The razzle-dazzle of a slurping, clacking popping cork might seem off-putting at first, but its effectiveness and dominance as a fish catcher is indisputable. While particularly effective and popular in Gulf Coast states, the technique has followers in the Carolinas and beyond.

My baptism into popping corks occurred on my first-ever trip to the toe of the Boot State. Fishing the turbid open bays close to the Gulf, anglers in our boat caught oversize redfish hand over fist until we begged for mercy. What was the best rig for redfish that day? A flashy cork, about 4 feet of leader and a jig-and-bait combo. A topwater plug or “tight-lined” soft plastic did not attract the same interest from the bull redfish we were targeting.

Ever since, I’ve been hooked on corks in off-colored water, paired either with natural baits or lures. It’s my go to redfish rig, and sometimes the popping-cork rig is the only presentation a redfish or speckled seatrout will hit. The main draw of the popping cork is an attention-getting clacking or clicking sound created by beads hitting a foam cork along a metal through-wire. Second, when a cork is jerked by the rod tip, the lure or bait presentation jumps off the bottom like a fleeing bait. A weight attached to the bottom of the cork adds casting distance and stability; swivels at the top and bottom of the wire serve as line ties for the main line and leader. The sound mimics fleeing shrimp, crabs, baitfish or even other game fish attacking prey. Some models of corks also throw a disturbance splash.

When and Where to Use Popping Corks

Popping corks are prime to use when water conditions are choppy or turbid, with the best depths from 2 to 6 feet. “If you tie a leader much longer than 6 feet, then casting is difficult with 7- to 7½-foot rods,” says Capt. Ray Markham, of St. Petersburg, Florida. Use light leader material, such as 15- to 20-pound fluorocarbon, in clear water, but bump up to heavier leader in specific situations.

“You can use 20- to 50-pound leader, no problem, with a popping cork, especially in dark-colored water,” says Capt. Richard Stoughton, of Charleston, South Carolina. “I’ve even used 80-pound around structure like docks with success. I tie long leaders in spring and shorter leaders in fall, mostly because fish move into deeper waters in the spring.”

Anglers on the boat should cast ­different-colored corks so they can pick out their own float in a crowd. Markham prefers to throw less-noisy corks when fish are skittish.

“Where I fish, there isn’t much boat traffic, but the more traffic, the spookier the fish and the less noise I want from my cork,” he says. “Mostly we catch trout and redfish, but incidental catches include bluefish, snook, Spanish mackerel, snapper, grouper, cobia and others.”

Stoughton prefers to use corks because of the motion of lure imparted by the cork — if done correctly, when a cork is twitched or popped the lure will jump in a vertical motion. When an angler stops popping the cork, the artificial shrimp, jig or live bait will settle back to the bottom. He prefers to impart a double-pop action so the lure jumps twice and then falls.

“Often, I’ll add an egg sinker below the cork on the leader,” says Stoughton. “Pass the leader through the egg sinker twice so a loop wraps around the weight and holds it in place. Don’t let the egg sinker slide too close to the shrimp or jig because it will affect action negatively. Split shot can fall off the leader when a seatrout shakes its head near the boat.”

Some captains will tie their braided main line directly to the top swivel; others add a trace of leader material first. “I use braided lines on my rods, but tying directly to the top swivel of the cork can cause tangling issues,” says Markham. “Instead, tie a short piece of 30-pound fluorocarbon or some other stiff leader that stands away from the cork.”

Popular cork makers include Bomber, Cajun Thunder, Comal Tackle, D.O.A., H&H Lure Co., Red Alert, Four Horsemen and plenty of others. Soft lures to tie below the cork include artificial shrimp from D.O.A., Berkley Powerbait, LiveTarget, Berkley Gulp!, Savage Gear and Z-Man lures. Also, soft plastics pinned to a jig head are popular. But watch out: Sometimes trout or redfish will attack the cork itself. Try casting out a topwater in those situations for exciting surface strikes.

Using Popping Corks With Live Baits

Capt. Jeff Poe, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, ties on a specific type of cork for those customers who want to use live baits, such as shrimp, crabs or fish. “We use spinning tackle with football-shaped weighted corks that have beads on either end,” says Poe. “Their weight makes it easier for our clients to cast farther. Whoever casts farthest wins with the most bites, usually.” The average depth in Calcasieu Lake, where he fishes, is 6 feet, so a cork works anywhere in the lake.

“The deepest water where I’ve ever caught fish with a cork is about 35 feet,” says Poe. “That was around an oil platform in the Gulf. I’ll try a cork anytime I feel I’m around fish but we’re not getting the amount of bites I expect. Corks are a great way to catch fish in dirty water, as the noise attracts and the float suspends your bait in the strike zone.”

Poe strays away from corks in strong current because in those conditions fish hold tight to the bottom. He also won’t tie on a cork near large schools “because as soon as a fish eats your bait and pulls your cork under, other fish will attempt to eat your cork.”

Comparing Different Styles of Popping Corks

Anglers will notice a host of different-style corks available from a number of makers, with the most common styles shaped like an egg, a cigar or an ice-cream cone with the point bitten off. Each foam cork is different in how it’s built, so personal preference goes a long way in deciding how much you’re willing to pay, what style of cork you want, what type of beads you want, and through-wire ­material stiffness and durability. Here’s how some manufacturers describe their corks:

Bomber Paradise Popper

Bomber says: “The Bomber Paradise Popper’s wire is titanium. It springs back to shape. I have seen these corks with the paint and part of the cork gone, and they still produce fish. All of the other components are plastic or brass. The Popper is tested not to break at less than 70 pounds of pressure, and many don’t break until under more than 90 to 100 pounds.”

D.O.A. Popper Clacker

D.O.A. Lures says: “Between the cigar, oval and popper D.O.A. Clacker corks, some make less noise and have a different pitch in the sound they create. The popper style is louder and deeper in tone but also produces a big splash when worked aggressively. Due to the internal weight, the popper is durable and gets less wire bend than do other styles of D.O.A. corks.”

Red Alert Speckanater

Red Alert Lures says: “There are two unique features about my popping corks. One, the beads used are hematite, which creates a very distinct pitch like a shrimp slapping its tail. Steel inserts in the foam cork also contribute to the sound. Two, the through-wire is rated at 250 pounds but not rigid, with 100-pound swivels at the ends for a longer‑lasting cork.”

The post Fishing With Popping Corks appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

A couple of years ago, fishing partner Elliott Taylor and I drifted atop a conveyor belt of saltwater on the lower Connecticut River in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. As I cast a surface plug off the stern, we heard a whooshing noise like a bucket of water dumped into the river. I turned to see the lingering froth left by a big predator. Slammer bluefish and striped bass had invaded the river mouth, and we were poised for some wild battles that afternoon.

The lower or most-southerly portion of the Connecticut River is saltwater, and it separates the coastal towns of Old Saybrook on its western bank from Old Lyme on its eastern bank. The last seven miles of the river is a striper and bluefish haven, thanks to the abundance of bait in this large estuary.

North of the Bridge

Hamburg Cove lies 4 miles north of the Interstate 95 boat launch and bridge. This special cove is one of the first Northeast locales to hold feeding stripers each spring, and its schoolie fishery is world-class: a sure cure for cabin fever from mid-March to mid-April before action heats up farther downriver and in Long Island Sound. (Note: Fishing north of the I-95 bridge requires a freshwater/inland or all waters fishing license.)

After late April, the cove’s schoolies swim into the main river and downstream to the mouth and eventually into open water, where they mingle with adult bass. Located on the east side of the river, the cove is protected on three sides by hills and sheltered from raw spring winds. Hamburg Cove also appeals to boating anglers because it lacks prop-bending obstacles like rocks yet it’s shallow enough for fly or light spin tackle.

The stripers found here in early spring generally measure 14 to 20 inches. Numbers, not size, becomes the objective. Fan cast or troll small lures or tubes until you locate a school. Stop and drift with the fish to catch 50 to 75 fish on a given tide.

If you prefer to target bigger fish, large stripers do invade the north side of I-95. At one perennial hotspot—day marker 25 at the lower mouth of South Cove, which is on the west side of the river halfway between Hamburg Cove and the I-95 Bridge—bass in the 30- to 40-inch range set up to feed on herring, alewives, and menhaden starting in late April and running through June.

Motor 50 yards north of the marker on a running tide and drift south along the reef edge, fishing deep with large swimming plugs. During slow current periods, these fish sometimes come up and inhale surface plugs like the 5-inch Rapala Skitter Pop or the 7-inch Lil’ Doc. Beginning in late May, bluefish mix in and provide hard-hitting action as they follow menhaden schools in from the ocean.

South of the Bridge

Downriver and south of the I-95 Bridge, an excellent late-spring fishery starts at the northern confluence of the Back and Connecticut rivers, in an area called the Wood Lot. Here you can idle into a transition zone where the depth quickly changes from 4 to 10 feet. But do so quietly to prevent spooking the fish, especially on calm days.

Cast a medium-fast spinning outfit toward the shelf, and retrieve a soft plastic, like the Game On! Big Occhi, or a surface plug across the drop-off. Drift with the current and continue fan casting until you locate a pod of bass. The fish typically stalk the shallows, but you should explore the deep side too.

If you don’t find fish or when the bite wanes, motor south to Gibraltar Rocks—three large, clearly defined boulder fields. Anchor up, but heed your chart plotter and be cautious of subsurface rocks. Cast up or across current and retrieve just fast enough to keep a small swimming plug or metal lure from hanging bottom. Schoolie bass and hickory shad await prey in the slower and deeper water.

Farther seaward and just east of Buoy 10 lie Sodom Rocks, another perennial hotspot. Continue south from there to find another cluster of rocks and a small marsh island to cast to just east of Buoy 8. Griswold Piers, just south of Buoy 8, is a fishy area punctuated by three small rips. Finally, at the river mouth, cast to sandbars and the breakwaters, which provide good action on an ebb tide.

On a flood tide, work back upriver toward the Wood Lot. Begin by fishing the Great Island shore just north of Poverty Point, this time in the shallow 3-foot zone within casting distance of shore. From there, try spots like Great Island (south of the bridge) or Calves Island (north of the bridge).

If you’re new to fishing this area, be cautious of rock piles out of the main channel in the lower river, many of which are the remains from the days of haul seining. While these boulders attract fish, they can badly damage an outboard.

On the west side of the river lies Ragged Rock Creek and a rocky bar. These areas produce from late April into early summer. Some spots are shallow, but the area is lightly fished compared with others. Slightly downriver you’ll find a bridge and North Cove, which offers more structure than the Old Lyme side. This lower waterway near the main channel hosts monster bluefish in late spring and late summer as they maraud schools of adult menhaden. A large surface plug brings exciting topwater action during low light, when baitfish schools draw bluefish from Long Island Sound.

Whether fishing or just exploring the lower Connecticut River by boat, the beauty and diversity of this huge estuary is hard to match anywhere in the Northeast. Bluefish, striped bass, and baitfish are abundant, and you can usually fish the river when conditions on Long Island Sound are too windy.

The post Spring Striper and Bluefish Action Awaits on the Lower Connecticut River appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Admittedly, Capt. Brandon Storin first considered it an annoyance, but he soon realized that he had dialed in a cool Florida Keys fishery that goes largely unnoticed.

“During the time when we catch bridge tarpon in spring, sometimes we’d run into some bycatch of cubera snapper,” Storin said. “I think they’re chummed up because of all the people tarpon fishing; there’s a lot of scent in the water. It’s mostly just the scent of the baits. Some people chum for tarpon (with cut bait), but I don’t because it brings too many unwanted species like nurse sharks.”

Considered the most brutal of the snapper clan, the hard-fighting cubera is a straight-up string stretcher. As Storin notes, these aren’t the giant spawners that anglers catch at night over deep-water reefs with legal-size lobster as bait, but the 15- to 20-pounders common at Keys bridges will still give you all the fight you want.

How to Target Cubera Snapper in the Florida Keys

If you’re game to actually target these cuberas near the bridges, Storin offers a few tips.

When: April-May is prime time, but the small to midsize cuberas hang around the bridges throughout much of the year. Colder weather will slow the bite when big winds muddy the water; during these conditions don’t waste your time.

Storin said he’s caught cuberas on incoming and outgoing water, but the fish seem most aggressive at the change of the tide. The fish can feed much easier during slower water compared to when the tide is screaming — ideal conditions are when that heavy bridge current slacks up and starts moving again.

“They’re definitely more nocturnal, so the night action is great, but also, the first and last hour of the day can be good,” Storin said. “If you’re fishing for them during the day, I’d bet that you wouldn’t run into many of them during the full moon.”

Where: Storin does most of his tarpon guiding around Islamorada’s Channel 2 and Channel 5 bridges, and the Long Key area. Most of Florida Keys’ major bridges will attract cuberas.

How: Based on his tarpon fishing thefts, Storin can attest that cubera snapper like a big deboned mullet on a fish-finder rig or pinfish drifted near pilings. If he’s targeting cubera specifically, Storin would fish a smaller deboned mullet or a live pinfish on the bottom.

“I’d definitely fish the baits close to the pilings and close to the bottom,” Storin said. “You’ll want to make an upcurrent presentation so the scent will come down to where the cuberas are.”

Tackle: A 7-foot medium-heavy spinning rod with a 6500 series reel carrying 65-pound braid will handle most bridge cuberas, along with the abundant mutton snapper. Storin uses 60-pound fluorocarbon leader for tarpon, but he’ll drop to 40 for the wary snapper.

Cubers Snapper Fishing Tips

Land-Based: For anglers perched on Keys fishing platforms like the popular pedestrian-friendly Channel 2 and Channel 5 structures, a chum bag and a jumbo live shrimp can make big things happen.

What to Expect: Storin says bait size will determine how long an angler should wait to set the hook. A hefty meal might require a little chomping, but these fish are super aggressive, so they’ll snatch up a smaller offering and try to yank the rod out of your hand.

“If you feel them picking it up and turning the bait in their mouth, give them a few seconds,” Storin said, “but once they get a good bite, they’ll run hard. If you feel them batting at it, open the bail open to let them get it. I use the Owner Mutu circle hooks, so once they get the bait, I just let them come tight. Then you just have to (tighten) the drag and handle that run.”

The post Florida Keys Bridge Monsters appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

As founder of the popular community of trophy speckled-trout enthusiasts known as Speckled Truth, Chris Bush yawns at fish that cause most anglers to fight an irrepressible urge to wet their waders. The Holy Grail for trophy-trout diehards is a 30-inch fish, a true log of a lifetime, a fish that many anglers strive for, fully knowing they’ll likely never achieve. In his fishing career, Bush has landed six of them, and he’s got the pictures to prove it. So it took me less than two seconds to reply affirmatively when the San Antonio resident asked if I wanted to come to his home state and tag along with him in a quest to add another notch to his wading belt. 

A regular at the Texas coast, Bush said the absolute best place to do it would be Port Mansfield in the winter. So eight months in advance, we put some December dates on the calendar, and Bush lined up area guide Capt. Joe Prado to ferry us.

I’ve got four decades of speckled trout fishing experience, and two decades ago wrote a book on the topic, but nearly all of my pursuits have occurred in the marshes of south Louisiana, an area that produces numbers of fish that beggar belief but doesn’t offer a realistic shot at a 30-incher.

In fairness to my home state, I did catch my PB (personal best) there — an 8-pound, 8-ouncer — but that was during a five-year run of absolutely ideal conditions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. That fish, a remarkably rotund 28-incher, fell for a Norton Mud Minnow on Calcasieu Lake. I’ve caught some 24- and 25-inch fish since, but nothing approaching 30 inches.

Bush and I had agreed to fish two days in Port Mansfield, and when the dates for our trip arrived, we couldn’t believe our good fortune. A hard cold front blew through two days prior, leaving in its wake partly to mostly cloudy skies with absolutely no wind. Prado had scouted in preparation, and picked out an extensive grass flat with maybe a foot of water between the surface and the tips of the seagrass. We donned waders and fanned out across the flat.

It wouldn’t take long for the hopes and dreams I’d spent eight months conjuring in my head to be dashed. To my left and right, Bush and Prado were catching plenty fish, and a significant percentage of those were over 5 pounds with a handful over seven. I was catching as many fish as they were, but my trout were significantly smaller, and I seemed to be a magnet for redfish, nothing but a time-waster when you’re targeting big trout.

Only a foolish guest thinks he knows more than his hosts, so I studied Bush and Prado, whose cadences were markedly different but seemed to be equally productive. At various times, I tried to mimic each, but my results stayed consistent — lots of reds and small trout. My biggest of the day were a couple of 4-pounders — certainly not slouches, but not what I had driven 10 hours for, particularly when 28-plus-inchers were clearly in the area.

That night, I racked my brain trying to figure out what I was doing differently than the two much more experienced Texas wade fishermen who put on an absolute clinic. I vowed to keep trying different cadences on our second and final trip to the flat, but unfortunately, I got more of the same — except in addition to the reds and small trout, I caught two black drum and a sheepshead.

At a certain point, I wanted to snap my rod in two because Prado and I had wandered off shoulder to shoulder, casting to the same water, and within a 45-minute stretch, he subdued five fish over 7 pounds. I caught nothing anywhere close.

Then Prado gave me a lesson that would completely change my fortune. The hot bait of the trip was a MirrOlure Soft-Dine, a lure with which I’d had very little experience, and Prado offered that I was fishing it too slowly. Indeed, on maybe 10 percent of my casts, I’d come back fouled with grass, while Prado never did. He told me to twitch the lure almost as fast as possible and intersperse random short pauses — but so short that the lure would never fall more than four inches below the surface.

It felt quite unnatural to me, but I took the guide’s advice, and I’ll be forever grateful I did. Almost instantly, the size of the trout I was catching grew noticeably, and finally, with only 30 minutes remaining on our final day, I felt a hard thump, set the hook and knew instantly I hadn’t hooked a redfish.

Large trout sometimes fully breach the surface, but often, they’re so big, they can’t. The best they can do is emerge halfway, shaking their massive maws in what every angler hopes is a futile attempt to throw the lure. The ever gracious Bush, who had been pulling for me to catch a big one like I was a Make-A-Wish kid, saw the bite and the initial eruption, and rushed over, ready to stick a Boga in the fish’s mouth.

His first attempt was a swing and a miss, but the exhausted fish had little left in the tank. It circled back, and Bush clamped the prongs of the tool around the fish’s bottom jaw. It pulled the Boga to more than 7 pounds. Although it wasn’t a 30-incher, and wasn’t even my biggest trout ever, it was the biggest I’d caught in almost two decades, and made the trip more than worth it.

Bush said he regularly stresses to his followers the importance of fishing Soft-Dines almost impossibly fast when wading shallow flats, and the difference it makes was reiterated to him with my experience. That may be elementary to Texas wade-fishing veterans, but those traveling to the state in hopes of catching a big one should definitely keep it in mind.

The post After a Texas Trophy appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Louisiana’s robust marshes around the mighty Mississippi River might be the most-recognized backwaters in the country. The same can be said for Florida’s Everglades and its maze of mangrove-lined creeks and bays. But these two states don’t have a monopoly on backwater fisheries. Quite the contrary. Any of the states lining the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean have backwaters worth exploring, so check out the areas below. Some of these spots may be completely new to you.

1) Thousands of Miles of Maine

Clouds of baitfish dart by my feet, glittering mesmerizingly like the facets of a diamond in the marigold yellow of false dawn. A violent splash out in the channel yanks my attention from the minnows.

Was that a striper? Perhaps a shad? A native brookie venturing into the brine? An elusive Atlantic salmon?

Maine is a cold-water paradise, with expansive mazes of pristine shallows that are home to a variety of fish. Thousands of miles of tidal shoreline—more even than California—give anglers virtually unlimited room to roam alongside the bald eagles, black bears and moose that call it home. The opportunity to find an unfished secret spot, devoid of other anglers, is easier than anywhere else on the East Coast. —Jerry Audet

2) Massachusetts Backwaters

While open-sand beaches and boulder fields get a lot of attention, Massachusetts’ tidal estuaries are an untapped labyrinth of shallow-water-fishing and sight-fishing opportunities. They are quiet and serene, but don’t let that fool you. Estuaries draw in fish of all sizes, including trophy-class striped bass. With thousands of miles to unlock in places such as Cape Cod and the North Shore, Massachusetts backwaters are ripe for exploration from shore, kayak, or skiff. —Jerry Audet

3) Long Island’s Salt-Marsh Complex

Though the nearby island of Manhattan is home to 8 million people, Long Island’s salt marsh is decidedly less populated. The soft, waterlogged soils that comprise this habitat slowed the pace of progress, leaving it mostly devoid of buildings, save for the occasional bay house. Instead of concrete and rebar, you’ll find invertebrate life holding the fertile meadows together. And instead of subways or yellow cabs, the inhabitants here move around with the aid of fins or feathers. —Joe Albanese

4) Crabs in the Delmarva Peninsula

Springtime along the mid-Atlantic, blue crabs emerge from the mud, as hungry redfish, speckled trout, flounder, tautog, striped bass and sheepshead line up at the seafood buffet. Blue claws are the heart of the Delmarva Peninsula, and provide meals for man and fish alike at every stage of their life cycle.

First, as they grow, crabs peel out of their old shell, offering a soft and defenseless snack. While mating, the immobilized crab couples make for two meals in one. Then, to release their eggs, female blue crabs swim along the surface, unable to hide from their enemies.

Anglers use whole blue crabs for big red drum and striped bass, a quartered crab for sheepshead and tog. Peeler crabs are a favorite for speckled trout and redfish. The best thing about fishing with blue crabs: When the trip is over, you can eat the leftover bait. In a large steamer, add equal parts vinegar and water. When the liquid boils, drop the live crabs into the basket and cover with Old Bay seasoning. The crabs are ready when their shells turn bright red. —Ric Burnley

5) An Ode to South Carolina’s Lowcountry

When the smell of puff mud at low tide hits my nose, I know I’m home. Palmettos and old oaks draped with Spanish moss give way to miles of wide-open marsh. Early fall brings a chill to the air and chases away the bugs. As the bait migrate out of the backwater, redfish become more aggressive.

I launch my kayak in water too shallow for any motorboat to reach and ride the last of the incoming current far into creeks and oyster flats. Then, as the tide changes and the marsh exhales, I wait for redfish to leave the flooded grass. Nothing gets my blood pumping like paddling around a marsh corner and seeing a half-dozen bronze backs slowly cutting a V-wake. A long cast with a light lure barely makes a splash.

Through the tannin-stained water, I see the school respond, attack, and my line comes tight. Redfish are called bulls for a reason: They fight headfirst and with their heart. Run, charge, cut and head shake—just when I think the fish is finished, a red will always find a second wind for another round. Then, when the gleaming bronze, gold and orange redfish is lying on my lap, I admire the iridescent blue-green tail with the trademark black dot before releasing the red to fight another day. —Ric Burnley

The post Five Great Backwater Fishing Destinations appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The traditional arrangement of hull and outboard requires a foot or two of water to operate. Fortunately, humans are an enterprising bunch and have come up with a variety of ways to get to the fish in the skinniest of skinny water.

Mud Motors

As the name implies, these vessels provide propulsion by using a surface-piercing prop to churn up the soil-and-water mixture around the boat. There are two different configurations: long-tail and surface drive. Long-tail motors have a long drive shaft mounted directly to the motor, but this arrangement limits steering. Surface drives look more like a traditional outboard, but the prop stays right on the surface. Both use an air-cooled engine, so you don’t have worry about clogged intakes and overheating motors.

Texas Sleds

This unique watercraft is designed to rip over mere inches of water. Looking like supersize surfboards wearing outlandishly large outboards, these vessels rely on horsepower and jack plates to get skinny. At wide open throttle, which is the way these boats were intended to be driven, they are flying by on the prop and a small section of hull. An intake mounted at the bottom of the skeg keeps cooling water flowing to the motor.

Airboats

Taking skinny to new level, airboats can be piloted where there is no water at all. They use a giant fan, often powered by a small-block automotive engine, to push them across and over just about any slick surface. The low-profile hulls don’t handle rough water well, and they can be prone to tipping. And forget about talking to the person next to you over the drone of the motor and propeller. But they can get you where nothing else can.

Pirogue

This term can refer to a variety of canoes from around the world, but we are talking about the paddle craft that originated in Louisiana’s Cajun country and is immortalized in the Hank Williams classic “Jambalaya.” Originally made from hollowed-out cypress trees, modern versions are crafted from plywood, fiberglass, or rotomolded plastics. These typically have flat bottoms and are paddled, letting them get real skinny.

The post Backwater Boats: Alternative Solutions to Get Skinny appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Capt. Shawn MacMullin (fishprimetime.com)

Capt. Shawn MacMullin has made a name for himself in his young career, covering waters from Everglades National Park all the way to the tuna humps offshore. In particular, he favors snook and sailfish. On his charters, certain fishing and boating gear definitely help him have success.

Costa King Tides

“When fishing in the Keys, you absolutely need a good pair of polarized glasses. I need a frame that’s going to shield sunlight from getting in the sides and that’s not going to fog up in the heat of the summer.”

Vudu Shrimp

“It’s the lure I use the most. Fish such as snook and tarpon will only eat shrimp when they’re around. A good shrimp lure is so important, and the Vudu Shrimp has an exposed hook and great tail action for the type of fishing that I do.”

A Tower

“My favorite part of the Pathfinder 2500 that I run is definitely the tower. For sight-fishing everything from tripletail to permit, I’m always up there. The view from above can’t be beat when searching for fish inshore or offshore. Yep, we catch sailfish out of my Pathfinder.”

Medium Action

“For inshore, my go-to spinning setup is a medium-action Star rod, Florida Fishing Products 4000-size Osprey CE reel, and 15-pound braid. That’ll catch the species I regularly target, like snook, trout, redfish and black drum.”

Rain Gear

“Rain is always a possibility in the Keys. A good jacket that you can stow away quickly and easily is necessary. It needs to be lightweight. It can’t be too hot. But it must be dependable when I don’t want to get soaked.”

Bait

“My favorite live baits in the upper Keys are pilchards (sometimes called whitebait or scaled sardines). Everything eats them. I throw a large cast net, keeping as many of the delicate baits alive as possible. You can use them as chum if some die in the livewell.”

Capt. Rick Ruoff

In his 50-plus years of guiding in the Florida Keys, Capt. Rick Ruoff has developed a carefully curated gear checklist that includes a few obvious items, and a couple of unexpected ones.

Costa Reefton Pro Sunglasses

“Amber is the only color to have because it increases contrast,” Ruoff says. Ruoff actually has two primary pairs: one pair of Costas for bright sun; the other a pair of Smiths with low-light lenses.

Orvis Helios Rods

The Helios D, designed for demanding conditions, is light, fast, impeccably crafted, and strong enough to handle the toughest fish in the salt. Also nice? The 25-year, no-questions-asked warranty.

Columbia Performance Wear

Long-sleeved shirts and pants using sun-blocking fabrics provide a proper layer of protection. Also, you need a good buff. “I have clients who still burn their noses because every time they lower that buff, they’re rubbing the sunscreen off their nose.”

Baker Mini “T” Forceps

For mouth-hooked fish, forceps are convenient. For deep-hooked fish or toothy critters like barracuda, they are mandatory. “Being able to carefully remove a deep hook can make the difference between that fish surviving after release or not.”

Socks

“A lot of my clients want to go barefoot. ‘Sure, but you have to wear socks.’” A goofy look? Yep. But socks allow anglers to feel the fly line on the deck while providing sun protection.”

A Sense of Humor

“This is one of those key intangibles. Challenging and possibly weird things are going to happen during a full day on the water. When something goes south, you have to be able to laugh.”

Capt. Theophile Bourgeois (neworleansfishing.com)

Cajun Vista’s captain extraordinaire was born along the banks of the Gulf and baptized in the waters of the Big Muddy. Here’s what he can’t live without on the water.

Skeeter SX240

This 24-foot bay boat cuts through the sportiest days on the open bays, but “has no trouble getting skinny to chase tails in the shallow marshes, and always keeps ya’ high and dry!”

Reach by Southern Swamp Rockers, Them Ol’ Ghosts

“You need a hype song for those moments when you’re headed out; as the morning sun washes black bays with a crystal reflection of amber skies above, and you’re just cruising on glass. You need a song that celebrates that feeling with a Rock Anthem. If Thin Lizzy and Pearl Jam had a love child, it would be this song.”

Bajio Stiltsville in Green Mirror

“For eye protection and visibility, these shades have been my go to for quite some time. They give me full protection from stray lures and allow me to see where others can’t.”

BUBBA Electric Filet Knife

“This knife is a staple on our docks at the Cajun Vista. We battle test them daily on everything from slimy speckled trout to the scaly armor of reds, drums and Sheepsheads!”

Grundens Tough Sun Hoodie

“Grundens new Tough Sun hoodie is comfortable, cool and is great for reprieve and protection from the sun.”

H&H Gold Spoon and Popping Cork

“Sometimes you need something flashy and loud to entice a bite. You won’t find many a South Louisiana Fisherman’s tackle box missing these two proven titans.”

A Bag of Shrimp

“‘Cause I ain’t too proud. Desperate time’s call for desperate measures. If the pretty artificial lures ain’t working then I’m gonna find me a drum hole! No trip is complete without a frosty mug of beer or a Pop’s Bloody Mary from Joes Landing.”

Capt. Sonny Schindler (shorethingcharters.com)

Two hundred fifty days a year, you’ll find Capt. Sonny Schindler fishing the Mississippi backwaters and barrier islands, catching dozens of trout, redfish and flounder during a typical six-hour trip.

H&H Ford Floating Flipper

“Using a dehooker keeps me a safe distance from a stingray or hardhead catfish. Just hook the dehooker to the fishhook, pull the line against the dehooker, and the fish flops back into the water. I keep three Flippers on the boat.”

Boat Monkey Popping Cork

“Locally made in Hattiesburg, the Boat Monkey popping cork casts far and is loud as hell. The rig uses a short wire tough enough to survive an attack from a jack or redfish.”

Cuda 3-Inch Micro Shears and Boone Fisherman’s Pliers

“Micro shears are the perfect size for snipping tag ends close to the line. The blades work great on braided line. I like the long-nose Boone Fisherman’s pliers for freeing deep-hooked fish and handling feisty blue crabs.”

Okuma Ceymar HD 3000A Spinning Reel and Ceymar Inshore 7-Foot Medium-Heavy Rod

“The 7-foot rod provides clearance to launch a popping cork with a long leader. I like a rod with a solid backbone to work a larger fish without prolonging the fight and jeopardizing the fish’s health.”

Spike Anchor

“A 6-foot-long, solid stainless-steel spike anchor stops my boat faster than my Power-Pole.”

Capt. John McMurray (nyctuna.com)

Within sight of the New York City skyline, giant striped bass swim the skinny marshes and back bays. After decades of experience, Capt. John McMurray of One More Cast Light Tackle Charters knows what it takes to catch them.

Daiwa Proteus PIN70XHS

“The perfect rod with enough balls to throw a big topwater and light enough for all-day fishing.”

Daiwa Saltist MQ

“Super-stiff frame with precision gears and instant drag pressure for solid hook-sets.”

9-inch Musky Mania Doc

“This walk-the-dog topwater plug with internal rattles creates a commotion that turns on striped bass.”

9-inch Lunker City Slug-Go

“When the bass get finicky, switch to a 9-inch Slug-Go soft plastic on an unweighted weedless hook. Use a twitch-twitch-pause to allow the lure to sink to the bottom and then dart through the water.”

MinnKota Riptide Ulterra

“I couldn’t fish the flats without my MinnKota Riptide Ulterra. The handheld remote controls speed and direction, and even deploys and retracts the motor. After a productive pass, I program the motor to repeat the track and stay on the fish.”

The post Inshore Captains Reveal Top Fishing Gear appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Flat-bottom boats like Carolina Skiff’s 19 SWS deliver a legacy of inshore stability with an ultrashallow draft and plenty of deck space to fish multiple anglers. The simplicity of these skiffs and their affordability make them great family boats or even sensible sidekicks to an offshore ride.

Measuring 19 feet, 3 inches long, the 19 SWS features broad fore and aft casting platforms that would fish at least four. And because it draws only 4 inches of water, it can fish flats on a rapidly falling tide with little concern.

A standard jack plate helps you ease out of mere puddles, and pops you back on plane efficiently.

If you prefer live-baiting to casting plugs or flies, the 25-gallon aft livewell and the smaller well beneath the forward console seat hold plenty of shrimp or finfish and allow you to separate more delicate baits. Removable plush fishing seats fore and aft create all-day comfort.

On those days when you need gear for multiple fishing options, the 19 SWS delivers molded bow storage with overboard drains, a molded-in anchor locker and battery storage area, six flush-mount stainless rod holders, a cargo storage bag and a 70-quart removable marine cooler.

At the helm, the 19 SWS features a tilt steering wheel, switches and analog gauges. Mount a small electronics multifunction display in the helm face or atop the console. Stand or sit at the stainless-frame helm seat with an adjustable back.

Additional standard features for the SWS include a quick-disconnect windshield, a 12V trolling-motor plug, a fuel-water separator, a bilge pump, an aerator pump, a lockable access door, and a pop-out service hatch.

Structurally, this skiff is rock solid. The hull is built with a fiberglass grid system and a high-density fiber-core foam transom. Nestled onto that, the molded-fiberglass deck liner adds a finished look. The gravity-fed drain and non-skid deck and floor surfaces keep you dry and steady.

The 19 SWS weighs 2,192 pounds and features a 7-foot-5-inch beam with 19-inch-high gunwales—an average height for most bay boat-style models. It is rated for eight passengers, provides 25 gallons of fuel capacity and can carry up to a 140 hp engine; Carolina Skiff offers you your choice of outboard brands.

Standard controls include a binnacle control shifter, a Teleflex shifter control cable, a stainless-steel tilt helm and a Teleflex no-feedback premium steering cable, or you can option up to SeaStar hydraulic steering with a tilt helm.

Further personalize your skiff with options such as a 12V/24V trolling-motor panel with trim/tilt, a maxi air recirculation system, a raw-water washdown system, and a selection of hull colors, including bisque, black, electric blue and seafoam green. Shade options include a Bimini top, a canvas T-top or a fiberglass T-top in a variety of colors.

Carolina Skiff completes the package with National Marine Manufacturers Association certification and a 10-year hull warranty. Building a quality boat at a great price has always been the company’s goal. So it’s easy to see why Carolina Skiff remains the No. 1 outboard-powered fiberglass-boat brand in North America.

The post Focused on Fishing Shallow and Flat appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

There’s no shortage of coastal spots to wade fish for Texas seatrout. Places you can drive to in a truck and hop out. Areas you can only reach with a custom Texas sled. Just get past the initial hurdles of access and spot-finding, and fishing in waist-deep waters is a blast.

“The intimacy wade fishing brings is why it’s my preferred method,” says Capt. Travis Power, of Lone Star Guide in Matagorda, Texas. “When you’re wade fishing, you can literally feel the bottom type, depth changes and structure. It’s easy to miss stuff or not fully understand it when in the boat. Also, you can’t be any closer to the action than actually being in the water.”

Wade fishing allows anglers to catch fish that boaters can’t. Point-blank. Time and time again, it pays to get out of the boat. Experienced waders love spots inaccessible by boats — an area getting blown out by an over-enthusiastic boater is a pain in the ass.

“What makes Texas trout fishing so different from Louisiana or Florida is the bottom type and depth,” says Power. “Use a boat, like my Shallow Sport, and it’s great to go farther and cover more ground to reach your best wade fishing spots.”

Power has fished extensively in the upper and middle coasts, from Galveston to Port Aransas There are two types of waters he fishes often. “I like introducing people to wade fishing and that’s when I’ll fish hard sand near a drop-off or cut, or a sandy grass flat,” he says. “It’s a lot easier for people to get a grip on wade fishing when it feels like walking on the beach.”

Hard bottom is definitely preferred, although Power tries to hit as many varied habitat types as possible if he’s fishing on his own, including shell bar reefs and workable mud flats.

“My preferred setup is a casting rod and reel, pocket full of lures, and a 5- to 8-foot stringer clipped to my board shorts,” he says. “Less is more. I don’t even like wearing shoes unless the shell is thick.” Power even produced his own stringers, with 5-footers for kayakers all the way up to 20-footers for anglers scared of sharks.

The best time to go wade fishing is whenever you have a free day — different spots produce each month of the year.

“My favorite time for wade fishing is fall and winter,” says Power. “I take the spring off because I think everyone needs an off-season. Summer time is the most popular.”

The post Texas Wade Fishing for Speckled Trout appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Despite the Atlantic tarpon’s 120-million-year existence, it has a relatively short angling history. Not a revered food fish and sometimes freakish in size, it took time to develop strong tackle to tame such beasts. New York architect William Halsey Wood couldn’t have imagined that his trip to southwest Florida in spring 1885 would birth an entire industry. But it did, and the rest is quite literally history.

1885

The first tarpon caught on rod and reel was documented by angler William Halsey Wood in 1885 on a bamboo rod, a conventional reel and a live mullet. It weighed 93 pounds. Fittingly, the site was Tarpon Bay near Sanibel Island, Florida.

1894

Southwest Florida ­tarpon fishing catches fire, and the fish fueled the region’s ­economy. For many, tarpon were essentially the first fish of a big-game ­fishing addiction. Local newspapers reported weekly lists of ­tarpon catches, with 438 caught in 1894.

1902

The techniques and tackle evolved at a fast clip. The silver king started a revolution. The star drag reel, invented by reel-maker Edward vom Hofe in 1902, replaced the “knuckle-busters” that made fighting big tarpon a painful endeavor.

1911

Outdoor writer A.W. Dimmock’s The Book of the Tarpon is published, bringing tarpon fishing to the general public. Dimmock came up with a weight formula for the fish (girth squared times length divided by 800), allowing anglers to release their catch alive.

1982

Billy Pate set a fly-fishing record on 16-pound tippet with a 188-pound tarpon caught off Homosassa in 1982. That catch started the frantic world-record chase on fly by the best fly-fishers in the business. Pate’s 16-pound tippet record was broken on May 13, 2003, with a 190-pound, 9-ounce tarpon caught by Tom Evans Jr.

1994

The biggest tarpon specimen landed by a woman stands at 249 pounds, caught by Frederique Jarland, fishing out of Sherbro Island, Sierra Leone. The fish was fought on 30-pound line. Sierra Leone holds nine ­tarpon world records.

2001

Capt. Steve Kirkpatrick guided angler Jim Holland Jr. to the first tarpon over 200 pounds ever taken on fly tackle. On May 11, Holland landed a ­202-pound, 8-ounce tarpon on 20-pound tippet fishing off Florida’s ­central west coast near Homosassa.

2003

The all-tackle world-­record fish was certified as the 80-pound line-class record at 286 pounds, 9 ounces. It was caught by Max Domecq in Rubane, Guinea-Bissau, Africa, on March 20, 2003. Lure designer Patrick Sebile was the guide.

2021

On May 8, 2021, a giant tarpon was caught off Bahia Solano, Colombia, in South America. The angler was American Josh Jorgensen, who runs the BlacktipH YouTube channel. He and his companions took turns fighting the fish to competition. It measured 87 inches long with a 54-inch girth. Modern tarpon calculators estimate that the fish weighed 312 pounds.

The post The Evolution of Tarpon Fishing appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.