Although Capt. Shane York is a regular at his local gym, at least a portion of his body-builder’s physique can be attributed to an annual run of bull redfish at an expansive bay near his favorite south Louisiana port. Every year in the late summer stretching through the fall, mature reds invade the flats in the lower Barataria Basin, and absolutely engorge themselves on bait stocks that must be seen to be believed. York is always there to greet them, armed with soft-plastic paddle tails under corks.

“You can throw whatever you want, and they’ll hit it, but that cork makes it pretty much a guarantee,” he said.

York has been kind enough to invite me to experience the bull-red blitz the last two seasons. Last year, we left predawn out of Myrtle Grove Marina, and caught them until neither of us could bear the thought of reeling in another fish. That was at 8 a.m. All the reds were pushing 40 inches.

“The smallest bull we’ve caught out here so far this year was 35 inches,” York said that morning.

Two years ago, I absolutely wrecked my biceps reeling in bull after bull, including my personal best, a 44-inch fish. Although mature redfish conduct their spawning duties in deep passes along the coast, that’s not where York finds the fish when they’re in feeding mode. He hunts for extensive flats of uniform 3- to 4-foot depths that hold bait, and when he finds one, success is almost assured, regardless of water clarity.

“We catch them out here in absolute chocolate milk,” he said.

The run coincides with the migration of white shrimp leaving Louisiana’s marshes this time of year. York releases every bull he catches, but if you were to cut open one’s belly, it would be jammed full.

Bull Red Drum Eat Speckled Trout

“You would find a lot of shrimp, but you’d also find some speckled trout,” he said. “They feast on those little speckled trout.”

In fact, the trout are such a significant part of the bull reds’ diet that York knows he’s in the right area when aggressive specks and white trout are the first to yank down his cork. Many of the specks are under Louisiana’s 13-inch minimum size limit, but some are solid keepers. York doesn’t mind putting those in the box if his clients want to take some fish home.

Often, diving seagulls give away the location of productive flats, so York said it pays to always be observant. He had just recently discovered the flat that produced so many fish for us last year.

“We were fishing one area, and we were moving to another area,” he said. “As we were driving across the flat, we saw two huge blowups right next to the boat. We stopped, put the Power-Pole down, made two casts and immediately doubled up.”

York’s favorite color lure is black with a chartreuse tail, but he also has success with white and straight chartreuse. He will be putting all those colors to use for the next few months. Once the fish show up in late July or early August, they stick around for a while.

“They’ll be out here really good through October or November, but you’ll still have some stretching into December,” he said.

By then, York will surely look even more ripped.

The post Louisiana’s Late Summer Redfish Blitz appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Among the many species I’ve pursued around the globe, striped bass still hold top ranking on my list, and my favorite place to engage with this rugged fish is in the clear shallows of New England. For the ultimate striper challenge, an experience that marries the demanding flats fishing for bonefish with a hint of tropical reef wading for aggressive trevally, look to the coastal flats of Narragansett Bay, the Elizabethan Islands, Block Island and the waters around Cape Cod, where light sandy bottom peppered with boulders, carpets of eelgrass and shellfish beds draws plenty of hungry stripers.

Striped bass, ranging from packs of school-size 5- to 15-pounders in the deeper channels to lone fish as large as 50 pounds, routinely prowl and hunt these clear flats and shorelines. They may appear as dark shadows against the sand, or as silver-green phantoms with fins glowing ultraviolet purple. When the tide is right and the moon fat, these fish readily take gaudy lures and flies. Cast beyond them and retrieve with the tide, from shallow to deeper water, across their travel path. When the moon is shyer, so are the stripers, which become selective and demand smaller lures and lighter terminal gear.

Approach carefully, keep your shadow off the fish, and cast beyond and ahead of the fish, then retrieve as if the lure is fleeing. Correctly interpreting the behavior of a pursuing linesider reacting to the lure makes all the difference between a committed smash or a hard turn and bolt that leave a cloud of sand and disappointment. Clear-water sight-casting to glowing phantoms and reading fish behavior as they track your lure isn’t a likely scene you conjure up when thinking about striped bass in the Northeast, but in New England from May through July, it becomes an exciting reality.

The post Striped Bass Fishing in New England appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Mississippi is just one of the 10 states touched by North America’s largest river, but somehow, it’s the one that inherited its name. Louisiana coastal anglers are fine with that because most have a love-hate relationship with “The Big Muddy.” In high-river years, when the Mississippi most lives up to its nickname, it shoves cubic foot after cubic foot of highly turbid fresh water into the marshes, bays and bayous of south Louisiana, giving inshore waters the clarity of an advanced lesson on quantum physics.

Estuarine species flee the scene, setting up shop in areas where they can actually see their fins in front of their faces. For anglers, that means longer runs burning more fuel and complete abandonment of familiar honey holes. Solicit an opinion from a south Louisiana angler about the Mississippi during a high-river spring, and you’ll likely get a string of expletives longer than Steve Martin’s in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”

But as with all things in nature, there is a yang to the yin. Though the high water makes fishing tough in the short run, it infuses the ecosystem with more nutrients than a vitamin factory, spring-boarding it to glorious days of truly incomprehensible fishing productivity once the river retreats. Exactly when that happens depends entirely upon how much rain falls in the Midwest, but south Louisiana anglers usually start looking at the readings from New Orleans’ Carrollton gauge around the beginning of summer, and typically sometime in August, the river first retreats below 5 feet there. That’s the signal that the river has gotten so low and slow that it’s lost its battle against the Gulf, allowing clean, green water to infiltrate all the major passes and even the Mississippi itself south of Venice.

Speckled trout will eventually find their way to all the bait the river fed for months, but redfish, flounder and largemouth bass get first crack at the menhaden, glass minnows, killifish and crabs in August and September. It’s some of the best fishing found anywhere on the continent.

Charter captains who ferry inexperienced tourists use live or dead shrimp under corks to make harvest easiest, but veteran anglers who like a little more sport channel their inner Kevin VanDam and hit the passes like they’re out to win the Bassmaster Classic.

The roseau canes that line these waterways are hideouts for staggering numbers of bass, redfish, flounder and more, and when waters retreat, these fish get exposed. Venice regulars schedule their trips this time of year around falling tides, and hit major and minor passes that have steeper banks that allow game fish to wait for bait that gets sucked out of the canes.

In this scenario, a wide range of lures will work, but arguably the most productive and enjoyable technique is to flip soft-plastic worms, craws and creature baits to the edges of the canes. Bites are seldom ferocious, but the fights after hooksets sure are. It’s close-combat fishing, with anglers often getting splashed by angry redfish and bass erupting a rod’s length away.

Best gear includes heavy braided line, tungsten bullet weights of at least 3/8-ounce and 3/0 or 4/0 standard J hooks. Extra-wide-gap hooks tend to emerge from fish’s lips, snagging the tough roseau canes in the process. It’s not uncommon for anglers to watch helplessly as a violent bass, red or flounder earns its freedom due to a hook point that’s embedded in a cane.

Newcomers are often stunned to discover all three of these species cohabitate side by side by side, and when setting the hook, it’s impossible to know which type of fish will emerge through the surface. That always adds an exponent to the fun factor. There’s no telling exactly when the river will fall below 5 feet this year, but interested anglers can check the level and forecast depth. Whenever it is, fishing will be off the chain, and anglers will owe it all to the tough spring days when the water was dirty and the fish were far out.

The post Saltwater Flipping and Pitching appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Recipes are great for both cooking and fishing — follow this set of instructions, and you’ll get that desired result. Professional chefs, however, understand which flavors combine well to create their own delectable dishes. Charter captains, who fish many days consecutively, through varied weather, temperature and tides, similarly understand how a lure’s specific characteristics — its flavor, if you will — mix with given water conditions to convince fish to take a bite.

With that in mind, I asked 11 striped bass experts to pick their favorite striper lure and explain when and how they fish it. I also asked each why he believed that particular lure to be so mouthwatering to striped bass in those circumstances. Sure, pro anglers typically name as their go-to striped bass lure one made by a manufacturer who sponsors them. But knowing it has proved consistently effective for them, then understanding why — both their “recipe” (what to fish, when and how — as well as their reasoning) — will help all striper enthusiasts increase their success. Here are the best striped bass lures you can buy today.

Quicklook: Best Fishing Lures for Striped Bass

• Hard Baits
  • Gibbs Danny Surface Swimmer
  • Rapala Skitter Walk
  • Sebile Magic Swimmer
  • Rebel Jumping Minnow
  • Shimano ColtSniper Jerkbait
  • Strategic Angler Cruiser
  • Tsunami Talkin’ Popper
  • Yo-Zuri Mag Darter
• Soft Baits
  • RonZ Original Series
  • Lunker City Slug-Go
  • Storm WildEye Swim Shad
  • Berkley Gulp! Shads and PowerBaits (for East and West Coast Fishing)

Hard Baits

Gibbs Danny Surface Swimmer

Where, When and Who Along Long Island on New York’s southwestern coast, from Jones Inlet to Fire Island, Capt. Al Lorenzetti targets striped bass on current edges along inshore sandbars from late May through mid-July, and then again in October and November.

Lure Choice and Conditions “When I’m anchored ahead of a rip, the blunt tip of the Danny, plus that metal lip, gives it a wobble that stripers want to pounce on, even with minimal forward motion through the water. Just the current makes the plug work.”

Read Next: Striped Bass Fishing in New England

How and Why “One angler on one side of the boat just holds the lure right in front of the edge of the rip. Another angler on the other side casts behind the rip and reels right up to it. The most experienced angler in a group of three then throws between the two and reels the plug right along the rip line, just fast enough to make it wobble. It lays over side to side and looks like the slow-moving bunker or shad that frequent those rips.”

Size and Color 3½-ounce in yellow (which is intended to resemble bunker)

Unique Rig Bend the metal lip down, not quite to 90 degrees, to keep the lure on top, where it’s easier to keep an eye on it as well as see spectacular striper surface bites.

When to Switch “Casting into the wind, the line tends to foul the Danny’s front hook, and if I can’t get close, like at a breaking inlet bar, it doesn’t cast far enough.” At such times, Lorenzetti goes with Gibbs’ Polaris Popper. “It doesn’t foul, and I can throw it a country mile.”

-Lorenzetti is a pro staffer for Gibbs.

Rapala Skitter Walk

Where, When and Who North Carolina sounds — really, one huge, shallow inland sea — provide stripers year-round, with “dynamite action from late April through November,” says Capt. Gary Dubiel.

Lure Choice and Conditions If he knows where to cast, and stripers are either in shallow water or actively feeding on top, Dubiel says the distinct, loud rattle of the Skitter Walk attracts bigger fish than most other lures will.

How and Why “Use a lot of rod tip and reel slowly” — the classic walk-the-dog, Dubiel says. “Rock the bait aggressively side to side to move that big rattle inside, and keep it moving toward you with slow momentum. The rhythmic noise and motion seem to trigger fish.”

Size and Colors 4 3/8-inch with a white or chartreuse belly, or — in particularly dark, tannic water — a model in orange hues

When to Switch In choppy water that muffles noise, or when fish are deeper or more scattered, Dubiel prefers the louder sound and heartier surface action of Storm’s Rattlin’ Chug Bug, a cup-faced popper, which he says is also easier for many anglers to fish properly.

-Dubiel is a pro staffer for Rapala.

Rebel Jumping Minnow

Where, When and Who Beginning in May, striped bass show up on bars and along marsh edges on the Merrimack River, just south of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border, says Capt. Chris Valakatgis.

Lure Choice and Conditions “On a calm day, you see the Jumping Minnow on top, even if it stops, and you hear the rattle. That helps get you into a rhythm and adjust your retrieve until you find the cadence that entices bites.”

How and Why “Start with a slow walk-the-dog motion, then use slow twitches of the rod tip to make the bait swing out wider to the side. If stripers are breaking on the surface, try speeding up the cadence and tightening the zigzag.”

Size and Color 4½-inch in bone

Unique Rig Replace original hooks with larger No. 1 or No. 2 trebles to handle 40-inch fish, but crush barbs to aid releasing smaller schoolies.

When to Switch “The Jumping Minnow is so light, it’s hard to cast in any wind, and if it’s choppy, you need a lure with more surface commotion to stand out,” Valakatgis says, so in those conditions, he switches to the rear-weighted Cordell Pencil Popper for better casting and heartier action.

Sebile Magic Swimmer

Where, When and Who After spawning in the Hudson and Delaware rivers, stripers return to the coast beginning late in March and hang there through June, says Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, Capt. John Luchka.

Lure Choice and Conditions “When adult bunker are around, the fast-sinking Magic Swimmer targets fish on the surface, midwater and all the way to the bottom,” Luchka says. Stripers are drawn to the vibration the jointed body creates and, the guide says, it looks like an injured fish once the fish get close.

How and Why “They’re not super ­aggressive until they’ve had a few meals. Cast the lure outside the edge of the bait school so it looks like a wounded bait separated from the school. Let it sink, then bring it in slowly a couple of cranks and pause, a couple more cranks, and pause. They crush it on that pause.” A faster retrieve entices those same fish after they’ve eaten and become more aggressive.

Size and Colors 7½-inch, 3-ounce fast-sinking in bunker, or the brighter American shad color in murky water

When to Switch When smaller prey are prevalent, Luchka prefers “Sebile’s Stick Shadd, which is a bit rounder, and better matches the body shape of peanut bunker.”

-Luchka was a pro staffer for Sebile, back when the company was producing lures.

Shimano ColtSniper Jerkbait

Where, When and Who Chris Fox’s flexible schedule gets him on the lower Chesapeake Bay as regularly as many pro captains where, from October through early December, he parlays that expertise into frequent striper, trout and redfish slams, all from one lure.

Lure Choice and Conditions Near the mouth of the York and James rivers, green shrimp — which are actually white — show up thick in shallow water near man-made structure such as old pier pilings. “The ColtSniper’s lip drives the lure underwater a foot or two, where the long, skinny body and white color match the shrimp.”

How and Why From deeper water, “cast it up on a flat and just reel it in slowly. It flashes white as it wobbles and rolls side to side. The fish usually hammer it right at that drop-off,” he says. As the water temperature falls below 50 degrees, “I slow the retrieve drastically, almost to the point of boredom,” he says — until a 40-inch striped bass piles on.

Size and Colors 140 mm (5.5 inches) in bone color with pink highlights underneath

When to Switch When the fish hang deeper than the ColtSniper will reach, “I switch to a sinking version of Hayward Tackle’s Genesis and twitch it for a walk‑the‑dog action.”

Strategic Angler Cruiser

Where, When and Who Along Cape Cod’s eastern shore and north past Cape Ann, Massachusetts, from mid-May through mid-July, tremendous currents from 12-foot tides over bottom with minimal structure to hide behind force striped bass into huge, roaming packs. They’re “more like open-water pelagics” — not their normal ambush hunting style, says Capt. Dom Petrarca.

Lure Choice and Conditions For about an hour on either side of slack tide, Petrarca says, “the stripers push the mackerel to the surface and attack from underneath. The long, wide Cruiser makes a lot of surface noise and offers the mackerel profile that bass are keyed in to.”

How and Why “Every couple of cranks, give a light twitch to the left [for spinners with the handle on the left side]. The wide body is weighted so the narrow nose digs in and it kicks out to the side, then comes back in an S pattern,” Petrarca says, which mimics the quick lateral movements of ­mackerel fleeing predators.

Size and Color 10-inch in a blue- or green-mackerel pattern

Unique Rig Owner Stinger 3/0 treble hook plus a Gamakatsu 8/0 live-bait hook at the tail

When to Switch During ripping currents between high and low tides, striped bass change hunting tactics. “They stack up, looking like a long wave on the fish finder in the middle of the water column.” That huge wall of striper mouths swimming with the current sucks up any unfortunate prey it rolls across. “Get in front of the school, and drop a 3- or 4-ounce jig.”

-Petrarca is a pro staffer for Strategic Angler.

Tsunami Talkin’ Popper

Where, When and Who Capt. Scott Leonard starts his season in May on Long Island, New York’s central south shore, and he moves to Montauk and beyond as the fish migrate east from July through September.

Lure Choice and Conditions “The Talkin’ Popper fishes really well when it’s flat or fairly calm — 12 knots of wind or less. It casts well too when stripers are up tight to the beach and hard to get to.”

How and Why “Cast along the outer edges of the bunker school, where big bass tend to be. Pop it, let it settle, then pop it again, while reeling nice and slow. The slower the better for bigger fish,” he says. “The way it splashes, it looks like a wounded bunker separated from the school, and stripers climb right onto it.”

Size and Colors 3½-ounce in yellow, to mimic ­prevalent bunker

When to Switch “When conditions are rougher, with a lot of surface commotion already, I’ll go with a surface swimmer like the Gibbs Danny.”

-Leonard is a pro staffer for Tsunami.

Yo-Zuri Mag Darter

Where, When and Who Capt. Carter Andrews fishes far and wide for The Obsession of Carter Andrews television show, but he often returns to New England during peak early‑summer striper fishing.

Lure Choice and Conditions The Mag Darter fishes really well in strong New England currents. “It doesn’t roll to the side like a true lipped lure,” he says. “With the magnetic weight-transfer system, super-long casts maximize my opportunities farther from the boat.”

How and Why “With just a slow, steady, straight wind, it darts really well side to side,” which he says entices striped bass in most conditions. To spice it up, though, “on every second or third crank, I give it just a little twitch.”

Size and Colors 6½-inch in bronze or bone, or, at times, holographic pink

When to Switch “When I’m up the rivers, in calmer conditions with less current, I can throw the 5-inch Mag Minnow like a dart,” he says, to more accurately target specific points and pockets of marsh grass where striped bass might lie.

-Andrews is a pro staffer for Yo-Zuri.

Soft Baits

Hard baits require specific angler actions to convince stripers they’re a natural food source. “Soft baits already look and feel real,” says Rhode Island charter captain Jack Sprengel, who offers several hot tickets.

RonZ Original Series

Early in July, as fish move into deeper water off Block Island, Sprengel says, “they’re often using current breaks behind structure to carry feeding opportunities to them. The original RonZ series lure’s tapered body swims just from water moving across its body.” Simply drop a 6- to 8-inch lure from a drifting boat, choosing the weighted head based on drift speed. Alternately, “cast into the direction of the drift and let it sink to the bottom, then slowly jig it all the way back to the surface.”

-Sprengel is a pro staffer for RonZ.

Lunker City Slug-Go

Beginning in May in Narragansett Bay, “when they’re in shallow water and easily spooked, it’s tough to beat a soft-landing, slow-moving bait like the original Slug-Go, presented at or just below the surface,” Sprengel says. A 6- to 10-inch bait should be rigged with a single-hook head. “Less is more. Don’t botch the presentation by adding too much input. If the strike doesn’t come right after it lands, retrieve any slack, give it two sharp twitches, pause, and repeat.”

Storm WildEye Swim Shad

Regarding another favorite of Sprengel’s, he says: “Near a jetty or pier, a weighted paddle-tail shad with tight but erratic action, such as Storm’s swim shad, sinks quickly down into the strike zone along and between structure contours.” Start small, 4 to 6 inches, or as large as 9 inches to target large stripers. “Reel slowly and let the paddle tail do its job.” Sprengel favors these swim shad in bright colors on bright days and darker colors on dark, overcast days. “Hold the lure over your head,” he suggests, “and see how it contrasts with the sky — as fish will see it.”

Berkeley Gulp! Shads and PowerBaits (East and West Coast)

With a West Coast spin on striper fishing, widely known Northern California fishing journalist Steve Carson says: “On major rivers, the 8-inch black PowerBait Maxscent Kingtail rigged on a ½- to ¾-ounce jig head replicates local eels. In the California Delta, Berkley’s 4-inch Havoc Sick Fish and 4- or 5-inch PowerBait Ripple Shad are good for blind-casting at known holding areas, or cast the Gulp! 5-inch or 6-inch Saltwater Jerk Shads into visible boils. Carson adds, “Shad- or trout-replicating colors are usually best, though chartreuse can be very effective in dirty water.”

-Carson is a pro staffer for Berkley.

Back on the East Coast, pro tournament fisherman Capt. Seth Funt (@teamthreebuoys) says, “The fish in Long Island Sound in March and April are tuned in to worms and small sand eels,” so he opts for a ½- or ¾-ounce Spro Prime Bucktail Jig in pearl, tipped with a 4- or 6-inch Gulp! Power Worm in pumpkin color. “It gives them a big, fat sand eel to get excited about. Just twitch, twitch, pull, and then let it fall a little. Worms and juvenile eels don’t swim along like baitfish; they just move with the current, so present it the same way.”

Try Them Out for Yourself

No matter your preferred striper lure, the key is to match it to the seasonal patterns and feeding behaviors of the striped bass you’re targeting. With the right lures and some well-timed casts, you’ll be hooking into plenty of these hard-fighting fish in no time. So get rigged up with some proven striped bass lures and get out on the water — the next trophy is waiting for you.

The post Best Striped Bass Lures 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.

This is the time of year when many inshore anglers start prepping for the spring fishing season. The waters are starting to warm up. Baitfish are moving back into the bays, rivers and creeks. And many of our favorite fish species are starting to feed with gusto. The itch to get back on the water is unbearable.

So give your tackle a quick look-over. What’s missing? What gear needed replacement after last season? And we all know that one fishing friend who’s still wearing a pair of sunglasses held together by superglue or casting a rod patched together with duct tape — maybe they have a birthday coming up?

One thing I’ve noticed is that many anglers have a strong idea of what they want before they ever enter a tackle shop. So, check out these new options for inshore anglers. Bay boat, flats skiff or kayak — the vessel doesn’t matter. These new gear products might have a place in your arsenal.

Bajio Chelem Sunglasses

You might know Chelem, Yucatan, Mexico, as that clear-water fishing spot where permit and tarpon have knock-down, drag-out fights with shallow-water anglers. That’s where Bajio’s Chelem sunglasses get their name. The Chelem is a medium-sized frame that fishes well, with its lightweight bio-based nylon frame, rubber nose pads, and flexible hinges. Lens are polarized with proprietary blue-light-blocking LAPIS technology, while the lens coating is scratch-resistant and oleophobic. If you’re looking for 1980s nostalgia frames that seem popular with Instagram influencers, these aren’t it. But if you want quality fishing sunglasses from a company built on sustainability, give these American-assembled shades a shot.

Price: $209 | Link: bajiosunglasses.com

Bubba Tidal Rods

Available in three different series, Bubba’s Tidal rods will catch the eye of brand new fishermen, tournament-tested pros, and everyone in between. Probably the first thing you’ll notice is the creative use of vibrant reds, blacks and whites of the sticks. Each of the Tidal, Tidal Select and Tidal Pro lines feature spinning and casting rods, as well as different lengths, actions and backbone.  

• Backed by a 5-year warranty, the Tidal graphite spinning rods are constructed with stainless steel, corrosion-resistant guides. At the butt end, there’s a split reel seat for sensitivity and a grip for comfort.
• The next step up are the Tidal Select rods, best described as workhorses. Backed by a limited lifetime warranty, the rods feature corrosion-resistant Fuji components and quality 24/30 Toray graphite construction. At the butt-end is a non-slip grip for all-day comfort.
• Captains and pros helped design the Tidal Pro rods. Constructed from top-of-the line Fuji reel seats and guides, a corrosion-resistant design, and 30T Toray graphite construction, this class of rods aims for the top of the mountain. The Tidal Pro spinning rod (7 foot, 6 inches, medium-heavy) will tame a 30-inch redfish and still be fun fighting seatrout. A unique, ergonomic carbon-fiber handle is finished at the end with the company’s recognizable non-slip grip. Yes, limited lifetime warranty too.

Tidal: $139 | Tidal Select: $199 | Tidal Pro: $329.99 | Link: bubba.com

Costa Backpack 25L

When I first saw the Costa Backpack 25L, it screamed camera bag. Now, to be clear, it’s a soft backpack that’s water resistant, so I wouldn’t pack cameras meant to shoot the next great outdoor documentary. But for GoPros and point-and-shoots that already have some built-in weather-protection, this backpack is perfect. There is plenty of space to add all the necessary accessories too, such as batteries, cards, chargers and everything else. Or you could use the backpack as a tackle bag to bring onto your buddy’s boat. Tackle trays, clothes, and drinks will all fit. Just don’t let your kid steal the pack for school!

Price: $90 | Link: costadelmar.com

Tenkara Carbon Fiber Landing Net

Don’t call it a freshwater net. The Tenkara Carbon Fiber Landing Net is perfect for seatrout and flounder anglers. Both species have a reputation for shaking free near the boat, so the 18-inch handle on this carbon-fiber net is useful. Plus, it’s lightweight and floats. Store it in a rod holder or a storage compartment, but keep it at the ready. Total length is 36 inches, weight is 16 ounces, and the bag dimension is 18 by 12 by 12 inches. When those specks and flatfish are out of season or under the slot, the clear rubber mesh net is easy on the fish for a healthy release.

Price: $139 | Link: tenkararodco.com

XTRATUF Kiata

The XTRATUF Kiata is not a deck boot the company’s known for, it’s a high-performance sneaker. Tested in Alaska, the shoe was designed to be tough yet comfortable. A detail that stands out is the 3D knit upper, created from a single yarn for a seamless design. What’s better, it’s 100 percent waterproof. A lightweight sock-style upper blends with a cushioned midsole and perforated insole. Where your shoe meets the road, a TUFgrip outsole produces mega traction on flat surfaces or uneven bottom. You get to decide if it’s a boat shoe or one for the tiki bar.

Price: $135 | Link: xtratuf.com

The post New Fishing Gear for February: Inshore Edition appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

If you want to fish the flats efficiently, no boat can make it happen better than a flats skiff. Minimal draft, maximum fishability, and a stealthy attitude make these craft ideal whether you plan on sight fishing for reds or fly casting for bones. Check out these top five contenders.

Hewes Redfisher 16

Hewes’ VARIS construction takes boatbuilding to the next level and sets this skiff apart from the ­competition. By delivering the ideal ­resin-to-composite ratio, it reduces weight while maximizing strength, resulting in a lighter boat that’s easy to pole and tough as nails. Add the wide beam and 15-degree transom deadrise, and you get a flats skiff that’s also surprisingly stable, runs smoothly, and rides high in a chop—precisely the kind of versatile boat that feels right at home fishing in inlets and passes, as well as in ­back­country bays or on oceanside flats. To cap it all off, the Redfisher 16 is a breeze to trailer and fits readily in a garage.

Maverick 18 HPX-V

The Maverick 18 HPX-V, popular with hardcore flats anglers and guides, poles well in extremely shallow water and affords the comfort and space of a backcountry boat. The extra elbow room lets three anglers fish comfortably in different types of waters, from flats and passes to inlets and bridges. The length helps the skiff track well, even in a breeze, and allows for considerable livewell capacity: a whopping 30 gallons for hauling large, live baits. The boat is designed to get on top of a chop instead of plowing through it, thanks to the builder’s weight-saving techniques that use Vacuum-Assisted Resin Infusion System (VARIS) construction, and Kevlar and carbon fiber. Added bonus: An incredibly rigid and solid hull.

Xplor Boatworks X7

Hull design on the Xplor X7 gives this boat unique running characteristics and also boosts fishability. The integrated rails take the upward force of the water and use it to soften the ride while ­channeling that water away from the boat to knock down spray. This allows for the rails to be placed higher on the hull sides than normal, minimizing rail or chine splashing that can create fish-­spooking noises while poling. Additionally, the hull has a padded running surface, longer than most, that provides more lift and stability. Topside design boosts the skiff’s fishing prowess as the cap extends beyond the hull confines, providing the most fishing area possible atop the minimal amount of wetted surface, leaving room for three livewells totaling a monstrous 86-gallon capacity.

Yellowfin 17CE

A vacuum-bagged and injected molding process, and the use of composites, including proprietary fabrics unique to Yellowfin, made with Kevlar, E-glass and carbon in a quad-axis weave, plus 1005 pure vinylester resin, give the Yellowfin 17 CE (Carbon Elite) a major dose of high-tech construction that sets it apart from the flats skiff crowd. With a stepped hull that’s 20 percent lighter and 17 percent stronger than its predecessor, the 17-footer has an average fuel burn of 7 mpg with a Mercury 60 FourStroke, and a range of over 150 miles—unheard of for a flats skiff. On top of that, Yellowfin’s high resale value means the 17 CE is bound to deliver exceptional value, despite a higher initial cost than some other skiffs.

Action Craft 1600 FlatsPro

If you love flats skiffs but not their limited capacity, you’ll want to check out Action Craft’s 1600 FlatsPro, a 16-footer US Coast Guard-rated to hold up to five people—more than many other flats skiffs, even significantly larger models. Stability is a big contributing factor here because the FlatsPro, with its 14-degree transom deadrise and 7-foot beam, is uber-stable. Action Craft also offers multiple seating options to increase the comfort level of those aboard, including a bench seat with flip-up backrest, and a raised console with leaning-post seating. Angling acuity gets a boost as well, thanks to the spacious fore and aft casting decks, each with its own livewell topping 20 gallons.

Blue Wave 1900 STL

One of two models in Blue Wave’s Ultra-Shallow series, the 1900 STL combines skinny-water capabilities, generous storage and ­excellent fishability without sacrificing comfort, making it a great choice for spending the day on the flats with the family. The hull boasts a large, rounded tunnel and a slot transom—exclusive Blue Wave designs—for taking off and cruising in shallow water with confidence. Stability, both on the run and at rest, is one of the 1900 STL’s hallmarks, and the layout includes large fish boxes and livewells, elevated casting areas fore and aft, and plenty of walk-around space, plus forward-console seating, a leaning post that accommodates two at the helm, and twin jump seats astern.

The post Best Skiffs for Flats Fishing appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

If you own a money tree and enough real estate to warehouse dozens of situation-specific fly rods, stop reading now. Everyone else should buy an 8-weight, simply the most versatile number in the lineup. It packs enough punch to fling weighted crustacean imitations for bonefish or redfish, deliver 3- to 4-inch streamers for snook, schoolie stripers or juvenile tarpon, and command the sinking line you might choose when chasing albies. The rod also has the power to slug it out with sizeable game, and the fighting butt to tuck in your gut and settle in for the fight. Consider these mid-priced 8-weights, which get ‘er done in virtually all shallow-water situations.

G. Loomis IMX-PRO Streamer

Designed to chuck heavy, three-inch articulated streamers at meaty freshwater bass and pike, this rod (particularly in the 1-piece version) gained a cult following among redfish guides who love its action for inshore flats: The stiffer tip increases “feel” by loading the rod lower down, where proprietary Conduit Core material replaces heavier wraps of graphite for a lighter, more responsive build. 8′10″, 1-piece or 4-piece, $525

Orvis Recon

All the R&D that gave Orvis’s flagship H3 its dazzlingly light swing weight and sharpshooter accuracy gets replicated in the Recon, using a more approachably-priced package of resin fibers. The result feels impressively crisp and light, so it lets experts hit new benchmarks and welcomes newbies with a forgiving sweet spot. 9′ and 10′, 4-piece, $549

Sage Maverick

Designed to trim seconds off your shot time, this rod features a particularly powerful tip that increases line speed and dampens the vibrations that reduce accuracy. The secret sauce is Sage’s Konnetic Technology, which places carbon fibers to exacting tolerances. 9′, 4-piece, $575

Echo Prime

With a shorter length and light tip, the Prime lets anglers cast quicker and with tighter loops. Its moderate-fast action is optimized for the 40- to 60-foot shots that most anglers make in most situations, and its unique handle gives anglers different gripping choices. 8′10″, 2-piece or 4-piece, $470

Thomas & Thomas Zone

Made from the same materials as T&T’s flagship Sexton—but with a slightly less-fast action that accommodates a wider variety of casting styles and line types—the Zone offers T&T’s coveted feel, at a price made more approachable thanks to fewer aesthetic finishes: The resin is left unsanded and uncoated, and the fiberglass reel seat is less expensive and lighter than burled wood. 9′, 4-piece, $549

Scott Tidal

Some ultra-performance flats rods are so stiff and light that mere-mortal anglers lose touch with the tip (and their cast). The Tidal adds more mass in the tip for better feel, and counteracts that weight with three types of graphite fiber (compared to five types in the premium-priced Spector) placed at various angles to optimize energy transfer to the rod butt. 9′, 4-piece, $495

The post Best 8-Weight Fly Rods appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

If your mind keeps conjuring images of bonefish tails waving, with stunning tropical-island shores for a backdrop, it might be time to finally pull the trigger on that dream flats-fishing getaway. The Caribbean and Central America offer precisely what you need to quench that thirst, and many renowned fishing operations are again welcoming anglers. Be sure to include these on your short list of top options.

1. The Bahamas

While bonefishing options in the islands nation are varied and numerous, Andros, the largest island in the Bahamas, is known as the “bonefish capital of the world.” Swain’s Cay Lodge is a top-notch, full-service bonefishing operation on Andros that caters to hardcore anglers and nonangling family members.

2. Belize

A handful of atolls and the flats and shoals stretching the length of the country’s coastline afford ample opportunity for visiting bonefishers. Located on the southern tip of the largest atoll in the Western Hemisphere, Turneffe Island Resort is one of the oldest and most established lodges in Belize, offering excellent year-round fishing.

3. Cuba

The Bay of Pigs and Playa Larga fishery offer prolific numbers of bonefish in a vast, still untouched locale within Las Salinas Wildlife Sanctuary and the Ciénaga de Zapata Biosphere Reserve. Amazing scenery, seasoned guides and well-equipped skiffs make for a memorable trip.

4. Mexico’s Yucatan

Better roads and small-aircraft service now make the trek from Cancun to the many fishing lodges in the peninsula considerably easier. Grand Slam Lodge is the ideal base of operations for fishing famous Ascension Bay, perhaps better known for its permit, but also home to a vast bonefish population.

5. Honduras

While the country’s Bay Islands have long been known to deliver excellent wade-­fishing -opportunities for bones, the new Far Away Cayes ­operation—a remote fishery accessed via helicopter—has reset the bar for the most productive and untouched flats in the region.

The post Best Bonefish Destinations in the World appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.