 PM 10:25 PM 6:46 AM 7:38 PM 5:09 PM 11:13 PM 6:45 AM 7:39 PM 5:56 PM 6:43 AM 7:40 PM 6:19 AM 12:21 PM 6:37 PM 6:42 AM 7:41 PM 6:59 AM 1:04 PM 7:16 PM 6:41 AM 7:42 PM 7:39 AM 1:47 PM 7:55 PM 6:40 AM 7:42 PM 8:20 AM 2:29 PM 8:38 PM 6:38 AM 7:43 PM 9:04 AM 3:11 PM 9:23 PM 6:37 AM 7:44 PM 9:52 AM 3:54 PM 10:14 PM 6:36 AM 7:45 PM 10:45 AM 4:40 PM 11:09 PM 6:35 AM 7:45 PM 11:41 AM 5:34 PM 6:33 AM 7:46 PM 12:38 PM 6:41 PM 6:32 AM 7:47 PM 1:35 PM 7:54 PM 6:31 AM 7:48 PM 2:36 PM 9:03 PM 6:30 AM 7:48 PM 3:42 PM 10:05 PM 6:29 AM 7:49 PM 4:46 PM 11:02 PM 6:28 AM 7:50 PM 5:42 PM 11:56 PM 6:26 AM 7:51 PM 6:31 PM 6:25 AM 7:52 PM 6:51 AM 1:06 PM 7:16 PM 6:24 AM 7:52 PM 7:35 AM 1:49 PM 7:58 PM 6:23 AM 7:53 PM 8:18 AM 2:29 PM 8:41 PM 6:22 AM 7:54 PM Tide Tables provided by SaltwaterCentral.Com
34.7200° N, 76.7283° W
Day
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3:19 AM 4:06 AM 4:51 AM 5:37 AM 6:25 AM 12:39 AM 7:16 AM 1:30 AM 8:11 AM 2:27 AM 9:10 AM 3:28 AM 10:09 AM 4:26 AM 11:00 AM 5:19 AM 11:46 AM 6:06 AM 12:26 PM 12:39 AM 1:24 AM 2:08 AM 2:52 AM 3:37 AM 4:24 AM 5:13 AM 6:07 AM 12:28 AM 7:05 AM 1:29 AM 8:08 AM 2:35 AM 9:14 AM 3:43 AM 10:18 AM 4:49 AM 11:16 AM 5:48 AM 12:08 PM 12:36 AM 1:29 AM 2:19 AM 3:04 AM
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april 2018
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9:23 AM 3:30 PM 9:45 PM 6:53 AM 7:28 PM 10:06 AM 4:09 PM 10:28 PM 6:52 AM 7:28 PM 10:49 AM 4:48 PM 11:10 PM 6:51 AM 7:29 PM 11:31 AM 5:28 PM 11:54 PM 6:49 AM 7:30 PM 12:16 PM 6:10 PM 6:48 AM 7:31 PM 1:04 PM 6:56 PM 6:47 AM 7:32 PM 2:00 PM 7:50 PM 6:45 AM 7:32 PM 3:01 PM 8:52 PM 6:44 AM 7:33 PM 4:04 PM 9:57 PM 6:43 AM 7:34 PM 5:00 PM 10:58 PM 6:41 AM 7:35 PM 5:48 PM 11:51 PM 6:40 AM 7:35 PM 6:31 PM 6:39 AM 7:36 PM 6:49 AM 1:03 PM 7:12 PM 6:37 AM 7:37 PM 7:30 AM 1:39 PM 7:52 PM 6:36 AM 7:38 PM 8:10 AM 2:16 PM 8:32 PM 6:35 AM 7:39 PM 8:51 AM 2:55 PM 9:14 PM 6:33 AM 7:39 PM 9:33 AM 3:35 PM 9:57 PM 6:32 AM 7:40 PM 10:18 AM 4:17 PM 10:43 PM 6:31 AM 7:41 PM 11:06 AM 5:04 PM 11:34 PM 6:30 AM 7:42 PM 11:58 AM 5:56 PM 6:29 AM 7:42 PM 12:57 PM 6:55 PM 6:27 AM 7:43 PM 2:04 PM 8:02 PM 6:26 AM 7:44 PM 3:15 PM 9:16 PM 6:25 AM 7:45 PM 4:24 PM 10:29 PM 6:24 AM 7:46 PM 5:27 PM 11:36 PM 6:23 AM 7:47 PM 6:22 PM 6:21 AM 7:47 PM 6:42 AM 12:55 PM 7:12 PM 6:20 AM 7:48 PM 7:31 AM 1:38 PM 7:58 PM 6:19 AM 7:49 PM 8:16 AM 2:19 PM 8:40 PM 6:18 AM 7:50 PM 8:59 AM 2:58 PM 9:21 PM 6:17 AM 7:51 PM Tide Tables provided by SaltwaterCentral.Com
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f this photo of a happy kid with a humongous fish doesn’t make you smile, nothing will. Chase Stokes, 11, caught his 33.25-pound, 40inch carp on a nightcrawler while fishing at Otter Creek in Panton, Vermont in April 2017. It is one of the three state records caught by Vermont anglers last year. All of them are species not typically targeted. In May, angler Mike Elwood landed a record redhorse sucker while fishing on the Winooski River in Colchester, Vermont. The sucker, landed on a live worm, weighed 9.9 pounds and measured 29 inches long with an 18-inch girth. The third record for 2017 was a cisco, also known as lake herring. Alan Franchot caught his 2.25-pound state record while trolling on Lake Champlain in September. “We saw some incredible catches in 2017, especially Chase’s carp,” said Shawn Good, fisheries biologist with Vermont Fish & Wildlife. “It was an impressive looking fish, but what’s really exciting to me is that we’re starting to see more Vermont anglers fish outside of the box, as I like to call it, by taking advantage of many of the overlooked fishing opportunities we have in our state.” Good said fishing in Vermont remains excellent for traditional species like bass, trout, salmon and pike, but that anglers should take a look at some of the oddball fish like bowfin, drum, gar, fallfish and suckers that can provide great action as well as trophy potential.
It’s Tarpon Time In The
Florida Keys
By CAM Staff • Photo by Pat Ford
I
t is the heart of the tarpon season in the Florida Keys. With the annual migration in full swing, there should be silver kings everywhere over the next couple of months. The big spring run begins most years in February. It can last deep into the summer when conditions are right. This is when the big fish are most vulnerable. Averaging 80 pounds and sometimes running much larger, tarpon in the keys offer a fishery unlike any other in the world. The west coast of Africa might have the world record 286-pound, 9-ounce tarpon, but nowhere in the world has the opportunities to sight fish tarpon like the Keys. Poling the flats, there is a very real possibility of encountering tarpon up to 200 pounds and heavier in shallow and ultra-clear water. Migrating tarpon will push up into the backcountry in the thousands, skirting the edges of the flats and channels. Staking out or anchoring the boat in an ambush point where the angler is likely to encounter numbers of hungry tarpon is best accomplished through a local guide who stays on top of the movements of these giant fish. One thing you’ll notice is that while some captains might guarantee “shots” at tarpon, none promise you’ll actually bring one boatside. With a fly, enticing a big tarpon to eat is something that takes a lot of skill and a little luck. First-timers are probably better off fishing live bait, and a crab fished under a float in the passes and around bridges where fish are
concentrated can lead to multiple hook-ups in a day’s trip. What follows is a fight that cannot be matched by any fish anywhere. The powerful runs and repeated jumps of a hooked tarpon are what made them so highly prized as a game fish. Even experienced anglers are frequently left broken hearted when the line falls slack. Winning a battle with Megalops is an achievement to be remembered. Winning the battle comes with a heavy dose of responsibility, as well. Tarpon have a life span of 50 years or more. They are slow growing, and it takes them seven to 13 years to reach sexual maturity. This and their value as a game fish make them susceptible to population decline. Every effort should be made to release them with the best chance for their survival. All Florida tarpon must be released, with an exception for anglers who have purchased a state tarpon tag for the purpose of achieving an IGFA world record. Large tarpon should remain in the water at all times, which means unhooking and photographing them should be done quickly, with an effort to keep the head and gills in the water as much as possible. Never attempt to drag a tarpon over the side of the boat. Tarpon will often fight to exhaustion, so reviving them after the fight will greatly increase their chance of survival. Hold them horizontally in the water with their mouth open, moving them forward to push water over their gills. Do this until they are able to swim off on their own.
Fish wide open.
If you want to experience true fishing freedom, book a light-tackle charter in The Florida Keys. Our open fish captains are the best in the business. Dolphin, tuna, grouper, marlin, sailfish, cobia, wahoo – the possibilities are endless. Show up, fish, walk away (very likely with a smile and fillets). fla-keys.com 1.800.fla.keys
TIPS FROM A PRO
DON’T FORGET ABOUT SPINNERBAITS
M
BRANDON LESTER
any great lures have come and gone in the bass fishing world over the years. Some seem to take the whole industry by storm and then die down once the next best thing comes along. Some prove themselves and become a
with dirty water, I like a red Colorado blade for extra visibility and a skirt with a lot of chartreuse. In clear water, I can throw double willowleaf blades for a subtler thump, and I’ll opt for a more
By Nick Carter
N staple in everyone’s tackle box. There is one lure, though, that doesn’t get the attention it deserves on the tournament scene these days. With all the fancy square-bill crankbaits and bladed jigs, it’s easy to forget about the tried-and-true spinnerbait. Few baits are as good at covering water as the spinnerbait, and this time of the year that is half the battle. Early in the spring, warm days will cause water temperatures to rise. Bass move shallower to look for places to spawn. Water conditions also play a big role in this. More fish move up earlier in dirty water, which warms faster than clear water. When these fish move shallow, they like to get next to a stump, laydown, dock, rock, really anything that holds heat and gives them a place they feel safe. The spinnerbait is my favorite bait for targeting prespawn fish for two reasons. Reason No. 1 is they are virtually weedless. I can throw spinnerbaits in pretty thick cover, and as long as I’m careful it will come right through. It comes through wood especially well. Reason No. 2 is the unlimited options. If I’m faced
natural skirt color. Having all those options is important with the everchanging conditions of spring. When you’re actively searching for fish, keep an open mind. I’ve caught them anywhere from bluff banks to shallow flat pockets and everywhere in between this time of year, so let the fish tell you where you need to be and what you should be throwing. My favorite spinnerbait rod is a 7’2” medium heavy (EPS86MHF) MHX Elite Pro Series rod that I build. It is a great all-purpose blank. It has plenty of tip, so I can make precise casts to targets, and it also has plenty of backbone. I use a 7:3:1 bait-casting reel spooled with 17-lb. Vicious ProElite fluorocarbon. If I could only choose one spinnerbait for the rest of my career, it would be a ½-ounce tandem willowleaf/Colorado combo with one silver and one gold blade and a chartreuse and white skirt. My favorite is made by a new company called Kinkee Baits. It has a combination of wrapped wire down to 18/1000-inch wire, which creates vibration bass have never felt before.
Get more tips from Lester at
FISHINGMAGAZINE.FISHING
ot many people know that much of the southern Appalachians are classified as a temperate rainforest. With average precipitation of about 60 inches a year, there is a swath of mountains from north Georgia up through western North Carolina and into east Tennessee that is a very wet place. Those rainfall statistics might be hard to believe during drought years, when low flows and high summer temperatures leave southeastern trout lethargic in the lower elevations. But even on the hottest days, it is wet and cool in the lush creek bottoms of the high mountains. It’s what allows our wild trout, and our only native salmonid—the southern Appalachian brook trout—to thrive. No one is thinking about low flows in spring, though. Creeks and rivers are usually full with heavy spring rains. The tailwaters are flush, sometimes blown out with dam releases. Flash floods are a dangerous possibility where small mountain creeks fall through their gorges. If you’re going fishing in the mountains this time of year, you better bring a rain jacket. You should also make sure you bring your streamer box. Sure, we’re in the middle of some of the best dry fly action of the year. The Hendricksons, March browns, sulphurs, caddis, drakes and giant stones might all be flitting around right now. But when the sky grows dark and those first fat drops of rain begin to fall, take time to don your rain jacket and tie on something big and nasty. The fishing is getting ready to get mighty fun. On multiple occasions, I’ve seen trout go absolutely bonkers in rising waters on the front end of a heavy rainstorm. All those raindrops are impending doom for the little crawling things that cling to rhododendron leaves. Flushed from the leaf litter or rolled out from the stones on the streambed, everything a trout likes to eat is stirred into the flow as the water rises and becomes stained. Although the window of opportunity might be short, as the trout and the angler must both take cover at some point, the opening moments of a torrential downpour can be magical. On the larger flows where there is the potential for large brown trout, bigger is better. I keep a few big, heavy, white Buggers in my box that only get wet when the water is rising. Those big bunny flies and articulated streamers you bought on a whim but never used? Now is the time to try them out. Even on the smaller streams, rising water can spark a sub-surface feeding frenzy. Smaller streamers or double-nymph rigs with a big black stonefly as an anchor are both good options for fish that are frantic to gobble all the protein they can get while it is available. Fishing in heavy rain requires the angler to use some common sense and not be literally carried away, though. Keep an eye on the conditions. Lightning is dangerous, as is rapidly rising water. Don’t put yourself in a situation you can’t get out of.
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By Conner Jones
E
Look for Shadows: A trout’s camouflage is effective, designed to hide it from predators with better eyesight than humans possess. Sometimes the best way to spot a fish is by looking for shadows. If a fish is suspended any distance off the bottom, it will cast a shadow that contrasts against the bottom more so than the fish itself. Find the shadow, and you have found the fish. Find the Right Water: This means using the angle of the sun to your advantage. Try to position yourself so glare is minimal. Heavy currents and deep water can obscure what is hiding below, so be sure to check the shallows. Tail-outs are the shallow stretches at the end of a pool, usually with a uniform current and gravel or cobble bottom in free-stone rivers. These features make the tail-out ideal for spotting fish, but their shallow nature can put fish on edge, so be sure to go slow! The Gear: It’s hard to overstate the importance of good sunglasses on the water. Good sunglasses will not only cut the glare off the water, allowing you to see the underlying structure of the river, they will also enhance your ability to see fish. Good sunglasses are the key to being able to spot fish and also the easiest way to step up your sight fishing game, so invest in a good pair. Conner Jones is with Cohutta Fishing Company. Contact him at cjones@cohuttafishingco.com and visit their website at www.cohuttafishingco.com.
ven out in the open, trout are remarkably adept at hiding their presence. The muted colors and speckles of their backs are beautiful out of the water. In the water, these features make them invisible to the untrained eye. Most of their predators come from above, so spotting and stalking trout is difficult, which is what makes it so much fun. Here are a few tips to help you successfully sight fish for trout. Go Slow: This cannot be overstated. The easiest fish to see is the one you just spooked. As the fish bolts you will inevitably ask yourself, “Why was I in such a rush?” Go slow, start at the tail of the pool and work your way to the head. Be methodical. Look for Motion: It’s amazing how little motion it takes for a trout to keep its place in the current. However, these small movements are sometimes all it takes to give away a fish’s location. Look for unnatural movement like the side-to-side pulse of a tail or the telltale white of an opening mouth. Sometimes, this is the only clue Airline_CoastalAnglerAd_3-2016_Layout 1 3/18/16 1:07 PM Page 1 a trout will give to its location.
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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT Popticals Pop-Out Sunglasses When you’re sight fishing, nothing is more important than your vision. While fishing from a kayak or SUP, storage space is at a premium. That’s why Popticals are a perfect fit for paddle sports and kayak anglers. They are premium quality shades that fold down to a compact size and fit into a protective case small enough to be slipped into a pocket or clipped to just about anything with an attached carabiner. Popticals uses NYDEF nylon lenses manufactured for Popticals by Carl Zeiss Vision. Nylon has the same clarity as glass, but it’s much lighter. The light weight makes them more comfortable for all-day wear, and the clarity of these polarized lenses will help you see and catch more fish. “With other sunglasses, I’ve spent too much time second-guessing about what I’m seeing… or think I’m seeing,” said Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Scott Suggs. “With Popticals NYDEF lenses, there’s no guessing. I can see details more clearly, cover a lot more water over the course of a day, and put my baits in front of a lot more fish.” It’s time to stop storing your glasses on top of your head, where they can fly off or get scratched. Poptical’s award-winning design allows them to fold down into a compact hard-shell case. The case floats, and it’s small enough to fit into a pocket comfortably. Or, clip the case to your gear, where your glasses will be small enough to be out of the way but right there when you need them.
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SEE MORE. CATCH MORE. PopH2O with NYDEF™ lens technology lets you see sharper details beneath the surface of the water to catch the fish your buddies can’t even see. Polarized NYDEF™ nylon lenses made by Carl Zeiss enhance your vision with the clarity of a glass lens at a fraction of the weight. Spend less time guessing at what you’re seeing in the water, and more time catching fish. #SeeMoreFishCatchMoreFish
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On The Water With
Kaku By Capt. Ryan Drygas
T
arpon Springs, a small town on the west coast of Florida an hour north of St. Petersburg, is a best-kept secret for redfish and snook. It sits within a web of waterways connecting the Gulf of Mexico to rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes and eventually Tampa Bay. This vast system offers excellent inshore opportunities, and it’s a ton of fun to explore under paddle power. I know a local who grew up there and knows the water like the back of his hand. Kevin Hawkins, owner of Kaku Kayaks, invited me out on the water to try his newest SUP, the Voodoo. Kevin lives, eats and breathes fishing. When he’s not fishing from one of his kayaks or SUPs, he’s thinking about ways to design these boats so they’re better to fish from. The Voodoo is a hybrid that melds the best qualities of an SUP, a kayak and a micro-skiff. We launched from his local ramp on a Saturday afternoon a cou-
ple hours before sunset. I don’t have the words to describe the picturesque setting that spread out before me. Mangroves, oyster beds and hidden shoals were in abundance. We paddled to the tip of a mangrove island where a smaller canal led to docks, sandbars and windbreaks. We had to cross the main channel to get there, and there was a 1- to 2-foot chop with the boating traffic and winds. The Voodoo was stable and fast, tracking straight as it cut through the channel. I was surprised the chop didn’t offer more of a challenge, but the hull design of the Voodoo is flawless. It also features a chair, which—without adjustment—offers two seated positions and can be used as a poling platform. The boat paddles well from a seated or standing position, and the ability to make powerful strokes with a low center of gravity came in handy during the crossing. As we rounded the tip of the island, we found wind-shade in a pocket. We poled down to cast right under the mangroves and docks. The Voodoo’s stern has five molded-in Power Pole mounts that allow for dual or single Power Pole Micros. And from a stability standpoint, the boat might as well be the deck of a skiff. Kevin hooked into a 25-inch redfish and fought it with ease from the open deck. As we paddled through the backside of the mangrove islands, we cast to oyster beds and under docks. The final spot Kevin had planned was a back corner of an area with a long sea wall and sand flats. Kevin wanted to hit it right at sunset, when the redfish bite is best. We could see reds tailing over the shoals as the tide went out. If you are looking for a perfect fishing machine, look no further than Kaku. These boats are a fisherman’s Cadillac. Kevin’s obsession with crafting a superior fishing vessel is evident in the sleek, stable versatility of his boats. For more on Kaku Kayak, visit kakukayak.com.
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By Tom Schlichter
Y
ou couldn’t tell by looking in the tannic-stained water, but Capt. Gary Dubiel was convinced redfish were holding just a few feet from the bank. “Toss your line up tight and see what happens,” he instructed. My cork popper landed with a splat and the trailing DOA shrimp settled toward the bottom. I waited a second, gave a “pop” and watched the cork slide under with an 8-pound red in full protest. “They’ll smack that setup every time,” smiled the skipper. It’s no secret that the coastal waters of North Carolina teem with redfish and stripers, but many visiting anglers focus their efforts solely on inlet and ocean waters. For truly amazing topwater action, the bays, creeks and river systems are also well worth exploring. “There’s amazing variety on the inside here,” said Dubiel, of Spec Fever Guide Service (www.specfever.com), who specializes in putting light-tackle and fly-fishing fans right in the mix. Dubiel especially enjoys working the Neuse River area because it hosts stripers and seatrout year-round, plus redfish from spring though mid-October. “These stripers are estuarine and don’t run to the ocean,” he explained. “They typically measure up to 32 inches, which makes them perfect for light gear and fly rods. Even better, they mix in with the specks and slot-sized redfish. We often catch all three on the same trip.” The striper action really heats up in late April when the bass return from spawning farther upriver to offer outstanding surface action from Oriental to New Bern, N.C. Much of the fun takes place in knee-deep depths here in the river’s mouth at Pamlico Sound, and that makes for a ton of topwater thrills. Interestingly, the Neuse River—America’s widest at 6 miles across the mouth— doesn’t have a lunar rise and fall in tides. Rather than look for current, Dubiel works around structure while using a trolling motor to quietly get in and out of
potential hot spots. He likes casting at old wood when possible, often using a Bob’s Banger Capt. Gary Dubiel of Spec popper. “Because the fish often Fever Guide Service works hang in the shallows here, you can call them from a considerthe long wand for shallow able distance if you make a litwater Neuse River stripers, reds tle noise,” he said. “This is also and specks. Photo by Felicia a great lure for covering a lot of Scocozza. water. Some of our wood fields are pretty expansive.” Push up into the Neuse River tributaries above and below New Bern and you’ll also find largemouth bass, crappie and perch. The creeks stay warmer than the river in the winter months, so there are times in late winter and early spring when you might catch any of these along with a striper, redfish or speckled trout as well. “It certainly makes for an interesting mixed bag,” quipped Dubiel. Just an hour drive from Moorhead City, N.C., the Neuse River is easily accessible from Oriental, New Bern or the ICW. For accommodations, consider Bridgepoint Marina (www.bridgepointe.com) in New Bern. It’s within 500 yards of public launching at both Lawson Creek Landing and Union Park Point. For more info on the New Bern area, visit www.visitnewbern.com.
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United States Power Squadrons–America’s
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ho doesn’t have a smile on their face when they’re spending time on the water? You can’t help yourself. Boating is the definition of getting away from it all. And getting away from it all is always more fun with friends. This is where the United States Power Squadrons–America’s Boating Club comes in. Enjoying your time on the water with family and friends starts with being safe and responsible while having fun. That’s what makes America’s Boating Club different than most boating organizations. For over a hundred years, the organization’s focus has been on providing unsurpassed boating safety education. But the organization’s leadership and members are passionate about a membership that doesn’t end on Sunday and doesn’t care if the calendar says it’s winter. It’s about being together and building a community through a variety of events like parties, meetings and even just getting together for no reason at all. Driven by this passion, United States Power Squadrons–America’s Boating Club, the country’s largest nonprofit boating organization, just launched its new logo. This is the first of several planned updates in the organization’s new brand image and identity. Changes to the organization’s website, social media platforms and collateral are expected in the coming weeks.
“We are United States Power Squadrons but we are also America’s Boating Club,” said Gary Cheney, chief commander, United States Power Squadrons. “This is not just a name change, it describes what we do. We go boating and have fun doing it. Our squadrons are social clubs as well as providers of high quality boating education— allowing members to enjoy the sport and camaraderie of boating and any number of activities that keep us together. Togetherness is what this lifestyle is all about. We joined the organization for the boating education, but we stayed for the friends.” Offering classes For Boaters, By Boaters in boat handling, navigation, boat maintenance, weather and related subjects, United States Power Squadrons— America’s Boating Club serves as a virtual “yacht club” with boating and social activities for all types of recreational boaters. With over 27,000 members organized into 356 local clubs across the country, America’s Boating Club is comprised of families who contribute to their communities by promoting safe boating through education. Members are vital to strengthening the communities they live in and know it’s important to live their values by giving back through public service and volunteer opportunities. Members provide courtesy vessel safety checks, help the NOAA’s National Ocean Service keep nautical charts accurate and organize beach cleanups. “Our commitment is to continue learning, teaching, laughing and helping our fellow members enjoy boating,” continued Cheney. “Whether you’re passionate about cruising, racing, making new friends, volunteering in your community or learning from experienced boaters, your local squadron has the resources you need to engage your passions and, perhaps, instill some new ones.” In February of 2017, the United States Power Squadrons announced its America’s Boating Club co-brand to its squadrons, following an almost yearlong renaming exercise. To learn more about United States Power Squadrons–America’s Boating Club, visit www.americasboatingclub.org.
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FRESHWATER Jordan Lee Wins Back-To-Back
Bassmaster Classics Bassmaster photos by Andy Crawford
I
n sixth place headed into the final day of the Bassmaster Classic on March 18 at lake Hartwell, S.C., Alabama’s Jordan Lee was in striking distance to do what only two anglers have ever done—win the Super Bowl of bass fishing twice in a row. And he did it. With a final day surge that took him to the scales with 16 pounds, 5 ounces, Lee tallied a three-day total of 47-1 to edge out California pro Brent Ehrler by a single pound. With his Classic win last year at Lake Conroe, Texas, Lee joins Rick Clunn and Kevin VanDam as the only three anglers in the history of the sport to win back-to-back classics. With the $300,000 purse, Lee pushed his career earnings with B.A.S.S past the million-dollar mark.
“It was just a perfect week for me,” Lee told Bassmaster. “I caught fish on five different baits and a lot of different techniques.” Boat docks were the ticket to Lee’s success. Following poor practice rounds, he could not nail down a strong pattern. From Day 1, Lee reverted to his comfort zone and his strength. “I just wanted to cover as much water as I could to give myself the best chance of putting a bait in front of a fish,” he told Bassmaster. “On this lake, I knew boat docks were going to play because they always do—and that’s what I like to do.” Live on Day 1, video showed Lee pumping his fists over a chunky largemouth he finessed out from under a dock with black floats. Black floats tend to warm the water around them, and the fish were staging up prior to the spawn. A strong sack of 18-10 on Day 1 must have buoyed Lee’s confidence in the dock pattern. Despite catching nothing but smaller spotted bass and just 12-2 on Day 2, Lee was still solidly in the top 25 to make the cut to fish Championship Sunday. Lee found his magic pocket on Day 3. Fishing a Strike King Rage Swimmer, a Strike King Ocho and a Strike King Shimmy Stick, he stuck to that one little pocket and pulled fish from beneath almost every dock. Green pumpkin was his primary color. Jason Christie, of Oklahoma, who led through the first two days of competition, dropped back to third place after the final day with a three-day total of 45-15. Ehrler’s 46-1 earned him second place. Alabama pro Mark Daniels Jr. caught the Berkley Big Bass of the tournament, a 6-pound, 11-ounce largemouth that won him $2,500. Reporting by Bassmaster’s Bryan Brasher.
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UNDER THE SEA
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ike land hunters or rod-and-reel fishermen, spearos also study and perfect some tricks of the trade. Spearos immerse themselves into the fishes’ environment, so the first skill to master is to look like you belong there. Beginners tend to exhibit aggressive behavior, chasing and spooking fish. If fish scatter when you get near, study how calmly an experienced diver moves in the water. Until you achieve a non-threatening aura, all other tips and tricks will be useless. After achieving smooth diving technique, here are some techniques to get near fish. 1) Aspetto (Italian for “wait”)—It starts from the surface with a smooth duck-dive into the water while removing the snorkel. You descend with soft kicks until you begin to free-fall as you scan the bottom. By turning your fin blades, you maneuver to the right spot, perhaps where the reef meets sand. You lie motionless on the bottom until curious fish come to check you out. Moving only your eyes, you pick out the prey, move your gun slowly, and make a well-placed shot. A good spearo will make this technique look easy, but it is not. This is especially effective with evasive fish that become curious when you do not move, such as mutton snappers in Florida, stripers in the northeast, and bigeye emperors in Hawaii. 2) Agguato (Italian for “ambush”)–This is a dynamic stalking technique to get closer to prey without being noticed. The diver navigates the bottom using the environment to get closer to the prey. The diver must consider current, visibility and available bottom structure while moving from one object to another, blending into shadows or hiding behind reef formations. If your body can be hidden while closing the gap, the fish will remain unaware of your presence.
3) Flashers/ Sheri Daye practices “aspetto” technique. chum—Especially Photo by Joe Marino effective for hunting pelagics such as jacks, tunas, dolphin and wahoo. Multiple mirrors dangle below a float, and the flashes of light in the water imitate the reflective glare from a school of baitfish. The fish come in to investigate. Chum can be used in combination with a flasher to bring them even closer and keep them interested. In addition to these techniques, serious spearos are likely to train in a pool, use meditation techniques, and do cardio exercises to increase their breath hold capacity. Many take freediving classes to increase bottom time and safety. While there is no certification required to do it, classes should be a pre-requisite, as freediving is a sport that can lead to “blackout” and death if not practiced correctly. Spearfishing is a beautiful, selective way to catch fish, but it is also physically and mentally demanding. Above all, be safe and happy hunting! Sheri is a world-record holder, host of Speargun Hunter, and producer of The Blue Wild Ocean Adventure Expo in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Follow “Sheri Daye” and “The Blue Wild” on Facebook and Instagram.
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hen Jesus Chavarria was a small boy nearly 60 years ago, he remembers a giant silver fish with huge scales brought to the dock at his home in the small Pacific river port of Sierpe, Costa Rica. No one had any idea what it was. He went on to captain offshore sport fishing boats all over the west coast of Costa Rica for the next 35 years and retired a few years ago to taking guests fishing the backwaters of the Sierpe River. His specialty is snook but now and then he began to catch tarpon. Tarpon are not indigenous to the Pacific Ocean, but over the years anglers began to encounter a tarpon now and then. The thought is that over more than a century since it was constructed, the Panama Canal has provided passage for tarpon, which now reside in the Pacific. Tarpon capture has been recorded as far south as Colombia and as far north as El Salvador. Saul Porras’ capture of a tarpon that weighed barely 3 pounds at a creek mouth in southern Costa Rica changed the whole thought process. Chances that a fish that small swam through the canal and that far are slim. Are tarpon now breeding in the Pacific? FECOP, the sport fishing advocacy and conservation group in Costa Rica, agreed to sponsor a project to find out more about tarpon in the Pacific. They contacted Didiher Chacon, who had worked on a Costa Rican Caribbean tarpon project almost three decades ago in Barra del Colorado for Dr. Roy Crabtree, of Florida. He agreed to work on the science part of the project. “The Sierpe Wetlands are perfect habitat for juvenile tarpon,” explained Chacon. “That very well may account for the increase in numbers of tarpon caught there in the last few years.” Most of the river tarpon are small, less than 30 pounds, but fish as large as 100 pounds have also been taken. Phase 1 of the project will concentrate in southern Costa Rica. A DNA comparison will be done between Pacific-caught tarpon and tarpon taken from different parts of the Caribbean side of the country. They will also study what the Pacific tarpon have been feeding on. Today this can be done with a small tissue sample without sacrificing the fish. All Pacific caught tarpon will also be tagged. Chacon noted that there is a possibility over time for tarpon to change the ecology of the rivers. It is not yet known what they are feeding on or how they will affect native fish. The Pacific-side tarpon are now showing with enough frequency to make it worth finding out. Tropical storm Nate delayed the project when the massive amounts of rain that fell not only caused major landslides but also completely flushed everything out of most of the country’s rivers. Find out more about Pacific tarpon and other FECOP projects on sport fishing conservation at www.fishcostarica.org.
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COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
*Original coupon only. No use on prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase or without original receipt. Valid through 8/1/18.
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ITEM 60581 60653 shown
.50 CAL METAL AMMO CAN
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13999 $N11O999 $199 SAVE $
2/10/50 AMP, 12 VOLT 7 FT. 4" x 9 FT. 6" CAMOUFLAGE BATTERY CHARGER/ WEATHER RESISTANT TARP ENGINE STARTER Customer Rating
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Tools sold separately.
LIMIT 1 coupon per customer per day. Save 20% on any 1 item purchased. *Cannot be used with other discount, coupon or any of the following items or brands: Inside Track Club membership, Extended Service Plan, gift card, open box item, 3 day Parking Lot Sale item, compressors, floor jacks, safes, saw mills, storage cabinets, chests or carts, trailers, trenchers, welders, Admiral, Ames, Bauer, Cobra, CoverPro, Daytona, Earthquake, Fischer, Hercules, Icon, Jupiter, Lynxx, Poulan, Predator, Tailgator, Viking, Vulcan, Zurich. Not valid on prior purchases. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 8/1/18.
Cannot be used with other discounts or prior purchases. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 8/1/18 while supplies last. Limit 1 FREE GIFT per customer per day.
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ITEM 68053/62160 62496/62516/60569 shown
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PROSKIT
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7 FUNCTION DIGITAL MULTIMETER
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At Harbor Freight Tools, the “Compare to” price means that the specified comparison, which is an item with the same or similar function, was advertised for sale at or above the “Compare to” price by another national retailer in the U.S. within the past 90 days. Prices advertised by others may vary by location. No other meaning of “Compare to” should be implied. For more information, go to HarborFreight.com or see store associate.
3/19/18 3/2/18 8:33 2:53 AM PM
GET A GRIP • Safer • Easier • Better
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Photo courtesy of Outcast Sport Fishing/Facebook
N
ot long ago, people didn’t know there were great white sharks off the coast of South Carolina. Now, thanks to the obsessive pursuit of them by Outcast Sport Fishing Charter Capt. Chip Michalove, everyone knows they’re out there, and in numbers during the winter months. Michalove seems to have figured it out, and he’s not sharing his secrets for fear of hurting the species he spent more than a decade trying to pattern. The captain has caught nearly 30 of these apex predators over the last three years. His most recent catch has made national news after a post about him catching a 16-foot-long, 3,000-pound white shark went viral from his Facebook page. Journalist Mandy Matney wrote in Hilton Head Island’s Island Packet about Michalove’s giant fish. She reported that with a two-man skeleton crew, Michalove had to radio to another fishing boat for backup to bring the giant fish boatside where it could be tagged and released. Michalove tags great whites for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy in Chatham, Mass., according to the Island Packet report. They are working to study the movements of the sharks in the Atlantic, and through technique Michalove does everything he can to put minimal stress on the animals.
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THE PLANET’S
CLEANEST OUTBOARD It’s never been this much of a rush to make the right choice. The new Evinrude® E-TEC® G2® gives you power plus responsibility. Run the cleanest combustion outboard on the planet, period. Not just clean, but lean, with 15% better fuel efficiency*. No competitor takes you further on a tank of fuel. That’s more adventures to the gallon, more fish in the boat, more dollars in your wallet. The planet friendly E-TEC G2. No outboard engine runs cleaner.
©2018 Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP). All rights reserved. ®, TM and the BRP logo are trademarks of BRP or its affiliates. * Fuel economy claim based on BRP-conducted ICOMIA testing of Evinrude E-TEC G2 250 H.O., Yamaha 250 SHO® and Mercury OptiMax® 250 HP in a test tank to determine ICOMIA average cycle. Actual fuel economy dependent on engine model.
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