Calico bass (also known as kelp bass) live in kelp forests primarily in Southern California and Baja. They are a scrappy fish that averages about 1-3lbs and maxes out in the low double digits. They hit hard for their size and if you aren't careful they will go back in the kelp and wrap up your line. I have fond memories of scrambling on rocks in Southern California and Baja Mexico trying to find good spots to cast for these guys. Later on I fished for them from party boats in Southern California and pangas in Baja.
Giant Trevally (called "Ulua" in Hawaiian; "GT" in Australia) have been an obsession of mine since childhood. Growing up in Hawaii they were the ultimate near shore gamefish. They are the largest member of the Jack family and are the kings of the reefs where they live. You see them on bumper stickers a lot down there for whatever reason. However, despite several close encounters, I was not able to finally land one until age 34.
Giant Trevally live in tropical reefs throughout the Pacific and Indian Ocean. They are pure muscle and a very, very tough adversary even on heavy tackle. They typically charge out of the reef, grab your lure, and then charge back in and brick you in the rocks.
The poor Jack Crevalle is the Rodney Dangerfield of gamefish. Despite aggressively attacking lures and putting up a very strong fight for its size, it is generally not a highly regarded catch and is rarely specifically targeted. People are generally disappointed when they see how small of a fish put up such a big fight that tired them out.
The Jack Crevalle is a tropical fish found throughout North and South America as well as Africa. It is not a good fish to eat, which is probably one of the reasons it is not highly sought after. The meat is dark and bloody. It tops out around 40lbs and the bigger ones will pull harder than any fish of equivalent size that I can think of.
Put together the surf fishing tackle assortment of essential gear that works and saves yourself the aggravation of buying and trying new surf gear.
Surf anglers who have been fishing for a number of years have reduced their tackle selection down to the necessary effective things to have on hand. They know what they like, what surf fish they want to target and what works for them. Their tackle collection only contains what they want to use and what works.
This should be the goal of all new surf anglers. Unfortunately, if you are just starting out you don't have the advantage of knowing what works or what you need. This article will help you solve that problem.
Every surf angler should be setup for live bait. When fishing with live bait you should have two different surf rigs on hand. They can be purchased or made yourself. The first rig is called a fireball rig and the second is called a free lining rig.
For most of us, anytime we get the chance is a good time to go fishing. As the saying goes, "even a bad day fishing is better than a good day at the office." If you want to improve your chances of catching fish though, you should fish when the tide is moving strongly – either right as it begins to fall or several hours before it reaches its peak height.
Tide tables are also published daily in the Sun-Herald newspaper, available at newsstands across the coast. The Mississippi Sea Grant Advisory Service also publishes annual Tide Tables for Mississippi waters.
Rockfish caught in deep water often sustain injuries referred to as barotrauma. All rockfishes possess a closed swim bladder (a gas-filled organ that regulates buoyancy). When fish are brought up from depth, decreasing pressure allows the gas to expand which may cause injury and make it impossible for the fish to return to the bottom. When captured in deep water (>100ft), symptoms appear immediately lethal. However, if recompressed, immediate symptoms appear to resolve and many fish swim away.
Visible symptoms of gas expansion include a swollen and tight belly, stomach protruding past the gullet and into the mouth, and distended and/or "crystallized" eyes. Miraculously, many rockfish can recover from barotrauma if they are properly released to their respective depths as soon as possible.
The striped bass is highly prized for its size, battle on the line, and culinary merit. Striped bass, also known as the striper or rockfish, are easily identified by the dark horizontal stripes across its silvery body. Striped bass can grow to more than 48 inches, weigh over 50 pounds and live up to 30 years. Striped bass is a very popular game fish for recreational anglers because of its size and the spirited fight it shows once hooked. It's also a delicious fish and is quite good any way you prepare it: smoked, grilled, baked or fried.
A variety of artificial lures and chunks or strips of standard bait fish will attract stripers. Stripers can be caught on shad, anchovies, "cut" bait, spoons, plugs, jigs, crankbaits, and streamer flies.
Tautog, also know as Blackfish, are extremely tough fighters and very sneaky fish that can be difficult to catch. However, they are great on the dinner table. We will go over some useful information about how to catch these fish.
Anchor Retrieval System A good anchor system uses two ropes, one attached to the front of the anchor, and the usual anchor rope attached to the back of the anchor. The rope attached to the front should have a small buoy on it. When you drop the anchor make sure the ropes don't wrap each other, as this will defeat the purpose of the second rope. When it comes time to pull the anchor up, motor up carefully to the buoy, bringing in the other rope as you approach, then grap the buoy and pull the anchor in the rest of the way using the buoy rope. This pulls the anchor from the front, pulling it right out o the bottom and any rocks it may have been stuck under.
You are absolutely wrong, if you think that halibut fishing cannot be done through the whole year. You can get the fun of halibut fishing at any point of the year provided you are aware of the tips and techniques to catch this particular specie. Before setting off for your halibut fishing trips, you will have to learn some important tips in order to have a successful halibut fishing experiences.
Choosing right time:
The perfect time for halibut fishing is during incoming tide. Hope you are well versed with the impact of tidal effect on fishing. If unfortunately you fail to catch them during incoming tide, then high tide is also favorable for fishing this specie. Often many anglers believe that fishing halibut before a full moon will ensure guaranteed success.
What other game fish can you catch that is longer than your fly rod?
Part 2 of our interview with sailfish Captain Tom Boice. In the first half of our interview with Capt Tom we talked about sailfishing in Guatemala with conventional techniques as well as sailfishing in Guatemala in general. You can read part one here. In this part we talk to Capt Tom about a technique that is starting to gain popularity; fly fishing for billfish.
