The French appreciate a good Bordeaux, a wedge of Camembert, a fresh baguette—and throwing poppers tirelessly for hours. Given that I haven’t spent much time in France, that description might well reek of stereotyping; however, I can vouch personally for the last item in the list.

French anglers who travel to fish tend to be all about popping and jigging.

Ditto French fishing-resort owners I’ve known, most recently Pierre-André Demauge in Pedasi, Panama.

A group of us flew down there for a week with a good idea what to expect, per the Panafishing website home page: “Our fishing lodge is the only one in Panama that caters exclusively to popping and jigging enthusiasts.”

More explanation on the fishing states that throwing “artificials is definitely the most exciting and rewarding way to catch a fish, but it is also tiring and demanding, so one should come prepared and willing to cast and jig all day long.”

Each day, Demauge fished with our group, and we couldn’t help but be impressed with his enthusiasm and tenacity as he heaved heavy poppers from our first hour to our last. Though he lives here, his focus on hooking big fish was no less fanatical than that of us visitors.

Explosive Testing Grounds

There’s nothing wrong with sitting back and watching a slow-trolled rod pulling a live blue runner, which no one can argue is damned effective. But that’s a very different kind of fishing. It’s hard to beat seeing a massive boil or blowup behind a big popper or shallow-running stickbait.

The promise of just such heart-stopping action out of these waters near Pedasi (about 100 miles due southwest of Panama City) that consistently produce massive cubera and huge roosters lured seven gringos here this past July. Among our group were Magnus Gunnarsson, Sam Root and Jose Chavez, all with Savage Gear, and Adrian Gray with the International Game Fish Association. Chavez’s main responsibility with the tackle manufacturer is designing lures, so he was keen to try out some of his creations in these tropical testing grounds. With a total of eight anglers, including Demauge, we divided up each day into three Panafishing boats—two 26-foot Twin Vees with twin Suzukis, and one of its two Caribe Pro 25s.

After an early breakfast, we piled into a pickup, with some ridiculous number of rods and reels strapped to racks on top, and headed the few minutes to the beach from which we would launch.

Don’t look for any marinas anywhere along this coast; except where broken by rocky headlands, sandy beaches extend endlessly. Pangas, used mostly for artisanal fishing, lined the beach where a road from Pedasi extends. Once there, we hopped down and helped transport tackle, coolers and insulated water jugs to the waiting panga that would ferry gear and anglers to one of the Twin Vees tethered to mooring buoys just beyond the beach.

Panafishing crew and staff helped hold the panga at the surf’s edge while being loaded. Then, with impeccable timing, they pushed the boat forward through the swells as the outboard operator quickly dropped and cranked up the engine. Fortunately, seas here seldom loom large. During a week’s stay, we had no problem getting out or back in.

The Tuna Coast

One of Gunnarsson’s goals for this trip was to catch his first cubera snapper. While cubera were caught every day, the prize snapper eluded Gunnarsson during his first three days of fishing. I joined him on day four, the choppiest morning of all.

About midmorning, our skipper, Eduardo, moved us into friendlier water closer to shore, near a rocky point just south of the beach where we had launched. Gunnarsson, throwing a big Savage Gear Panic Popper, let out a shout, and I looked over to see a large, dark shape charging it near the boat. The fish missed but circled back, and this time nailed it.

With considerable effort, Gunnarsson managed to keep the snapper from the rocks, and soon he released his first cubera, a respectable if not monster 30- to 35-pounder. By trip’s end, cuberas up to 50 pounds had been released, and some considerably larger—and unstoppable—hooked.

Not long after, the breeze began to die out, and we moved south and offshore to a large island, essentially a great, sheer rock. Here we were reminded, as we had been on previous days, why some refer to this area of the Azuero Peninsula as the tuna coast. Yellowfin tuna swarmed in large areas, jumping after sardines. The schoolie-size fish all but made up for their modest heft with sheer numbers and lively action on top. We had great luck on smaller Panic Poppers and Savage Gear Mack Sticks (a stickbait introduced in 2019).

We had hoped to run 30 miles or more offshore to the serious tuna grounds, where schools of yellowfins well into three digits typically forage. But early on, conditions weren’t flat-calm, as is often the case, and Demauge suggested we wait for the right day. Unfortunately, that day didn’t come—maybe next trip!

While I had brought mostly serious gear, as anyone bringing tackle here should, I also brought a fairly small and light spinning rig with 30-pound braid and had a blast using it for these tuna. But one should be judicious using anything that light in these waters.

Later that same afternoon, back near Pedasi, in a shallow, sandy, quiet cove, I cast a tiny pink Savage Gear Sandeel from that rig, hoping for a corvina or small rooster. Naturally, I hooked what had to be an oversize snapper. I hadn’t a prayer of stopping its rush out to some rocks that I couldn’t see, but I felt when the line parted.

Surprise Party

Every day seemed to have its surprises. While casting a Mack Stick stickbait right against shoreline rocks, one angler hooked a respectable mahi. On our last day, we ran into a pack of large bull sharks roaming the same shoreline in quiet water.

Somewhat uncharacteristically, they aggressively rushed poppers and stickbaits, and when 300 or 400 pounds of bull shark explodes on a lure, it’s a major rush. Each one we hooked quickly proved a losing proposition—not surprisingly—and, after four break-offs, we resisted the urge to hook others or feed them any more lures, and moved on.

Several in the group spotted tarpon unmistakably rolling nearshore. They had no chance to hook them, but Demauge says it’s become fairly common for anglers to hook silver kings here, as it is along much of the Central American Pacific coast.

Besides cuberas, most in our group had roosterfish as an item to scratch off their lists, and most met that goal using various sorts of lures. Root caught one of the biggest roosters of the trip while throwing a Panic Popper. (While impressive, the 45-pounder couldn’t match the 80- to 90-pounders that have been caught on Panafishing boats.)

Mine came on the last day, when I decided to try a large Savage Gear Pulse Tail Mullet Swimbait. I was glad I did; the damned thing looked more like a swimming mullet than an actual swimming mullet, and apparently a rooster thought the same because, about 15 feet from the boat, it surged up to grab the soft lure. In another boat, Chavez landed a good rooster of 30 pounds or so when it struck a metal jig in about 90 feet of water.

Miscellany on Metal

Most popping enthusiasts, it seems, are also fans of jigging. We had come fully prepared to do both, and we soon figured out that drifting and working jigs offered a welcome use of some alternative muscles from those used to throw large lures. And, as jigging always seems to, it got results, particularly for a variety of species.

Jig-caught fish included broomtail grouper, roosters, skipjack tuna, African pompano, cabrilla, yellow snapper, rose snapper, orangemouth and yellow corvina (at one point, on a large school in 90 feet, offering nonstop action), barred pargo, almaco jacks, jack crevalle and others.

We variously fished these metal lures as speed jigs or went with the finesse of slow-pitch jigging. Both methods caught fish. This gave us the chance to try out several varieties of Savage jigs, particularly the venerable Squish jig, as well as some newly introduced designs, generally in 50 to 200 feet.

Interestingly, on some days we drifted through dark clouds of bait that showed up on the sounder, even marking some larger targets around the bait, but didn’t get much. In other cases, even where not much showed, we hooked fish. The biggest prize for jiggers would have to be the broomtail grouper up to 50 pounds that we caught. At least one hefty grouper went for a soft-bodied TPE plastic 3D Swim Squid that Gray worked over the bottom.

At the end of a busy week, after an early breakfast, we all loaded into the large van provided by Demauge for the six-hour drive to Tocumen Airport in Panama City for our afternoon flights back home, tired but happy. The Savage team, particularly, felt they’d gotten their money’s worth, having fished so many new or recent designs, and even prototypes, with so much success. For anglers who love the thrill of throwing big poppers and stickbaits, as well as speed- and slow-pitch jigging, Panafishing on Panama’s Azuero Peninsula merits a visit.

Planning a Trip

Most fishing resorts in Panama do a lot of live-bait fishing. Panafishing is all about lures and jigs. A visit to its webpage—panafishing.com[[please make link active]]—will offer immediate visual proof that the resort’s skippers put anglers on fish without ever bothering to bridle up live baits.

The six-hour air-conditioned van ride (with a stop for lunch) from Panama City means that if anglers can arrive in the country before midafternoon, they can go right to the lodge and skip the hassle of an overnight hotel stay.

The boutique-size lodge, which has been here since 2006, and its four boats can accommodate up to 11 anglers. Many guests bring their own gear by preference. Arriving by van means anglers can easily carry all their gear with them; that can be difficult—and costly—when flying from Panama City on a small regional-air flight. As an alternative or supplement to anglers’ tackle, the resort rents gear for a modest price—quality gear such as Shimano Stella and Saragosa reels and Black Hole rods.

Many fishing resorts in Panama provide tackle; however, most charge more for a week of fishing (sometimes considerably more) than Panafishing.

The absence of ports or access to the coast in the entire area helps keep fishing pressure low. Panafishing is closed only during September. During the dry season, January through April, anglers need not worry about rain, though the winds might kick up some days, which can limit fishing to various semi-protected areas, depending upon wind direction.

What Demauge calls the “green season” runs from May through November. At least some rain is likely, but so are the lightest seas of the year, with the Pacific often flat-calm. This is the best time of year to pursue surface-feeding yellowfin, from footballs to industrial-size fish.

Most of the captains have been with the resort for more than 10 years; they don’t speak much English but definitely speak fishing. Still, anglers lacking rudimentary Spanish can use a list of the most useful and essential words and phrases, which is available on each boat.

The post Panama’s Popping Paradise appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

As anglers and boaters—and humans—we all suffer from some degree of denial syndrome. For instance, many of us, since we’re obviously experts, assume we’ll never experience a serious emergency on the water.

“That won’t happen to me,” we say.

“I won’t fall overboard.”

“My boat won’t capsize.”

“I won’t get injured.”

When these experiences happen to others, we quickly rationalize. We would never have put ourselves in that position. Right? Yet, we can’t control everything.

Yes, 99 times out of 100, we have an awesome day on the water. But we must acknowledge that slight chance that our best efforts might be overwhelmed by circumstance. This month, as we look forward to a spring and summer full of fun saltwater adventures and to National Safe Boating Week in May, let’s pledge to get serious about safety.

Attitude Adjustment

In 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard ran 15,000 national search-and-rescue cases (commercial and recreational) and saved 1,700 lives. According to the Coast Guard’s Recreational Boating Statistics, the number of boating accidents in 2018, saltwater and freshwater, numbered 4,145. While those numbers might seem a small percentage of all boaters and all trips, they’re not insignificant.

When you think about it, we have quite a few products that can help optimize our safety on the water, from personal flotation devices, whistles and strobes to VHF radios with digital selective calling, satphones and emergency beacons. For the purposes of this column, by its definition, I will focus on electronic devices—particularly those that can summon immediate help on the water.

“Safety is the thing you’ll put off till next year,” says Mikele D’Arcangelo, vice president of global marketing and product management for ACR Electronics. Some people think: “It’s just a bunch of money sitting in a ditch bag or on the console, unlike that rod I’ll use every time I go out.

Then suddenly, national attention is drawn to an offshore tragedy, and we’re left with “what if?”

Once you commit to being proactive, a first rule of thumb to remember is simple and universal: Be prepared, whether that means actually wearing your PFD, having digital selective calling properly set up, wearing a personal locator beacon or SEND device such as an inReach or SPOT, or placing your EPIRB in an accessible position.

Let’s Evaluate

Secondly, consider your vessel and your fishing habits: how far offshore you go, whether you fish at night, whether you fish alone, etc. That will help you choose from among tools such as EPIRBs, personal locator beacons, man-overboard systems, and satellite emergency notification devices.

You say, “Well, I have a cellphone and I don’t go that far offshore.” Or, “I have a satphone. I can call for help.” But cellphones drop calls, get wet, and they don’t channel directly to marine rescue agencies. Satphones can be more reliable, but again, they don’t immediately summon on-water help. Beacons, SENDs and DSC-enabled VHFs do. MOB systems immediately alert crew and in some cases, other nearby boaters.

As long as your boat is floating, has power, and you’re still mobile and on board, turn first to the VHF. If the boat loses power or, worse yet, sinks, a PLB or an EPIRB can transmit a distress signal through a satellite to COSPAS SARSAT, a global agency that can immediately direct help to your location.

An EPIRB floats right-side up and is designed to tether to your life jacket. A PLB floats but must be held upright to transmit, D’Arcangelo says. “I’d rather every boater have an EPIRB than a PLB,” he says.

EPIRBs cost more than PLBs—$400 to $550 compared with $290 to $350—and they’re registered to a vessel. PLBs are registered to a person, and should be worn by that person. EPIRBs should be mounted to the vessel where they can be easily accessed. Those that come with a release bracket float free if a vessel begins to submerge; they will automatically send a distress signal.

“I always advise boaters to activate their properly configured and registered DSC VHF any time they’re going to activate their EPIRB,” says Paul Barnard, USCG Recreational Boating Safety Specialist. “A boat three miles away might get the DSC alert and assist immediately where Coast Guard assistance could be an hour or more away, if the EPIRB alone is activated.”

An MOB device is worn by crewmembers. If someone falls overboard, the device sends a signal to a phone or tablet onboard. In some cases, the system can be set to activate the boat’s kill switch so the crewmember can swim back to the boat. An AIS MOB device sends an alert message to all local vessels equipped with AIS.

Multifunction Devices

A SEND unit—such as Garmin’s inReach or Globalstar’s SPOT models—costs $150 to $650 and emits an SOS message via satellite to GEOS, a private search and rescue agency, which is tapped into the Iridium satellite system. Many SEND models now offer two-way messaging so that the victim and rescuers stay in touch.

Those units also offer a wide variety of services including preset messaging, so you can alert a loved one when you have left the dock and when you have returned, for instance. However, SEND units require a monthly subscription fee ($11.95 to $64.65); beacons do not.

Garmin’s inReach Mini also connects to a Garmin plotter or a quatix watch. The company’s new 86sci handheld GPS comes with embedded nautical charts as well as inReach capabilities.

“From the time of the incident, after you’ve pressed and held SOS, the unit sends your location every minute for 10 minutes,” says Chip Noble, inReach product manager. “When they receive it, within minutes, search and rescue responds to that user. The inReach allows two-way delivery confirmation.”

Read Next: Fish Safely with Redundant Electronic Safety Gear

Depending upon the model, battery life ranges from 35 to 90 hours; the units are rechargeable and they alert users when battery life has dropped to 25 percent.

The bottom line: The marine-electronics industry has a device for your boat and your fishing habits. All you have to do is invest in your safety.

The post Safety Electronics You Need for Your Boat appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Whereas a free-jumping sailfish is elegant and agile, leaping tuna display far differently, their bullet shapes hurtling out of the water in clean broad jumps across the surface as they pound baitfish. And while free-jumping sails can be notoriously difficult to locate and hook, feeding tuna spell bent rods right now—if anglers can get to them in time.

So when Capt. Bernie Perez pointed to the scene on the horizon ahead of his 45-foot SeaHunter early on a May morning, excitement ran high among anglers. There, atop the Marathon Hump—a seamount about 25 miles off Marathon in the Florida Keys that rises from surrounding depths to 500 feet below the surface—we could make out against the rising sun the silhouettes of black shapes leaping from the surface.

“There are your blackfin!” Perez called out. “And they’re not babies!”

The Hump: Productive and Popular

I couldn’t discern their size from a distance, but then I lacked Perez’s experienced eye.

Rather than risk the engines putting down the fish (this spot gets its share of attention from private and charter boats), Perez stopped short and started live-chumming pilchards (scaled sardines) that filled the boat’s baitwells from a stop at a bait receiver after we left the Faro Blanco dock in Marathon. In short order, boils and dark fins slicing the surface announced the presence of tuna, and almost as quickly, anglers began casting out unweighted pilchards pinned to light circle hooks. With little delay, rods began bending and bucking around the stern, and reel spools whirred as large blackfin peeled off line.

After an exciting hour or so, with some tuna caught and others lost, the fish began to scatter as the sun climbed higher in the sky. “The best times to fish blackfin, without a doubt, are sunup and sundown,” Perez says. He points out that seeing blackfin leaping from the surface first thing in the morning, as we did, is not unusual.

On the other hand, the early-morning bite is hardly a secret, so fairly quickly you might have a bit more company than you’d care for, Capt. Brandon Mullar (broad​billsportfishing.com), out of Duck Key, points out. Sometimes a midday stop, when crowds have thinned, can be productive.

As the day brightened, we had to work a bit more, with the blackfin feeding deeper (Perez mentions their distinctively large and light-sensitive eyes). But the tuna weren’t leaving the hump.

Bonito (little tunny), skipjack and mahi also joined the party that morning, but blackfin dominated. That, Mullar says, is common. “Some days, skipjack will be more prevalent, but normally three-fourths of tuna caught will be blackfin.” Also, he points out, it’s worth keeping in mind that skipjack tend to hunt nearer the surface than blackfin.

“The hump brings up current from the depths, which is what attracts gamefish to this special place,” Perez says. He points out that just about any and all species of gamefish are likely to be found over the hump at any given time.

“Nutrient-rich upwellings around the pronounced structure of the hump attract juvenile fish and, in turn, larger predators,” adds George Poveromo, host of World of Saltwater Fishing on Discovery, who has been fishing the Keys’ offshore humps since the 1970s. When there’s plenty of current and blue water, there are likely to be plenty of tuna, he says.

Live Baits Hard to Beat

Other structure up and down the lower Keys, such as wrecks and bars, also attract blackfin, despite their lack of high-profile relief compared with seamounts, Poveromo says.

“In fact,” Mullar says, “the popularity of the hump sways many anglers from branching out and trying new areas. Simply plugging in the hump on the GPS and heading there automatically means missing other—and far less crowded—structure where blackfin will congregate, he adds.

Most of the time, blackfin hunt below the surface, so locating them is a matter of finding them with electronics. “They feed in large schools, and we can mark them on sonar,” Perez says. He keeps an eye on the boat’s Garmin GPSMap 8617, which clearly registers tuna when they’re below the boat.

When he spots the fish schooled up in 200 to 350 feet, Poveromo occasionally drops down metal jigs to them. Jigs do work, agrees Mullar, but he’s less keen on them because of the amount of effort jigging requires—and he believes bigger fish avoid jigs (versus live bait).

On the other hand, Mullar is all about casting poppers when the tuna bust on the surface, if you can get in front of them and shut down before casting.

Blackfin are one of the smaller species among tunas, so tackle can be appropriately light. “I would say that blackfin in the 10- to 20-pound range are a common size for live-baiters,” Perez says.

Poveromo says hump blackfin taken on lures (jigs or trolled feathers and plugs) more likely weigh in the 5- to 8-pound range. (Still, his biggest here was a 32, though he nailed a 42-pounder off Miami Beach.)

“Anything over 20 pounds is a big blackfin,” Perez says. “The biggest I’ve caught have been in the low 30s.”

Rigging Up

On the business end of rigs, Mullar (who cites the keen vision of big-eyed blackfin), Perez and Poveromo all like light fluorocarbon leaders (25- to 30-pound) with light-wire 1/0 to 3/0 circle hooks. Poveromo fishes 20-pound mono main line on Penn Fathom lever-drag reels, sizes 25 and 30, and emulates Marathon’s Capt. Ariel Medero, who ties 40 feet of 30-pound fluoro with a Bimini-twist/Bristol-knot connection.

Poveromo points out that one of the advantages his circle hook provides is that, when it latches into the corner of a tuna’s jaw, the leader should remain outside the fish’s mouth and not abrade during the fight. This allows the use of even lighter leaders when that’s warranted.

You can catch blackfin in the lower Keys throughout the year, Mullar says. “Rarely do we strike out when we target them.”

But while they’re available all year, blackfin do tend to peak in fall and early spring, while they’re sparse in winter, Poveromo says. Summer can be good, but hump tuna in the warmer months are likely to run smaller, he adds.

Of course, the Marathon Hump attracts not just blackfin. Mahi often crash the party, Mullar says. Poveromo has caught mahi (some trophy size), sails, wahoo, almaco and amberjack. How about blue marlin? “Last summer on the hump, a blue marlin ate the pinfish my friend had down deep for blackfin. He chased it down and scored a release!”

Blackfin Experts’ Tips

• Fish live bait if possible. “Guys with quality live bait will absolutely smoke those fishing artificials,” says Capt. Brandon Mullar. Capt. Bernie Perez agrees: They’ll hit jigs and feathers, he says, but you can’t beat live-bait chumming, especially for bigger tuna.
• Weighing in with a different but winning strategy, Mullar often passes on live-chumming and puts live baits down 50 to 200 feet—depth depending largely on current.
• Trolling Rapala CD 15 lures can be particularly effective. Rig them on 30-pound fluorocarbon and troll well back—300 to 500 feet—at around 10 knots, Poveromo advises.
• Look for diving pelicans early in the morning on the flats to find pilchards to cast-net for your baitwell, Perez suggests.
• “Although we bridle baits if kite-fishing, when drifting liveys, we run circle hooks up through the bottom jaw and out the top of the bait’s mouth so that it won’t spin back on itself,” Perez says.
• Start at the up-current side of the hump. “Generally speaking, blackfin will stack up there,” Poveromo says. “Often you’ll see boats holding position up-current [of the hump] and live-chumming with pilchards to draw them into feeding frenzies.”
• Once the blackfin respond to live chum, let the boat drift with the current away from the hump while you continue to chum, “taking the fish away from the hungry sharks sometimes sitting on the hump, just waiting,” Perez says.
• Usually abundant pilchards are the go-to live-bait species for chumming, but for deep-drifting liveys, “pinfish rule!” Poveromo says. They survive (and stay lively) when deep-drifted far better than pilchards. (And, oh by the way, the world-record blackfin—just shy of 50 pounds—fell for a pinfish.)
• Mullar says live ballyhoo—which can be caught on the reef’s edge en route offshore—are “fantastic live baits,” but adds that “pretty much any shiny, frisky live fish, including cigar minnows, sardines, goggle-eyes and even white grunts, can be the ticket for blackfin, if presented properly.”

Poveromo advises: Map your drift. Once you’re a half-mile or so down-current of the hump, reel up and follow your plotter track up for another drift if you hit fish; if not, try drifting a different part of the hump.

When dropping baits down, avoid getting deeper than 250 feet “or you’ll end up playing tug of war with a mean amberjack, on light tackle,” Mullar says.

Trolling the hump is often not a best bet when it’s crowded, but “if you must troll,” Mullar says, “be conscious of your turns” and drifting boats. If you pass down-current of the latter, you’re likely to pick up their gear.

Poveromo and Mullar both agree that kites are great—but not so much when there’s a crowd on the hump.

Blackfinology

This small-tuna species is common from the Carolinas south to Brazil, though global warming is likely increasing that range northward. Perhaps because there is no intensive, large-scale-directed commercial fishery, our blackfin stocks appear to be in good shape overall. Still, recognizing the recreational effort this popular coastal tuna engenders, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission set new daily limits, effective January 1, 2020, of two fish per person or 10 fish per vessel.

Blackfin can be found anywhere along the continental shelf, but schools are particularly likely to hunt over wrecks, humps and other structure, often associating with (but usually deeper than) little tunny and skipjack.

Read Next: How to Catch Bruiser Blackfin Tuna

The IGFA all-tackle world record, weighing 46 pounds, 9 ounces, came from Marathon in the Florida Keys in April 2006. In fact, the lower Keys dominate line- and tippet-class records for blackfin. Besides being typically strong and fast, as are all tunas, blackfin are valued for their meat. “They’re superb table fare,” Poveromo says, “raw, blackened or grilled.”

Throw Back the Little Ones

“I’ve seen a significant decline of monster blackfins over the years,” Mullar says. “Perhaps 50 boats per day killing trash cans full of baby 2- to 4-pounders has caught up with us. Those same fish in only a few years will yield more fillets than a bucketful of tiny ones. Have some self-control, keep just a few for dinner, then try for a big one.”

The post Blackfin Tuna Blowout in the Florida Keys appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

One fateful day more than two decades ago, John Oliverio spotted a skittish school of redfish on a flat in Florida’s Sarasota Bay. Dropping a trolling motor might have proved too noisy, so he planned to carefully anchor his bay boat in position to intercept the fish. But when the anchor thudded into the marl, the school bolted.

“There’s got to be a better way,” Oliverio thought. And then he set to work using a set of Lego bricks (yes, Lego) to brainstorm a device that could quietly hold a boat in position without the use of a conventional anchor. That design and the Tampa-based company that Oliverio founded to engineer and build Power-Pole would change shallow-water angling forever.

New Advancements

Since that time, the Power-Pole has grown to include three main lines of Oliverio’s shallow-water-anchoring system, along with a host of related accessories. Not to be outdone, Minn Kota entered the market with the Talon series of shallow-water anchors in 2011.

In salt water, anglers use shallow-water anchors largely on bay boats and hybrids, but also on some flats skiffs and Texas sleds. These systems mount on the transom and incorporate a composite spike that can be driven into bottom material such as mud or sand.

Both companies make their anchors for saltwater use with high-strength powder-coated aluminum construction, sealed electronics, corrosion-resistant composite materials and stainless-steel hardware. Power-Pole employs a hinged articulating arm driven by an electro-hydraulic system to deploy and retrieve the spike, while the Talon is all electric and telescopes straight up and down.

Power-Pole would argue that its system has a longer track record of success and presents a lower profile when stowed, while Minn Kota points out that its Talon, when deployed, presents less of an obstacle in the water while fighting a fish.

Both brands continue to grow the versatility of shallow-water anchors, while also developing features that make them more durable and easier to use.

Greater Depth

For inshore anglers who want to fish waters as deep as 10 feet or more, Power-Pole and Minn Kota have developed models that extend deeper than the earlier 8-foot anchors.

For example, Power-Pole’s top-of-the-line Blade series includes a 10-foot model, as well as an 8-footer. Talon models extend to 10, 12 and 15 feet, in addition to 8 feet.

Still, 8-foot models remain among the most popular. “Currently, the 8-foot outsells the 10-foot -models in the Power-Pole Blade series,” says Curt Hill, advertising manager for JL Marine systems, the parent company of Power-Pole.

Adjustable Pressure

“Talon engineers have incorporated a unique feature that lets you select from two additional anchor settings, in addition to the standard medium pressure for setting the spike, based on the bottom composition and wind conditions,” says Adam Knowles, Minn Kota’s associate brand manager.

Rough-water mode automatically forces the spike deeper into the mud or sand when deployed to help hold your position when it’s windy and the water is choppy. Soft-bottom mode eases up the pressure to keep from plunging the spike too deep in silty bottoms.

Easier Mounting

Installation methods for shallow-water anchors abound; many of them eliminate the need to drill holes in the boat. In addition to direct-to-transom mounts, both Power-Pole and Talon offer a variety of adapter plates that can bolt to an outboard-engine bracket. Others can bolt to jack plates. Different shapes are available to suit various transom configurations.

Two of a Kind

A shallow-water anchor works great for preventing a boat from drifting, but it does not prevent a boat from spinning with the wind and current.

To keep a boat pointing in a specific direction—say, for example, parallel to a shoreline—many bay-boat owners now use two shallow-water anchors. Once deployed, anchors mounted on each side of the transom can overcome the influence of wind and current to secure the boat at any angle.

Drive-Off Protection

Let’s face it: Boating anglers will occasionally forget to retrieve their shallow-water anchors before driving away. What happens when this occurs? Fear not. Power-Pole and Talon feature built-in “drive-off” protection features.

Power-Pole’s drive-off protection system includes a relief valve that bleeds off hydraulic pressure when the stern of the boat squats. It prevents damage to the Power-Pole while preserving its functionality for the next spot.

Talon, on the other hand, features an Auto Alarm that emits a tone each time you turn the ignition key to the “on” position when the anchor is not retracted. That said, taking off with the Talon in the deployed position could cause damage to your anchor or boat.

Deployment Options

Both Power-Pole and Talon offer several ways to control their respective anchors. Power-Pole offers three wireless switches, including a dash switch, fob and foot switch—all using the company’s C-Monster onboard wireless-communications technology. “Wireless switches make installation super easy,” Hill points out.

Power-Pole anchors can also be networked with Lowrance or Simrad multifunction displays for touchscreen control. Finally, there’s a hard-wire switch on the Power-Pole hydraulic pump belowdecks.

“Talon offers an impressive number of control choices,” Knowles says. These include a wireless fob, wireless foot switch, Minn Kota iPilot wireless remotes and even a Talon mobile app. You can also network the Talon with a Humminbird MFD for control from the touchscreen, or just use the control panel on the Talon itself.

Keeping Quiet

Oliverio’s original idea focused on anchoring as quietly as possible, and Power-Pole has continued that quest with its speed-adjustable feature. “The deployment speed is adjustable via the C-Monster mobile app,” Hill explains. “The slower the speed, the quieter the anchor motor.

“Any speed below 60 percent of full speed is very quiet. However, a setting of 70 percent is a good compromise between speed and quietness.”

Power-Pole’s Blade series also offers a “soft-close” feature in retrieval mode. “The anchor motor slows down just before the arm folds up completely to prevent slamming and spooking fish,” Hill says.

Lower Profile

On some inshore fishing boats, a shallow-water anchor (particularly a 10- to 15-foot model) can represent the tallest piece of onboard equipment, one that can interfere with passage under low bridges and mangrove tunnels in backwater creeks, not to mention garage doors.

Read Next: Inshore/Coastal: 2019 Boat Buyers Guide

To help create a lower profile, a Power-Pole can be partially deployed, then raised again once the boat has passed underneath. For Talon, an optional bracket lets you manually fold the anchor forward to the deck to temporarily lower your boat’s profile.

Color-Coordinated

Today, outboards come in different colors to complement a boat’s color scheme, and so do shallow-water anchors. Power-Pole’s Blade series comes in white, red, blue and black powder-coated finishes, with retail prices starting at $1,999.99.

Talon offers a wide range of color combinations, such as red/black, blue/black, silver/black and silver/white, as well as all white and all black. Prices start at $1,899.99.

John Oliverio might not have imagined such transom candy, but his vision and drive for developing a better way to anchor has certainly made life sweeter for shallow-water anglers.

The post The Evolution of Shallow-Water Anchors appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Capt. Vic Gaspeny remembers when fluorocarbon leader material first became available in the early 1970s, and he’s still lamenting it.

“For years I used fluorocarbon,” says Gaspeny, a longtime Islamorada, Florida, flats guide who now fishes just for fun. “I was afraid not to use it.

“When it first came on the scene, I did use fluorocarbon for tarpon fishing, then I went back to trying the monofilament, and it seemed like I got the same amount of bites.”

Gaspeny recalls that, back then, a friend decided to conduct a comparison test. He fished for tarpon with one rod rigged with a fluorocarbon leader, and another with a mono leader. Of the 300 bites recorded, 154 came on the fluorocarbon and 146 on mono—an insignificant difference.

Gaspeny discovered that fluorocarbon, invisible in the water, works great, especially when fish seem skittish or picky. But monofilament leader material often can be just as effective and significantly cheaper.

For instance, a 30-yard spool of 50-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon leader costs $19.49, while a 55-yard spool of 50-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game mono leader is $5.19. Thirty yards of 100-pound Vanish costs $29.99, and 110 yards of 100-pound Trilene Big Game mono is $9.99.

“I wish I had the money back for all the fluorocarbon I used tarpon fishing,” Gaspeny says.

Consider the Conditions

For Capt. Tommy Pellegrin (customchartersllc.com) of Houma, Louisiana, water clarity helps determine what type of leader to use. “Fluorocarbon is really needed in super-gin-clear water, which Louisiana doesn’t have a lot of in the saltwater marshes and offshore,” says Pellegrin, who fishes for everything from redfish and speckled trout to red snapper and yellowfin tuna. “We have some ponds that are gin-clear, but even then, fluorocarbon is not a necessity.”

Gaspeny notes that even guides who can readily afford fluorocarbon, and believe that it catches more fish, will tie on monofilament leaders when fishing muddy water or in low-light conditions. “I think in a high-visibility situation, or if you’re seeing fish and they’re not biting, you go to fluorocarbon,” he says. “I’m sure there are a lot of times when you really don’t need it.”

Pellegrin says that fishing pressure can also dictate fluorocarbon use. In popular areas, where fish see a lot of baits, anglers must make their presentations look as natural as possible. “Along the Gulf Coast—Biloxi (Mississippi), Pensacola (Florida), Venice (Louisiana), Grand Isle (Louisiana)—they have a lot of boats fishing. The farther west you go, the fewer boats you see, until you get to Galveston (Texas). If you’re fishing an area that gets hit hard every day, you’re going to need fluorocarbon. You’ve got to convince smart fish to eat what you have, especially around the close oil rigs that all the boats can get to.”

A Winning Combination

For Capt. J.R. Waits (fishcall​.com) of Charleston, South Carolina, the go-to rig for bull redfish, 100-pound-class sharks, and tarpon consists of 40- or 50-pound SpiderWire braided main line, a 15-foot top shot of Berkley Big Game 60- or 80-pound monofilament (he goes heavier when fishing around rocks) and 6 inches of Berkley ProSpec 60- to 80-pound fluorocarbon leader.

“So I kind of use both [mono and fluoro] at the same time,” Waits says. “I use the mono for stretch and also because it’s more abrasion-resistant than the braid. For my tarpon fishing, I used to go straight from braid to a swivel to fluorocarbon. I broke off a lot of tarpon, I think, because the braid doesn’t stretch at all. It also frayed and jerked the bait out of the fish’s mouth. That’s when I started going to the mono top shot.”

He connects the braid to the mono with an FG knot and ties the mono to a three-way swivel. He attaches the fluoro leader to one of the swivel eyes and a 40-pound fluorocarbon loop to the third. The loop allows Waits to swap out 2- to 5-ounce flat bank sinkers, depending on the current strength. “I find those get caught in our rocks the least,” he adds.

For bull red bait, Waits uses live or dead menhaden, mullet, and crabs on 5/0 circle hooks. The fluorocarbon leader might not be necessary, he says, but at least using such a short length keeps things cost-effective, especially considering how many rigs his anglers lose when fishing around rocky jetties.

“I feel like the fluorocarbon has more abrasion resistance than the mono does, and I want the less-visible line close to the hook, where the fish is going to be eating,” he explains. “I use the mono mainly because it’s cheaper. I think I could catch the same number of fish if the 6-inch piece were mono, probably 90 percent of the time. But when the water is clear and the fish are spooky, the fluorocarbon pays off.”

Species Specifics

Gaspeny says that he finds fluorocarbon worthwhile for targeting bonefish on Florida Keys flats. “Fluorocarbon up to 25-pound-test, you can buy that cheap,” he says. “You get a lot of pickers, like blowfish, and the fluorocarbon can take it better than mono. If my life depended on catching a bonefish on fly, I’d probably go with fluorocarbon.”

Pellegrin says fish that feed primarily by smell, such as redfish, don’t typically require fluorocarbon leaders. “They’re not leader-shy,” he says. “At least I haven’t found them to be -leader-shy in the 28 years I’ve been guiding for them.”

He uses 1 to 2 feet of 20- to 30-pound Berkley ProSpec monofilament for his primary redfish leaders, which he attaches to 20-pound SpiderWire main line with a double uni-knot. When he targets bigger reds around oyster beds, he bumps up the leader to 50-pound mono for its abrasion resistance.

For speckled trout, he uses 2 feet of 20- to 30-pound ProSpec mono. “Even in 10 inches of visibility, I still wouldn’t use straight braid for trout,” he says.

Read Next: Strongest Fishing Knots Connecting Braid to Leader

Mangrove snapper require a different approach, especially in clean water around oil rigs. “I like fishing them in the blue water; I can see them and see what they’re reacting to,” says Pellegrin, who fishes live croakers or fresh-cut pogies on a 4/0 or 5/0 circle hook tied to 3 feet of 40-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon. “I don’t hide the hook, and the mangroves are not scared off by the leader. They would shy away from an opaque leader, but that Vanish doesn’t bother them.”

Some days, though, only heavy mono leaders allow anglers to pull hard-fighting mangrove snapper up to 14 pounds out of an oil rig. “One day, we were breaking off fish, so I went to 80-pound mono leaders on 80-pound braid,” he recalls. “That’s the only way we could stop those fish.”

The bottom line on leaders: If price is no object, you’ll probably land a few more fish with -fluorocarbon, but in most situations, monofilament will cost you less money without costing you any fish.

The post Fluorocarbon Leaders Versus Monofilament Leaders appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Regulator Marine has added a second model to its XO center-console crossover lineup with the 24XO, a smaller sister to the 26XO, introduced last year. This new 24-foot-4-inch hybrid bay boat comes standard with dozens of features, including a fiberglass hardtop, 25-gallon aft starboard livewell, two bow fish boxes with locking rod storage, a leaning post with rocket launcher and tackle storage, a 12-inch Garmin display, and a saltwater washdown.

Read Next: Regulator 26XO Boat Review

“Our design and engineering team has really outdone themselves, delivering the expanded deck space, fishing features, family amenities and overall quality Regulator is known for,” says Regulator president and co-founder Joan Maxwell.

Options for the 24XO include a SeaStar Solutions hydraulic jackplate, a Minn Kota Riptide Ulterra trolling motor (24V) with i-Pilot, a 10-foot Power-Pole Blade, and factory-installed dual Garmin displays.

In Yamaha testing with an F300 (max power), the 24XO hit a top speed of 50 mph at 5,900 rpm, achieving 1.90 mpg. At a 26.3 mph cruise, fuel consumption improved to 2.97 mpg. The boat carries 86 gallons of fuel.

Specifications

LOA: 24 ft. 4 in.

Beam: 8 ft. 5 in.

Dry Weight: 5,250 lb. (w/ Yamaha F300)

Draft: 1 ft. 4 in.

Transom Deadrise: 17 deg.

MSRP: $118,995 (w/ Yamaha F250)

More Information: regulatormarine.com

The post Regulator 24XO First Glance appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Fighting belts have come a long way in the decades since Ruff ’n Ready sold its popular model-139 lightweight belt. That belt—along with other similar stand-up fighting belts—was small and made of leather. It relied on a narrow 1-inch-wide leather strap, and its metal-frame-and-prong buckle was awkward and time-consuming to attach, and the belt stretched when wet. Heavy stitching and rivets held together the faceplate of these fighting belts, made of -double-layered leather. And the rod-butt pocket, also doubled leather, was stitched to the faceplate.

Fast forward to 2020, when modern fighting belts are now constructed with a faceplate of wide aluminum, carbon fiber or ABS plastic, and boast a comfort-padded EVA or gel backside. Straps—typically 2-inch-wide high-grade-nylon webbing—feature heavy-duty, quick-connect plastic buckles. All this makes them not only comfortable, but also their ergonomic design distributes heavy rod pressure away from the abdomen and onto the angler’s hips and thighs.

The many choices in light-duty fighting belts today mean many variations in design and materials. Which is your best bet?

What is a Light-Duty Belt?

Experts might define a light-duty fighting belt as one without a harness, and suitable for tackle no more than 80-pound-class and 30 pounds of drag. It may have a gimbal or just a pocket—with or without a pin—for the rod butt. Today’s “light” belts, however, are capable of handling significant amounts of fighting power and pressure displacement, and pros sometimes match them to extreme tackle such as the heavy popping spin rods for tuna or giant trevally as reviewed in last month’s Gear Guide.

According to Greg Stotesbury, recently retired sales manager, Tackle Division at AFTCO, an example of a light-duty belt is AFTCO’s AFB-3 Alijos, a good “day belt” for stand-up tussles with sailfish, dolphin, kingfish, small tuna, yellowtail and similar gamefish. “It’s light enough to wear all day on the boat,” Stotesbury says, “but it’s also easy to put on or take off at a moment’s notice.”

In general, Stotesbury believes that a lightweight belt should be standard gear in an angler’s boat bag, and readily handy when using 12- to 30-pound conventional tackle, medium-weight spinning gear, or jigging and popping outfits used for sport fish in the 20- to 80-pound range.

Capt. Jack Sprengel of East Coast Charters RI, who has traveled the world pursuing trophy gamefish, says that since the advent of braided-line -systems and construction of rods and reels using high-tech alloys, fibers and resins, many light-duty belts are now designed for significant lifting. Sprengel targets large pelagic species using heavy spin outfits, high-test braid and high drag settings, which create extreme loads on fighting belts. “This new standard of gear performance and durability,” he says, “presents some unique considerations when looking for the right belt, and can blur the lines of what once defined the difference between ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ duty.”

The Benefits of Belts

Anglers don a belt for two basic purposes: first, to protect their body from the concentrated pressure transferred to the rod butt during a fight. Second, it assists the fight by allowing the angler additional physical or mechanical advantage. By distributing pressure evenly over a wide area, a belt prevents pain or injury and it’s a fulcrum point for the rod, both key components in subduing powerful predators.

Chris Pardue, manager of product development at Calcutta, adds that belts such as Calcutta’s CFB-15 Fighting Belt, a 15-inch model with removable pin, make fighting a fish more comfortable, therefore helping you endure a long battle. “You don’t have the butt digging into your skin,” he says, “and it allows you to center the rod on your body and not place all the pressure on one side as you would without a belt.”

How to Choose a Belt

To select the right light-duty belt, consider three major factors, according to Sprengel: the physical capabilities of the angler, the nature and size of the target species, and the type of tackle.

Can the angler handle the combined weight of the gear and the target species? If so, then there are more benefits to using a pocket-type belt with a butt-cap-style rod, which will evenly spread the pressure and allow the angler freedom of rod maneuverability. Sprengel says this approach simply uses “a weight-displacing plate that’s quickly adjusted to fit the individual during the fight via a Velcro-style belt.

“An experienced angler,” Sprengel continues, “is then able to make drastic, irregular rod-tip motions, such as swinging side to side, to adjust to an erratically fighting fish, for example, to keep it out of the props. This freedom of movement can prevent fish loss, abraded line and thrown hooks.”

The other belt style consists of a plate with a gimbal cup matched to rod size or gimbal pin, depending on the butt of the rod. While this type offers protection, it also stabilizes the rod and reel from rolling or twisting during the fight. “The downside to this style of belt,” Sprengel says, “is that it restricts the range of motion of the rod during the fight, which can limit the angler’s options in a battle with erratic, aggressive species. The belt provides minimal physical advantage aside from rod stabilization and distributing weight onto the angler’s thighs in the high-stick resting position.”

According to Randy Chin, CEO of Temple Reef rods, belts with a fixed gimbal pin were the standard for a long time. “These days,” Chin says, “most light belts either don’t come with a gimbal pin or have a removable pin, especially for casting, because we use big spinning reels, and the gravity load from the reel”—positioned below the rod—“negates any torsional movement common with overhead conventional reels, which require a pin to keep the rod straight. Sticking a rod butt into a belt without a gimbal pin is much easier and faster. If you’re casting to species like giant trevally or tuna, look for a belt with a deeply recessed pocket and no pin.”

Qualities of a Good Fighting Belt

An important feature of a good belt, notes Mason Featherston, USA sales manager at Alutecnos, is an ergonomic design that won’t squeeze your abdomen while fighting a fish. The Alutecnos Feather Belt, for example, features a comfortable design, and uses 6082 aluminum and 316-stainless-steel bolts and screws in its construction. He adds that the pad is replaceable to allow a fresh look after years of use, and -aluminum lasts a lifetime.

“The key features of lightweight fighting belts,” Sprengel says, “are rugged construction, easy and efficient deployment, and adjustability. Belts might need to be strapped on fast or switched from one person to another in a hurry, so versatility is a must.”

Avoid fighting belts with small front plates: They’re uncomfortable during the fight, subject to flipping or allowing the rod butt to pop out under vertical load, and offer little protection or efficiency. Look for large plates constructed of aluminum or carbon fiber and cushioned on the back with EVA, gel or some equivalent padding.

Sprengel concludes: “Purchase belts with the ability to remove or install the locking pin to allow for a variety of gear use, which won’t limit your tackle or species options.”

The post Light-Duty Belts Take the Fight to the Fish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.