CONNECTICUT & RHODE ISLAND EDITION
&
Boats Motors Edition
VOLUME 22 • ISSUE 268
Local
Fishing Reports Catch Photos News & Events
COASTALANGLERMAG.COM
F R A N C H I S E
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YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT. THIS ONE.
™
Introducing the Element F21: As low as $25,499* Our largest center console to date, we designed the new Element F21 to be three things; fishable, versatile and affordable. We started with our proven M-Hull™ design, giving it a deeper entry for even more seaworthiness. Then we gave it the features anglers demand to make sure it was serious about catching fish—plus options should you choose to expand your activities. Its most attractive feature could be its price. Shop if you must… we’re pretty sure you’ll end up here. Go to bayliner.com to learn more.
©2016 Bayliner Boats. All rights reserved.
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*All prices reflect MSRP in US dollars and apply to the US only. Dealer sets the actual price. Pricing does not include dealer preparation fees, taxes, registration fees, or other fees that may apply. Freight not included. Customers outside US must contact their local dealer to obtain applicable pricing.
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© 2017 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries
THIS SEEMS TO BE THE PLACE WHERE ALL THE FISH HANG OUT. I THINK I’LL DROP IN.
12”
PROGRAMMABLE
HOT KEYS
PRELOADED
BUILT-IN
BLUECHART® G2 + LAKEVUU¨ HD CHIRP SONAR + CLEARVUU¨ + SIDEVU¨
GPSMAP® 1242xsv 4
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© 2017 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries
Ben Martin
Editor In Chief Coastal Angler/The Angler Magazine
EDITOR IN CHIEF : Ben Martin • camads@coastalanglermagazine.com VICE PRESIDENT : Tracy Patterson • tracy@coastalanglermagazine.com ART DIRECTOR : Rebecca Snowden • graphics@coastalanglermagazine.com EDITOR : Nick Carter • editorial@coastalanglermagazine.com WEBMASTER : Dmitriy Pislyagin • webmaster@coastalanglermagazine.com
Dear Readers, This edition of the magaine that you are reading is put together by our local franchisee co-publisher. Your co-publisher’s contact information is shown in the directory adjacent to this article. We currently publish 38 separate editions of this magazine each month throughout the Continental United States, the Bahamas and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our plan is to continue growing and to continue adding locations. If you love the outdoors and have ever considered owning your own business, you owe it to yourself to take a look at our franchise opportunities. Our franchise publishing model will enable you to make money doing what you love, being involved in the outdoor/marine industry. You don’t need to have prior publishing experience. We train you on how to do that. What you do need is a love of the outdoors and a somewhat adventurous spirit. Opening a new business is exciting and, yes, it requires hard work and commitment. But, once you bring this magazine to your community you will find it to be very rewarding and you will have created one of the best jobs and career opportunities that any angler could ever imagine. If you’re like us, owning your own fishing magazine may be an opportunity for you to be involved in an industry that you’re passionate about. Imagine never dreading to go to work but rather being excited about sharing the message of your magazine. Our ideal strategic growth would have franchise opportunities in the following locations, however, we have found that nearly any area that has an avid fishing community can be a good location for it’s own fishing magazine. GULF COAST (Available Now) • Baton Rouge, LA • Lafayette, LA • Corpus Christi, TX • Austin, TX • Mississippi FLORIDA • Okeechobee, FL
SOUTHEAST (Launch March 2017) • Raleigh, NC • Savannah, GA • Southwest Georgia • Hilton Head, SC • Columbia, SC • Myrtle Beach, SC
Come Join our Team!
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ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: Corporate Headquarters info@coastalanglermagazine.com • 888-800-9794
FLORIDA
BIG BEND : Mike McNamara • (850) 510-7919 • captmike@coastalanglermagazine.com BREVARD : David String • (321) 684-5888 • dstring@coastalanglermagazine.com DAYTONA/NEW SMYRNA BEACH : Don Meadows • (321) 436-5895 • donm@coastalanglermagazine.com FLORIDA KEYS : Cliff Lumpkin • (305) 849-9093 • cliff@coastalanglermagazine.com FORT LAUDERDALE : Gene Dyer • (954) 680-3900 • gene@coastalanglermagazine.com FORT MYERS : Nadeen Welch • (239) 595-8265 • nwelch@coastalanglermagazine.com GREATER MIAMI : Scott Deal • (561) 945-6999 • scott@coastalanglermagazine.com Monica Isaza-Deal • (561) 945-8899 • monica@coastalanglermagazine.com GREATER ORLANDO : Phillip & Giselle Wolf • (407) 790-9515 • phillip@coastalanglermagazine.com LAKELAND & SUMTER : Mary Brasher • (352) 598-4219 • maryf@coastalanglermagazine.com NAPLES : Nadeen Welch • (239) 595-8265 • nwelch@coastalanglermagazine.com NC FLORIDA/NATURE COAST : Cary & Lynn Crutchfield • (352) 372-4237 • crutch@coastalanglermagazine.com NE FLORIDA : Danny Patrick • (904) 742-4696 • danny@coastalanglermagazine.com PANAMA CITY/FORGOTTEN COAST : Randy Cnota • (229) 834-7880 • randyc@coastalanglermagazine.com PALM BEACH COUNTY : Barbara Ryan • (561) 373-8040 • barbara@coastalanglermagazine.com SARASOTA : Phil Prevoir • (239) 257-4684 • pprevoir@coastalanglermagazine.com TAMPA BAY : Chuck Atkins • (239) 464-5153 • chuck@coastalanglermagazine.com TREASURE COAST : Misti & Gary Guertin • (772) 285-6850 • treasurecoast@coastalanglermagazine.com flahama@coastalanglermagazine.com
SOUTHEAST
ATLANTA/SW GEORGIA : Bob & Brenda Rice • (706) 614-8231 • bobr@theanglermagazine.com CHARLESTON : Jane A. Redden • (205) 725-9616 • jane@coastalanglermagazine.com Sam Buckareff • (843) 607-8629 • sam@coastalanglermagazine.com CHARLOTTE : Mark & Haley Alberghini • (704) 651-1934 • mark@coastalanglermagazine.com MYRTLE BEACH : Kenneth & Ana Moore • (843) 446-5777 • kenmoore@coastalanglermagazine.com TIDEWATER/OUTER BANKS : John Tiger • (757) 707-9654 • john.tiger@coastalanglermagazine.com Laura Seitz • (757) 707-9655 • laura@coastalanglermagazine.com SE & COASTAL GEORGIA : Tony Martin • (912) 269-9679 • tony@coastalanglermagazine.com Travis Harper • (912) 266-1430• travis@coastalanglermagazine.com UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA : Gregg Thompson • (864) 542-3112 • gregg@theanglermagazine.com WESTERN NC : Debra & Joe Woody • (828) 775-9663 • woody@theanglermagazine.com WILMINGTON/MOREHEAD : Kenny Ritter • (910) 550-9094 • kenny@theanglermagazine.com
NORTHEAST BOSTON : George Regan • (617) 488-2842 • boston@coastalanglermagazine.com LONG ISLAND : Lisa & Michael Danforth • (203) 321-7635 • lisad@coastalanglermagazine.com CONNECTICUT / RHODE ISLAND : Lisa & Michael Danforth • (203) 321-7635 lisad@coastalanglermagazine.com
GULF COAST
GALVESTON/MATAGORDA/UPPER COAST : Chanci & David Mowry • (713) 446-7395 • chancim@coastalanglermagazine.com • davidm@coastalanglermagazine.com MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST : Kevin Ogle • (850) 586-3474 • gulf@coastalanglermagazine.com NEW ORLEANS : Dr. Dave Dunaway • (225) 400-8156 • nola@coastalanglermagazine.com PENSACOLA/EMERALD COAST : Kevin Ogle • (850) 586-3474 • gulf@coastalanglermagazine.com
GREAT LAKES
UPSTATE NEW YORK : Frank Geremski • (518) 898-6484 • frankie@theanglermagazine.com WEST MICHIGAN : Phil Belsito • (616) 957-1714 • phil@theanglermagazine.com
INTERNATIONAL BAHAMAS : Misti & Gary Guertin • (772) 285-6850 • treasurecoast@coastalanglermagazine.com flahama@coastalanglermagazine.com PUERTO RICO/VIRGIN ISLANDS : Ace Bassue • (407) 285-9453 • ace@coastalanglermagazine.com © 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Disclaimer: Coastal Angler Magazine / The Angler Magazine will not be held liable for injuries incurred while partaking in activities described herein, or for claims made against products or services provided by advertisers.
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HondaM
Destination Honda
For destinations found on a map, or ones that are simply a state of mind, trust a reliable Honda outboard to get you there. And back. Find out more at ca.hondamarine.com.
3.99% APR Financing On All New Honda Outboards! Ends July 6, 2017. *
APR
FINANCING*
*APR financing available on all new Honda outboard engines through American Honda Finance Corporation upon approved credit. 3.99% APR financing for 24 – 48 months, available to customers who qualify for AHFC credit tier 1. Example for new Honda outboard engines: 3.99% APR for 36 months financing at $29.52 a month for every $1,000 financed. 4.99% APR for 60 months financing at $18.87 a month for every $1,000 financed. 4.99% APR for 84 months financing at $14.13 a month for every $1,000 financed. Offer good on any new and unregistered Honda outboard engine, with a minimum amount financed of $1,000 and a minimum monthly payment of $100. Check with participating dealers for complete details. Dealers set actual sales prices. For well-qualified buyers, not all buyers may qualify. Higher rates apply for different terms and/ or buyers with lower credit rating. Lower rates may also be available. Offer valid through 07/06/17, on new and unregistered Honda outboard engines (2hp – 250hp) and only on approved credit by Honda Financial Services through participating dealers. Honda Financial Services’ standard credit criteria apply. © 2017 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM I JUNE 2017 I NATIONAL 7 Always wear a personal flotation device while boating and read your owner’s manual. All Honda outboards meet EPA and CARB emission levels.
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MOTOR REVIEW Honda Marine Debuts New
BF4, BF5 and BF6 4-stroke Engines
Portability, performance and reliability are the hallmarks of Honda Marine’s new and redesigned portable engine models, the BF4, BF5 and BF6 4-stroke outboards. Honda Marine debuts new engines with the BF4 and BF6 models, and redesigns the legendary BF5 models. Packed with the latest technology from Honda, the 127cc 4-stroke, single cylinder engines offer boaters the choice of four horsepower (BF4), five horsepower (BF5) or six horsepower (BF6). All three new engines are available with either a short (15 inch/38 cm) or long (20 inch/51 cm) shaft. “The new Honda BF4, BF5 and BF6 engines are easy to start, easy to stop and easy to carry. The new four-stroke Honda Marine engines are best-in-class performers. They are the right size for the right purpose,” said Mark DiPietro, senior manager, Honda Marine. “The new Honda BF4, BF5 and BF6 marine engines feature a new internal fuel tank and new motor mounts to run quietly and smoothly, while delivering the longest continuous running time.”
The new Honda Marine BF4, BF5 and BF6 engines provide consumers four main features—portability, performance, reliability and comfort. Portability A combination of light weight (roughly 60 pounds) and new carrying handle design make the Honda BF4, BF5 and BF6 marine engines easy to transport and store. The tiller handle fully folds out of the way, making storage options even more convenient. Performance The engines integrate a 1.5-liter, large capacity internal fuel tank, which delivers the longest continuous running time in their class—more than 40 minutes at wide-open throttle. In addition, the Honda BF5 and BF6 4-stroke engines can be connected to an external fuel tank for longer journeys. Consumers have the choice of an additional three different propeller options for the style that best fits their boating. Reliability Honda Marine’s new BF4, BF5 and BF6 models share the same, proven onecylinder, 127 cubic centimeter engine block and benefit from Honda’s 4-stroke engine technology. In case of an oil pressure drop, a new, low-oil alert system will automatically limit the engine speed to 2,300 rpm to protect the engine. Comfort The new Honda BF4, BF5 and BF6 portable engines feature a host of new technologies and features that consumers will appreciate. • A new decompression mechanism helps make all three new Honda Marine engines easy to pull start, regardless of the engine temperature. • One-push stop switch serves to shut down the engine with no chance of the engine re-starting. • The Honda Marine BF4, BF5 and BF6 portable engines feature redesigned rubber motor mounts that reduce vibration in all rpm ranges and reduce engine noise. • The BF4, BF5 and BF6 are available with an optional charging system with a capacity of 6 Amps at 12 Volts to power consumer demands for electronic devices. With a starting U.S. manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $1,875, the BF4 is a compact, lightweight engine with excellent low- to mid-range power. The new Honda BF5 delivers new features and technology at a starting price of $2,025. The starting U.S. MSRP of the new Honda Marine BF6 is $2,150. For more information, see marine.honda.com.
Promotion Ends 6/30/2017
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Using a Smartphone Isn’t Always Smart On The Water Submitted by Sea Tow
P
eople rarely go anywhere on land without their smartphones anymore, and it has become increasingly common to see boaters using cell phones when they’re out on coastal and inland waters as well. That’s fine—as long as your boat is also equipped with a VHF radio, one of the most important pieces of safety equipment you can have on board. “Your cell phone could die or you could drop it overboard. We recommend people take a 5-watt handheld VHF along on their boat, at a minimum, to use as their primary form of communication on the water,” said Capt. Ed Schrader, owner of Sea Tow Hampton Roads, Va., which serves the busy waters of Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake Bay. “It’s better to have a 25-watt VHF mounted at the helm, however.”
N AU T I C A L T E R M
Capt. Sammy Royal, owner of Sea Tow Horseshoe Beach, Fla., which covers a rural stretch of the Gulf Coast on Florida’s Panhandle from Waccasassa to Keaton Beach, said boaters can’t rely on their smartphones always “having bars” in his area. “Cell phone service is very limited here. There are small fishing villages along the coast that are nine or 10 miles apart with nothing in between,” he said − making it essential to have a VHF on board. Another important benefit to using a VHF radio rather than a cell phone is that if you ever find yourself needing assistance, more than one listener can hear and respond to your call for help. “With a VHF, you are able to communicate with more people quickly on the water. Whether it’s Sea Tow, the Coast Guard, or a nearby boater, everybody’s going to hear what you’ve got to say,” said Capt. Schrader, adding, “The USCG’s Rescue 21 System also has VHF direction-finding capabilities and can obtain a relatively good location as soon as you click your mic and place that distress call. This helps greatly if you do not know your location or don’t have time to provide it.” Of course, a VHF radio can’t help you in an emergency situation if it’s not working properly. Both Captains advise using Sea Tow’s free Automated Radio Check service to quickly and easily check that your boat’s VHF is in operational prior to setting out on the water. To use the service, simply tune the VHF to the local Automated Radio Check channel, key the mic, and request a radio check. You will hear an automated response and then the call will be played back to you, confirming that your VHF radio is working and allowing you to assess transmission strength, a crucial safety check. Sea Tow Horseshoe Beach offers the Automated Radio Check service on VHF channels 26 and 27. Sea Tow Hampton Roads provides the service on channel 28. To find the Sea Tow Automated Radio Check channel in your boating area, visit https://www.seatow. com/tools-and-education/automated-radio-check. For more on Sea Tow, an international marine assistance provider, go to www.seatow.com.
# 1 7 8
full ahead: How Sea Tow Captains operate 24/7.
Running out of fuel or a conked out engine can happen to anyone. That’s why you bought ® a Sea Tow membership. They’ve got the equipment, experience and know-how to get you home quickly & safely. $10 off a Sea Tow Membership. Discount Code: CNG 800-4-SEATOW \ seatow.com
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Adjustable cap with brim UV-blocking polarized sunglasses SPF 30 bug-repellent sunscreen
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CoverAlls gives your boat the same level of protection from the heat and elements you'd give yourself. CoverAlls covers prevent expensive weather damage to your boat. They're made from tough custom material that's saltwater-proof, UV proof, and reflects 90% of radiant heat.
100% American marinegrade components like stainless grommets, braided poly draw cords, and non-metallic cam locks keep CoverAlls covers in place in all kinds of coastal weather. Give your boat CoverAlls protection.
Save 10% with coupon code "angler" at checkout!
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www.coveralls.biz COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
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Boat Accessories Product Reviews AWLGRIP AWLCRAFT SE TOPCOAT With consistent technical innovation and stringent quality controls, Awlgrip’s line of topside finishing systems are the products all others are measured against. Those who take pride in the look of their vessels, whether they are dinghies or megayachts, trust in the superlative finishes provided by Awlgrip. Awlcraft SE is a revolutionary topcoat encompassing metallics, pearls and effect pigments and is fast drying with excellent opacity. It is designed to work as one layer of a multi-part system. The Awlcraft SE imparts the color and effect and is then top coated with a clear high-gloss finish topcoat to give gloss and protection. This combination forms a high-performance, high-gloss, durable topcoat system. Available for new custom or production builds, or refits, the Awlcraft SE range offers owners a great choice from more than 10,000 standard colors, as well as custom colors to match any color imaginable.
MILLENNIUM D-100 DECK CHAIR Millennium Marine has introduced the most weather resistant and durable deck chair on the market. The Millennium D-100 Deck Chair exemplifies the comfort, portability and durability Millennium has become known for. The D-100 is designed for portability and easy storage, and it is built with high strength, anodized aluminum. The anodized aluminum prevents corrosion, whether the D-100 is asked to perform under the rigorous conditions of saltwater or freshwater fishing. D-100 Deck Chairs are equipped with Millennium’s patented ComfortMax seat, which makes wet bottoms a thing of the past. They are made from a breathable fabric that won’t collect water. They are mold and mildew resistant, quick drying, and they will outlast any marine seat on the market. With 4 inches of height adjustment, and the capability to swivel 360 degrees, the D-100 Deck Chair is equipped with selfleveling feet for stability. It weighs just 12 pounds and folds up for easy transport in a nylon carrying bag.
ERGONOMICALLY ELEGANT DOCK SURFACES
WWW.AWLGRIP.COM PARKIT360 FORCE ELECTRIC TRAILER DOLLY
WWW.MILLENNIUMMARINE.COM
If you own a boat, you know the stress of backing your trailered pride and joy into a tight space. With this in mind, we took it upon ourselves to take Parkit360’s Force 10K electric trailer dolly for a test spin. Right off the bat, we were impressed. Assembly was easy, and by connecting the trailer’s power harness to the Force, we were able to control the trailer’s brakes with the Smart Brake Control System, which provides control and safety on a steep grade. Also the Bosch-designed electric motor supplied more than enough power to maneuver with little to no effort on the part of the user. The heavy-duty 4’-wide tires maintained traction on concrete as well as gravel and even in wet grass when loaded. The Force dolly proved its functionality regardless of terrain, and that could come in super handy for those parking boats, campers or anything else with a trailer ball where the concrete ends. But the most striking feature of the Force electric trailer dolly was how easy it made maneuvering the boat. With precise and easy-to-use controls, all the stress was taken out of navigating tight corners and turns in forward and reverse. We put the boat into spots we wouldn’t even attempt using a truck. Built of quality materials, powder-coated and compact enough to fit in the trunk of an SUV, Parkit360’s electric trailer dollies are a great tool for anyone who pulls a trailer.
Spider King rod holders make your fishing more productive. A modular Spider King rod holder system lets a fisherman “rig, cast and relax” with as many as eight lines in the water. And the same system can also keep a drink and tackle on hand. The plates attach to the bottom of the boat seat using existing factory holes, therefore there is no need to drill. Accessories include rod holders, drink holder, tackle holder and tackle/drink holder. We also offer outriggers by the pair in single, double and a four-rod holder gunnel-mount spider rig. Spider King products are made in the USA of 100 percent marine grade aluminum and they are powder coated so there is no maintenance or cleaning. Most items are available in black, white and argent silver. Visit the Spider King website to view all of their fine products.
WWW.PARKIT360.CA
WWW.SPIDERKINGRODHOLDERS.COM
SPIDER KING ROD HOLDERS
MARINETECH TROLLMASTER PRO 3+ Trolling is not as fun or effective for the guy tied to the motor. The world’s leading remote throttle control for gas-powered auxillary outboards is now available with wireless remote control. TROLLMaster Pro 3+ is an angler’s dream, allowing the angler to maintain optimum trolling speeds to within 1/10 mph. Slow trolling anglers understand that boat speed can make or break the day’s catch. TROLLMaster maximizes the time spent in the ‘sweet spot.’ Catch more fish with the freedom of movement that wireless control offers. Additional features include momentary ‘max throttle’ burst function for quick response or for ‘fluttering’ baits; idle/resume speed, left and right turn push button control. The hand-held remote is ergonomically designed for hours
of comfort. The remote is water resistant and comes with detachable lanyard and backlit LCD display for positive visibility in dark conditions. Engine specific throttle/hardware kits fit neatly under the cowling and are available to fit most brands of kicker motors. TROLLMaster also allows the angler to control the auxiliary 4 stroke’s steering with the addition of Panther’s Electro Steer drive units. The Panther T-4 and T-5 Electro Steer units are designed to remotely steer ‘kicker’ motors from anywhere on the boat. They mount on the tilt-tube and can be installed in minutes. Electro Steer units are available in fresh and saltwater models.
WWW.TROLLMASTERS.COM PARTNERS AND INVESTORS:
Please contact John 12 NATIONAL I JUNE 2017 CANGL_NAT3-NAT34.indd 12
Munn info@ergodockusa.com for information on how you can get engaged! I COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
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N S E
NOT ALL FISH STORIES ARE EXAGGERATED.
M
We’ve all heard one. But the fact is, once in a while, life hands you a set of circumstances so astoundingly awesome, it’s hard to believe. And with the power and reliability of the Mercury 60 HP FourStroke behind you, this might happen more often than you think.
:M
Learn more at mercurymarine.com
!
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The all-electric Power-Pole Micro anchor is compact, virtually silent and drives the 3/4” Micro Spike at the push of a button. Add the rechargable Micro Battery Pak and you’re ready to go wherever adventure takes you. Get all the details and find a dealer near you at power-pole.com.
Mercury Unrolls Advanced New Features For Joystick Piloting
F
or almost 80 years, Mercury Marine has been the world’s leading manufacturer of recreational marine engines. The broad range of marine propulsion spans from 2.5hp to 1,700hp in Mercury’s new racing sterndrive engine. Over the past decade, Mercury has invested more than $800 million in research and development and expansion into its global headquarters in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. That investment has allowed the company to grow its employee base from 1,400 in 2009 to more than 3,200 in 2017—which includes more than 700 engineers. The investment has also allowed Mercury to continue its cadence of averaging one new product launch every six weeks. Today, Mercury is more than an engine company. It’s a marine propulsion solution company that not only has a portfolio of engines for any boater, but also the technology to enhance the boating experience. Mercury’s ecosystem of technology is unmatched in the marine industry and features Joystick Piloting for outboards or inboards, SkyHook virtual anchoring, Vessel View mobile and Active Trim. All four products work together with the engine to create the perfect experience on the water and allow boaters to Go Boldly. The latest innovation from Mercury is an enhancement for Mercury
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Joystick-equipped vessels. Designed for convenient purchase as downloadable content (DLC) from Mercury’s GoFree store, Skyhook Advanced Features provides Joystick vessels with even better positioning control in specific situations. Boaters and anglers who love the way Mercury’s GPS-enabled Skyhook lets their vessel maintain a steady position while waiting for a bridge opening or hold over a reef, will be sure to appreciate Skyhook Advanced Features. New Skyhook Advanced Features include: • Heading Adjust provides Joystick operators with the ability to adjust the heading lock in 1- and 10-degree increments while SkyHook is active, making vessel control even more precise. • BowHook can be used to unlock heading and just maintain position, allowing the boat to point in whatever direction the winds and currents dictate. This feature is useful when a locked-in heading is not necessary. • DriftHook lets the operator maintain heading and unlock the position of the vessel allowing winds and currents to move the vessel along. Adjustments of 1- and 10-degree increments can be made while drifting when bundled with Heading Adjust. In addition, Mercury continues to advance its Vessel View mobile technology and roll it out around the world. The VesselView Mobile app instantly provides users access to their boat’s SmartCraft digital data in the palm of their hand. SmartCraft® is a fully integrated suite of digital technologies, including marine gauges, sensors, vessel systems and computercontrolled features, that gives users a higher level of control over their boat’s propulsion and electrical systems. Now, with Mercury Marine’s VesselView Mobile, users can see SmartCraft engine data right on the screen of their mobile device. The app also includes useful new features such as Maintenance Reminders, Mapping, Performance Summary, and Fault Code Diagnostics. VesselView Mobile makes preparing for and spending a day on the water easier, safer and more enjoyable by letting users perform functions from their mobile device. For more information, visit www.mercurymarine.com.
COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
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INSPIRED BY STRENGTH HELL-FOR-STOUT CONSTRUCTION INCLUDES STAINLESS STEEL GEARS AND UP TO 30-POUNDS OF AVAILABLE DRAG.
NEW KOMODO SS REELS & SHADOW STALKER GULF COAST RODS Powered by aluminum framing, stainless steel drive and high-output Carbonite drag, Komodo SS reels in 350 and 450 sizes are instant favorites. Compact and comfortable with enough line capacity for incredible versatility inshore and offshore. • Shadow Stalker Gulf Coast 1-piece rod actions deliver superior sensitivity and back it with OC-9 carbon reinforcement for amazing strength when the fish of a lifetime strikes. okumafishingusa.com
OVER HALF A MILLION BOATERS CHOOSE US
Okuma KomodoSS-ShadowStalkerGC-Strength 7.625x5.0125.indd 2
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BOAT REVIEW Bayliner Element F21
in the forward section—which can also be converted to an optional livewell. The helm’s reversible seat has a cooler as its base, perfect for keeping beverages or snacks iced. The boat’s aft section features two jump seats flanking a recirculating livewell. Standard power is Mercury Marine’s 115 HP 4-Stroke outboard, with an optional 150 HP 4-Stroke also available. Anglers can also add a bow trolling motor, pedestal bow fishing seat, and an additional livewell forward of the helm console. “This boat is our largest center console model yet, and an affordable way to get out and enjoy family fishing, cruising or any number of dayboat activities,” said Bayliner’s President, Keith Yunger. “Its roominess and versatility are exceptional. When you factor in the price, it’s a value you’ll be hard pressed to beat anywhere.”
SPECIFICATIONS Continuing on the success of its innovative Element M-Hull design, Bayliner has created the Element F21, its latest and largest self-bailing center console design to-date with . The Element F21 is built for family fishing and other day-boat activities with the same clean, open layout the Element F-Series is becoming known for. It gives anglers remarkable stability provided by the M-Hull, and it has a slightly deeper entry V than its couterparts, a feature boaters interested in this size range will appreciate. The F21’s bow features an anchor locker, and two large bow storage lockers perfect for keeping a variety of gear secure. The helm has plenty of space for optional electronics and includes a storage compartment
LOA: 20’8” BEAM: 7’9” FUEL CAPACITY: 50 gallons PASSENGER CAPACITY: 10 MAX POWER: 150 hp
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UNDER THE SEA 18
FREEDIVING – TRY IT!
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hile visiting a friend of mine about 15 years ago, I noticed a book on his coffee table. It was called “Bluewater Hunting and Freediving” by Terry Maas, and it had the photo of a diver holding a bluefin tuna on the front cover. I already enjoyed hunting on scuba for groupers and snappers in my backyard, but the thought of spearing a tuna intrigued me to no end… and the thought of freediving also caught my attention. I had a hard time finding like-minded friends to dive with at first, as freediving was not a mainstream activity in Florida at the time. After researching a bit, I found a freediving school called Performance Freediving International and signed up for a course. I also found a freedive spearfishing club, which consisted of about 10 guys and no women. To this day, I give the same advice to anyone who wants to learn: “Take a class from a freedive agency, and join a local club so you can make friends and perhaps find a mentor.” Before the class, I had never tried to hold my breath while holding still in a pool—called static apnea. I was predicting that I would be a one-minute diver, but after some instruction I held my breath for four minutes. Most importantly, I learned how to avoid a “blackout” and how to rescue a blacked-out diver. We were taught the importance of the buddy system and one-up/one-down diving. While these classes will at least double your breath-hold time, learning the safety aspects is even more important. Fifteen years later, I can look back and say that learning to freedive opened a whole new underwater world for me. Now that I’m an oldster in the sport, I marvel at the growth rate, the number of agencies offering classes, the number of clubs in the area, and the large number of people that are in those clubs. It’s wonderful to see so many young people enjoying the sport. Lest I give the impression that freediving is a young people’s activity or something that super-athletes do, let me debunk that myth. I have met overweight smokers that were very good at it, and I’ve been diving with 80 year olds who were still enjoying it. Freediving is for anyone
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who is willing to give Photo by Joe Marino it a try. Whether it’s to spearfish, experience the ocean in a different way, or simply find your inner-self at the bottom of the ocean, it’s an activity that anyone can enjoy. It’s a natural, satisfying and spiritual experience to hold one’s breath and become one with the ocean. If you have the slightest interest, do not be intimidated; it’s actually very easy. Just give it a try… you might like it! P.S. Terry Maas just came out with an updated digital version of the book, and I am honored that he featured my worldrecord yellowfin tuna. You never know what will happen when you try new things! Sheri Daye is a world-record holder, host of Speargun Hunter, and producer of “The Blue Wild Ocean Adventure Expo” in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Follow “Sheri Daye” and “The Blue Wild” on Facebook and Instagram.
For more Sheri Daye, go to
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NORTHEAST
Angler/Navigator Comfort Zones By Tobin Strickland
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WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS WANTED! The Best American Hooks & Weights For Better #Fishing
id you know that one person can be both “angler” and “navigator” and have two almost entirely different comfort zones? Comfort zone in this case is that area around us where we feel comfortable and extends to the point where a person experiences being encroached upon or violated. The angler’s comfort zone involves a combination of safety, tranquility, or a sense of being “away from it all,” as well as the desire to pursue undisturbed fish. Typically most anglers enjoy a circular-shaped comfort zone with a radius of about 300 to 500 feet. If another angler or a navigator encroaches in that area, that angler feels violated, robbed even. Don’t we all feel like this? No matter how we choose to get to the water, whether we’re bank fishing, wading, kayaking, or getting there with a boat of any size, shape, or speed, we all desire to experience pursuing undisturbed fish, peacefully, with the hope that we’ll catch the day’s target species. That same person’s navigator comfort zone is shaped differently but is about the same distance depending on the speed of travel. The navigator’s comfort zone is constructed from a subset of the angler’s comfort zone, and it may include how fast to get there, how far, and the most direct route to the destination. Also, factors like comfort while riding in surface chop or rough conditions, fuel consumption, and safety come into play. Funny thing here is that all anglers become navigators with a different navigator comfort zone the instant the paddle or key is touched. The same angler or person can have two entirely different comfort zones! As an angler, that person feels comfortable with a generally circular shaped comfort zone, and as a navigator they feel comfortable with a more narrow, rectangular comfort zone. The navigator’s comfort zone is about 300 to 500 feet long and oddly enough only about 150 yards wide, split 75 yards right/75 yards left. For the navigator, there is also an aversion to turning while navigating, opting for the most direct straight path if available. Once we each as anglers recognize the two different shapes and sizes of the comfort zones, we can then begin to adjust how we navigate to avoid encroaching into the comfort zone of other angler/ navigators. If the navigator can overcome the aversion to turning by momentarily slowing down to swing wide of an angler’s comfort zone when possible, or choose routes that avoid angler’s comfort zones entirely, it results in a much greater on-the-water experience since he too will also be the angler once he reaches the next fishing location. The point of all this is realizing that each of us change our own comfort zones as we change from angler to navigator throughout the day. We’re the same person with two different comfort zones according to what we’re doing at the time, either being an angler or navigating. Tobin created TroutSupport.com. Understand your water.
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Pregnant Woman Lands Record Muskie
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everal months pregnant, Tessa Cosens, 26, of Hagerstown, Md., has been kept off the water recently because of morning sickness. She made the best of one of her infrequent days on the water May 6 by catching the Maryland state record muskie. The big muskellunge, frequently referred to as the fish of 1,000 casts, weighed 32.5 pounds and was caught from the bank on the upper Potomac River in northwestern Maryland. Cosens caught the more than 4-foot-long beast on a 7-foot muskie rod and a double spinner. Once the paperwork clears with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, it will go into the record books as the state’s largest muskie caught in non-tidal waters. It replaces a 2011 record fish that was also caught from the Potomac. That fish, caught by Kenneth Files, weighed 31 pounds, 12 ounces. The IGFA all-tackle world record muskie weighed 67 pounds, 8 ounces. It was caught from Wisconsin’s Lake Court Oreilles by Cal Johnson in 1949. According to a Maryland DNR press release, it took 15 minutes for Cosens to land her big muskie. “All the guys around me stopped fishing and looked at me,” Cosens said. “There is no other fish that fights like a muskie.” To help determine the age of the fish, Cosens is donating a sample of the muskie’s scales and cleithrum – a large bone above the gills – to the department for further analysis.
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EEcal FRLo ELITE SERIES VOLUME 22
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CONNECTICUT/RHODE ISLAND EDITION
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JUNE 2017
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
LONG ISLAND, CONNECTICUT & RHODE ISLAND EDITIONS
MIKE AND LISA DANFORTH
Flukin’, Eatin’ and Releasin’
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e are psyched, again. This local issue of Coastal Angler Magazine contains so much great edit, new ads, and more! Thanks to you, our readers and advertisers who are driving this growth. The increase in advertisers has allowed us to bring on top notch distributors and get more picky about where we distribute your Coastal Angler Magazine. 2 years ago it was tough to convince many non-fishing businesses that having Coastal Angler is a draw for their business. Now I am fielding calls from boat dealers, marinas, even dentists who are looking to engage/distribute/advertise to draw in anglers and grow their business! Ok, the dentist also wanted to get a picture of his son in Coastal Angler, but he also requested them for his office! You’ll know when he buys his first ad! We even attracted the top talent from Florida to check out how we are doing. Mike spent a week last month with our CEO, Ben Martin, just checking in with readers/advertisers in CT, RI and on LI, the big dogs, to see how we are doing. Well, the Connecticut market is on a tear. People in Rhode Island love to read us, but with a few loyal exceptions (Thanks Jeanie, Mike and Elise!) they are still sitting on their wallet waiting for the next guy to fire up the market and Long Island is growing at a furious pace! Seriously, there is a lot going on here, both in print and digital. Reach out to Mike (owner/publisher of Coastal Angler) to bring advertising advice and insights to help you grow your business and make the most of our short season. Call or email him: at michaeldcoastalanglermagazine@gmail.com. I promise, talking with Mike is worth your time. Go have a beer with him and you’ll have a real hoot. And tournament season is here - hope to see you at Fluke til Ya Puke and so many more! If you have feedback of any kind – good, bad, irate, overjoyed, overwhelmed, underwhelmed or indifferent – please fire away. You make yourself heard by zapping a quick note to us, signing on to our FaceBook page (www.facebook.com/ CoastalAnglerMagazineLongIsland) or Twitter at CoastalAnglerLI. We are humbled and proud to bring you Coastal Angler Magazine each month, and look forward to hearing from you. Happy Fathers Day to all – take a dad fishing this month! Tight Lines. Lisa Helme and Mike Danforth Owners and Publishers
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Becoming part of the Coastal Angler Team provides your company with access to our loyal readership. Age of Reader ..................................82% at 35+ years old Gender of Reader ......................................... 82% are Male ........................................................................18% are Female College/Post-graduate Degree...................................35% Average Reader Income.........................................$66,012 Average Household Income.................................$82,301 Home Ownership of Readers.................................. 79.5% Average Days of Fishing Yearly 60 Days or more....
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Captains and others needed for local forecasts in Connecticut, Long Island, Rhode Island
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FISH FOCUS ZACH HARVEY
Spot Burnout: Will
Secrecy Be Our Undoing?
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shudder to think how many grand-total hours I’ve frittered away worrying about a not-insignificant amount of hate mail and/or various generous offers to destroy my property or inflict all sorts of bodily harm from a small but extremely noisy minority of the local fishing population that works itself into a quivering rage every time anyone dares to mention a named fishing spot in a fishing report or any other vehicle capable of delivering fishing information to the larger fishing public. To name place in conjunction with fish caught, or to divulge the particulars of successfully fishing a specific beach, rockpile, ledge, or channel edge, is to engage in the heinous act of spot-burning. It had been some years since I’d heard the dreaded words when my friend, Dave Henault, owner of Ocean State Tackle in Providence, RI, posted a fishing report a few weeks back. In said report, Henault mentioned a couple of relatively well-traveled spring striper grounds in the upper reaches of Narragansett Bay and touched off a minor doodoo storm of harsh words and hostile emoji’s on the chat boards. Damn you, Dave Henault, cried the internet fish-report etiquette police, Damn you to hell, you person who talks about places…you public fishing-area discusser…you shameless mentioner of places people sometimes try to catch fish. You…you…you…SPOT-BURNER. Much as, in the wake of my recent spot-burn flashback, I’ve been toying with the idea of incinerating a prime June piece in one of those once-a decade “park-there-stand-here-cast-this-there-then” features, my Inner Rotten Bastard tells me I can stir up more trouble over more coastline, and probably help a few more of y’all who read this catch a little better for longer if I avoid spot specs all together. Let me rephrase that: Why burn only one spot when, in a manner of speaking, I can burn every secret spot with an article or three? The Secrecy Problem What any fisherman with a little time in the hunt knows—and every neophyte learns early and often—is that knowing the where is
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JUNE 2017
CONNECTICUT/RHODE ISLAND 3
Simple Tips for More Fluke BY TOM SCHLICHTER
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f you done much fluke fishing over the years, or simply follow the by the luckiest skippers. reports, you already know the primary fluke hot spots in most As a rule, during May, June and early July you’ll find the best areas. How could you miss them this time of year anyway with fluke action at the start of outgoing tides as warmer water from deep the fleet all decked out and jockeying for position around each prized inside the bays is pulled out into the main channels, inlets and harbor buoy, channel edge or inlet. mouths. During the heat of summer, cooler rising waters generally For those new to the summer flounder game, fishing within the trigger the bite. fleet around other boats that are also targeting SHORT AND SWEET fluke is probably a good idea. Generally speaking, Many fluke anglers it puts you over the right I know love to drift long kind of water and you for fluke. If they pull up can watch and learn as a keeper every now and you see fish come up on then, they’ll basically stay other boats around your the course. Once skipper vessel. Once you have a last year, if fact, told of a feel for the right rigging, great drift he experienced basic techniques and kind last year in the eastern of water that produces, reaches of Long Island however, it’s often best Sound. “I picked a fish head out on your own. every 15 minutes or so,” That will get you a way he told me proudly, “and from the competition, never had to kick over the allow you to set up more engine. I’ll bet that drift specific drift patterns and lasted more than a mile!” challenge you to figure the A mile? That’s The author shows off a hefty June fluke caught just a few-hundred yards from the dock aboard the probably three-quarters of fish out yourself. Greenport, NY, open boat Peconic Star. Photo by Felicia Scocozza. Simply sliding down a mile longer than I ever a primary channel a few drift for fluke. Short and hundred yards is often sweet is the rule when I’m enough to make a difference when it comes to fishing inside bays and at the helm. As a rule, the best action tends to be highly concentrated harbors. Heading for the next prominent point can be a good change in a relatively narrow zone, often simply the stretch that lies between if working the waters of Long Island Sound. If fishing out in the ocean, the buoys that mark channel edges. While it may be possible to drift head offshore until and stay within a channel for quite some time if the wind is blowing you put another in the same direction as the current, most days will see you crossing ten feet of water or quartering the channel. Under such conditions, you’ll need to keep beneath your bow, your drifts relatively short to stay within the strike zone. or slide a little closer The same goes for fishing on flats, or out in the ocean. Most of the to the beach to fish will be bunched up in a small stretch around favored structure, see if the fish have on slopes or simply sitting under schools of bait. Shorten up your moved in closer to drift to a couple-hundred yards at most and you’ll drop your baits in shore. Any change consistently productive water. is worth a try if you How short should your fluke drift run? It’s always Captain’s choice aren’t catching in of course, but mine are often 200 yards or less. That’s the length of two the usual hot spots football fields. I’d rather drop my bait in the hot spot over and over where everyone else again than simply drag it along hoping to cross paths with scattered is fishing. summer flatties. Note, too, that if you headed TEASER AND BUCKTAIL COLORS out based on last week’s reports, the How do you know which teaser or bucktail color to use? That’s a odds are the tide tough one as fluke, like most other game fish, are capable of changing has flipped by now. their minds not only from day to day but even from hour to hour. When chasing I like white as a beginning choice since it routinely catches fluke reports, be sure to in just about any water color, but chartreuse does seem to offer an Fluke are a great target for introducing youngsters chase the proper edge in deep, stained or murky seas. Hot pink is another option, which to the angling game. Photo by Deena Lippman, tide as well, not just seems to work especially well in the heat of late July and August at the the location noted point you begin to see baby calico crabs swimming around.. The point Shinnecock Star. 4 CONNECTICUT/RHODE ISLAND
JUNE 2017
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is that you don’t have bays, Sound and inshore to stick with one color ocean waters so you’ve all day long. If the tide got plenty of options to changes and the water choose from. With waters becomes murky or more now right in the center of clear, switch to a day-glo the summer flattie comfort or florescent color like zone, doormats and solid hot pink, chartreuse or keepers often slide up into bright orange. If fishing 10 to 40- foot waters within in clear water under a mile or two of major sunny skies, try white, inlets as the currents there yellow or more naturalstir up a mix of fodder looking colors like olive, including bunker, sand eels brown and green. and spearing. They’ll also Keeping an eye begin to settle in around on rigs of anglers who structure as the squid are having the most move on from favored success is another way areas. By using a variety Bottom-fishing expert Bernie Reynolds drilled this solid doormat aboard the open boat Miss to determine which of strip baits cut from sea Montauk. Photo by Tom Schlichter. color teaser or bucktails robin, bluefish, bunker or are working best. If a mackerel, you can target particular angler with a the biggest flatties in all different color teaser or bucktail is red hot, duplicating the productive three environments and possibly come away with legitimate doormat rig or color scheme is probably a good idea. Don’t wait to make the bragging rights. switch when you recognize such patterns. Hop on it right away before the fish have chance to change their minds. LET THEM EAT MEAT Big fish like big baits, and the spring and early summer offers your best shot these days at hooking-up with a summer flattie of doormat proportions. While it’s tempting after a long, cold winter to just get the rod bending with bucktails and a light tackle approach inside the bays, inlets and harbors, they’ll be plenty of time for that come summer. For now, it’s a good idea to concentrate on catching that lunker of a lifetime for at no point this year will the odds be skewed more in your favor. By the time June rolls around, there’s a good mix of fluke in the
Big stripbaits and bright colored soft plastic teasers make a great combination for June doormats. Photo by Tom Schlichter. COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THEANGLERMAG.COM
JUNE 2017
CONNECTICUT/RHODE ISLAND 5
Western Sound May 2017 BY CAPTAIN TOMMY KAMPA
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Striped Bass Tactics
une is the best month of the year for Striped Bass fishing in the Western Long Island Sound! There always seems to be BIGGER Stripers caught and lost during this month. The majority of fish have already spawned and are very hungry, as they migrate to our East. These Stripers are spread out over our entire area and can be caught shallow and deep; with Bunker chunks or live Bunker. Fresh bait really helps; all the tackle shops get fresh Bunker at least once a day, this is an easy way to get bait and some inside intelligence on what’s going on in your area. Support your local bait and tackle shops! On the water, learn to snag your own bait, using treble hooks, cast into a school of Bunker, and let your hook sink, than steadily retrieve it until you feel a fish, then strike hard and reel the Bunker in. Throw the ones that don’t look too bad in a live well and the rest on ice, to chunk with. If you can throw a cast net, even better! Get friendly with one of the commercial Bunker netters and they might let you buy some from them; but remember these guys are working, you want the best bait, so take good care of them. Your bait will last much longer in the live well when caught with a net. OK, we’ve got our bait, but where to go fishing? Getting out early is important to me; I want to be fishing by 5:30 AM or earlier when live lining; once the sun gets to a certain point in the sky, the bite is over. Boulder fields, reefs with a little current are where I’ll start out. Figuring
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out what tide and what part of the tide that works best at each individual spot requires an investment of time. Use your mind, be original in your thinking, it’ll pay off quicker than you think and your catch will be that much more rewarding than just following the fleet around. So you’ve anchored up in your honey hole; I like to put my live Bunker out first. I use a seven foot conventional set up, spooled up with forty pound monofilament line. I use a seven to eight foot piece of fifty pound fluorocarbon leader attached to main line with a barrel swivel and a 9/0 hook snelled to my leader. Hook them near the end of the dorsal fin; being careful not to put the hook through their spine, this would kill them. (This is a rig I like for shallow water, when fishing deeper, I’ll hook the Bunker through their nostrils). Dropping them into the water, I try to get them to swim away from my boat until I feel they are in the “zone”; put the reel’s clicker on in free spool and put them in a rod holder and get ready. Sometimes your bait will get attacked immediately so be ready. Keep control of your line, don’t get any big bows in your line, you must know where your bait is at all times, because your trophy Striper won’t give you a second chance. Striped Bass need to swallow your Bunker head first, be patient; I’ve watched many anglers pull their baits right out of a Striper’s mouth. Its big bait, you have to let them eat a little; once the fish has taken the bait, lock up your reel, wait for the line to come tight and swing hard! Yeah, I don’t use circle hooks, I enjoy setting the hook and as long as you don’t let the fish run too long before hooking, they shouldn’t be gut hooked. Fight the fish slow and steady; when she wants to run, let her, retrieve when you can; keeping constant pressure and your rod tip up. When your trophy gets close to the boat make sure you net it head first. Congratulations!! If you’re not going to keep this fish, get it back in the water as quick as possible, holding its head into the current until she gets her breath and swims off. If you have gut hooked the fish and its bleeding bad or you can’t revive it, and it’s legal; you should make that fish your catch for the day. It may not be the trophy you were looking for, but there’s no sense in wasting a fish; good Karma will be rewarded by the fish gods! Remember to take good care of your catch and get it on ice immediately, you and the family will be grateful at the dinner table. Chunking with Bunker is very effective also; and if possible I fish a few chunks even when live lining. Usually in shallow water if there is not much tide, you will not need any weight. But if you’re fishing deeper put a fish finder rig in front of your swivel and use enough weight to keep your sinker on the bottom. I will use a three foot
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fluorocarbon leader, my usual seven foot conventional setup; keeping the reel in free spool, with the clicker on when not holding it. You don’t have to let these fish run more than a few feet, lock you reel, wait for the line to come tight and set the hook. Stripers have strong hard mouths, swing hard! A nice steady retrieve will get your fish to the boat and in the net. Wherever you decide to fish, Stripers like structure and it’s rare to find them over open bottom in great numbers. Finding good structure, even a small gulley on the bottom in the middle of nowhere will hold fish. Big Stripers, “Cows” are very smart, they’ve seen many hooks and lures over their years to live this long. They will wait for an easy meal when the tide starts to slow down, and ambush their prey with a minimum amount of effort. Another method is drifting live bunker near the bottom in deep water. I will use a fish finder rig, a long leader and hook the Bunker through its nostrils. Some guys like to use Bait Bridles when photos daily. fishing like this and feel they get more hookups with this method. Drop Catch ‘em up!!!!
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your rig to the bottom, crank up your line three to four turns, and lock up your reel. Hold on tight because these Stripers hit hard and fast. It’s important to experiment with all of these methods and to find your own “Honey Holes”! Think outside the box and you will improve as a fisherman. Respect those fishing around you, remember that good Karma! Captain Tommy Kampa holds a USCG 100 TON MASTER’S LICENSE; he runs a 29’ Dyer custom bass boat, the MOONLIGHT LADY. We are booking Charters now for the season. Captain Tommy can be reached at capttommykampa@gmail.com or 347 203 5087 to book a charter or express a comment or suggestion. Check out our new website Moonlightladyfishing.com Like us on FACEBOOK at Coastal Angler Magazine Long Island and Moonlight Lady Fishing; I’ll be posting trip reports and
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WORD ON THE BITE TOM SCHLICHTER
Spinnerbait Tips
S
cented, salted and flavored soft plastic baits are all the rage these days. With lure manufacturers pumping out a seemingly endless array of new styles, patterns and models an almost daily basis it’s hard to keep up with all the options. – and it’s even easier to overlook some of the old standbys that have served well for years or even decades on the freshwater front. While there can be no denying the effectiveness of all the new softies, using all the fish-catching tools in your tackle box can really increase overall productivity and keep you feeling fresh and excited as the season progresses. Thus, although I try to experiment with something new on most trips, I also make sure to throw a few old standbys during the course of the day. One of my longtime favorite summer lures for freshwater action is the spinnerbait. Just 20 years ago, this lure style was thrown by nearly every bass angler on the planet. Today, however, I notice they are being used less frequently. That’s too bad, because spinnerbaits remain productive under a wide range of conditions, can be fished from the surface to the bottom, and catch everything from largemouth and smallmouth bass to pickerel, crappies, perch and even sunfish. They are, in short, one of the most versatile lures on the freshwater front.
Largemouth Bass Spinnerbait. Photo by Tom Schlichter
Skirts and grub tails provide color and contrast to a spinnerbait, and choosing an appropriate shade for the environmental conditions encountered is key. Choose bright colors like white, orange or chartreuse on sunny days, pale green or yellow on cloudy days, and black or purple in low-light situations. If you think big bass and pickerel are targeting large baitfish, or simply want to present a fuller, larger target, combine a skirt and grub by sliding the latter up onto the hook and under the skirt. Matching the grub color to that of the skirt is usually a good idea, but I must admit to occasionally contrasting the colors. A white skirt and red grub combo, for example, works well for me when the water is chilly. Purple and red is a good combination just before dark. Even the arm of a spinnerbait is worthy DECONSTRUCTING of consideration when it SPINNERBAITS comes to fine-tuning your Although spinnerbaits presentation. Thinner arms appear simple in design, work well with lighter lines there are several elements to and allow a little flex as the consider when making your blades spin to throw off selection before heading out unique flash and vibrations. on your favorite fishing hole. Thicker arms, however, stand Take the blades, for example. up well to banging structure, There are three primary Orange Spinnerbait Peconic Zone 3. Photo by Outdoor Tom Enterprises, Inc. snagging fallen timber and styles, each with different being pounded by big fish strong suits. time and again. In clear water where bass I like to toss small spinnerbaits and pickerel use sight as the key with wire thicknesses of 0.03 to element in locating prey, narrow 0.04 on four- to six-pound test willow leaf blades are a great spinning setups, especially when choice because they throw off working in open water, as they plenty of flash. Rounded Colorado draw plenty of aggressive strikes blades throw off less light but work from bass to bluegills. On the other well in discolored or murky water hand, in heavy weeds, casting to because they give off stronger shoreline brush or slowly retrieving vibrations. Indiana or tear-drop spinnerbaits across sunken timber, style blades, which fall in-between requires heavier spinning gear or these other two styles, offer a fair a bump up to 12- or 14-pound degree of flash with a decent level test conventional setups and a Largemouth Bass Orange Spinnerbait Peconic of vibration, making them a good spinnerbait arm thickness of 0.04 compromise under mixed conditions. or 0.05. Some anglers will even go Zone-3.3. Photo by Tom Schlichter 8 CONNECTICUT/RHODE ISLAND
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to titanium arms for working in heavy cover, but I think the steel arms provide a little better action on the retrieve.
Buzzing spinnerbaits brings exciting topwater strikes and seems to work best on calm, overcast days when the air is heavy and the lake is still. With this presentation, begin SIZE MATTERS reeling quickly before the lure even Of course, size does matter. hits the water. The idea is to retrieve Bigger spinnerbaits seem to turn on your offering just below the surface Smallmouth Mahopac Spinnerbait. the largest bass and pickerel while so that it pushes a bulging wake on smaller lures provoke more strikes the return. Alternate speeds slightly Photo by Outdoor Tom Enterprises, Inc. but fewer trophies. When choosing so that the blades occasionally break a spinnerbait size, the starting point should be deciding what the surface and then slide below again without allowing the you want to target. If it is fast action with a variety of species, wake to fall off. a 1/8- or 1/4-ounce spinnerbait is ideal because it will fit in The standard spinnerbait retrieve is just what you might the most mouths. Larger spinnerbaits cull out the sunfish, expect. Cast out and retrieve at a steady, medium pace. Vary the crappies, yellow perch and smaller bass and pickerel, allowing speed slightly from cast to cast until you find a pace to which you to concentrate on catching the kings and queens of the your quarry responds. Keep the lure anywhere from six inches pond. Try tossing a small spinnerbait to get a quick feel for the below the surface to a foot above the bottom. This retrieve works aggressiveness of the predators on any given day, then switch to especially well at mid-day, during spring and fall seasons, and in something larger once you’ve caught and released a few fish and open water. want to get serious about hooking hawgs. Slow-rolling is a great way to probe deeper waters for sulking bass and big pickerel. The idea behind this presentation BASIC PRESENTATIONS is to drag your lure slowly across submerged structure like trees, Spinnerbaits are exceptionally versatile, and just about any wrecks or large rocks. Try to bump any prominent piece that presentation that keeps the blades turning will eventually draw rises off the bottom. You’ll lose some lures with this approach, some strikes. Still, there are three retrieves that can cover all the but you’ll also hang some awesome lunkers. bases: buzzing, standard and slow-rolling.
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Fish Focus (Continued from Page 3)
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helpful, but being able to recite a nautical sounding name for a little tract of unseen seabed is not the same thing as pulling up on a set of lat-lons and sinking the boat with fish in 20 minutes. Hell, “where” is a 10-part decision. Then there are a half-dozen variables that feed when, another 10 that add up to how. On face value, fishing reports are entertaining—good fuel to lifesupport your brain through a Friday afternoon clock-watch at the office. But unless the info is minutes-old and straight from your Grampa, don’t expect one-stop shopping in the truth department. But if you’re serious about improving your catch rate this year, and willing to invest some real time and energy in a bit of background study, you can start to extract real, live intel from even those seemingly useless entries your BS detector tells you are written purely for marketing purposes.
Regardless of your target species, first piece of the local puzzle is to cultivate a pretty thorough understanding of the major over-arching tide influences. There’s an art to pumping your fellow rodmen for information; if you work at it, you’ll discover that, armed with two or three relatively innocuous details from the guy who clobbered fish last night, you can look up, manipulate, cross-reference, and calculate most of the fragments he withheld—and weave all those loose strands into a pretty solid picture of what put a load of good fish in the guy’s boat. With some practice and disciplined record-keeping, you’ll be stunned by how much you can learn in a few months’ time. If your family of origin tempered your character with some old-world dysfunction—armed you with the power of manipulation—you might find a year or two down the line that you’re ready to go pro. Reverse Engineering Regardless of your target species, first piece of the local puzzle is to cultivate a pretty thorough understanding of the major over-arching tide influences. That means learning the directional orientation of the flooding and ebbing tides relative to various important grounds within your range. When I fished Block Island on a daily basis, knowing that off the SW Corner, flood tide runs approximately SE to NW, ebb about the opposite lets me predict the interplay between forecasted winds, sea conditions, and tidal current, which in turn lets me make reasonably sound predictions (or calculations backwards through time) about actual drift/trolling/anchoring conditions. Certain sets of conditions favor good fishing in certain areas, but also create nightmarish sea conditions in others, helping (forward or in reverse through time) to rule out areas of likely fish production that were or will be unfishably horrid. Figuring out where Capt. Fantastic was when he took three 40-pounders last night gets easier when you can rule out two of his five known secret spots with conditions, two with tidal timing relative to when he left or got back in. But I’m getting ahead of myself. As I’ve written before, I gained my basic tidal current knowledge from poring over the all-important “current charts” in the annual Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book. When you look at the big picture between Montauk, Block Island, Watch Hill, or Long Island Sound, you’ll start to find predictable order in what initially looks like tidal
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chaos. When you’re working backwards, trying to time a secretive captain’s big haul, cross-referencing current tables against the aforementioned current charts, which illustrate tidal direction and velocity through an entire 12-hour cycle, and allow you to calculate timing of key alignments (or deteriorations) of drift conditions or high-percentage fishing windows. As important as the directional orientation of the overall push and pull of water is learning in at least a rudimentary way the basic lags between tides in different parts of your home waters. Knowing that an ebb tide, which runs about W to E, roughly parallel to the shoreline along RI’s south shore “beach,” tells you that you’ll get a charge of tide much sooner off Misquamicut than off, say, Green Hill. It’s another bit of info that narrows time when you’re pinning someone down. A guy might slip and tell you the tide had just started ebbing when he set up the first drift right at sunset. If you look up the time of sunset for the three places he might have been, the current charts might eliminate one or two, where tide would still have been flooding when the sun sank in the west. Of course, there’s much more to the art of prediction or “postdiction” than time and tide. The next piece of the puzzle—the human variables—warrants a full investigation, and lest any of the spotophobes come up short on reasons to decorate their dartboards with my likeness, I have a growing list under the heading of the Dark Arts, techniques that should help relative beginners boost their understanding of grounds in their range despite the shroud of secrecy and distrust that has eroded much of the solidarity in our so-called fishing community in recent seasons. Stay tuned.
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TIPS FROM A PRO
CATCHING BIGGER FISH BRANDON LESTER
A
t our most-recent Bassmaster Elite Series event, I was fortunate enough to bring in the Phoenix Boats Big Bass, a 7.2-pound largemouth. It helped me to a good finish at the event, and I got a $1,500 bonus check for having the largest bass of the four-day event on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson, Miss. Catching larger fish was part of my plan that week because catching numbers of fish didn’t happen for me. I knew if I stuck to the game plan, the bigger bites would happen. Here’s that plan for the next time you go out and want to catch bigger fish. 1. Target The Thickest Cover: Many times big fish like to hang out in the thickest cover a fishery has to offer. This is relative to whatever part of the country you are in, but for the most part big fish do not roam around as much and tend to be pretty lazy. In shallow weed-choked reservoirs like they have in Florida, the biggest fish tend to hide in the thickest grass vegetation. In open rivers, they like to bury up in thick logjams. 2. Target Isolated Cover: Look for one single boat dock sitting off to itself or one big treetop down a bare mud bank. In my experience, big fish get territorial. I think they will set up on these places and claim them as their home, sort of. This is especially true if the place offers plenty of food for them. 3. Use Bigger Baits: This one is obvious and effective. Many times as fishermen we get way too caught up in getting bites and don’t think enough about the size of
the fish we are catching. I’ve been guilty of it time and again in tournaments, but the truth is you only need five bites on tournament day. So use baits that appeal to big fish. Remember, you’re not likely to see big fish schooling on 2- to 3-inch shad. Throw 6-inch and bigger swimbaits or a big jig that resembles a big crawfish or bluegill.
Cox Earns Bassmaster Classic Berth
These three tips should help you catch more big fish. Keep in mind that to actually present those bigger baits effectively and land the fish, you will need
A
to have the right gear. A big fish will break your heart and keep you up at night. Custom-built rods with Winn Grips from Mud Hole Custom Tackle, sturdy hooks from Mustad, and strong line from Vicious are all a must. For all the gear I recommend, visit my website www. brandonlesterfishing.com. If you have any questions, hit me up on Facebook or Instagram - @ blesterfishing.
Get more tips from Lester at
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fter more than a decade of fishing Bassmaster Southern Open events, local Florida angler John Cox finally won his first one. The event, held on the famed Tennessee River impoundment Lake Chickamauga, was a three-day tournament that was very tough on most of the anglers including Cox. The 31-year-old angler is the reigning FLW Tour Champion and he is on a hot streak. After learning the 2018 Bassmaster Classic would be hosted at South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell, he set his sights on winning an Open event to punch his ticket for a Bassmaster Classic berth. Cox is known on the bass circuit as one of the best sight-fishing anglers. He used his keen eyesight and knowledge of spawning bass to win on Chickamauga. Cox was one of the few anglers who exclusively sight fished throughout the second Southern Open of the season. It was an effective technique for several of the tournament’s top finishers. He put himself in contention for the win with a 22-6 limit on Thursday, followed by a 25-7 bag on Friday. His two-day total of 47-13 gave him more than a 3-pound lead heading into Saturday’s action, and his 20-6 limit on Saturday was heavy enough to secure the win. The Mud Hole Custom Tackle pro, who hails from Debary, Fla., picked up a contingency berth in the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’s Sporting Goods with the victory. Fishing all three Southern Opens this season will solidify that berth. He also won more than $8,000 in cash, as well as a Triton 19 TrX and Mercury 200 Pro XS boat/motor package worth $40,000. “I’ve tried so long to win one of these Opens, it seems like forever,” Cox said. “I started fishing the Opens when I was 19. It’s where I started, really, so this definitely is a special thing for me. Building my own custom MHX rods is key for my success, because I can build technique-special rods and actions for different conditions.” Cox won the Lake Hartwell FLW Tour event last season and is excited about his chances in the Bassmaster Classic there. He won the Hartwell event last summer fishing the back of creeks getting his aluminum bass boat in places where most anglers could not go. Although the Classic will be held on Hartwell in the early spring, Cox is pleased to be fishing his first Classic event. Cox is having a decent start to the FLW Tour season, as well. Fishing in his own backyard on the third event at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Fla., Cox was super excited to fish his home waters. He led the event for the first three days to finish in third place and enjoy a nice payday. Cox finished in eighth in the recent FLW Event on Arkansas’ Beaver Lake after going out in fourth place on the final day. It was his second top-10 finish on the tour with just two events left this season.
For more on the 2017 Bassmaster Classic, go to
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MAKE IT COUNT
MARK SOSIN
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imes have changed. Probing the water column from the bottom to the surface with a white, leadheaded bucktail lay in the province of the serious light tackle angler of yesteryear. It was and still is a deadly technique for hooking an amazing variety of fish in water depths ranging from 20 feet to 200 feet. Standard tackle for deep jigging would either be 12- or 15-pound-test line. Some beginners will insist on 20-pound test, but the lures don’t work as well as the line test increases. Most of the top anglers use a stout, 7-foot rod with plenty of lifting power and a baitcasting reel, but a few rely on spinning. If the rod tip collapses, not only will you have problems trying to drag a fish up from the depths, but the lure won’t work as well. The leadhead itself is the heart of the system. Anglers today opt for the new metal artificials, but my money rests on the oldfashioned white bucktail. Weight is a factor. You want the lightest weight that will get down to the bottom under the circumstances. With 15-pound-test line, the basic bucktail weighs 2 1/4 ounces. Unless the current is strong, you can reach the bottom in 200 feet of water with it. If the current becomes a problem, you can go to 4 ounces. Shapes differ, but the best bucktails have a knife edge on one side. As an aside, if I were limited to one lure to fish for any species anywhere in the world, it would be that white bucktail with either a length of plastic hanging from the hook or a strip bait or a small baitfish. It can be trolled, cast and retrieved, or deep dropped. When you are deep jigging, you want a vertical retrieve. That means you have to freespool the bucktail without any drag directly to the bottom before you start the retrieve.
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If you’re having a problem telling when the lure hits bottom, watch the line. When the bucktail hits the bottom, the line will go slack for an instant. Working the lure is done by lifting the rod and then reeling the slack as you drop the rod tip. You can work it all the way to the surface using this method. How fast you retrieve and how high you lift the rod become variables. Try different approaches until you find what works at that moment. A good place to start learning to deep jig is around some form of bottom structure that a variety of fish call home. If you saw some of the catches light tackle experts used to achieve with this technique on 15-pound-test line in deep water, it would amaze you. Once you hook something of size, the next challenge lies in trying to lift that critter to the surface. When you do, you’ll be talking about it for a long time and you’ll have a smile on your face.
For more Mark Sosin visit
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YAMAHA
Rolls Out Exciting Developments For Offshore Anglers
Y
amaha has some exciting new developments in the marketplace this summer that should catch the eye of offshore anglers. The latest version of the venerable F350 outboard now offers five full years of limited warranty protection. Also, Yamaha’s Helm Master Integrated Boat Control System has a new feature that will make large boats powered by big outboards even easier to control. The newest version of Yamaha’s most powerful outboard, the new 5.3-liter F350C now provides five full years of limited warranty coverage, wrapping a refined outboard package with a list of benefits and features that are still unique in the marketplace nine years after the debut of the original F350. “The inclusion of five years of limited warranty coverage with the F350C underscores the reliability of the F350,” said Ben Speciale, president, Yamaha Marine Group. “We are confident that this benefit for our 5.3-liter V8 customers builds in exceptional value for Yamaha’s most powerful outboard on the market.” Yamaha’s F350 redefined offshore power in 2007 and still has little competition in its class. The first F350 offered an outboard capable of the raw thrust necessary for pushing larger and heavier offshore boats. Thousands of F350s later, there is still nothing like it. And for boaters looking to control all that power, the new and improved Helm Master Integrated Boat Control System makes fishing from and docking big boats a breeze. Yamaha Marine Group recently announced a new feature that gives its Helm Master Integrated Boat Control System even greater levels of control. With the Set Point boat positioning function, boaters now have the capability to integrate all boat control systems and then guide them with GPS navigation technology. “The introduction of Helm Master changed the way boaters think about controlling larger outboard-powered boats,” said Speciale. “Helm Master made docking less stressful and fishing on the open water more enjoyable. Set Point takes that functionality and precision to the next level.” Set Point is comprised of a suite of satellite-guided capabilities designed to improve the boater’s ability to fish, maneuver and simply enjoy life on the water. Using a unique dual-antenna GPS to provide Helm Master’s operating system more navigational information, the Set Point function provides even greater and more precise control. Set Point has three primary modes: Stay Point, Fish Point and Drift Point. Each Set Point mode provides a solution to the tricky maneuvering challenges boaters encounter every day. Stay Point keeps the boat positioned near a particular spot; it maintains a selected position and heading. This mode is particularly helpful when a boat must hold a position and heading, for example at a fuel dock or at a bridge opening. In adverse weather or high currents, Helm Master uses higher RPM and greater engine activity to keep the boat as close to the mark as possible, within a 75-foot circle of the set point. Fish Point enhances fishing options; it maintains a selected position, but not a heading, and primarily uses only idle RPM to do so. The Fish Point mode makes use of a captain’s knowledge in heading a boat into the current or wind, bow upstream or downstream, to maintain a heading. Under normal condi-
tions, the Set Point function will use no more than idle RPM to hold the Fish Point position, which means Fish Point operation is less likely to scare the fish. In stronger seas, Fish Point will attempt to keep the boat on the point selected using no more than the requested Fish Point RPM to do so, up to 2,500 RPM. Yamaha’s Shift Dampener System propellers play a role in keeping the boat on point quietly, too. Drift Point allows the boater to drift the boat with the wind or the current; it maintains a selected heading, but not a position. Drift Point mode is particularly useful to maintain a heading when drift fishing or kite fishing. Drift Point allows the boat to drift with the wind or current, but stay pointed in the heading chosen. Each Set Point mode is activated with the touch of a button. The Set Point control buttons are integrated into the new Helm Master joystick and use Yamaha’s new CL7 touch screen display to initially configure the operator’s preferences. Each Set Point mode is user-defined for the needs of individual boaters. Helm Master Set Point hardware includes a dual-antenna GPS and stern-mounted lighting that illuminates any time any mode of the SetPoint system is active. The Yamaha CL7 display has a 7-inch touch panel screen with full multi-function display (MFD) capability and connectivity. The display offers precise engine and boat systems data for up to four outboards on one screen, along with other MFD functions such as maps, fishfinder, and graphing capabilities using its built-in 10 MHz GPS. It is the primary display for Yamaha’s fully integrated Helm Master boat control system, and is the required point of access to configure Set Point. Contact your dealer about the latest version of the Helm Master or for information about a retrofit kit that will bring earlier Helm Master-equipped boats up to date with the new technology. For information on all of Yamaha’s industry-leading products, go to www.yamahaoutboards.com.
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MOTOR REVIEW Tohatsu Introduces New Colors For MFS40 and MFS50
In 2014, Tohatsu brought to market some of its most popular outboards to date with its 40 and 50hp four strokes, the MFS40 and the MFS50. Weighing less than any other outboard in their class, they have experienced tremendous success in the mid-range market. New for 2017, Tohatsu is offering these in-demand outboards in a new color, Beluga White. One of the coolest looking outboards on the market is now offered in both Aqua Marine Blue and Beluga White. Boaters now have the option to choose which color best fits with their boat. The MFS40 starts at just 209 pounds. This outboard is equipped with proven technology, including electronic fuel injection (EFI) and digital CD ignition, which provides quick throttle response, excellent fuel economy and very smooth rides on the water. The MFS40 also has a high output 21 amp alternator for superior battery charging. The adjustable steering friction and trim tab reduces your amount of steering effort, making for an easier and more enjoyable boating experience. Convenience is also covered with the 40hp four stroke’s
built-in freshwater flushing system, making routine flushing quick and easy. The 40hp EFI four stroke not only offers a more powerful ride while using less fuel, but is among the lightest on the water in its class. With proven reliability and performance, the MFS40 is every boater’s versatile choice for work, play or even once-in-a-lifetime memory making. Many of the same things can be said of the MFS50. It is the lightest weight motor possible, and it has been upgraded with an improved gear case with a lower gear ratio, giving you the increased low end torque your boat needs. This outboard also has variable idling speed control from 650 to 950 rpms. And the MFS50’s stainless steel water pump housing liner gives you outstanding durability. With the 50hp four stroke’s power to quickly reach your destination, exceptional fuel performance to keep gas costs down and proven electronic fuel injection technology for worry-free boating, you’ve never had a day on the water quite like this.
For more on Tohatsu’s complete lineup of outboards, see www.tohatsu.com/outboards/.
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BOAT REVIEW Piranha F2000
underway and the breeze out of your face. The incorporated padded cooler seat offers insulated storage for you meals and drinks or today’s catch. Built into the hull design is our transom pocket tunnel that allows you to get the engine jacked up or down to allow for a smooth dry ride in either shallow or deeper water. The F2000 deck design includes built in toe kick and spray chine to keep you on the boat and the water out. The F2000 is the ultimate fishing platform. Designed by Jesse Rhodes, of Rhodes Yacht Design, an avid inshore fisherman, it takes advantage of the newest hydrodynamics with simplistic style.
SPECIFICATIONS Piranha Boatworks of Sanford, Fla. has designed the ultimate fishing platform with its F2000 Flats/Bay boat. Drafting 6 to 8 inches, with a maximum of 150 hp, this sleek hull can get you to and from your favorite fishing grounds in short order. It offers all that Piranha Boatworks is famous for, a large forward casting deck, plenty of storage fore and aft and 6 under-gunnel rod holders. The deck is laid out with a large dry storage compartment forward and three storage wells aft. The aft wells are comprised of an aerated live well, release well and dry storage in a saddle bag configuration. The F2000’s large center console has space for all your flush mount electronics. The console grab rail and wind screen keep you steady while
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LENGTH: 19’6” BEAM: 7’8” DEADRISE: 7 Degrees DRAFT: 6’-8” WEIGHT: 1,250 lbs. MAX HP: 150 FUEL CAPACITY: 30 gallons
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Powerful. Agile. Responsive. Move almost any trailer with our powerful, compact dolly.
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MOTOR REVIEW Suzuki Marine Introduces New Models To Outboard Lines
Suzuki Marine is expanding two of its most popular lines of outboards with new models to fill the needs of boaters and anglers. New SS-Series Models The performance-oriented SS-Series, with its signature matte-black paint job and distinctive graphics, is growing with a new 200hp four stroke and the availability of a 25-inch shaft length on its premier 250 SS V6. “People really like the performance matte black look and have been asking us to expand the line,” said Gus Blakely, vice president of sales for Suzuki Marine. “We’re happy to do that by adding the 200SS and making the 250SS available for more kinds of boats.” The Suzuki 200SS features Suzuki’s 200-horsepower inline 4-cylinder powerhead, with 175.0 cubic inch displacement, dual overhead cams and a 10.2:1 compression ratio for increased power and performance. Engine operations are managed by an onboard Engine Control Module and an array of sensors that control the engine’s multi-point sequential electronic fuel injection system and Lean Burn Control technology. The 200SS will come with conventional mechanical throttle and shift control and will be available in 20-inch and 25-inch shaft models. At just 518 lbs, this 4-cylinder outboard delivers V6 like performance in a more compact, lightweight package.
The availability of a 25-inch shaft model for the popular 250SS has been eagerly awaited. The V6 4-Stroke 250SS, with 4.0 liter displacement and a powerful 2.08:1 gear ratio, has built a solid reputation on the pro-bass circuit. With the addition of a 25-inch shaft length model, this high-powered outboard will find new application on bay boats, walleye boats, even the new breed of performance pontoon boats. New AP Advanced Series Models Suzuki has every right to be proud of the DF150AP and DF175AP, two new models in their toptier AP-Series. In addition to a long list of advanced features, these new 150- and 175-hp inline four cylinder outboards feature Suzuki Precision Control drive-by-wire throttle and shift, as well as Suzuki’s innovative Selective Rotation gear case. These outboards share their engineering DNA with Suzuki’s popular DF200AP 200-horsepower inline-four cylinder outboard. All three engines are built off of the same 175 cubic inch displacement inlinefour cylinder engine block. The new DF150AP and DF175AP boast the largest displacement in their respective horsepower classes. Engine performance is enhanced by a 10.2:1 compression ratio that generates optimal power, contributing to an impressive hole-shot and mid-range acceleration. A newly developed Semi-Direct Air Intake System further boosts power by providing cooler airflow to each cylinder. With the addition of these two models, Suzuki offers a wide range of new generation lightweight, compact, yet powerful inline four cylinder 4-stroke outboards. For more information on Suzuki’s full line of 4-stroke outboard motors, visit www.suzukimarine.com or call 714-996-7040.
MUDHOLE.COM/SALT-KIT Build Your Own Custom Saltwater Rod With This Turnkey Kit 24
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suzuki spring savings Three Limited Time Offers Make A Good Deal Even Better Suzuki Gives You All Three So You Don’t Have To Choose One Or The Other
Buy a new Suzuki outboard from 25 to 300 horsepower and take advantage of not just one, but ALL THREE Suzuki Spring promotional offers.
Add cash rebates on select models and you can get up to $800 cash back. Plus our Repower Financing is available at attractive interest rates (on approved credit.*)
Just say, “Gimme Six!” and you’ll get six years of product protection. That’s right, you’ll get Suzuki’s three-year limited warranty and Suzuki’s 3-Year Extended Protection Plan at no extra charge.
See your participating Suzuki Marine dealer today and find out how you can get the ultimate deal on the Ultimate 4-Stroke Outboard.
Six Years of Protection at no extra charge on all new outboards 25 to 300 HP.
Cash Rebates on select models. See your dealer for details.
Rates as low as 5.99% on new Suzuki outboards (OAC).*
REPOWER FINANCE
For details and the name of your nearest participating Suzuki Marine dealer, visit www.suzukimarine.com
Gimme Six Extended Protection promo is applicable to new Suzuki Outboard Motors from 25 to 300 HP in inventory which are sold and delivered to buyer between 4/01/17 and 6/30/17 in accordance with the promotion by a Participating Authorized Suzuki Marine dealer in the continental US and Alaska to a purchasing customer who resides in the continental US or Alaska. Customer should expect to receive an acknowledgement letter and full copy of contract including terms, conditions and wallet card from Suzuki Extended Protection within 90 days of purchase. If an acknowledgement letter is not received in time period stated, contact Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. – Marine Marketing via email: marinepromo@suz.com. The Gimme Six Promotion is available for pleasure use only, and is not redeemable for cash. Cash Rebates apply to qualifying purchases of select Suzuki Outboard Motors made between 4/01/17 and 6/30/17. For list of designated models, see participating Dealer or visit www.suzukimarine.com. Customer and participating Dealer must fill out the appropriate rebate form at time of sale. Customer will have the choice to either apply the cash rebate against the original dealer invoice (Suzuki will credit Dealer parts account) or have a check sent directly to the customer. There are no model substitutions, benefit substitutions, rain checks, or extensions. Suzuki reserves the right to change or cancel these promotions at any time without notice or obligation. * Financing offers available through Synchrony Retail Finance. As low as 5.99% APR financing for 60 months on new and unregistered Suzuki Outboard Motors. Subject to credit approval. Not all buyers will qualify. Approval, and any rates and terms provided, are based on credit worthiness. $19.99/month per $1,000 financed for 60 months is based on 5.99% APR. Hypothetical figures used in calculation; your actual monthly payment may differ based on financing terms, credit tier qualification, accessories or other factors such as down payment and fees. Offer effective on new, unregistered Suzuki Outboard Motors purchased from a participating authorized Suzuki dealer between 4/01/17 and 6/30/17. “Gimme Six”, the Suzuki “S” and model names are Suzuki trademarks or ®. Don’t drink and drive. Always wear a USCG-approved life jacket and read your owner’s manual. © 2017 Suzuki Motor of America, Inc.
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BOAT REVIEW CustomBilt Pondtoon
The Pondtoon is the perfect small-water boat for the avid river and pond angler, duck and bow hunter, as well as the family with children or grandchildren. All boats are all-welded aluminum construction made in the USA with premium options to meet every fisherman’s needs in boating. There are several styles to choose from that include: Fishing Series, Hunting Series, Pleasure Series, Farm/Pond Workboats, Search and Rescue and our new Camo boat. There are even wheelchair-accessible models Pondtoon boats are factory assembled in three standard sizes with options and additional features that allow you to equip the boat for your fishing and hunting style at a very affordable price. Contact us at 334-684-2210 or pondtoons@gmail.com with any questions to help you “customize” your very own CustomBilt Pondtoon boat.
SPECIFICATIONS LENGTH: 14’16” BEAM: 5’ to 6’ MAX HP: 9.9
CONSTRUCTION: .090 marine-grade aluminum BUILDER: Custombilt Pondtoons
WWW.BOATSANDFISHING.COM
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5/16/17 11:52 AM
FRESHWATER $1200 IN-HOUSE REBATE OR FREE BOAT COVER BOSSMAN TECHNICAL POLING SKIFFS
18,950
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“ I had the chance to test the new Bossman TailSpotter and I must say I was very impressed. I’ve run a lot of boats in my career and this boat is as good if not better than anything I’ve driven.” Capt. Mike Hakala, Aqua Dream Lures
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5/16/17 11:52 AM
FIELD TEST
Sea Eagle FishSUP FS126
Standup paddleboard fishing is trending, so we eagerly tested Sea Eagle’s new inflatable FishSUP FS126. Sea Eagle calls it super stable. We were super impressed. With a length of 12’6” and a width of 40”, it’s a spacious platform that’s tough enough to work hardened shorelines. Heavy duty .90 drop-stitch material covers the top, bottom and sides for superior protection against punctures and a 90” by 18” thick, camouflage EVA pad adds additional buffering while providing a non-slip footbed. An integral 36-inch ruler makes fish measurement a snap. We packed this rig in the trunk, hit the beach, and fully inflated it in less than 10 minutes. Smartly positioned D-rings tightly secured optional accessories including a swivel seat with Scotty rod holders, battery, 34-lb. thrust electric motor and forward mesh storage box with tube-style rod holders. An SUP paddle, kayak paddle, backpack, hand pump and repair kit come with the basic package. Price: $1099. For more information, call Sea Eagle at 800748-8066 M-F, 9-5 EST, or check out their website.
WWW.SEAEAGLE.COM
NEVER WAX AGAIN! Defender RESTORE AND PROTECT YOUR BOAT Poli Glow does what wax can’t! As seen on Ship Shape TV
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Record Channel Cat Caught In N.Y. Reported by Justin Walts
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ric Scordo, of Watertown, N.Y., is a trophy catfish hunter. On April 30, he achieved a long-held dream of breaking the New York state record for channel catfish when he boated a massive 35.25-pounder from Lake Ontario’s Chaumont Bay. Caught on live bait using an Okuma reel paired with an Ugly Stick rod and an Addya hook, the beast smashed the existing record by more than 3 pounds. The previous record, which stood since 2002, weighed 32.12 pounds and was caught from Brant Lake, a 1,300acre reservoir in the Hudson River drainage. Scordo is a little bit of a fanatic about catch and release. The philosophy makes sense for someone specializing in large catfish, as it can take these fish decades to grow to state record size. Scordo was determined to release his record fish alive. So after it was weighed on a certified scale at Chaumont Hardware, the fish was taken to Chaumont Bay Marina where assistance was provided in keeping the fish alive and healthy. It was kept in a bait tank for a full day before a state biologist made it out for verification. After the record was verified, Scordo nurtured the fish to recovery and released it back into Chaumont Bay. An impressive gathering of local media were on-hand to video the fish’s release. Check out Chaumont Bay Marina on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/chaumontbaymarina/?rf=120452787968030
For more on this record catch, go to
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You could get a discount when you combine your auto and boat policies.
for your boat geico.com | 1-800-865-4846 | Local Office Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Boat and PWC coverages are underwritten by GEICO Marine Insurance Company. Multi-Policy Discount available to auto insureds that have purchased a boat policy through the GEICO Marine Insurance Company. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. © 2017 GEICO
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32
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UR-Cut
Fishmaster Launches Best Catch Contest for Customers Nationwide
F
i s h m a s t e r, creators of the first universal folding T-Top, has launched the Fishmaster Best Catch Contest. This contest offers Fishmaster customers and anglers throughout the U.S the opportunity to win a custom fiberglass reproduction of their award-winning catch crafted by American Fish Taxidermy. Contestants can submit unlimited pictures of their catch for a chance to win monthly prizes and to become eligible to win this grand prize, valued at $500 to $1,000. Entrants are encouraged to submit as many photos of different catches as possible. The contest kicked off Saturday, April 1, 2017 and ends on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. “We design our products with the ultimate goal of helping our fellow anglers reel in the perfect catch,” said Greg Spivia of Fishmaster. “We want to showcase our loyal customers with the fish they caught in a way they can remember forever, through partnering with the most talented fish taxidermist in the U.S.—American Fish Taxidermy.” Through the contest, Fishmaster is awarding monthly prizes through September. Monthly prizes will be announced via email and Facebook on the first Monday of each month. The Grand Prize Winner will be announced on Oct. 15 via email with public notice on Fishmaster’s Facebook page. Monthly winners are eligible for the Grand Prize; however, our independent team of anglers will review all submissions before naming the big winner. Fishmaster encourages all interested parties to learn more about the Best Catch Contest, official rules, and how to enter at https://fishmaster. com/bestcatch.
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BOAT REVIEW Mitzi Skiffs Mitzi 17
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If you shallow-water fish and need a flats boat, Mitzi Skiff is the boat for you. All Mitzi Skiff models float very shallow, they pole easily and track straight. With a minimum of horsepower, they are quick and provide a very smooth and dry ride. Mitzi Skiffs offers several models to fit an angler’s needs and budget. Their Mitzi 17 is perfect for the most demanding shallow-water anglers and charter captains. From its ability to get you home comfortably to its ultra-stealthy, no-hull-slap hull, it’s truly an angler’s boat. The 17’s CAD-designed hull has performance unmatched by any other shallow-draft skiff, at any price. It will do 45mph with a 60 hp engine, and it is capable of fishing 3 or 4 people. It offers lots of storage, easy maintenance and is remarkably dry. With a wide bow area and 11-degree deadrise hull, these boats take you to the shallow areas to find the fish and across open water as well. Mitzi Skiffs came from the idea that flats fishing didn’t have to be a rich man’s sport. Mitzi skiff is a boat that all of us can afford. They are lightweight, all composite, shallow water workhorses. There are many options available including center consoles, live wells, built-in tanks, Power Poles and much more. Professional captains guide out of Mitzi Skiffs every day, even days that are less ideal conditions.
SPECIFICATIONS
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YAMAHA OUTBOARD’S
SEASON OF SAVINGS SALES EVENT
OFFER VALID FROM
MAY 1, 2017–JUNE 16, 2017 Get the season started with a reliable Yamaha four-stroke outboard. For a limited time, purchase an eligible, select, new Yamaha 2.5-hp to 175-hp† four-stroke outboard, and receive:
750
$ ELIGIBLE FOUR-STROKE OUTBOARDS
DEALERSHIP CREDIT TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF GOODS/SERVICES
175 HP†
$750 based on MSRP
115-150 HP†
$500 based on MSRP
60-90 HP
$400 based on MSRP
30-50 HP
$300 based on MSRP
20-25 HP
$200 based on MSRP
8-15 HP
$150 based on MSRP
2.5-6 HP
$125 based on MSRP
†
†
†
UP TO
The following four-stroke models are NOT eligible for this promotion: VF175XA, VF115XA, F90LB, F90XB, F90JB, F75LB, F25SMHC, F25LMHC, F25SWHC, F25LWHC, F25SWC, F25LWC, F25LC and F25LWTC.
IN DEALER CREDIT
Toward the purchase of additional goods or services from your authorized, participating Yamaha outboard dealer.*
See your authorized participating Yamaha outboard dealer today for details! Other restrictions and conditions may apply. *PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Consumer benefit for purchasing a new (unused not previously warranty registered) eligible Yamaha 2.5 to 175 HP four-stroke outboard is a credit based on MSRP toward the purchase of goods and/or services at the authorized, participating dealer that sold the outboard, at no extra cost to consumer. NO BENEFIT SUBSTITUTIONS. The following four-stroke models are NOT eligible for this promotion: VF175XA, VF115XA, F90LB, F90XB, F90JB, F75LB, F25SMHC, F25LMHC, F25SWHC, F25LWHC, F25SWC, F25LWC, F25LC and F25LWTC. To be eligible, outboards must also have been manufactured since January 2010. Promotion is only applicable from authorized participating Yamaha Outboard dealers in the U.S.A. sold to purchasing consumers residing in the U.S.A. Promotion is limited to available stock in dealer inventory that is sold, PDI completed, delivered and warranty registered on YMBS by the dealer in accordance with Yamaha’s promotion and warranty registration requirements during applicable dates. No model substitutions, benefit substitutions, extensions or rain checks will be allowed. Outboards sold or provided for commercial, camp, resort, rental, promotional/demo, scratch-and-dent, government agency, competition, tournament or sponsorship use are not eligible. This promotion cannot be used in conjunction with any other Yamaha offer. Some exceptions may apply. See authorized, participating Yamaha dealer for complete details. Yamaha reserves the right to change or cancel this promotion at any time. Other restrictions and conditions apply. REMEMBER to always observe all applicable boating laws. Never drink and drive. Dress properly with a USCG-approved personal floatation device and protective gear. © 2017 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved.
YamahaOutboards.com
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