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Hans Brings is considering a trip to Florida to fish for tarpon. “I think my family and I may go to Key West around my birthday,” the Massachusetts college student said.

If he does make the trip and connect with a silver king, it won’t be his first. Brings shocked the Atlantic coast fishing community in August when he landed a 5-foot tarpon on a Cape Cod beach, hundreds of miles from where anyone would think to fish for them.

Generally, if you’re fishing the New England shore, you’re looking for such species as striped bass, bluefish, fluke, or false albacore. Brings has pursued all of those since his father began teaching him how to fish from a beach at age 4.

Shore Bound Shark Fishing with a Surprise

Brings and friends were after sharks the night of August 12 in Mashpee, Massachusetts. “The primary species is the brown, or sandbar shark as it’s known down south,” and fishing for them is growing in popularity, he said. The brown sharks can be as big as 7 feet long, and both their teeth and skin can easily abrade standard lines, so stout tackle and tough leaders are required.

Brings used and 11-foot Tsunami Trophy II rod with a Fin-Nor Offshore 7500 spinning reel spooled with 65-pound braid. The rig was 5.5 feet of 300-pound mono, a fish-finder swivel, a 5-ounce Sputnik-style sinker, one foot of 175-pound wire, and a 12/0 Eagle Claw circle hook tipped with a bluefish chunk.

The first fish Brings landed that night was a sand tiger shark, a less-common fish for the spot. “It was an awesome catch, and that was the reason I stayed longer than I usually do,” he said. “The bite was starting to heat up, shark-wise. But I guess there was something else out there, too.” Most of his friends had packed it in, but Brings still had bait left, and was curious about what else he might catch.

In the early hours of Sunday, Brings experienced two strong runs from fish that eventually dropped the bait. At the time, he assumed they were sharks, but in retrospect, he’s not so sure. “Tarpon aren’t normally lone rangers,” he noted.

There was no guesswork needed for the fish that bit at 3 a.m. “The first few runs were pretty intense,” he recalled. He estimates he had 40 pounds of drag on the reel, but the spool kept spinning. Brings was thinking he had a big brown shark or even a ray. “Halfway through, the fish would almost hold its place and it was very hard for me to turn it. I had to sit in the sand and kind of wrench it back. When it did turn, it stated sharking its head, and stingrays don’t do that.”

With friend Mike Xidea taking photos, Brings eventually pulled the fish into the wash, still thinking he was fighting a shark. The truth became clear when he finally got a good look. “I saw the jaw, I saw the massive scales, and I identified it immediately as a tarpon,” he said. “This really was an odd and mysterious catch.”

Unusual but Occasional Visitors

Tarpon certainly aren’t unheard of in the Northeast. Brings was aware of one documented catch years back and rumors of others. They have been caught as far north as Nova Scotia. New Jersey even has a tarpon category in its state records, currently held by Jim Klaczkiewicz, who caught a 53-pounder off Sea Bright in 1982.

“Not this year, but tarpon have been in fish traps out here many times in previous summers,” said Capt. Joe Blados from the North Fork of Long Island, New York. (Blados is the inventor of the Crease Fly, which has become a favorite of tarpon fly-rodders but was originally devised for northeastern species.)

Hard to Handle

Brings has taken some flack in online comments about bringing the tarpon onto the sand. In their normal range, tarpon are protected by rules about their handling. Florida, for example, requires that they be photographed and unhooked while still in the water. Of course, that’s easier done by a captain leaning over a gunnel in broad daylight than by a surprised surf fisherman in the dead of night. Brings said he scrambled to get the fish unhooked quickly, and it swam away strong.

Brings is going into his second year studying animal science at the University of Rhode Island. He considered a marine biology major, but he’s fascinated by land-based creatures too. And while that tarpon trip to the Keys will probably involve fishing from a boat, he has a soft spot for fishing from the beach.

“The surf fishing has always had a place in my heart,” he said.

The post Tarpon Caught on Cape Cod appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

How do you improve on the most popular bay boat model ever? You make it run even better in open water, add interior space, enhance the seating comfort, and build on an unmatched family-friendly, fishing legacy. See the versatility of the new Pathfinder 2200 TRS in action.

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The V-55 from Valhalla literally stretches the definition of an outboard-­powered center-console fishing boat, merging the genre with what genuinely qualifies as a yacht. That’s not surprising given that Valhalla’s sister brand is Viking Yachts. Quad V-12 600 hp Mercury outboards provide the get-up- and-go for the Michael Peters-patented Stepped-V Ventilated Tunnel running surface. And oh, does it go, achieving a top speed of 62.8 mph, even while rigged with a tuna tower, a second control station and a molded fiberglass hardtop. An electrically operated fuel-­management system enables each engine to draw from a designated fuel tank. The V-55 is also available with five 600-hp Mercury Verados for a top speed of 70-plus mph.

A large standard equipment list complements an exhaustive option sheet to build this 55-foot-7-inch fishing machine with total customization. Stepping aboard through the port or starboard dive doors, the 15 1/2-foot beam creates an immense ­cockpit ideal for offshore fishing. Dual ­65-gallon pressurized livewells with glass fronts are built into the transom and flanked with fold-down seats. Overboard discharge drains in the transom corners accommodate additional on-deck livewells. Twin insulated 110-gallon fishwells with refrigeration were set up in the cockpit on my test boat, with an Eskimo ice-dump receptacle to starboard. Gunwale rod holders line the coaming, and 12-volt electric reel outlets are a popular option. 

For service, a large lazarette hatch provides access to a seven-­position manifold and twin Hooker sea chests, one for the ­air-conditioning system and one for the livewells. A second Hooker ­livewell pump in place serves as an ­instant standby. Raw-water intake and circulating lines are protected with an ElectroSea ClearLine system. The gelcoated lazarette is easy to maintain and delivers safe and swift ­access to ­fuel filters, water separators, two Rule 2000 bilge pumps with Ultimate float switches, and a Reverso auto outboard flush system. Wiring and plumbing are neat, secure and well-labeled. 

Forward of the lazarette hatch is a second watertight hatch and home for the Seakeeper 9 ­gyrostabilizer. This hatch also supports a Release Marine eight-rod rocket launcher. Aft-facing mezzanine seating features molded armrests, ­tackle stowage, eight more rod ­holders and seven drink holders. Beneath the mezzanine cushions are more compartments that can be ordered as chill boxes. Forward of the mezzanine in the second-row seat module are stowage compartments. Aboard the test boat, these included an electric grill, a sink and a flat-screen TV. Below the mezzanine, reached from the second row, is still more stowage, and a place to carry a helium tank or two for kite-fishing. 

Amidships are side lockers for stowing four outfits per side and the dive-door ladder. Anglers will enjoy the 24-inch-wide walkways, 41 inches of freeboard, a recessed bow rail and a ­186-gallon fish box. Built into the center lounge is a 40-gallon livewell. Both the port and starboard forward lounges, each with stowage below, end before reaching the bow, so there are no cushions to step on. The 10-inch-tall teak step provides good footing while still retaining 30 inches of freeboard. 

To make sure everyone is comfortable, the first row of seating at the air-conditioned helm features four 19-inch Release Marine teak helm chairs with armrests, electric slides and flip-up bolsters. But the comfort does not stop there; you can ­order a second row of seating in ­either a four- or five-chair arrangement. With the latter, you can seat a party of nine. A second version of the V-55 trades the second-row seating for a U-shaped lounge with a power-­actuated teak table that converts to a two-person berth.

A ProCurve glass windshield with a custom one-piece wraparound fiberglass frame provides undistorted visibility. The raised black dash accommodates three 22-inch Garmin 8622 multifunction displays. A Mercury MFD monitors the engines directly in front of the wheel. Single-lever Mercury controls are to starboard, along with the Mercury joystick and a SidePower electric bow-thruster joystick. Two banks of Bocatech 12-volt switches operate accessories. 

Read Next: Valhalla V-46

A sliding door that disappears into a pocket starboard of the helm leads below to reveal posh overnight accommodations that include a private stateroom with a walk-around queen bed, a 24-inch flat-screen TV, a Bomar overhead hatch, side windows, an enclosed head, and a separate fiberglass shower stall. A full-featured galley, a dinette that converts to a single bunk, a 32-inch flat-screen TV, and a pair of bunks aft make excellent use of the space. 

The aft machinery room contains a Fischer Panda 15 kW generator, a Kuuma water heater, batteries and a pair of ProNautic charging systems, a Parker Pro Mini ­watermaker, and a Spot Zero water purifier. 

From design to construction to performance to accommodations and fishability, Viking broke new ground with its Valhalla V-55. Coupled with outfitting from Palm Beach Towers and Atlantic Marine Electronics, the V-55 sets a new standard for supersize center-console fishing ­machines. 

Specifications

Valhalla Boatworks – Egg Harbor City, New Jersey; valhallaboatworks.com

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Statistical analysis seems straight forward. Ask some questions and measure the results. But that’s not quite how it works. There are a lot of things that can skew the results and make what seemed like a straight forward outcome incorrect in terms of the desired information.

This problem is playing out for recreational fishing as this is being written. Going back a number of years, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was tasked with analyzing the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical Survey (MRFSS) to see if the results produced could be used for managing recreational fisheries. The results of that study indicated that NOAA Fisheries had to go back to the drawing board and come up with a much better way to collect recreational fishing data, if it was going to be used in the fisheries management process. Unfortunately, some simply tried to use this as an excuse to blame NOAA Fisheries for any restrictive fishing regulations. The truth was that MRFSS was never designed for fisheries management, but due to a lack of other data it had become a sort of proxy for just that. The NAS emphatically said “No!”

NOAA Fisheries was tasked with developing a new program to get the needed recreational catch data, because recreational fishing had become a substantial impact on a number of important fisheries. Tearing apart MRFSS and rebuilding it into a useful tool took a lot longer than initially anticipated. From the layman’s standpoint, the main problem is that there are a lot of us who like to go out fishing. We do it from private boats, from charter and party boats, and from shore. There is no centralized point where the needed information can be collected, unlike the commercial industry where catch gets unloaded at dealers who have stringent reporting requirements. Yes, that system has faults and uncounted catch, but in general that data is pretty darn good.

The Marine Recreational Information Program

The outcome of the new NOAA Fisheries effort was the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). As MRIP was being built, most of the coastal states had implemented some form of saltwater fishing license. This was and is an important piece of this new process.

There are basically two major pieces to the puzzle, which admittedly is an over simplification. It is necessary to understand which fish are caught and how many of each species are caught and/or kept.

Under the old MRFSS system effort, or how many trips anglers took, was measured through a random telephone survey to coastal zip codes. That is, a survey company was employed to ring random households along the coast and inquire as to their saltwater fishing activity. Their answers were recorded, and NOAA could extrapolate the number of anglers using statistical analysis. This was extremely inefficient. With the list of license holders, that random survey could be a lot more focused with a mailed fishing effort survey (FES).

The second part is determining what species are caught and kept. This is done via port samplers who do in-personal interviews at piers, marinas, and the like to determine catch composition. Then the two parts are brought together to calculate the total catch. Is this system perfect, NO! But it does give a very good indication of what the recreational catch is and is far better than MRFSS.

An Overestimation of Angler Effort

So, what’s happening? To me the good news is that there is still an ongoing effort to fine tune the results of the MRIPs data, and it has discovered some flaws. How the questions in the mailed FES survey are asked seem to have caused some folks to “telescope” some responses. That is, when the anglers were asked how many trips that they took in a specified timeframe, they tended to include trips from the time mentioned in the inquiry as well as a period extending past the intended start and end dates. So the responses are biased, showing more angler effort than is actually occurring. While some of this can be explained by over enthusiasm, some is also inadvertent. The statistical experts are working own how the questions are asked to minimize this reporting bias. That’s a plus.

Continued investigation has determined that fishing effort has been over estimated by 35 to 40 percent. So what? Well the problem comes when the effort and the catch composition is put together. The increased effort over estimates the amount of fish being removed. Well, that should be a plus because one might think more fish are left out there.

The trouble comes from how that catch information is used in the stock assessment. Essentially, the stock numbers are “backed into.” The “catchability” of the fish, or how many are caught per unit of angler effort, is assumed to be constant. So if more fish are caught, that should mean more fish out there. When the assumed number of fish caught/kept has been over inflated, it incorrectly over estimates the whole population. So once the numbers are corrected and put into the assessment, there will likely be fewer fish estimated in the stock. That could mean that some restrictive measures will need to be put in place, however each stock will need to be looked at individually.

Hopeful for the Future

I continue to believe that this ongoing analysis is a plus. It recognizes that recreational fishing is an important part of the management system and an economic benefit to the country. Its impact on resources needs to be properly managed and that is what will keep this important community and industry viable into the future. We’ll be watching the outcome.

The post You Don’t Fish As Often As You Think appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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You’ve brought a nice fish to hand, and you want a photo to preserve the memory and brag on social media. How much time do you have to admire the fish before letting it go?

If you said, “10 seconds,” your information is correct. And the source of that information may well be Andy Danylchuk, Ph.D., one of the most prominent advocates for fish and their habitats in recent years. A self-described hardcore angler, Danylchuk is the science advisor to Keep Fish Wet, an organization dedicated to proper catch and release.

Danylchuk’s a busy scientist who, among other things, helped figured out where bonefish spawn while working with the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust in the 2000s. He’s also studied Atlantic tarpon, giant trevally in the Seychelles, golden dorado in South America, steelhead in the Pacific northwest, and sea-run brook trout in New England. He taught himself to fly fish and caught his first fish on a fly rod, a bonefish, on a fly he tied himself. He has had the good sense to live in the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas, but today lives in Massachusetts, where he is a professor of fish conservation at UMass Amherst.

Danylchuk is on a “personal crusade” to get anglers to release their fish carefully and promptly to assure their survival after being returned to the water. He is also concerned with protecting aquatic ecosystems, having grown up near the Great Lakes at a time when each angler got “the equivalent of a small phone book” full of warnings about which pollutants were found in which fish.

“I loved fish and fishing so much, and I saw so many other people also loving to fish. They express how it has changed, and it keeps them out of trouble, like it did for me,” he said. “But I also saw the impacts of human activity on fish and aquatic environments.”

A Lifelong Angler

Born in Toronto, Canada, Danylchuk traces his fascination with the underwater world to a family trip to Andros, Bahamas, in 1973. “I remember walking along on the beach, and my dad putting a mask on my face and shoving me in the water, and what I saw was incredible,” he said. The experience “instilled in me an awe of nature and the aquatic environment.”

The first actual tug from a fish came a few years later, on a relative’s trout pond north of home, using a hand-me-down rod with the reel held on by rubber bands. “I was pretty naïve about how strong and powerful trout can be. I hooked a trout, and it just ripped the reel off the rod. That really started me on the path.” He hand-lined the fish. In his teens, he and his best friend, then and now, had chances to fish for bass and pike in lakes north of Toronto, and snook, redfish, and sea trout in Captiva Island, Florida.

Despite “good grades in bio and art and terrible grades in everything else,” Danylchuk was admitted to Trent University, where he turned in an honors thesis about marine fishes in Jamaica. Grad school took him back to Trent University for his masters and then to the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where he earned a doctorate and studied the impact of forestry on fish populations.

While in northern Alberta, where it was “cold and dark and nasty, remembering wonderful days when I was 5 with my head in the water in the Bahamas,” he learned of a position at The School for Field Studies in South Caicos, where he took up fly fishing after watching a friend catch a 7-pound bonefish in calf-deep water.

“I took my angler hat off and put my scientist hat on, and wondered, ‘How much do we really know about bonefish?’” he said. Only a few years later, he helped launch the Cape Eleuthera Institute in the Bahamas, and set to work studying bonefish reproduction and how they respond to being caught and released. Patagonia and Bonefish & Tarpon Trust contributed funding.

Danylchuk’s “geographical range expanded” in 2009 when he joined the faculty at UMass Amherst. “Everything I learned along the way in terms of science and education and outreach, I could apply now to many other places around the world,” he said.

The professor makes a point of translating what he and his students and collaborators learn into information anglers can use. Keep Fish Wet is the obvious example. Barbless hooks, rubber nets, awareness of water temperatures and spawning status, limiting lip grippers and boosting hook removers, and judicious picture-taking–all can make it more likely your fish survives and thrives. And with something like 47 billion fish caught worldwide (an old estimate) and more than half of them released, best practices can have a huge impact.

“What I see when I go fishing for striped bass is a large number of fish being caught and released, and a lot of those striped bass spending a lot of time on the bottom of the boat, being held up in the air for long periods of time, and being dragged across the gunnels. And if we really care about the future of striped bass, that’s got to change,” he said. “Each angler has the chance to practice conservation with each fish they release.”

(Striped bass is an especially good example. A post-covid surge in fishing, combined with the arrival of the huge 2015 class of stripers and ample bait, to create an astonishing catch rate in 2022. An emergency 28- to 31-inch slot limit was imposed in response, which means an awful lot of stripers are being released.)

A Skilled Communicator

Aaron Adams, executive director of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, called working with Danylchuk “enjoyable and rewarding,” and credited him with influencing anglers to handle their fish with care.

“Andy is one of the rare colleagues who is not only a good scientist, but is good at communicating science in layman’s terms, which is an essential part of conservation science,” Adams said.

But while he has dedicated a big chunk of his career to promoting best C&R practices, Danylchuk doesn’t want to scold.

“Anglers don’t like to be told what to do,” he said. “They like to be shown, or they like to learn. As an angler I can understand that too: I don’t want be told what to do, I want to experience it myself. It’s a personal evolution as an angler to learn about these best practices.” If things go poorly with one fish, “What am I going to do differently for the next fish? Instead of taking a hard line, how about we work as partners and we’ll demonstrate the best ways fish can be handled and released?”

The post The Catch and Release Professor: Andy Danylchuk appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

The Cape Cod Canal is one of the most popular, infamous land-based striped bass fishing spots in the Northeast. In total, the stretch runs seven miles of rocky shoreline, ripping currents, and a world of possibilities. The manmade waterway connects Cape Cod Bay to Buzzards Bay.

It’s popularity is obvious for a host of reasons. Most importantly, it’s accessible to non-boaters. The Atlantic striped bass use the canal as a shortcut during their annual migration. As opposed to going around the outside of Cape Cod — a much longer route — stripers save time and energy utilizing the strong currents to move north and south. With depths of up to 50 feet, not fishing from a boat, and tons of spots to choose from, the legendary canal can be an intimidating landscape. We want to help you tackle it. Here are five things you must have to fish the Cape Cod Canal.

Studded Boots for Fishing the Rocks

Let’s start with something that may not seem like an obvious piece of fishing gear, but is paramount when fishing the Cape Cod Canal — a nice set of studded boots. Many people visiting the canal, or the Northeast in general, don’t realize how large the tidal swings are on a daily basis. We are talking about differences from 6 to 12 feet depending on moon phases, time of year, and plenty of other variables. With such large tidal swings, this means that much of the rocky terrain that anglers use to cast and fish from is exposed to water on a daily basis. This exposure makes the terrain in the canal extremely slippery and surprisingly dangerous. Much of the shoreline is littered with rocks that can be as slick as an icicle.

Studded boots, from makers such as Korkers, give you the traction you need to land those big fish and, most importantly, stay safe. The drop-offs in the canal are huge and the current rips are no joke — it’s not a place you want to take a chance. The jetties are tall and looming, so safety is paramount.

Fish Grippers to Handle Striped Bass

Fish grippers are another tool that may slip many anglers’ minds, especially people who are used to fishing from beaches or boats. With the terrain you’ll be fishing from, to be able to safely land a fish, you want a pair of reliable fish grippers. Although it may not seem important, when you go to land that trophy striped bass, you have to climb down to get it. You’re going to be super happy to have those grippers. The grippers will also help you avoid taking a treble to the hand. Many of the baits people commonly use to fish the canal have large trebles. The grippers are vital to avoiding one of those hooks ending up in your hand.

Here are three lures I always have when targeting striped bass and bluefish in the Cape Cod Canal.

A 9-Inch Topwater Spook Lure

When it comest to lures, I want options to cover all parts of the water column. We want to fish the top,
middle and bottom to be successful. To cover the top, you’re going to need to tie on a 9-inch topwater spook. The color is not as important as the length. The striped bass and blues that come into the canal are feeding on three things: green mackerel, bunker or sand eels. Bass typically focus on the larger profile baits. To properly replicate that, you’re going to want a larger spook. Not only will the larger profile help “match the hatch,” it will also allow you to cover greater casting distances.

The Magic Swimmer Swimbait Lure

The Magic Swimmer could be the most prolific canal bait. This one lure has been responsible for more stripers than arguably any other lure in the Cape Cod Canal. It’s a hard plastic swimbait that is attached together by wire, similar to a glide bait. Berkley makes slow sinking and fast sinking variants. My recommendation is to always use the heavier fast sinking option so that you can cover more water.

If you need to retrieve the lure closer to the top, you can hold your rod in a more elevated position and retrieve faster. If you need to go lower in the water column, you can retrieve it slower. The depths in the canal vary, but they average greater than 20 feet. This bait is not meant to get to the bottom. The benefit of this bait is that you can do a straight retrieve against the ripping current. The action really stands out in the current, so stripers and blues love it.

The Savage Gear Sand Eel Lure

The Savage Gear Sand Eel is another icon of the Cape Cod Canal. Use the green mackerel color. This is a swim bait that incorporates a jig. A heavy jighead paired with a sleek, soft plastic paddle tail allows this bait to get to the bottom. With the currents and depths you’ll experience, bouncing bottom can be very hard to do at times in the canal. This swimbait is 5.33 ounces in weight, but you need that weight to get down to the bottom.

What makes this lure so good? Why so specific on color and size? Let’s start with why it’s so good.

The shape of the jighead on this swimbait cuts through current and sinks faster better than other baits. When it hits bottom, it’s meant to hit with the head down and the tail up. This movement replicates what sand eels do. They dig their nose in the sand and a striper typically eats them from the back. If you’ve ever seen striped bass eating sand eels in shallow water, they use their nose to dig them out of the sand and slurp them up. The color and size are important because, although this is meant to work on the bottom and replicate a sand eel, you are replicating green mackerel — another striper favorite in the canal.

Use these three lures at the Cape Cod Canal to catch trophy striped bass and blues. The best times to go vary year to year but traditionally, my favorite time is June and September. In June, the stripers are typically migrating north. In September, you can catch the fall run as they migrate south.

The post Five Must-Haves for Fishing the Cape Cod Canal appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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There’s a new state record for shortraker rockfish in Alaska, and at one point in time the fish in question was probably a world record. The catch was about as big as the species gets, and likely much older than the man who caught it. And as often happens, the angler who caught it was trying to catch a different species.

Keith DeGraff was fishing on July 28 with his fiancée Betsey Wilson and three friends in Prince William Sound, about 42 miles from Whittier, Alaska. The party fished from the Salmon Shark, a vessel rented from Whittier Marine Charters. On the first drift, two of the five anglers aboard had their fish.

“I decided to hit another bump, and sure enough, I hooked up,” he recalled. “I was immediately disappointed, because the way it was fighting, it felt like a halibut.” Not that there’s anything wrong with halibut, but they are readily available in relatively shallow water. DeGraff was fishing 1,000 feet deep, targeting black cod.

“When we got it to the surface, I saw it was the biggest rockfish I’d ever seen,” he said. “We hooted, we hollered, and then we headed on for other kinds of fishing.”

Typically with rockfish, you’ll see and feel what seem like head shakes from a halibut, DeGraff explained. “With a thousand feet of line out, it can be hard to tell,” he said. “This one pulled drag. I got it up about 75 feet and he took 40 feet. I’m fishing on pretty big gear, so for a fish to pull drag, I knew it was a decent size, which made me think it was a halibut between 30 and 35 pounds.”

One of 33 rockfish species in Alaska, shortraker dwell 500 to 1,500 feet deep among boulders along the state’s continental shelf. The previous state record was 39.1 pounds, caught in 2013, by Henry Liebman of Seattle. That fish was later estimated to be more than 60 years old. According to NOAA Fisheries, rockfish are thought to be the longest-lived fish in the northeast Pacific, maxing out at 120 years.

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world record shortraker rockfish weighed 44.1 pounds and was caught by Angelo Sciubba in 2017 near Glacier Bay National Park, several hundred miles southeast of Whittier.

DeGraff’s fish weighed an unofficial 48 pounds at the remote lodge where his party was staying. Because he wouldn’t have access to a certified scale for three days, DeGraff bled the fish. “I wasn’t going to taint the meat for the sake of a record,” he said.    

His rockfish would not have qualified for an IGFA record anyway, because the rod was in a holder, and the IGFA requires rods to be held. But when DeGraff finally weighed it on a certified scale, with an Alaska Department of Fish and Game representative present, he got a reading of 42.4 pounds. Then, he received provisional paperwork establishing his new state record.

DeGraff caught the rockfish on a custom-built rod with an Avet 2-speed 3/0 reel spooled with 80-pound braid. The terminal tackle was three pounds of weight and an 18/0 circle hook tipped with pink salmon and herring. His rig was homemade, but the rest of the party was catching fish on lead jigs with J hooks and skirts from Kodiak Custom Fishing Tackle. That lure has accounted for most of DeGraff’s fish.

DeGraff isn’t an Alaska native, but he comes from a fishy place: Amityville, Long Island, New York. “I grew up on the Great South Bay,” he said. “I had a 13-foot Boston Whaler that caught more fish per inch of boat than most boats out there other than commercials.” DeGraff studied environmental science with concentrations in marine and fisheries biology at Stony Brook University. He moved to Anchorage and has been a for-hire charter captain since 2016.

The post Surprise Rockfish Catch Likely A State Record appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

Seakeeper Ride and its VACS technology eliminates pitch and roll, creates the perfect running angle and responds instantaneously to changing conditions. Being banged around by heavy machinery is nothing new, so we brought in a group of grizzled testers with experience in harsh, intense, bumpy rides to try it out and share their feedback, and tell us if Ride is a helluva ride.

Product overview: Seakeeper Ride is the Vessel Attitude Control System (VACS) that eliminates up to 70% of pitch and roll while underway. It’s by the same geniuses who created the game-changing gyro stabilizer. Inspired by advanced aerospace technology, Seakeeper Ride makes 100 adjustments per second for better performance, more comfort and a smooth ride.

Test subjects: The Stock Car Driver (Logan Misuraca). The Bull Rider (Dee Lewis). The Mega Yacht Captain (Capt. Kelly Gordon). The Monster Truck Driver (Matt Pagliarulo). 

For more info on the Seakeeper Ride, visit: ride.seakeeper.com.

The post Fish Lab: The Bada** Test Featuring the Seakeeper Ride appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

Marine starting batteries have a singular, but all-important job — to reliably crank over your engine whenever you turn the key or press the start button. As that moment could be the start of a long-awaited holiday weekend, or in response to severe weather or medical emergency, it’s vital that your starting battery is up to the task.

Here are the top traits of a marine starting battery.

Battery Types

There are three primary types of marine starting batteries, Flooded, Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) and Gel. Flooded electrolyte batteries are cost-effective, but can rapidly discharge if not kept fully charged or an unsealed battery’s cells topped with distilled water. They also need to be housed in vented compartments, kept upright to avoid possible spills and are more susceptible to long-term damage from vibration caused by waves and wakes. In contrast, AGM batteries contain electrolyte within spongy fiberglass mat; gel batteries use silica to convert their electrolyte into a jelly-like state. Though notably more expensive, both are far more durable and low-maintenance. Sealed designs require no watering, prevent spills and splashing and better withstand the jarring of rough water.

As to charging, flooded and gel batteries are more susceptible to heat, resulting in longer charging times. Gel batteries in fact can be rendered useless from too much heat during faster charging. The design of AGM batteries allows them to be charged up to five-times faster than a flooded battery, but keep in mind both AGM and gel batteries require temperature-sensing, voltage-regulated chargers to avoid damage.

Ready For Their Role

Starting batteries need to produce a large amount of electrical energy for a relatively short period of time. Tasking a starting battery with powering onboard electronics — from lighting and bilge pump to that booming sound system during a long afternoon partying at sandbar or cove — may not only shorten its lifespan, but possibly drain the battery’s power and leave you unexpectedly stranded. Best to leave those other power draws to a separate “deep-cycle” battery that, while maybe not as potent, is designed to deliver steadier power over a much longer period of time.

Should you require a singular solution, look for modern “hybrid” designs that promise enough deep-cycle reserve power to power onboard electronics while retaining their potent starting power. Examples include Odyssey’s Extreme and Performance series, which can deliver twice the power and last up to three-times longer than conventional lead-acid alternatives. Odyssey accomplishes this feat in part by using 99-percent-pure lead plates that are extremely thin, allowing them to be densely packed and offer maximum plate surface area.

Sufficient Cranking Amps

A starting battery’s power is measured in cranking amps (CA), the amount of electrical current a fully charged battery can discharge over a 30-second period in normal (above-freezing) conditions. Find your engine’s required cranking amps in the owner’s manual or ask your dealer. Keep in mind, when it comes to starting batteries bigger doesn’t always mean better. Technically, there’s no need to buy a battery rated for more cranking amps than your engine requires.

Marine-Specific Design And Construction

Insist on batteries that are designed for marine use. In addition to the abuse from jarring waves and wakes, the marine environment is notoriously harsh. Look for materials like brass or brass-plating on terminals to provide secure cable connections that will remain free from corrosion. Odyssey’s robust intercell connections are cast to the plates and bonded to resist vibration and eliminate internal sparking. Compressed Absorbed Glass Mat plate separators also provide extreme vibration resistance and prevent spills, allowing batteries to even be installed on their side.

Most Valuable Player

A marine starting battery is literally the key to a safe, fun-filled day on the water. Choose a quality battery that matches your needs — and is built for the unique demands of the marine environment — and you’ll enjoy not only the day but many stress-free seasons to come.

The post The Top Traits Of A Marine Starting Battery appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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Sometimes, catching a trophy fish is the result of years of experience and meticulous preparation. And sometimes you get lucky. Jeff McCoy, who recently set the Delaware state record for king mackerel, is the first to admit his catch falls in the lucky category. “I’ve never caught a king mackerel before,” he laughs.

King mackerel are an unusual catch in Delaware. The state’s fisheries department website lists king mackerel as “uncommon.” The previous state record of 48 pounds, 9 ounces was set in 1992 by Gordon Harris. A king mackerel over 10 pounds qualifies as a Delaware trophy. When Jeff McCoy set out shark fishing with his family, he never could have predicted how the day would end.

Accidental King Mackerel

McCoy calls himself a weekend warrior. “I’ve only been fishing in the ocean for a couple years,” he says. His in-laws and wife wanted to catch a big fish, so McCoy decided to try shark fishing. “It was only the third or fourth time we’ve tried to catch a shark,” he admits.

King mackerel fishing usually involves slow trolling live baits with light wire and small treble hooks. These sharp eyed fish are wary of heavy tackle and picky about their meals. Professional king mackerel anglers go to great lengths to fool these fish.

McCoy had none of that. Targeting sharks, he anchored his 25-foot center console Reel McCoy along a series of shallow shoals within a couple miles of the beach. The crew set out three PENN 50-pound class combos spooled with 80 pound test monofilament, a 4-foot, 100-pound wire leader and large, offset circle hooks.

McCoy was not able to catch live bait, so he was using frozen Boston mackerel he purchased at Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em Bait and Tackle. McCoy added a bucket of chum to the spread and set out three baits under balloon floats. “The boat was sitting at a strange angle to the chum slick, so I ran one line through an outrigger clip and dropped the bait way back.”

The crew settled in to wait for a bite. “The fish hit the bait and took off screaming,” McCoy recalls. Unfortunately, the reel was in free spool so the line exploded into a hopeless backlash. “I couldn’t clear the tangle so I tightened the drag and started lopping the line on top of the birdsnest.”

The battle raged for 15 minutes. “Even with the drag pinned, the fish was pulling line,” McCoy says. When the fish made its first pass, McCoy thought it was a wahoo. “I would have never imagined a king mackerel.”

When McCoy worked the king mackerel close to the boat, the fish shot to the bow and tangled the fishing line around the anchor rope. McCoy’s brother-in-law jumped to the rescue. Instead of cutting the fishing line, he cut the anchor rope, cleared the tangle and reconnected the anchor rope. “He saved the anchor,” McCoy points out.

Despite the smoker king’s best tricks, the crew landed the huge kingfish. “I never thought about the state record,” McCoy says.

Race to the Dock

McCoy didn’t have ice onboard, so they pulled the anchor and raced 18 miles back to Indian River Inlet.

When Reel McCoy pulled into Indian River Marina, the docks were quiet. McCoy figures, “Everyone was at lunch or out fishing.” The crew wheeled the huge king mackerel to the fish cleaning station. “I pulled it out of the cooler and the fish cleaners were shocked.”

Out of curiosity, McCoy decided to weigh the fish. “They told me I crushed the state record.”

In short order, representatives of Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) were on the scene weighing the fish and helping McCoy fill out forms. Meanwhile, a crowd gathered to gawk at the catch.

“A week later they approved the record,” McCoy says. The 52-pound, 11.2-ounce king mackerel is already listed as the state record on DNREC website and the story has hit social media and national news. McCoy laughs, “My phone has been ringing.”

Grey’s Taxidermy is working on a replica of the catch. The state record holder says, “I’m going to look at it every chance I get.”

As for king mackerel fishing, McCoy is confident in his system. “We’re not going to change a thing.”

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