Coastal Angler Magazine | February 2024 | Boston Edition

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BOSTON EDITION

@CAMTAMagazine

George K. Regan, Jr. Publisher Boston Edition

Julie Kahn Executive Vice President/ Strategy, Sports & Media

The time has arrived to put away the rods and take out the tilts. Ice fishing has finally arrived, some are happy and some are not, but it is time to face the facts and enjoy something that you thought you would never enjoy.

Continued on Boston page 1

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPT. MATT ZIMMERMANN IG: @BACKEDDYCHARTERS VOLUME 29 • ISSUE 347

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else, here are a few tips to help you hook and land more tripletail.

• Cruise Carefully: Floating at the surface and doing its best to imitate a garbage bag, a tripletail is easy to spot once you develop an eye for it. Run a trap line on plane with a dedicated spotter and you can cover water quickly to locate “trips.” However, you’ll put fish down if you wake them too hard.

Stay at least 30 feet off a trap line or channel markers while prospecting.

When you spot a fish, give it a few minutes to settle and come back to the surface while you bring the boat around to approach with the trolling motor.

A tripletail at ease on the surface is an easy fish to target.

• Consider Your Eyewear: Obviously, polarized glasses are a must when sight fishing anything. The color of your lenses matters, too. It’s worth investing in a couple of good pairs so you can switch out according to conditions. Gray or blue works best in clear water. In dingy water, go with copper or rose lenses.

• Stay Rigged and Ready: If you’re targeting trout, redfish or whatever, keep a tripletail rig on hand and keep an eye out for them when you’re running to a new spot. A good basic rig is a popping cork with a short 20-pound fluorocarbon leader of a foot or less and a 2/0 circle hook. Live shrimp is best, but if you’re fishing artificials, a DOA shrimp or a Gulp! shrimp or crab will also work.

• On Approach: Come at your quarry from down-current and cast well past it so that your bait drifts back in front of its nose. If that cork starts to dance, give it a few seconds before coming tight. Tripletail have small, hard mouths and you want to be sure the fish has taken the bait.

• Fish Small Baits: The reason a tripletail is hanging out on that marker is to eat the small crabs and shrimp that live there. They’re used to small food and have small mouths, which is why they’ll sometimes reject big shrimp.

Pitch small or medium shrimp to them or small baitfish and lures no longer than about 2.5 inches.

• Stick With Them: If a tripletail spooks or goes down, it usually isn’t going far. Try drifting an unweighted bait on a longer 4- or 5-foot leader that will get down deeper on a long drift past your structure. If that doesn’t work, t will soon be the time of year when everyone’s favorite oddball, the go hit your next mark and come back later. There’s a good chance the fish will tripletail, starts moving in closer to shore to hang out on structure or free- be sunbathing happily on the surface when you return. floating debris. Whether you actively sight fish them by running a line of traps and markers or if you just happen to see one while pursuing something For more tips and tricks, visit coastalanglermag.com.

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Ice Fishing Has Arrived

By Braeden

The time had arrived to put away the rods and take out the tilts. Ice fishing has finally arrived, some are happy and some are not, but is time to face the facts and enjoy something that you thought you would never enjoy.

Ice fishing is something special, and I always love the joy of pulling a huge Bass out of a 6-12 inch hole that you either drilled or chiseled into the ice.

There are different kinds of compared to a pond with ponds that you can fish de- trout fishing because of the pending on what you want constant action. When it to catch. If you want to comes to ice fishing it is alcatch lots of fish in a short ways a plus when you have amount of time I would great action because it takes suggest going to a pond that your mind off the cold and holds lots of Bass and is al- onto the hole that you pull most like a kettle pond. Anyour fish out of with just the other type of pond is a pond line and your hands. that will hold Trout and other fish like Bass but the only thing is that the fishing Ice fishing is one of my fais very slow compared to a vorite times of the year bebass pond. My favorite type cause of the fun of sitting on of pond to fish is a bass pond the ice and waiting for one COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

of your flags to shoot up into the air and your spool to be spinning freely until you creep up to it and set the hook. I like to take any opportunity I have to get out there and catch a Bass or a Crappie.

Good luck out there if you get the chance to be pull out a big Pickerel or a Trout or even a Crappie. Take every chance you get because you won’t have many. | FEBRUARY 2024 | BOSTON 1

EDITORIAL Boston's Bay Watcher

By Bruce Berman

It is 6:00 AM on a spectacular morning and Boston's Bay Watcher Bruce Berman is already looking for bait off the stern of his restored Marine Trader trawler "The Verandah" right at the dock at Constitution Marina on Boston Harbor.

In just a few minutes Berman pulls a half dozen tinker mackerel from the clear, cool water with a sweetened sabiki rig (which he buys by the dozen from Bass Pro) and transfers them to a floating pen by the side of the boat.

He carefully picks the

friskiest fish, hooks it through the nose and drops it back into the water about 15 feet below the dock.

As we head to the salon for our first cup of coffee, the rod bends over and the reel starts to scream. "Fish on!"

2 BOSTON | FEBRUARY 2024 | COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

Berman shouts with glee. "Grab that rod and get to work." Ten minutes later, with a 32 -inch striped bass in the cooler and another live bait on a hook under the boat Berman settles down to chat.

"25 years ago Boston Harbor was a disaster.

with rod Ten h a ss in ther unman t. ston ster.

EDITORIAL (Continued from Page 2)

as the rod just outside the cabin screamed again, as another big bass took the bait, made a short run and threw the hook. Over the next few hours we caught - and released - a half a dozen more striped bass and one big bluefish - without ever leaving the dock!

As we prepared sashimi (with cilantro, lime and garlic) and sushi (with wasabi, ginger and citrus-soy) for lunch, Ber-

Today it is one of the cleanest urban harbors in America. The water's clean, the fishing is fantastic and the fish are great to eat."

Boston Harbor is a remarkable success story - and one that Berman knows well. For the past 20 years he has served as spokes-

man continued: "Boston Harbor is a great place to live. Where else can you catch a big bass in the morning, a Red Sox game in the afternoon, and a concert or a comedy show after dinner? " "If you are looking for fish on Boston Harbor, Berman's your guy," said Paul Foster, who has watched the harbor come back to life over the past 25 years. "And he's not a bad cook - if you like fresh fish."

man for the non-profit Save the Harbor / Save the Bay, a driving force behind the Boston Harbor Cleanup. The group's free summer youth environmental education programs have connected 50,000 kids to Boston Harbor since 2002.

Our talk was cut short COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

| FEBRUARY 2024 | BOSTON 3

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EDITORIAL The Thrill of Ice Fishing: A Winter Adventure!

By Dan Kenney

lunch), and build a small folks in New Hampshire fire to keep warm. In this bringing in crappie perch day and age of improved and bass, and even some shelters, portable heaters, Connecticut guys on Candlewood Lake and the and high quality socks, Connecticut River getting boots, gloves, ski pants in on the action. I also saw and winter jackets, there aren’t a lot of good reasons that a guy posted a photo to keep you from having a of a keeper-size striped bass from the Connecticut great day on the ice.

River. Now that'll spool you That being said, whether in a hurry! you're new to the sport or If you haven’t tried ice fish- you’re someone who’s been ing it can actually be super doing it for a while, I still recommend getting a hold fun, even if it sounds like of an experienced fishAll the ice fishing groups a crazy idea. Half of what ing guide and spending a makes it great is everyon Facebook, websites thing that goes on around day with him or her. You like iceshanty.com, and can learn so much about of course everyone in my the fishing. You can get a proper ice fishing setups, social network was report- group of friends together, ing very good fishing, with set up traps, sit on a buck- ice safety, flashers, jigging and trap fishing. I'm sure plenty of photos to prove et jigging, eat breakfast, that well known guides lunch or dinner on your it. I saw guys in Massachusetts & Maine pulling portable stove (preferably like Tim Moore from in monster pike and bass, some perch or crappie for New Hampshire, Richard

Yvon from Maine, Paul Mueller from Connecticut and Patrick Barone from Massachusetts are all really happy with the early ice fishing season. If you contact one of them, you'll be learning from experts who rely on recreational anglers for their business, so it’s definitely a win-win for all.

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

| FEBRUARY 2024 | BOSTON 5

I was super excited that year for the cold weather because I knew I would be able to get out on the ice a couple times this season.

That usually doesn't happen for me, partly because each winter I’m spending so much time running the New England Fishing & Outdoor Expo, and partly because the last few winters just haven’t been very cold.

Good luck with any future ice fishing seasons and please do remember that safety comes first! Always check ice conditions, always keep an eye on the weather and always wear ice picks.

Be smart, have fun!

Until then, God Bless and Go Fish!

CATCH OF THE MONTH

N 6 BOSTON | FEBRUARY 2024 | COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

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to commercial-application standards. They are designed to withstand hard use for years of trouble-free boating, and you can customize your C-Hawk from the factory in any way that suits your purpose.

At its core, the C-Hawk 25cc is a hard-core workhorse with a 300 horsepower maximum that will take you anywhere you need to go. Its 9’6” beam allows it to float in very skinny water with just a 12” draft, and it is also extremely stable, which should appeal for bottomfishing, diving and any other pursuit where a stable platform is preferred.

“We can mix and match consoles, fish boxes, full transoms, cut transoms, bare hulls… you name it,” Grubbs said. “There are some recreational guys adding towers and sight fishing for cobia, and such. Everything we do is built around keep it simple, keep it efficient, keep it easy to maintain, keep it cost effective to own and operate. They are all unique… no cookie cutter trailer queens here. The 25 is a great example of what C-Hawk is.”

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FEBRUARY 2024

NATIONAL 11

BLITZING BASS INVADE

EARLY SEASON ESTUARIES

By Nick Carter

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triped bass are king along the crags and marshes of the Massachusetts North Shore, and each year around the first week of May something very interesting takes place. They call it the early season in this stretch of coastline north of Boston, and it can bring on some of the fastest action of the year.

All the baitfish—the herring, the sand eels, the silversides and bunker— push into the estuaries in search of warmer water temperatures. Big schools of striped bass move in with them. It leads to classic bass blitzes, when pods of stripers push bait up to boil on the surface as birds hammer them from above.

You can bet Matt Zimmerman, owner of Back Eddy Charters out of Beverly, Mass., will be there in the middle of the melee standing in the water waving a stick in the air.

“I fly fish pretty much everywhere for everything, but it’s better early season,” he said. “You can use a slower presentation, mimic smaller baits, and cover the water column a lot better with a fly.”

Historically, the pattern produced 40-fish days of smaller 14- to 26-inch stripers, known as “schoolies.” However, recent years have seen an uptick in larger 26- to 30-inch fish in the early season.

“That’s great for fishing, but it’s not a great sign for the fishery,” Zimmerman said.

If you haven’t heard, fisheries managers are scrambling to prop up Atlantic striper populations. Since 2019, striper reproduction on the Eastern Seaboard has been dismal due to weather conditions. Emergency action reduced the recreational limit to one fish in a slot limit from 28 to 31 inches, and more restrictive measures may be on the horizon.

“The regs? I’m all catch and release, so it hasn’t impacted me too much,” Zimmerman said. “They’re trying to get the stocks up, but most of what we’re seeing is slot fish and up.”

That’s not necessarily the case in the early season, which Zimmerman said is a time when you can just park the truck and wade in.

“Most of the time I fish from a boat,” he said. “But early season, when there’s lots of fish in the river, it’s easier and you can catch more fish wading from shore.”

Zimmerman fishes 5- to 8-weight rods and leaders of straight 20- or 30-pound monofilament. Intermediate sinking lines allow for good depth control, and a handful of Clousers and Deceivers are all you need. Zimmerman suggested 4- to 6-inch patterns and colors of green/white, yellow/white and gray/white.

The fishing is best on the last three hours of an outgoing tide or the first couple hours of an incoming tide, when the bait moves around and incites feeding activity. This river bite is Zimmerman’s go-to pattern for about a month, after which he’ll move out to the beaches and rocky islands, where huge stripers herd bait and slam 6- to 8-inch Hollow Fleyes.

Find Matt Zimmerman on Instagram @backeddycharters.

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RESCUE

AT SEA

OFF VENICE

By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon

E

arly in my career, I fished out of Venice, Louisiana. On off days, we fished inshore and roadside, which produced incredible catches like bull reds, 100-pound alligator gar and 70-pound blue cats. It was nothing to complain about, but my heart is always offshore. The offshore fishing off Venice is topnotch for yellowfin tuna, wahoo, marlin and swordfish, but the gas bill was too much for me to get out there as anything but crew.

One evening, I was invited on an offshore trip and was told I got to plan the route. I ecstatically hit my Hilton’s offshore report to check the salinity chart and decided to hit an overlooked rig called Moxie.

We headed out the next morning, caught bait and arrived at the rig. This rig sits in shallower waters and is a bit off the path for rig hopping, so it is often passed by. I was surprised to see another boat when we arrived. The bottom machine lit up with giant marks, and we tossed out our baits.

I was running the deck and focused on the back of the boat, but I kept hearing the captain comment on the other boat. It seemed like they were diving, but they didn’t have a dive flag up. I heard him say the boat looked to be sitting

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FEBRUARY 2024

COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM

low in the water. All of a sudden, Capt. Travis Mayeux started screaming, “LINES IN, LINES IN!” I was reeling everything up as quickly as I could when he pushed the boat to full throttle. I wasn’t sure what was going on until I had the lines secured and I turned around. The motors of the other boat had gone under, and the bow reached for the sky before slipping away. The boat sank in seconds.

By the time we got to the scene, most of the flotsam had been carried away by the currents. We rescued the spearfishermen, one Pelican case and a fish bag.

We ended our trip and took the spearfishers back to the dock. Their wallets and keys sank offshore, so they called Plaquemines Parish Sheriff ’s Office to get into their truck. The deputy ran their names, and one of them had an outstanding warrant. He was taken to jail for the weekend. It was a rough day for those guys, but it could have been much worse.

Fishing offshore oil rigs provides a false sense of security. You are still very much offshore even though you are near a structure. The crew on those rigs are not lifeguards and are not paying attention to you. Considering how quickly the debris dispersed and how unfished that rig was, those fellas were very lucky we were there that day.

Capt. Quinlyn Haddon guides with Sweet E’nuf Charters, out of Marathon, Florida Keys. Contact her at (504) 920-6342, captainquinlyn.com or @captainquinlyn.

NORSE BY NORSEWEST?

Embrace your Scandinavian side with a 7" blade

I

f you looked out your window a thousand years ago and saw a fleet of Viking longships coming your way, you knew you were in trouble.

For roughly two centuries, the Vikings voyaged, raided and pillaged wherever they pleased. As expert sailors and navigators, they reached as far from Scandinavia as Iran, Constantinople, North Africa and the New World in their quest to expand their kingdom.

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JOIN MORE THAN , SHARP PEOPLE WHO COLLECT STAUER KNIVES The steel of legend. For centuries, a Damascus steel blade was instantly recognizable and commanded respect. Renowned for its sharp edge, beauty and resistance to shattering, Damascus steel was the stuff of legend. While the original process has been lost to the ages, modern bladesmiths have been able to re-create Damascus steel to create the best blades imaginable.

Sure to impress, naturally. Combining natural strength and natural wonder at a price that’s hard to beat, the Viking Blade is a study in Damascus steel that’s sure to impress. And should you ever find yourself facing a Viking horde, a flash of this knife will show that you’re not to be messed with.

Don’t delay: Order within the next week and we’ll offer this blade to you for just $99, a savings of $200! That’s the best bang for your buck we can possibly offer: our Stauer® Impossible Price. Get your hands on one of the fastest-selling knives in our company’s history today.

Knife Specifications: • 12" overall length. 7" Damascus full-tang blade • Includes genuine leather sheath Viking Blade $299 $99* + S&P Save $200 California residents please call 1-800-333-2045 regarding Proposition 65 regulations before purchasing this product. *Special price only for customers using the offer code.

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IT’S PRIME TIME

ON AMERICA’S HOTTEST BIG BASS LAKE

By Nick Carter

I

f a truly giant largemouth bass is on your bucket list, make plans to visit O.H. Ivie Lake in Texas over the next few months. Last year, this 19,000acre impoundment of the Colorado River burst onto the scene as the hottest big bass lake in the nation. A string of 17 monster largemouths from January through April kept O.H. Ivie in the headlines, and 10 of them were caught in February.

And when we say monster, we’re not talking about 8- to 10-pounders, we’re talking about 13-plus-pound behemoths. According to data from Toyota ShareLunker, Texas’ trophy bass recognition and breeding program, February is the time to catch a giant at this central Texas reservoir.

Bass are at their heaviest and most aggressive ahead of the spawn, when they are fat, feeding and full of eggs. Last February’s incredible streak was highlighted by an enormous 17.03-pounder that is the lake record and the eighth largest bass ever caught in Texas. Jason Conn caught it on Feb. 13, 2023, and he said the fish was even heavier before it started regurgitating shad in his livewell.

Moving into March and April last year, the trophy bass statistics were still pretty amazing—with 34 fish heavier than 8 pounds—but the giant fish tapered off. Five 13-plus-pounders were caught during those two months, and then no one registered another one until November, when Shawn Strength caught a 16.65-pound monster. The totals for 2023 were 75 fish heavier than 8 pounds and 18 heavier than 13 pounds. The true total is potentially much more impressive, because these statistics include only the fish anglers bothered to register with ShareLunker.

So, why has the productivity of O.H. Ivie largemouth bass fishing exploded

over the last three or four years?

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, intensive stocking of bass with Florida-strain genetics is the secret ingredient. Florida strain genetics produce larger, faster-growing fish than the native-northern strain genetics in the system. Part of the mission of the ShareLunker program is to breed trophy fish, and they do this by using 13-plus-pounders caught by anglers in their breeding program. It is estimated 75 to 85 percent of the bass in O.H. Ivie possess those Florida genetics. On top of that, weather played a role in the lake’s rise. Following a prolonged drought, heavy rain in the fall of 2018 raised water levels by more than 30 feet.

“It gave these bass pretty much unlimited food and space to grow,” said a ShareLunker representative, “and they just grew like crazy.”

Stay tuned. It’ll be interesting to see what America’s hottest big bass lake produces over the next four months, especially with all the added angler attention that comes with a bright hot spotlight.

The Return of a

See more on last year’s incredible fishing at O.H. Ivie at coastalanglermag.com.

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ou may think you understood the concept of “priceless” jewelry. For years, “priceless” meant “astronomically expensive.” That is, until now ...

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Each gemstone’s shape and translucence ignites the velvety, violet hues. The polished amethysts are hand-strung on double-knotted jeweler’s thread, and the stunning 18" necklace (with 2" extender) secures with a goldfinished lobster clasp.

Too good to pass up. Too good to last long. Amethyst is one of the world’s most coveted gemstones and our supply is extremely limited. We can only offer such an outrageous deal for a short time every few years. Over 30,000 thrilled customers were lucky enough to get this promotion last time.

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Your Insider Offer Code: LAN510-05

* This offer is valid in the United States (and Puerto Rico) except in TX, FL, CO, OK, RI, NH, WV, OR, SC, VA, CA and ID. These state residents will be charged one cent ($.01) + shipping & processing for the item. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Offer subject to state and local regulations.

Not valid with any other offers and only while supplies last. This offer is limited to one item per shipping address. ** Free is only for customers using the offer code versus the price on Stauer.com without your offer code. † For more information concerning the appraisal, visit www.stauer.com/appraisedvalues.asp.

Stauer, 14101 Southcross Drive W., Ste 155, Dept. LAN510-05, Burnsville, MN 55337 www.stauer.com

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