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The traditional hard-core bay boat with flush decks fore and aft, an abbreviated midcockpit and limited seating has today evolved into many different forms, including one of the most versatile: the new Pathfinder 2400 TRS. 

Pathfinder Boats ranks as one of angling’s most iconic brands, a company that 30 years ago pioneered the development of bay boats and essentially defined the category. Over the years, many other boat companies have followed suit with their own versions. Yet Pathfinder continues to play a dominant role in this market, thanks in large measure to the addition of versatile variations of the bay boat. A case in point: the redesigned 2400 TRS. 

What makes this boat special is a three-prong design approach that includes features to enhance offshore fishing capabilities, retain inshore effectiveness, and integrate creature comforts for more leisurely days on the water. 

TRS stands for third row seat, and that’s a clue to the comfort side. It references the 40-inch-wide bench seat (with a backrest) that folds up out of the aft deck. The boat also features bow cushions with the flip-up backrests on the forward deck. With seating for eight people, a removable bow table, and available shades for both bow and stern, you’ll be set for family cruising. 

For hardcore fishing, the 2400 TRS offers a full complement of features to help anglers succeed. One is a 6-inch-wider beam than its predecessor model for great stability while fishing.

The boat also features 24 inches of gunwale height in the midcockpit, with 9.5 inches of freeboard around the 7-foot-long-by-5-foot-wide forward casting deck for safety when venturing offshore to fish wrecks or blue water when weather permits. 

The hull features a single step and 15 degrees of deadrise at the transom. While test conditions were calm, we were able to self-generate 2- to 3-foot waves, then circle back through them to gauge the ride quality. The 2400 TRS knifed smoothly through the waves at speed and should provide a smooth ride while cruising offshore.

To optimize the 2400 TRS’ shallow-water capabilities, Pathfinder engineered the hull to draft just 15 inches at rest. The standard Atlas jack plate (with 6 inches of setback) lets you elevate the motor to climb on plane quickly and safely in skinny water. A standard 36-volt trolling motor lets you quietly stalk tidal waters.  

The hull provided predictable and confident handling, made easy thanks to the built-in electric steering on the Yamaha F300 that powered our test boat. A deluxe Llebroc helm seat includes armrests and individual flip-up bolsters. Two tiers of angled footrests at the base of the center console let you brace your feet in choppy water while underway. The seat base lets you carry all the tackle you need with a locker full of trays for plastic boxes on the port side, and a tackle cabinet and drawer on the aft side.

There’s rod stowage aplenty, including undergunwale racks for sticks up to 9.5 feet in length. An optional four-rod rack sits abaft the helm seat. Our boat came with an optional hardtop and rod stowage that included four holders on the port side of the console (with special cutouts in the top to accommodate rod tips). Six rod holders lined the aft edge. Four gunwale rod holders make it easy to troll or fish multiple rods on the drift. 

The dash panel featured an optional Garmin 16-inch multifunction display, as well as an optional JL Marine Audio display tied to an amplifier and eight JL coaxial 6.5-inch and 7.7-inch speakers, four of them on the underside of the hardtop. The hardtop included two overhead boxes, one in front of the helm area and one abaft. 

The 2400 TRS features a 38-gallon livewell under the aft deck to port, and you can option a 38-gallon release well on the opposite side. An insulated 31-gallon fish box under the fore deck lets you ice your catch. Additional cold storage comes in the form of a standard 80-quart Engel cooler with a cushion and contoured backrest on the forward console. An optional fiberglass console forward seat cooler is offered as well.

A step-down console interior is available with an optional pump-out marine head. The companionway is on the starboard side, and a window on the port side ushers in fresh air and daylight. 

Yamaha’s F300 propelled our test boat to a top speed of 54 mph at 6,000 rpm, though in previous tests Pathfinder was able to push the average top speed to 56 mph.

The 2400 TRS achieved its best efficiency at 35 mph while running at 4,500 rpm, where the F300 drank 13 gph for an average of 2.7 mpg, equating to a range of 214 miles based on 90 percent fuel capacity. 

Test Conditions

• Weather: Sunny
• Location: Fort Pierce, Florida
• Wind: Calm
• Sea State: Calm
• Test Load: Three adults, 22 gallons of fuel

Specifications

Pathfinder Boats – pathfinderboats.com

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Diamond jigs and their metal cousins are among the simplest yet most effective lures ever created. With reflective chrome plating over a lead core, diamonds are fast-sinking, durable, and easy to fish with a familiar baitfish profile. And unlike plugs covered in menacing treble hooks, the body of a jig provides a safe and sturdy handle with which to lift and unhook feisty fish.

Diamonds can plummet in the strongest current or flutter downward like wounded prey, yet they wobble irresistibly like a fleeing baitfish when retrieved. During hot action, jigs have a speedy turnaround time. As soon as you can wrestle a diamond’s hook from the maw of a scrappy gamefish, you can quickly dump it overboard again.

But sometimes the shiny hunks of metal aren’t enough to seal the deal on their own. In those instances, you can often coax hesitant fish into striking with the addition of a dropper fished above a metal jig. This technique gives the illusion of a small predator chasing a wounded baitfish up from the ocean floor, which triggers a competitive reaction in large predators like bluefish, striped bass, cod, pollock, fluke and black sea bass. Of course, there’s always the chance for a double hookup too. 

Cod, Pollock and Haddock

One of the masters of diamond jigging in New England is Capt. Ned Kittredge, a pro out of Westport, Massachusetts, with over 45 years of experience. For groundfish, Kittredge modifies standard diamond jigs by attaching droppers above the main lure to prompt cod, pollock and haddock into striking. 

He starts by removing the factory hook from a diamond jig, typically attached by a barrel swivel. Working from the opposite end of the jig, he attaches a No. 8 stainless-steel split ring followed by a Bead Chain No. 131 swivel; to that, he adds a 10/0 or 12/0 Mustad 31022DT bent-shank, open-eye Limerick hook. He then slides a 5 ½-inch section of red 3/16- or 1/4-inch (ID) taper-cut latex tubing over the hook, but you can buy them already rigged.

“At slow retrieval speeds,” Kittredge says, “the spiraling tube imitates a sand eel, which cod and pollock love. I then cut two pieces of stiff 80-pound mono leader of about 48 inches each. I tie them together in a blood knot about 24 inches above the diamond jig, snipping one of the tag ends flush with the knot. I thread the other tag, which is about 12 to 16 inches long, through a teaser such as a Red Gill or Felmlee eel and clinch it to a long-shank (Aberdeen) hook pulled back into the tail end of the teaser. I then clinch a large barrel swivel to the running line end of the mono leader about 18 inches above the Blood knot, to which I tie the main line.” 

Kittredge cautions against using three-way swivels for the teaser because they’re highly visible and can lead to a fouled rig, ruining the presentation.

Kittredge uses a specialized jigging technique to hook up with Northeast bottomfish. “We ‘squid-jig’ diamonds at a very slow speed,” he says. “Once the lure hits bottom, I slowly crank it up 8 to 50 feet, depending on depth, and then free-spool it down again. 

“I retrieve it just fast enough to make the jig’s tube spin, often turning the reel handle dead-slow to account for high-speed reels needed to fish at extreme depth, which creates an irresistible silhouette from below the jig while the teaser flutters above it. That’s what attracts fish to the jig. The secret of the tube’s action is the bead-chain swivel.”

Black Sea Bass

“When fishing black sea bass in shallow water inside areas like Buzzards Bay or Long Island Sound,” Kittredge says, “my preferred jig weight is 3 or 4 ounces. Whatever size hooks are factory-supplied are sufficient; they’re not worth changing out for sea bass. But I like trebles over single hooks if the bottom isn’t too rough.

“The best jig is a 4-ounce Solvkroken stainless-steel Norwegian jig. While all Norwegian jig knockoffs and true diamond jigs are productive for sea bass when fished properly, the curved shape of a Solvkroken allows it to flutter well on the drop, which attracts big fish.”

Experienced fishermen agree that jigs often outfish standard high-low bait rigs for the biggest sea bass by keeping smaller fish and porgies at bay, but many experts enhance their odds by tying in a dropper teaser above the jig.

“I don’t use bait anymore,” Kittredge says. “Sea bass are hungry and aggressive. I’d rather not deal with bait if I don’t have to. Sometimes I fish with just a Solvkroken jig, but if the fish are thick or suspended above the structure, a teaser is a good idea. I find the sea bass mostly strike the jig, but they do hit the teaser, and sometimes you’ll land a double.”

Because a large teaser can affect the way a jig fishes, Kittredge downsizes to the smaller 65 mm white or green Delta eel in fast currents. He says that those still fish well but don’t impair the sink rate or the action of the small jigs. This combination also yields fluke as a bonus bycatch.

“There’s something unique to the Norwegian jig’s action,” he adds. “I think the fluke are really attracted to it. And when you get into a cluster of schoolie stripers, the action can be red-hot with a teaser-jig combination.”

Kittredge cuts a 36-inch length of 60-pound fluorocarbon or Perlon, which is ideal because of its stiffness, for leader. He cuts another short trace to attach to the jig, and joins the two pieces with a uni-knot to uni-knot about 12 inches above the lure, leaving the upward-facing leg about 6 inches long as a dropper for the teaser. Here, he clinches on a Gamakatsu 3/0 or 4/0 bait holder or similar hook, while clipping the other end close to the knot.

Other soft plastics work well for sea bass teasers. Try a 4-inch Zoom Salty Super Fluke, curly-tail Got-Cha or Felmlee, Lunker City Slug-Go or Fin-S Fish. If you stock just one color, make it white, which mimics most baitfish and squid. Another good bass teaser option is an unweighted or epoxy-head white bucktail, which you can sweeten with a squid strip. And then hold on for some hot action. 

Three Rigs for Jigs

There are three basic options to attach a main line to a diamond-jig leader.

The first utilizes a line-to-line knot, which allows you to reel a long leader through the rod guides and even down onto the reel.

The second involves a large barrel swivel, which is tied on the main line with a Palomar knot. To detach the jig for storage or transportation, just snip the leader at the swivel, coil the leader, and clinch it back on next time. 

The third uses a Palomar knot to attach the main line to a cross-lock snap swivel. A loop knot is tied in the leader, which allows it to clip to the snap. This method is handy for changing out different jig weights depending on the conditions. Stiff leader is easily coiled and remains with the jig.

You can tie a simple clinch knot to attach the leader to a diamond jig. But tying a nonslip loop knot to the jig’s eye provides less restriction and more flutter action.

The post Pro Tips for Rigging Diamond Jigs and Teasers appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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A redfish is like a bull in a Texas rodeo. They are rough and rowdy, and they’ll eat just about anything that won’t eat them first. They can be caught in mere inches of gin-clear water, and if that doesn’t work, they can be found around offshore oil and gas platforms in 30 to 50 feet of water. Anglers can target them with a tiny fly-fished popping bug in the morning calm and then toss big topwater lures later the same day along shorelines. 

Depending on the day, redfish can act like a carp, bonefish or another fish entirely. Soaking dead bait on the bottom is a proven tactic, but so is sight-fishing with artificials. Redfish are strong, tough and a hoot to catch, which explains why they are so popular among anglers in Texas.

Wade-Fishing Is a Texas Tradition

Three of us bailed out of Capt. Charlie Paradoski’s center-console boat along a flat called Green’s Bayou located off Matagorda Island in the middle Texas coast.

“We probably need to spread out and cover some water, look for bait, and be on point for tailing or waking reds,” Paradoski said. “If you get into a school of reds, wave everybody into the action.”

The water was as clear as mountain air, and the sun was just beginning to shine as I glanced over my shoulder. Just like clockwork, there was Paradoski hooked up, rod bowed over and waving us into a pod of reds he had waded into. We were all slinging topwater lures. One of the best and most productive over the decades has been a chrome-and-blue Super Spook Jr. It looks exactly like a finger mullet on the surface and has a side-to-side movement that drives reds crazy. Paradoski reached over and latched on to about a 25-inch red, and sure enough, I could clearly see the chrome-and-blue lure dangling from the mouth of the satisfying catch.

Diverse Feeders

Redfish will eat just about anything. While cleaning a bull red years ago, I found a spent shotgun shell in its stomach. That’s why fishing specifically for reds is so much fun along the Texas coast, which spans more than 350 miles. Along all that shoreline are wide-open bays, lagoons, islands and estuarine lakes. The thousands of sand pockets and grassy flats are perfect habitat.

During late fall, there is a strong migration of reds from the bays and into the Gulf of Mexico. Conversely, there’s also the spring run of reds. Red drum dependably make a pit stop along the jetties and gorge on shrimp, crabs and mullet riding the spring tides into the bays. Guides will take their customers out to the mouths of the jetties to tap into some excellent topwater action on bull reds.

 “Some of the best fishing is during the spring at the mouth of the Port O’Connor jetties. As the water flows into West Matagorda Bay, the bull reds will be churning up the surface and feeding heavily on a variety of baits. When everything is right, the gulls, frigate birds and pelicans will be right on top of the surface-busting reds. It’s a wild day of sight-casting to big reds. It’s mostly catch-photo-and-release fishing.”

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

The great thing about chasing reds is they are user-friendly fish. Throughout the summer and fall they can be caught on the flats in shallow water. Some of the best action takes place on the Laguna Madre down in South Texas. It’s a shallow, hypersaline lagoon roughly 120 miles long. The lagoon’s many grassy flats and clear-water shorelines provide legendary sight-fishing for reds.

One of the favored tactics on the Laguna is to ease over the flats in a poling skiff. One angler is on the poling platform and another is on the bow. Typically, the person on the elevated platform will push the boat along and look for reds feeding on shad, shrimp, worms and crabs. The tactic is classic spot-and-stalk fishing. Anglers might get 25 to 30 shots at reds during a day on the flats. It’s the perfect fly-fishing adventure. You see the target fish, get the line in the air and, when everything is right, drop a fly within a few feet of the red. Sight-fishing is an addictive way of fishing, and can be done with spinning or baitcasting gear as well.

The Land Cut

Guide Steve Ellis has been fishing on the Laguna Madre for decades. One of his best tactics is to make the run from Port Mansfield to the land cut, which is about 25 miles long. It’s around 100 to 150 feet wide, with a shoreline covered with aquatic vegetation and sand and mud potholes.

“I especially like fishing the land cut because it’s some of the best clear-water fishing on the Laguna Madre,” Ellis says. “I’ve got two towers on my boat, which allows the anglers to see fish like tailing reds in the clear water. It’s classic topwater-fishing. But tying on a weedless 1/4-ounce gold spoon is a proven tactic.”

Reds are definitely not shy about pouncing on a topwater lure. And they will do it with gusto. When you set the hook, they don’t lollygag around either. They head out like a freight train. One of the newest topwater lures to come along in years is the D.O.A. PT-7. This soft-plastic lure comes rigged with a double hook pinned up against the side of the lure. Reds love to ambush mullet in grassy areas, and that is where the PT-7 works like a charm. It can be fished over or in the grass and will draw some pretty flashy blowups.

Not-So-Secret Hotspots

One of the best areas to consistently find redfish is along the Intracoastal Waterway, which goes from one end of the Texas coast to the other. When I was working as a fishing guide, it was at the top of my go-to list for finding and catching reds. Quite often, the reds would be tailing while feeding on worms and crabs in about a foot of water.

The most consistent place to find reds just about year-round is along the jetties. Two of the best are in Sabine and Port O’Connor. When a moving tide comes in or goes out, slot and bull reds will stack up and feed heavily on mullet, shrimp and crabs. Here, what a lot of anglers do is bait up with a fresh dead mullet chunk. Mullet are easily caught in a cast net. The mullet chunks are fished on 3/0 Kahle hooks on a Carolina rig. When the red picks up the bait, it doesn’t feel the tug of the weight.

At the Port O’Connor jetties, the trick is to hold in place with a trolling motor and chum the water with diced Spanish sardines. The best water depths are anywhere from 15 to 30 feet deep.

Rockport, located between Port O’Connor and the upper end of the Laguna Madre, is where the guides will fish channels and flats adjacent to the many islands. A captain will usually have a good supply of pinfish and mullet. Once the guide positions the boat on a likely location, he chops up small chunks of fresh dead chum and fan-casts them out. Next, about six to seven rods are baited up, cast out, and placed in rod holders. It doesn’t take long to start getting bites.

Drift-Fishing the Flats

One of the more popular options on the Laguna Madre is to set up drifts over the miles of grass flats. A drift sock slows the boat’s progress and helps it stay on a specific area. The best lures are soft baits from makers such as MirrOlure, D.O.A., Berkley Gulp! and Z-Man. Rig them on a 1/8- or 1/16-ounce jig head.

One thing is certain: There is definitely no shortage of reds along the Texas coast. These hard-fighting and tasty fish can be caught just about anywhere you find salt water. 

Read Next: Targeting Redfish in Louisiana

Hot Spot: The Land Cut

The “land cut” waterway, which connects the Upper and Lower Laguna Madre, can best be described as remote. The cut is roughly 25 miles long and located in the middle of nowhere, but it has some of the best fishing along the lower Texas coast. 

Laguna Madre is really two bays divided by miles of mud and sand flats. The northern bay, about 40 miles long, is known as the Upper Laguna Madre, and the area south is the Lower Laguna Madre. Upon completion of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in 1949, the upper and lower portions were permanently joined by what is known today as the land cut.

In addition to serving as a navigable channel for boat and barge traffic, the area is fantastic for redfish and speckled trout. The big advantage to fishing the cut is that you’re protected from the wind—it offers clear-water flats along the shoreline, and sight-casting to reds and plugging for trout are favorite tactics. 

To reach the south end of the cut, you have to launch your boat at Port Mansfield, followed by a 20-mile run. From the north end, put in at Bluff’s Landing Marina in Corpus Christi. From there, it’s about 33 miles to the cut.

SWS Planner: Texas Gulf Coast Redfish Action

• When: Summer and fall
• Who: The following guides specialize in Texas redfishing:
  • Middle Texas Coast: Capt. Charlie Paradoski, charlieparadoski.com, 713-725-2401
  • Lower Laguna Madre: Capt. Eric Glass, @captainericg, 956-434-1422
  • Galveston Bay: Capt. Jim West, 409-996-3054
  • Sabine Lake: Capt. Jerry Norris, 409-718-8782, sabinefishing.com

SWS Tackle Box

• Rod: Sarge Custom Rods, such as Ma Deuce, Smooth Dog and Boss
• Reel: Lew’s Speed Spool
• Line: 8- to 20-pound Fins Windtamer braided line
• Leader: 5-foot section of 17-pound-test Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon leader 
• Topwaters: Super Spook Jr., D.O.A. PT-7, MirrOlure C-Eye Skin Series twitchbait
• Soft Baits: D.O.A. C.A.L. Shad Tail, Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ, MirrOlure Soft Shad

The post Targeting Redfish in Texas appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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Boston Whaler describes models in its Dauntless series as multifunctional center-console bay boats, and the 280 represents the new apex of this three-boat family. The 280 includes a big bow casting platform, a 19-gallon livewell, and a large fish box with a pump-out. Increased storage capacity helps keep gear organized. An outrigger package is also available. The deluxe helm seating quickly converts into an aft-facing seat at the push of a button, and a gyrostabilizer minimizes roll. The new boat includes Simrad navigation electronics, a JL Audio system and digital switching. An optional swim patio deploys from the port side of the aft cockpit for convenient access to the water. Seating options include a lounge seat on front console, bow seating with pull-up backrests, and a flip-up bench seat for two in the stern deck. The 280 is available with single or twin Mercury outboards. For twins, boaters can choose between dual 250 or 300 outboards, both with joystick piloting options.

Boston Whaler – bostonwhaler.com

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Since I was a youngster, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the lowly crab. According to my parents, my first encounter with an angry crab resulted in a screaming kid and an airborne crustacean. Later, I learned to appreciate crabs as fishing bait, whether I’m targeting red drum, tautog, sheepshead or pompano. Even the mighty tarpon will fall to a perfectly presented crab.

Blue Crabs: Red and Black Drum

Each spring, giant red and black drum arrive at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Capt. Kenny Louderback of Fish Freaks Guide Service meets them with a cooler full of blue crabs. 

Louderback targets red and black drum by anchoring around the shallow shoals and rock islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. He fishes a female blue crab on a fish-finder rig consisting of a 9/0 circle hook, 3 feet of 50-pound monofilament leader, and a 4- to 10-ounce sinker on a fish-finder slide. “I start with half a crab, but if the sharks and stingrays are bad, I’ll switch to a whole crab.”

To prepare the bait, Louderback removes the crab’s claws, cuts off the horns, and runs the hook through the leg holes.

It’s possible to catch blue crabs with a wire trap or hand line, but Louderback purchases his from a local crabber. To ensure the freshest bait possible, he only buys specimens that smell sweet; old crabs take on a sour odor. Louderback stores them in a plastic bag covered with ice. “Keep the crabs cold, but don’t let them touch water.”

Green Crabs: Tautog

No crustacean is as revered and reviled as the green crab. Tautog anglers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic value the small green crab as a great bait that is easy to acquire and store. But scientists and conservationists warn that the green crab is an invasive species with a negative impact on its adopted environment.

Capt. Monty Hawkins, of Morning Star Fishing out of Ocean City, Maryland, is in the green crab’s fan club. He uses green crabs to target tautog on nearshore wrecks and reefs. 

Hawkins carries a variety of baits, including white, blue claw and green crabs. “If it says ‘crab’ on the label, tautog will eat it,” he says. 

To fool wary ’togs and keep the bait close to the structure, Hawkins rigs the crab on a two-hook slider rig with 5/0 octopus hooks. “I put both hooks in a whole green crab.” He inserts the hooks through the crab’s leg joints. When fish are finicky, Hawkins downsizes to a half-crab.

Green crabs are a favorite because they are easy to store in a plastic bucket. “Just don’t get them wet or let them overheat,” he says. 

As for concerns about using an invasive species for bait, Hawkins says, “Our native blue crabs keep the green crabs in check.” Research suggests that predation by native species is the best way to curb the spread of green crabs. “The green crab invasion has not moved south into Maryland,” Hawkins points out.

That is good because green crabs are a convenient and productive bait for winter ’togs. “A tog is a crab-eating machine, and green crabs are a favorite snack,” Hawkins says.

Fiddler Crabs: Sheepshead

“Fiddler crabs work really well for sheepshead,” says Capt. Craig Paige, of Paige II Charters in Virginia Beach. He anchors on the wrecks, reefs, rocks and bridge pilings in the lower Chesapeake and drops a fiddler crab into the structure. 

To dangle the bait deep in the rubble, Paige uses a Carolina rig with a 1- to 4-ounce egg sinker, 18 inches of 30-pound fluorocarbon leader and a 5/0 J hook. 

Another option is a ’tog jig, a 1- to 3-ounce jig head with a short-shank hook.

To prepare the bait, Paige removes the large claw and runs the hook through the center of the fiddler crab’s shell. “Removing the claw keeps the crab from spinning in the current,” he explains. 

To catch fiddler crabs, you can rummage around a local tidal marsh with a bucket and a quick hand. Or keep your boots clean by purchasing fiddler crabs at a local tackle shop. 

Paige stores fiddlers in a small cooler with moist paper. “I can keep them for days if they don’t get too hot,” he says.

Sand Fleas: Pompano

Ryan White, owner of Hatteras Jack Bait and Tackle in Rodanthe, North Carolina, says, “People are crazy about surf-fishing for pompano.” Pompano will eat other crustaceans, but White says sand fleas are their favorite.

“Soft-shell sand fleas are the most coveted,” White says. During the full moon, sand fleas molt their shells. White laughs and claims, “If you cast out a soft-shell sand flea, fish will materialize from nowhere.” After soft shells, White likes sand fleas carrying a bright-orange egg sack. 

To reach pompano feeding beyond the outer bar, White uses a 10- to 13-foot medium-heavy conventional rod with a 12- to 15-size reel and 20-pound braided line. 

To target pompano feeding in the shore break, White switches to an 8-foot medium-action spinning rod spooled with 20-pound braided line. 

White ties a multihook dropper rig out of 30-pound fluorocarbon, with a dropper loop for each hook and a surgeon’s loop for the 4- to 8-ounce sinker. “Small floats ahead of each hook attract pompano and keep the bait off the bottom.

“I use a No. 2 to 2/0 Owner Light Mutu circle hook,” he says. White doesn’t race to hook a pompano; the circle hook lets the fish hook itself. When the pompano takes the bait, the rod tip gives enough to drive the hook into the pompano’s small mouth. 

Another tip: White hooks the sand flea in through the shell and out the belly. “This keeps the pompano from stealing your bait,” he says.  With the long rod, White casts the bait to the outside of the outer sandbar or along the edge of a deep channel through the bar. “Anywhere I see water churned up by the waves or current, I expect to find pompano.” With the light spinning rod, he targets pompano in the shore break. “If you’re standing in knee-deep water, you’re out too far,” he says.

Best of all, sand fleas are easy to catch. “Look for little ripples as a wave recedes,” White suggests. These ripples are caused by the sand flea’s antenna sticking out of the sand. 

White digs up the sand fleas with a special basket rake. He picks out the biggest and best, and stores them in a cooler on a perforated bait tray. “Keep them cool and moist, and don’t let them sit in water,” he says. With proper care, sand fleas will live several days in a cooler.

Read Next: Top 10 Shrimp and Crab Flies

Pass Crabs: Tarpon

“When tarpon are zeroed in on crabs, there’s nothing else they will eat,” says Capt. Daniel Andrews, president of Captains for Conservation, a grassroots environmental advocacy group focused on water quality.

Before Andrews took the helm of Captains for Conversation, he was a pro guide out of Fort Myers, Florida. “It’s the crab capital of the world,” he jokes. 

Each spring during the full and new moons, crabs stream out of the bays on the outgoing current. Andrews describes the migration as “hundreds of thousands of crabs and tens of thousands of tarpon.”

To catch bait, Andrews hunts the passes. “I idle the boat into the current and use a dip net to scoop up crabs floating on clumps of grass.” Andrews releases crabs carrying eggs. 

“Clip their claws off to keep the crabs from killing each other,” Andrews suggests. He stores the crabs in a 5-gallon bucket of water with an aerator.

Andrews’ favorite tactic is casting a crab to feeding tarpon. He chooses an 8-foot rod with a soft tip and some backbone matched to an 8000-size spinning reel spooled with 50-pound braided line. “I start with 8 feet of 60-pound fluorocarbon, but if the tarpon are finicky, I’ll make the leader longer and drop to 40-pound-test with a short section of 60-pound fluoro ahead of the hook.” 

He attaches the crab to a 6/0 to 8/0 circle hook. “The trick is to insert the hook through the underside of the crab’s horn.” Then he uses the hook to drill a hole through the shell. 

“There’s nothing like it when tarpon feed on crabs,” he says. The best conditions occur within two hours of dark. “I get excited when I get to the pass and the sun starts going down, and I see thousands of tarpon blowing up on crabs.” 

One Bad Crab

Green crabs are one of the best baits for tautog and one of the 100 worst invasive species. According to Paul Fofonoff, researcher at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, green crabs are native to northern Europe, but they’ve spread to cool-water climates around the world. “Experiments in local crab eradication have had mostly mixed and short-term impacts,” Fofonoff says. Using green crabs for bait is permitted throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. They are already established in New England and can’t spread south of New Jersey. Fofonoff says, “The best prevention is public education about the potential harm of releasing nonnative animals and plants in our waters.”

Allergies and Bacteria

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, contact with shellfish is one of the most common causes of Vibrio vulnificus infection. Vibrio can cause infection and blood poisoning, resulting in tissue damage and death. The bacteria occurs naturally in seawater and can infect any open wound. To prevent infection, regularly wash and sanitize hands and open wounds. If a wound gets infected, feels warm to the touch, or loses feeling and is accompanied by nausea, fever or chills, seek immediate medical attention.

The post Tips for Using Crabs as Bait appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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Marine batteries aboard today’s saltwater fishing boats are more critical than ever before. They are relied upon to power an ever-growing number of onboard systems, including marine electronics, pumps, lights, electric trolling motors, air conditioning, electric reels, microwaves, gyrostabilizers, windlasses, thrusters and more. And then there’s the basic, albeit crucial, function of cranking over the main engines.

While marine batteries have morphed into a wide range of types, sizes and applications, most still rely on the same lead-acid chemistry invented more than 160 years ago. Today, however, a new battery technology based on lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) chemistry is poised to revolutionize electrical power delivery aboard saltwater fishing machines. 

Marine lithium batteries offer amazing advantages over conventional lead-acid batteries, but there are also major caveats for boating anglers to keep in mind. Lithium technology requires new thinking when it comes to cost, installation, applications and charging. Let’s look at how these fit into the world of saltwater fishing. 

Deep-Cycle Superiority

Almost all marine lithium batteries are designed to serve in deep-cycle applications, but not as starting batteries, says Matthew Campbell, director of marketing at Solv4Ex, parent company of Discover Battery, which offers a full spectrum of marine batteries, from lead-acid to Lithium Blue LiFePO4 batteries.

“Marine starting batteries are purpose-built to crank engines, for the most part using lead-acid technology, which is good for short bursts of high energy,” Campbell explains. But most lithium batteries are not designed to produce these kinds of high-energy electrical bursts. 

Lithium batteries might also damage marine engines if employed in starting applications. And engine alternators can’t produce the special charging profiles that lithium batteries require (more on this later), which means these new-age batteries must be completely isolated from the engine starting circuit. 

On the other hand, lithium battery technology proves well-suited for deep-cycle applications—that is, powering equipment with low to moderate direct current electrical needs over extended periods of time. Also known as house batteries, deep-cycle models are often dedicated to boat accessories such as marine electronics, livewell pumps, refrigeration systems and more.

Longer Run Time

Unlike deep-cycle lead-acid batteries that taper off in power delivery and go dead at 50 percent capacity, a lithium battery delivers full power for nearly its entire discharge cycle. If you’re running an electric trolling motor with lead-acid batteries, the power will gradually fade after a few hours, and the motor will lose its initial oomph. With lithium batteries, however, the motor will pull strong for its entire discharge cycle and offer a much longer running time.

Lighter Weight

The most obvious difference between lead-acid and LiFePO4 batteries is weight. For example, a 27-series lead-acid deep-cycle battery that offers 105 amp-hours weighs around 60 pounds, while a Discover Lithium Blue DLB-G24 12-volt deep-cycle battery that provides 100 amp-hours weighs just 25 pounds. That’s a 58 percent reduction in weight. This can make an even bigger difference if, for example, you’re assembling a bank of three 12-volt batteries for a 36-volt saltwater trolling motor—that’s 180 pounds for the three lead-acid batteries versus 75 pounds for the three lithiums. 

Weight savings can become even more remarkable because some companies offer single lithium batteries in 24, 36 and even 48 volts, as well as 12 volts. A case in point is the Dakota Lithium 36-volt, 100-amp-hour battery that weighs just 32 pounds, saving 148 pounds when it replaces three lead-acid 12-volt batteries.

Greater Longevity

Lithium batteries offer as much as 10 times more battery life than lead-acid systems, Campbell says. “A Lithium Blue battery provides 4,000 cycles versus 400 cycles for a comparable AGM (absorbed glass mat) lead-acid battery,” he says. On the other hand, lithium batteries are expensive. One example is the Dakota Lithium 12-volt, 100-amp-hour battery, which retails for about $900. Compare that to a Duracell Ultra 31-series 12-volt, 105-amp-hour lead-acid AGM battery that retails for about $315. However, with the greater longevity of lithium batteries, they usually pencil out to be better long-term buys.  

Unique Charging

Don’t try using a conventional charger on a lithium battery because LiFePO4 batteries require special charging profiles to bring them back to full capacity safely and without damaging the battery. Many lithium brands offer compatible chargers as accessories.

If you are unsure about what charger to buy, ask your battery retailer or manufacturer for guidance. In fact, given the relatively new technology, boaters should consider hiring a qualified installer when switching to lithium. 

Monitoring Methods

Because lithium batteries provide full power throughout the discharge curve and stop cold once they run out of juice, boating anglers need a reliable method for monitoring the state of charge. Lithium Blue models resolve this with a built-in Bluetooth monitor that connects to an app on your mobile device to keep you informed about available power. 

There are also aftermarket monitoring systems from brands such as Xantrex that connect to the battery and display the state of charge and other parameters. 

With lithium batteries of the past, there were concerns about flammability. However, those have largely dissipated with the advent of reliable LiFePO4 cobalt-free technology. Today’s lithium models are safe and provide benefits that boating anglers have longed for. They won’t do everything, but they far surpass the capabilities of conventional batteries in deep-cycle applications, if you’re willing to pony up. Welcome to the revolution. 

New Electronics

Two popular ResQLink personal locator beacons from ACR Electronics now include Return Link Service, which provides a confirmation message that the international satellite system, Cospas-Sarsat, has received the distress message and GPS location. The ResQLink View RLS confirms via its digital display screen, while the ResQLink 410 RLS has a confirmation light. $449.95 and $429.95, respectively; acrartex.com

Garmin’s new EchoMap UHD2 chart plotters have new hardware and features, such as 500-watt scanning sonar, cartography content, a sunlight-readable display, and physical buttons for easy operation. The 5- and 7-inch plotters offer built-in Wi-Fi for sharing sonar and data between two EchoMap UHD2 units. When bundled with the GT20-TM transducer, the UHD2 includes sonar. $399.99 to $649.99; garmin.com

The 60-amp inline circuit breaker from Pro Controll serves as an affordable and easy-to-install means of protecting electric trolling-motor systems from short circuits and overloads. It works with 12-, 24- and 36-volt systems, with a manual reset so that you don’t have to replace fuses. Engineered for marine applications, the waterproof breaker quickly installs in the positive electrical cable. $11.95; procontroll.com

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The action certainly wasn’t fast, but Andy Newman, Michael Ferrari and I had trolled up two schoolie mahi, plenty of meat for dinner. The scattered weeds, flying-fish showers, solid current and strong plankton front near Islamorada’s 409 Hump convinced me to stay despite the urge to start running-and-gunning.

Watching boats troll for a bit and leave, and others never slowing at all on their race toward the horizon, I still believed this area looked promising. As foresight would have it, we capped off our half-day of fishing with a mahi doubleheader, one of which was a trophy-class bull dolphin. Trolling paid off.

The No-Patience Generation 

High-horsepower twin-, triple- and quad-powered center-consoles have created a lot of impatient anglers. If an area doesn’t produce in quick order, many crews will throttle down to look for the next one. But there’s no guarantee the next spot will be any better. Setting a full trolling spread and thoroughly working what might be a productive section of ocean is almost a lost art. Offshore fishing has become a game of instant gratification for some.

Impatient fishing is arguably most prominent off southern Florida, the Florida Keys, and even the Bahamas, where deep water exists relatively close to shore. It’s a bit different for offshore anglers in the Gulf of Mexico and canyon runners in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, where long hauls are the norm—trolling here is still a mainstay practice. However, the mentality is spreading to these waters as well because fast boats can quickly traverse between canyons, bottom structures, surface-temperature breaks and eddies.

Running-and-gunning and even spot trolling (deploying a pair of flat lines for a limited time) are highly effective around working birds, debris and large weed patches. But if the fast-paced effort comes up empty at day’s end, your wallet and ego will both be crushed.

Slower Boats Catch Too

Capt. Glen Miller (gonfishinv.com) has been running the Islamorada, Florida Keys charter boat Gon Fishin V, a 10- to 12-knot vessel, since 1996. A top producer for his customers, I asked him how he competes against all the high-speed, outboard-powered boats. 

“A lot of them simply overrun the fish,” Miller quipped. “Based on the current coming close in, a lot of our mahi catches are inside of 12 miles. Sometimes there are no birds to give them up. Guys running offshore miss the inside stuff. ”

Miller wants his lines in the water quickly after clearing the reef. “Our mate typically puts a tuna feather on an outrigger rod and one on a flat line,” says Miller. “Bonito catches are common between 50 and 200 feet, and beyond that it’s skipjacks and blackfins. Those bonito are important to us later on for mahi as chunks for school fish and even strip baits for trolling. We’ll also troll blue-white and red-black Ilander ballyhoo combos behind cigar sinkers ranging from 16 ounces to 3 pounds. We pick up a lot of our wahoo this way. Some may think we’re trolling too fast while underway at 10 to 12 knots, but plenty of fish are caught by boats trolling 15 to 18 knots. We catch different fish this way, including the occasional billfish.”

Miller’s baits go out immediately, sometimes in 50 feet of water, when the cero mackerel show up. “We’ll drag feathers across the patches and often catch a half-dozen ceros before hitting the reefs,” Miller says. “That’s the beauty of trolling, there’s no telling what you’ll catch on the way offshore.”

Think Ahead 

There are components involved in successful offshore trolling. Birds, weeds and debris aside, uncovering current edges, major surface-temperature breaks, tight bottom contours, prominent ocean-floor rises or crevices, and compact areas of craggy bottom bolster the odds of scoring. When washed by a current such bottom compositions spawn nutrient-rich upwellings, which attract bait and gamefish.

When focusing on ocean-floor rises and crevices, broaden the coverage area to include far up- and down-current of these finds. With high-profile bottom peaks, the heaviest upwellings occur on their up-current sides. But fishing their down-current sides, where upwellings sift and settle back down, also produces.  

Subscription services such as ROFFS and Fish Mapping by SiriusXM Marine highlight major ocean-circulation features that can lead to fish, whereas ultra high-definition bathymetric imagery charts, such as Simrad’s C-Map Reveal, show bottom compositions in explicit detail. Studying in advance provides a much clearer picture of where to apply trolling efforts.

Read Next: Pro Trolling Techniques

Experiment with Baits and Speeds

Successful trolling also takes bait sizes and trolling speed adjustments in response to selective feeding behaviors. On numerous occasions, a spread of small ballyhoo skirted with small blue squid skirts capitalized on mahi keying in on small flying fish. Ditto with upscaling bait and lure size, opting for green hues when there’s an abundance of mahi.   

As for trolling speeds, off Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas this past May, Craig Hardy and I trolled a mix of medium and horse ballyhoo, each capped with a chugger head. Our average trolling speed centered around 10 knots. We ultimately dropped back to around 6 knots and saw an increase in strikes from white and blue marlin, as well as large mahi. The bottom line on trolling speeds: Quicker is not necessarily better, though we tend to gravitate that way when making an adjustment. 

High Flyers of the Open Ocean

Consider this a shoutout to the worldwide baitfish that glides as well as birds along the ocean’s surface. The flying fish doesn’t actually fly, but it does utilize a burst of speed to rocket from the water and cruise above the waves with help from its oversize pectoral fins. The motion of flying fish escaping toward the skies looks similar to trolling spreads—and appears tantalizing to apex predators below. 

Flying fish (family Exocoetidae) are found in the majority of tropical, subtropical, and even temperate waters. If you check FishBase online, its database tallies nearly 70 species—eight of those in the Gulf of Mexico alone. It doesn’t matter if you’re fishing off California, Barbados, Cape Verde, Spain, Japan or Australia; if there’s warm water nearby, flying fish aren’t far behind. 

The Atlantic flying fish inhabits tropical Atlantic and Caribbean waters, featuring a black band prominent through its wings. The California flying fish is usually mentioned as the largest species, growing more than a foot long and targeted by commercial fishermen. Some flying fish might have a blunter nose, different coloring, odd-shaped tails or shorter pectoral fins, but all types have overwhelming similarities. 

Species with large pelvic fins are recognized as four-winged flying fish. If you ever get your hands on a flying fish, see if you can identify if it’s two-winged or four-winged. Four-winged flyers absolutely soar. 

The post How to Improve Your Trolling and Catch More Fish appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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Next spring’s fishing plans can quickly turn to frustration if you leave your boat poorly winterized. Months of disuse during freezing winters can corrode or crack fittings and hoses and render outboards and pumps fouled and broken. 

Even if you live in a warm region, the season’s relentless cold fronts and stiffer winds can keep you and your boat off the water for months. Conversely, some boaters leave their vessels parked all summer in Florida while they retreat up north for cooler temperatures.

“We use the phrase ‘extended storage’ when we talk about protecting an outboard,” says David Meeler, Yamaha’s product information manager. “So whether you’re putting the boat up for winter or going north for the summer, much of the process is still the same.”

The center-console, outboard-powered boats that a great majority of saltwater anglers use require specific but not onerous storage prep. Much can be done by the boat owner, although dealers are well-equipped to assist, particularly on the Northeast coast where prolonged and harsh cold weather demands additional care to vessels.

“We have some guys dropping their boats off here in mid-September, and they stay until April or May,” says Don Ditzel, vice president of Comstock Yacht Sales & Marina in Brick Township, New Jersey. When Comstock techs haul out a boat, they prep it for winter by running nontoxic antifreeze through all the water systems, including sinks, toilets, ice makers, washdown pumps—whether fresh or salt water. “Water freezes, it expands and cracks fittings,” Ditzel says. “We’re just replacing the water with antifreeze.”

For instance, with a sink, the process involves connecting the antifreeze container to the existing freshwater pump, and then turning on the faucet and letting the fluid course through the pipes until it exits the faucet. On a boat, air-conditioning units are water-cooled, so the same process applies, he says. 

 Often, techs also will pull the drain hose off the fish boxes so that if any water collects, it can exit.

With electronics, Ditzel says Comstock used to remove the multifunction displays. But with flush-mounted systems, that’s inconvenient. So, be sure to check the temperature rating for your MFDs.

The majority of boaters shrink-wrap their vessels for storage or use a boat cover. If shrink-wrapping a vessel with a radar array or dome, be careful not to wrap it too tightly.  

Turn off the circuit breakers to your electronics. If you store your boat on land, you also can disconnect your batteries by removing the leads, and then attach the batteries to a trickle charger to keep them topped off during your break. If you leave your boat in the water, you must have power for your bilge pumps.

Anglers with onboard security systems must also keep them powered if they’re concerned about theft. But you can also use these systems to monitor your vessel remotely to check voltages and set alerts in case something goes wrong.

Meeler says stabilizing the fuel aboard your vessel ranks as a top consideration for storage, particularly if you use ethanol blends. Select a butanol-based stabilizer rather than one that is alcohol-based. A general rule of thumb is to leave your fuel tank 7/8 full and stabilized. Be sure to run some of that stabilized fuel through your engine so it enters the fuel-injection system.

If you store your boat and fuel-injected engine on a lift over salt water, Meeler suggests running fogging oil—a heavy oil-to-fuel mixture—through the outboard by connecting a small tank of that mixture to the main fuel inlet.

Whenever possible, store the engine fully down and trimmed in so any water runs out the lower unit. If you can’t do that, put a contractor-type trash bag over the lower unit and secure it with a bungee.

Meeler says boaters don’t have to flush outboards with antifreeze—that’s more of an inboard or inboard/outboard need—but some dealers do it as an extra precaution. Change out inline fuel filters and the water-separation filter, and change the engine and lower-unit oil. And don’t reuse the crush washers that fit on the ends of the screws for the engine oil and gear lube drain/fill ports.

“Spend a little time on the trailer too so that there are no pressure points beneath the boat,” Meeler says. “It’s commonsense stuff. Take a little extra time, and you’ll have a calmer mind while you’re away from your boat.”

Ethanol Checklist

1. Long-term boat storage calls for steps to prevent damage-inducing phase separation in the fuel tank when using ethanol-laced gasoline.
2. When ethanol in the gas absorbs too much moisture (from tank condensation, for example), it separates into a corrosive, noncombustible layer at the tank’s bottom, as illustrated here.
3. To prevent phase separation during storage, fill the tank to 7/8 full (to minimize condensation) using non-ethanol fuel where available.
4. With or without ethanol-laced gas, treat the fuel with a butanol-based stabilizer for long-term storage.

The post Boat Winterization Tips appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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The Blackfin brand has been luring anglers for 50 years thanks to its spacious, well-equipped cockpits, ample livewells, strong performance, seakeeping abilities and comfort. Wait, Comfort? Fishing boats are supposed to be all business, no frills, right?

Wrong. The industry has looked at anglers and their motivations to buy and found fishing is like the circus barker at the door of the tent. Sure thing, fishing is the draw, but the deal closer is family fun, and that’s where comfort comes into play. The Blackfin 302 DC meets all of these requirements, and then some. 

Anglers want livewells that can keep bait healthy, even in heavy seas. The 302 DC’s 30-gallon pressurized livewell is fed by a 1,500 gph pump that can replace the water 50 times in an hour. When the acrylic hatch is open, the excess water spills over the transom via a clever gutter design. 

Four shotgun rod holders and four cup holders/rod holders ensure plenty of places for your sticks. Six more rocket launchers are in the hardtop. For rigging bait, use the underside of the livewell lid or move to the galley and flip over the solid surface top and use the built-in cutting board feature on the other side.

For bottomfishing, the forward seating can be removed to create a large casting deck complete with two combo rod holders. A portside boarding door and a transom door add both boarding and fish-landing options to the 302—a feature we don’t find on many comparable boats.

You’ve got to have plenty of power to manage rough seas with confidence. And you need a hull that can cleave waves and ride up over them without bone-jarring reentry. That’s where this boat’s signature tall stem and wide flare come in. Blackfin’s performance also comes from blending hull design and construction techniques. The running surface is a patented Michael Peters double-stepped hull with a shallow notch in the hull halfway up to the chines from the keel and beginning just behind the second step. This notch gives the hull superb control in turns. The sheer runs high to handle the rough seas serious anglers might encounter, keeping the crew safe and comfortable for the ride home. The 302 DC’s construction includes a hybrid blend of E-glass with carbon fiber to increase strength. The hull layup begins only after the factory closes and the last speck of dust is filtered from the air. Gelcoat is sprayed in, and the next morning, technicians add a skin coat to eliminate print-through and produce a mirrorlike finish.

Twin 300 hp Mercury V-8 outboards notched nearly 55 mph on the GPS and registered 1.45 mpg at 38 mph. In fact, the vessel is nearly as economical at 44 as it is at 30 mph—a feature you’ll appreciate when conserving fuel and time on a long trip. Even at 5,000 rpm and 44 mph, it’s making 1.43 mpg. In port, our tester docked sweetly with a combination of joystick steering and a bow thruster—features we appreciated in the narrow confines of Florida’s Sarasota Hyatt Marina. 

What is bolted onto the hull is as important in a boat’s fit-and-finish as the hull and deck. Blackfin uses highly polished stainless-steel hinges. The same goes for durable, sleek but massive pull-up cleats for secure docking. A pair at the bow, a pair at the transom, two at the rear of the cockpit and a pair on the gunwales near the cockpit give ample options for tying off. The hatches are compression-molded with a gleaming inner surface and a crisp diamond nonskid surface on the deck.

 Ultrafabric with a thick, supple color layer over a durable fabric weave covers the seats. It stretches over multidensity foam, with crisp seams stitched in, accent ribbing and diamond-tufted surfaces. At the helm, a wide double seat offers space for two, and a comparable seat accommodates guests to port. 

At the transom, a pullout lounge converts an open deck with a wraparound bolster into a conversation area facing the lounge to starboard and a cockpit galley to port. Each seating position has a good balance between firm and soft to provide a comfortable ride, stand up to hard use, and look good for years.

The cockpit galley features a sink, an optional stowaway electric grill, an electric fridge, and one of two Yeti 45 coolers on deck that retract from the galley and starboard lounge. Dedicate both to refreshments or one for frozen bait.

In this complicated world, anglers are thinking, “If not now, when?” Blackfin has eased that decision process by providing all the fishing features they want wrapped in luxury. The buy is also simplified with an exhaustive list of standard features, including a windlass, bow thruster, hardtop and side boarding door. You just have to decide on the optional joystick. 

Test Conditions

• Weather: Sunny and warm
• Location: Sarasota, Florida
• Wind: 8 to 12 mph steady
• Sea State: Light chop
• Test Load: Two adults, 130 gallons of fuel

Specifications

Blackfin – blackfinboats.com

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