Monthly Archives: June 2014

Gas Shortage Almost Ruins Fishing Trip

Boy did I ever pick a bad time to drive 3000 miles pulling my boat on a fishing trip in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit! I left on August 21 for a two week trip to northern Wisconsin with a swing through Iowa coming home, and arrived home this past Friday morning just after midnight. From news reports last Thursday I was worried about getting enough gas to get home but had no problems.

The 1200 miles from Griffin to Rhinelander, Wisconsin was uneventful, with gas prices running a little less in Tennessee than here and slightly higher in Illinois and Wisconsin. I arrived late Monday afternoon and was delighted to get up Tuesday morning and walk out into 45 degrees of cool, dry air. It felt wonderful.

The fishing was great and we even caught a few. The first day I landed two smallmouth about three pounds each and netted a 36 inch muskie for my partner. We also had a bunch of northern pike and some bass shorter than the 14 inch minimum size limit. The next day I caught a smallmouth and a largemouth over the size limit and a bunch of smaller fish. That day I netted a 35 inch muskie for a different partner.

I had gone up to fish a bass tournament we hold each fall. Called the North Woods Classic, it is open to everyone who visits the bass fishing newsgroup during the year. Folks from all over the eastern US come to it, and this year I was the one traveling the most miles to get there.

The two day tournament was very disappointing. I landed only one keeper and came in 5th place with a 2.5 pound largemouth, the only largemouth weighed in. The winner had six keepers in two days but second place was only three keeper bass.

Last Sunday I left Rhinelander and drove to Des Moines, Iowa to visit a friend there. I was pleasantly surprised to find ethanol gas in Iowa for $2.45 a gallon, the cheapest price so far on the trip.

The first day in Iowa we fished a 900 acre lake and caught 50 or 60 bass each. Unfortunately, only three of them were over 12 inches long! The shoreline grass was full of little bass and they hit on almost every cast. Fun, but we wanted bigger fish.

The next day we fished a 300 acre lake and I quickly caught a 4 pound bass and three more over the 15 inch size limit there. Then we started catching crappie on almost every cast with a small jig, landing dozens but they we all small. My final day on the water there we fished another 900 acre lake and caught 14 bass, the biggest one my friend caught weighing 4.5 pounds.

That was Wednesday morning and I was hearing rumors about gas shortages. By the time we got back to town that afternoon gas had gone from $2.45 to $2.89 for ethanol so I filled up. Driving 1000 miles in 17 hours on Thursday I never had a problem getting gas, and the cheapest I found was near Dalton, Georgia at $3.09. At least I got home.

I had great fun fishing with friends I see only a couple of times a year even if we did not catch huge numbers of fish. I am already planning next year’s trip.

What Is A Game Plan for Tournament Success?

Game Plans

Smart Prep For Tournament Success

By Dan Johnson
from The Fishing Wire

:Plan to catch big small mouth like these

Loading up on smallmouth like these takes pre-planning and lots of scouting.

Anyone who’s fished a tournament knows there’s more to competing than simply showing up on game day and relying on sheer luck to put fish in the boat. Especially if you want to win. Serious runs up the leaderboard require a dedicated blend of research, practice and preparation.

“Given the level of competition at everything from local club tournaments to larger regional events, you really have to do your homework,” says veteran bass tournament angler Scott Bonnema. Following are his thoughts on gearing up for success.

Discovery Phase

When fishing new waters, research is a great ally in the quest for victory. “It’s all about identifying where catchable fish will be during the tournament,” says Bonnema. Fortunately, a variety of sources offer intel.

Naturally, the internet is an amazing tool. Everything from angler forums and fishing reports to Google Earth and state fisheries departments can provide insight into specific fisheries. Tournament results from events held on the lake you’ll be fishing-especially during the same time of year-can also be golden. “Websites like ClassicBass.com, which post results and tournament news, can give you an idea of top locations and presentations, along with what kind of weight it may take to do well in an event on that body of water,” says Bonnema.

On-Site Recon

Bonnema is a big believer in on-the-water reconnaissance, and credits extensive scouting for his recent top-five finish and big-bass honors at the recent Sturgeon Bay Open, which saw 150 teams battle on Wisconsin’s legendary Sturgeon Bay.

“I arrived two weeks ahead of the tournament, and also fished a Cabela’s North American Bass Circuit event the weekend before, which gave me a great idea of where and how to fish during the Open,” he explains.

Where you position your boat is critical

Pinpoint boat positioning is critical to properly fishing prime lies. Often, this is impossible in crowded “community” holes.

He cautions, though, that early recon must be tempered if you expect the fish to move between then and the tournament. “When fishing partner Mark Fisher and I started breaking down Sturgeon Bay, the water was cold and most of the bass were still in deep water,” he says. “We knew that warming water would bring them in by game day, so we focused on areas we thought would hold fish during competition.”

Given the likelihood that waves of sag-bellied smallmouths would swarm the shallows once water temperatures warmed, that meant looking for fast-warming bays with ample depths in the 2- to 6-foot range. “We focused on large bays that allowed the fish to be in seven or eight spots instead of one or two, which gave us better odds of being able to fish at least one of the areas properly,” he noted.

Which brings up a key point in Bonnema’s pre-game planning. Knowing that 150 tournament boats and countless recreational anglers would descend upon the bay’s prime lies, he focused on spots that could handle the pressure, while providing an opportunity to thoroughly fish productive areas. “Boat positioning is critical,” he explains. “So we ruled out small spots that could only be effectively fished by one or two boats.”

To find potential hot zones, Bonnema cruised the shallows, both visually scanning with polarized glasses and using the side-imaging feature on his Humminbird 1199ci HD SI sonar-chartplotter combo to pinpoint and map prime structure. “We looked for anything that would attract bass or funnel their movements, such as subtle depth changes of six to 12 inches, or the edge where a line of rocks transitioned to sand,” he says. “Such spots may vary by species and from lake to lake, but there will always be key features that concentrate whatever fish you’re after. Finding them before the tournament is critical.”

Mapping is a matter of marking points of interest with icons that enable instant recall, even months or years after the initial scouting run. “Take time to choose symbols and names that mean something, and will help you remember what the waypoint is for,” he says. “For example, I use a Red Cross medical symbol to mark hotspots where I can ‘get healthy’ in a hurry if I’m struggling in a tournament. I also use small symbols for boat position, and larger icons for structure.”

Plan to catch tournament winning bass

Solid pre-tournament scouting helped Bonnema bag big-bass honors at the 2014 Sturgeon Bay Open with this 8.29-pound smallmouth.

When charting a choice piece of cover or structure, Bonnema advises highlighting both the area you expect to hold fish, as well as where you should position your boat to work the spot. “In clear, shallow water, long casts can be key, so keep your boat as far from the fish as possible,” he adds. “Humminbird’s side-imaging makes it easy to mark waypoints on structure 60 to 100 feet from the boat, without ever driving over the fish.”

Lure Selection

While some anglers pare down tournament tackle to a handful of rods, reels and baits needed for a few pet presentations, Bonnema brings a complete arsenal on the road. “I’m not saying you need to spend a fortune on tackle,” he says. “But, you’re already spending hundreds of dollars on gas, food and lodging. You don’t want to lose because you don’t have the right size or color spinnerbait.”

At Sturgeon Bay, for example, Bonnema and Fisher dialed in a very specific combination of rod, reel, line and lure to fool the system’s biggest bass-including the monstrous 8.29-pound bronzeback Bonnema landed during competition, and another 8-pound behemoth taken during practice.

“After much experimentation and tweaking, we found that light-green, 3½- and 4 ½-inch, paddle-tail Trigger X Slop Hopper produced better fish than standard grub bodies,” he says. The softbait was threaded on a 3/16-ounce VMC Darter Head Jig. “Having the line tie stick straight up on the jig head was key, because we were moving it very slowly, barely ticking the tops of the rocks,” he says.

A 7-foot, medium-light Team Lew’s spinning outfit engendered long casts and solid hooksets, while transmitting details on bottom ticks and subtle takes alike. Bonnema spooled with 10-pound Sufix 832 superbraid mainline and added a 5-foot, 7-pound Sufix Invisiline leader for added stealth. “Swapping out any one of these components completely changed the presentation and resulted in fewer big fish,” he adds.

As a final tip to budding tournament competitors, Bonnema recommends building a game plan with multiple fallback strategies. “After figuring out the best locations and right equipment, put together a few ‘Plan B’ options to allow for wind and weather changes, fishing pressure and other factors that cut shut down your main program,” he says. “That way, you won’t be scrambling when the bite changes on game day.”

Can I Put A New Guide On My Rod?

I received an email from my site last week that brought up a problem all fishermen have at some time. The person emailing me had broken a guide on his rod and wanted to know how to replace it. When a relatively minor problem happens to a favorite rod, you would like to get it fixed and start using it again.

Rod tips often get broken off and are fairly easy to replace. If the tip breaks near the end you can get a replacement tip, just be sure you buy a tip with a hole big enough to go over the rod where it broke.

To replace a tip, scrape or cut off any remaining thread used to wrap the old tip. Sand down the rod tip for an inch or so just enough to roughen it up, then use ferrule cement to glue the new tip on. Ferrule cement comes in a stick and you melt it, dab it on the rod and then slip the tip over the glue and end of the rod. Make sure it is lined up correctly before the glue hardens.

A line guide is more difficult to replace. Guides are either single or double footed. They are put on by wrapping thread around them then coating it with epoxy. If one came off it probably broke the threads or slipped out from under them if it is a single footed guide.

To replace them you need to cut off the old threads – they may look like tape on the rod, and some companies use a type of tape to put them on. If it is tape, remove it. Then you put the guide on the rod by wrapping thread around the guide foot and rod. Dental floss will work but a you should be able to find some rod thread.

Wrap the thread tightly working from the end of the foot to the guide. After the thread is wrapped, you can coat it with epoxy or even clear fingernail polish.

Fishing Jigs I Use and Like

I like these jigs for bass fishing:

Clarks Hill Fishing Memories

On an April weekend members of the Spalding County Sportsman Club were fishing our April tournament at Clarks Hill. This is something of a tradition, we fish it almost every April and have missed very few years since I joined the club.

It is almost unbelievable to me that this is the 40th anniversary for me in the club. Jim berry and I fished the Sportsman Club April tournament at Clarks Hill in 1974. That was the first tournament I ever fished and I have been in the club every year since then and have missed very few club tournaments.

In 1975 I was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the club and have held that office most of the years since then. The first bulletin I sent out in 1975 had Vol. 11, no.1 at the top and I have kept that running since then. The April bulletin this year was Vol 50, No. 4. I assumed that meant the club had been in existence for l0 years when I joined but now think it was just the bulletin that has been around since 1964. I have been told the club started in the 1950s.

Gary Hattaway was in the club when I joined and is still in it, although he was not a member for a few years when he lived in Alabama. So, I am the only member left that has been in the club every year, and Gary is the only one left that was around way back then. I have made some great friends through the club but far too many of them are no longer around.

I moved to Griffin in 1972 and lived at Grandview Apartments while teaching at Atkinson Elementary. Each morning I drove College Street to 6th, turned right and went out to where it ends at Hill Street, then on to Atkinson. I reversed that in the afternoons which meant every afternoon I passed by Berry’s Sporting Goods that was located on 6th Street for many years.

Few afternoons passed that I didn’t stop and spend way too much of my princely teacher’s annual salary of $5600.00. But I got to be friends with Jim and we started fishing together some. He and Emmett Piland took me to the Flint River wading the first time, and we fished many local ponds, too.

In March, 1974 I bought my first bass boat and joined the Sportsman Club the next month. It was a big club back then, with about 75 members, and at the tournament we had 44 fishermen, many more than now. The Sportsman Club had just started fishing bass tournaments a few years before I joined and the club tournament rules still reflect that early start, with few rules and restrictions that most tournament have.

Back then there were two divisions in the club and newer fishermen went into “B” division since they were based on points from previous tournaments. We were more relaxed, with camping and fish fries more important than the actual tournament. There was a card game by the campfire most nights and we had a great time. I still do have a great time at tournaments, but it is a little more intense.

In that first tournament I just knew I would do well since I grew up on Clarks Hill and expected to catch a lot of fish. But that tournament taught me how different tournament fishing can be. Jim and I caught six keepers each day, far short of the ten fish limit back then. But many in the club had limits both days and I was surprised at the size of fish brought in.

That taught me real fast that someone would catch bass no matter what the conditions, and they could catch bigger bass than I thought possible. In that tournament Jim Goss had a bass weighing over six pounds and several five pounders were weighed in. My l2 in two days weighed about 14 pounds! But I still finished third in my division, but my catch would have been 15th in the other division.

Tackle, electronics, boats and expenses have come a long way in 40 years. My first boat was a 16 foot Arrowglass with a 70 horsepower Evenrude motor. And it was pretty top of the line, there was only one boat in the club with a bigger motor. My last boat costs over $30,000 used and the electronics I have on it cost more than my first boat!

I fished back then with two Mitchell 300 spinning reels, presents from my parents when I was 17, and an Ambassadeur 6000 casting reel, a present for my 21st birthday from Linda. Now I have 15 to 18 rods and reels on my deck in a tournament, with at least ten more in the rod locker. Line is much better as are plugs and plastic baits. And trolling motors and batteries are much stronger and last longer.

The biggest change is knowledge of what the bass do. Back then we pretty much fished shoreline cover and that still works, especially in April, but many bigger fish are caught from offshore structure like humps, and are caught much deeper than we used to think they lived.

Even with all the changes I still love it and it is great fun.

Why Would Alabama Anglers Go To Florida To Catch Red Snapper?

Tight Red Snapper Season May Send Some Alabama Anglers to Florida Waters

How can an Alabama angler legally catch red snapper in Florida waters? It gets a little tricky, especially for the boat captain.

By David Rainer
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
From The Fishing Wire

With all the fishing friends I have, it’s not surprising my Facebook page is awash with red right now, as in red snapper.

Why go to Florida from Alabama for Red Snapper?

Any red snapper landed in Alabama, no matter where or when the fish was caught, should be reported through the new red snapper data collection program. The federal red snapper season starts at 12:01 a.m. June 1 and ends at 12:01 a.m. on June 10, however Florida, Louisiana and Texas allow red snapper fishing in their respective state waters outside of the federal season.

But red snapper season isn’t open yet, you say. Oh, but that’s the red snapper season in federal waters that opens on June 1 and ends at 12:01 a.m. on June 10, the shortest red snapper season ever at only nine days.

The red snapper season in Florida, which has a 9-mile territorial waters boundary, opened on May 24, and plenty of anglers took advantage of that opening. Alabama’s territorial waters extend only 3 miles into the Gulf of Mexico.

So how can an Alabama angler legally catch red snapper in Florida waters? It gets a little tricky, especially for the boat captain.

Chris Blankenship, Director of the Alabama Marine Resources Division, said there are specific regulations that Alabama fishermen must follow to be in compliance with state and federal regulations.

“If people from Alabama are going to fish in Florida and catch red snapper and bring them back to Alabama, they need to stay in Florida waters until they get to 3 miles off the beach,” Blankenship said. “Then they can cut over into Alabama waters. We will allow them to possess fish in Alabama as long as they have an Alabama saltwater fishing license and a Florida saltwater fishing license.”

Therefore, if an Alabama boat is 9 miles south of, say, Gulf Breeze, Fla., the boat cannot take a course that is a straight line back to the Alabama port or boat ramp, because that course would take them into federal waters. And it doesn’t matter where the fish was caught. Possession is the key.

“If you get caught in federal waters with red snapper, that is a violation,” Blankenship said. “You’ve got to stay in Florida waters until you get to Alabama waters.”

Blankenship said there will be a variety of enforcement personnel out to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations.

“We’ll have patrols in the Gulf, as will other states, the Coast Guard and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),” he said.

Anyone who lands red snapper in Alabama, whether or not the fish is caught in states with seasons outside the federal regulations like Florida, Louisiana and Texas, is required to report the catch to Alabama Marine Resources through the new red snapper data collection program. The new system requires only one report per vessel trip, which can be filled out via smartphone app, online, by telephone, or by paper form. Data collection drop-boxes have been erected at boat ramps at Boggy Point, Cotton Bayou and Fort Morgan in Baldwin County, Billy Goat Hole on Dauphin Island and Bayou La Batre in south Mobile County.

N. Gunter Guy Jr., Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, enacted the red snapper data collection program through emergency regulation to ensure its quick implementation because of the impact snapper fishing has on Alabama’s estimated $690 million recreational fishery.

The new regulation requires the captain or owner of a charter or private vessel with red snapper on board to report all red snapper kept and discarded dead prior to landing in Alabama.

Anglers will be required to report red snapper catches this year when they return to the docks throughout Alabama.
When the red snapper catch is reported, additional information required includes: vessel registration number, type of vessel (private or charter), county where the fish was landed and number of anglers.

Anglers can report red snapper catches via the Outdoor Alabama smartphone app available in the iTunes or Google Play app stores, online at outdooralabama.com, by telephone at 1-844-REDSNAP (1-844-733-7627), or by paper forms available at the aforementioned boat ramps. The proper smartphone app is powered by Pocket Ranger.

Blankenship said red snapper anglers have expressed their intent to comply with the red snapper data collection program because they want accurate information to be used when seasons and bag limits are set.

“NMFS changed its data collection program in 2013,” Blankenship said. “We don’t feel that program is accurately reflecting the red snapper that are being landed on the Gulf Coast. So in order to get a true picture of what’s actually being landed in Alabama, we’ve implemented the red snapper reporting system. Once we have the information for what’s truly being landed, we will have a much higher confidence in the results as we move forward to show we are ready and able to manage this fishery on a state level.

“But more importantly, there’s a buffer that comes off the top of the quota for management uncertainty under NMFS. If we have a true picture of what’s being landed, that 20- to 25-percent buffer can be added back into the quota in future years.”

When it comes to discarded red snapper, Blankenship said anglers should use their best judgment as to whether they think the fish will survive after being released.

“The reason we ask for the number of dead discards is because NMFS uses dead discards when they figure the quota,” he said. “NMFS has been determining dead discards through an observer program on different vessels. But the number of observers is small. We want to collect that information so we can have a different number and see how it compares with what the observers are collecting.”

Blankenship said most of the feedback he’s received from anglers about the reporting system is for more information, not complaints.

Red Snapper season is just nine days long this year in Alabama waters, but neighboring Florida has a longer opening inside state waters less than 9 NM from shore.
“People want to comply, but they want to know all the details before they go out,” he said. “I don’t blame them. They don’t want to be sitting at the dock, trying to figure this out. But we did make it very user friendly, so it shouldn’t be much of an inconvenience to the fishermen at all.”

Blankenship said the data collection system is designed to get quick results from the reports.

“We’ll be able to compile the data all along,” he said. “Our biggest concern, obviously, is what’s being landed during the federal season. The day after the federal season is over, we’ll be able to give a good estimate of what was landed in Alabama during those nine days. And we will continue to collect reports while the Florida season (May 24-July14) is still open.

“It is a fineable violation if people don’t comply. We’re really working hard to educate people that they need to report red snapper catches.”

Unfortunately, anglers who love bottom fishing are going to have limited options this summer. Gray triggerfish season is closed. Amberjack season is closed until Aug. 1, but gag grouper season opens July 1.

Also, the vermilion snapper bag limit has been reduced to 10 per person as part of the 20-fish reef fish aggregate.

Blankenship hopes that the results from the red snapper data collection system will allow Marine Resources some leeway with snapper fishing, possibly this year.

“We’ll be monitoring the reporting and use the information to consider a supplemental season in state waters later in the year,” he said.

Blankenship accompanied U.S. Congressman Bradley Byrne of Montrose, Ala., and U.S. Congressman Steve Scalise from Louisiana on a short fishing trip off Alabama last week on Capt. Randy Boggs’ Reel Surprise charter boat.

“We went out with Congressman Byrne and Congressman Scalise for a few hours and we talked about our request for a 9-mile state boundary for fisheries management,” Blankenship said. “We’re still waiting on Congress to take action, but Congressman Byrne sounded confident that he could get it done.”

PHOTO: (By David Rainer)

Fishing A Tournament At West Point in August

In 2004 Ronnie Gregory showed me around Lake Eufaula before the Top Six Tournament and the places and patterns he put me on helped me place 7th.

On a Friday in August the next year Ronnie and I went to West Point. He fishes there a lot, and he helped me get ready for a Flint River club tournament we were fishing on Sunday. Ronnie’s knowledge of the lake was impressive, and he took me to some spots that I never fished before, even though I have been fishing that lake since it was built.

In five hours of fishing from 6:30 AM until 11:30 AM we landed five keeper bass and several under the legal size. Ronnie started the day right with one weighing about 4.5 pounds and it was the only largemouth keeper. The others were all spotted bass.

Most of the fish hit in brush down about 12 feet deep and I hope that pattern holds up for the tournament today. We are fishing until 3:00 PM and Ronnie showed me some places he says the bass bite better after noon. We did not catch anything there but I will try them. That is detailed knowledge of a lake when you can predict what time the bass will probably hit.

Then on Sunday 20 members and guests fished the Flint River August tournament at West Point Lake. Fishing was very tough and there were only 28 keepers weighing 47.13 pounds brought to the scales. There were eight largemouth and 20 spotted bass weighed in.

Kwong Yu won the tournament with 3 bass weighing 7.23 pounds, Tom Tanner was second with 4.66 pounds, Roger Morrow placed third with 4.41 ponds and Tony Roberts came in fourth with 4.40 pounds. Bobby Ferris had big fish with a bass weighing 4.20 pounds and placed fifth.

After Ronnie Gregory showed me some brush piles on West Point before the tournament I was fairly confident about this tournament. Ronnie and I fished for five hours and landed five keeper bass weighing about 10 pounds. Those five would have easily won the tournament, but they hit too early.

The brush piles that produced keeper fish on Thursday morning had nothing but short bass in them during the tournament. I did manage to land one barely legal spot weighing right at a pound and placed 14th. Linda fished with me and although she caught more bass than I did, all her fish were too short to weigh in.

Sometimes it seems practice before a tournament hurts rather than helps!

Keep America Fishing

Join in the Fun of the 2014 First Ever KeepAmericaFishing™ Day

EDITOR’S NOTE: This Saturday, June 7, many states across the country are holding their annual Free Fishing Days. It’s a great time to get out on the water and give fishing a try- but it’s also an opportunity for you to share your love of the sport and possibly score a prize. Here’s the information from KeepAmericaFishing.org.
from The Fishing Wire

Go fishing on June 7, and you just might win one of many exciting prizes

Alexandria, VA – Saturday, June 7, 2014 is the first-ever KeepAmericaFishing™ Day and is being held in conjunction with National Fishing and Boating Week. This is a day for avid and novice anglers alike to show their support of recreational fishing by getting out on the water. Anglers are asked to come towww.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day and share their experiences including photos and other highlights. Just by sharing, anglers are eligible to win prizes from KeepAmericaFishing and its partners.

“This is the inaugural year for KeepAmericaFishing Day and it’s an exciting new venture for KeepAmericaFishing,” said American Sportfishing Association Vice President Gordon Robertson. “Anglers everywhere should come towww.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day and share their fishing experiences anytime during National Fishing and Boating Week but especially on KeepAmericaFishing Day to stand united behind one of America’s favorite pastimes – fishing.”

To encourage participation, KeepAmericaFishing and its partners are offering a myriad of prizes from decals to rod and reel combos just for participating. The biggest prizes will be available on June 7, 2014, KeepAmericaFishing™ Day! On June 7, go to www.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day to share your experiences and receive a prize.

If you’re having too much fun on the water to remember to visit www.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day on June 7, you have until June 8, to post your photos and comments. Anglers may also download the Fishidy app on their mobile devices to capture and share their experiences directly from the water. Fishidy is KeepAmericaFishing’s official mobile partner.

Robertson further noted, “We are honored to have some of fishing’s most recognized brands on board for this campaign, highlighting the importance of anglers getting out on the water and supporting our sport. On June 7, get on out on the water and catch some fish. Then tell us about it on www.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day.”

The first KeepAmericaFishing™ Day is supported by these companies and brands:

AFTCO Manufacturing Company
Coghlan’s
Costa
Daiwa Corporation
Eagle Claw
Fishidy – KeepAmericaFishing’s Official Mobile Partner
Frabill
Mystery Tackle Box
Okuma Fishing Tackle Corporation
Plano Molding Company
Rapala
Shakespeare

About KeepAmericaFishing™
KeepAmericaFishing™ is the American Sportfishing Association’s angler advocacy campaign. KeepAmericaFishing gives America’s 60 million anglers a voice in policy decisions that affect their ability to sustainably fish on our nation’s waterways. Through policy, science and conservation, KeepAmericaFishing works to minimize access restrictions, promote clean waters and restore fish populations. For more information or to get involved today, visit www.KeepAmericaFishing.org.

All Star Rod

I have a variety of rods and reels that I use all the time and some are favorites. Often when I get a new outfit it never feels just right and it becomes a secondary rod and reel that I usually keep in my rod locker. It is often hard to tell how an outfit will perform until actually fishing with it.

At the Georgia Outdoor Writer’s Association meeting in May a few years ago I purchased an All Star rod with a Pflueger reel. Both those companies are now owned by Shakespeare and they had sent us some equipment for the organization to raffle off to raise funds. I got the outfit at a very good price.

That outfit quickly became a favorite of mine. It worked well for jerkbaits and I landed a three pound spotted bass in a club tournament at Lanier in late May on it. Then I started using it for Texas rigged worms and caught several of my bass at Weiss on it, including a four pound largemouth.

At Oconee in June I set the hook on what I thought was a bass beside a boat dock, but it was probably the dock piling. When I set the hook the rod broke at the first guide up from the reel, breaking so hard it also broke my line. I grabbed the end of the rod before it could sink and put it up.

I mailed the broken rod back to All Star and a couple of weeks later I got a brand new one just like it in the mail. Their warranty service was excellent and they made my rod good even though I had not sent in the warranty card.

I like the rod even better now. I got it back just in time to use it at the Jackson night tournament and I landed four of my five keepers on it while fishing a jig and pig. The seven foot rod is pretty stiff and handles 15 pound line easily. The rod is a TAS 826c and All Star says it is a soft jerkbait rod. To me it is much more. I am glad I got that outfit – it is already one of my favorites.

Alabama Red Snapper Season

Red Snapper Season–Short but Sweet

America’s favorite snapper is again legal as of June 1-but the season will be a scant 9 days long.

By Frank Sargeant

Great Red Snapper Catch

If there’s a shortage of red snapper in the Gulf, you can’t prove it by talking to anglers from Florida to Texas-these Alabama anglers loaded up. (Photo Credit David Rainer, ADCNR)

Don’t blink or you’ll miss the red snapper season in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico this year. It opens June 1, slams shut again just nine days later on June 10 thanks to a Byzantine federal management system that tightens the regulations ever more as the fishery gets better and better. (If we get a tropical storm on or about June 1, say goodbye to the entire season.)

Federal regulators say the rules are for the good of the fish-and ultimately of the fishermen.

But in fact, most experienced reef anglers say red snapper fishing is now better than it has been in at least 40 years thanks to an extended period of tight harvest regulations, and also perhaps due to the success of fish excluder devices on shrimp nets, allowing millions of juvenile snapper to escape these days when in the past they would have wound up as by-catch, dead on the deck.

The snapper are both much larger than they have been in decades, and much more numerous, according to hundreds of reports from fishermen all around the northern Gulf. It’s universal: anglers in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas all report booming snapper populations.

So why don’t the feds want to pony up longer seasons and more generous bag limits? Because of a bizarre twist in the way they calculate the harvest-they measure it in pounds, and when their best estimate of a conservation-smart harvest is achieved, they call for closure. Snapper grow fast and live a long time, and consequently anglers are now catching tons of whoppers-which means that they can catch a lot fewer before they reach those limits set by the feds.

To be sure, these restrictions are not arbitrarily contrived by the fish managers–they are mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens act, and more recently by a court decision–but the triggers on both these directives are based on badly-designed harvest surveys, which are the direct responsibility of the federal scientists.

Red Snapper On Jig

Snapper take a variety of cut baits, live baits and sometimes heavy jigs, typically at depths of 60 feet and greater. (Photo Credit David Rainer, ADCNR)

It is much like the paradoxical Catch 22, and it’s causing a furious reaction among fishermen and state fishery managers from Florida to Texas–most Gulf states are now moving rapidly toward putting their own harvest surveys in place for the species, tapping the capabilities of smart phones so that anglers can record their catches conveniently the minute they hit the docks.

In an unprecedented rebellion against the federal management system, all five Gulf states have all but quit cooperating with the NOAA system on this species. These days, state management is really starting to make sense, while it didn’t 30 years back. In the bad old days, only commercial fishermen had lobbyists and power to control the rules, and many fisheries suffered as a result.

But these days, the checks and balances of local recreational anglers and conservationists weigh in for keeping the maximum number of quality-sized fish in the water-and even the saltiest old commercial harvesters have finally come to realize that it just simply makes sense to guard the resource, so that they can not only make money fishing today, but also tomorrow, next month and next year. It should be noted that thanks goes to not only state agencies but also federal biologists for much of the research on offshore species that has made this awakening happen.

Florida has set a much longer red snapper season in state waters, up to 9 nautical miles offshore, extending from May 25 to July 14 this year, and other Gulf states are extending their seasons similarly and also working toward expanding the limit of state waters. How this all plays out remains to be seen–hopefully, better fishery stock analysis will put an end to the foolishness and restore some measure of cooperation between state and federal management agencies. In the meantime, whether you fish state or federal waters, here are some tactics that consistently produce results on red snapper.

HOW TO GET EM

Anglers who regularly target red snapper say they are not exactly “bottom fish”, even though they are nearly always found around hard structure. They’re usually found over structure, but not as often down in the structure like grouper.

Experts seek out what they call a snapper “Christmas tree” show on their sonar screens before dropping a line. The pyramid or “tree” is the shape made by a school of snapper, with most deep, fewer at the top. In 200 feet of water the stack may extend as much as 50 feet off bottom.

Big Red Snapper

Many of the red snapper being caught these days are whoppers, the result of tight regulations including short seasons-but many anglers say there are enough fish now to loosen the reins a bit. (Photo Credit David Rainer, ADCNR)

Gulf red snapper are typically found in 60 foot depths and more, on out to the edge of the continental shelf at around 250 to 280 feet-beyond this zone, the bottom drops away to a mile deep and more, and common reef fish are not found in those depths.

The Panhandle has a unique fishery in that there are hundreds and perhaps thousands of “private” reefs, that is junk that skippers have dropped on otherwise barren sand bottom to attract snapper-old washing machines, steel drums, all sorts of bulky trash. It’s not legal any more, but there are still many of these reefs around, and smart skippers have dozens of them in their GPS machines-all very carefully protected from other skippers who might want to pirate “their” fish.

There are also numerous legally-placed artificial reefs, including tugboats, barges and ships as well as demolition rubble, which attract lots of fish; these can be found on any good offshore chart. Most states also list them on their marine fisheries websites.

In general, the procedure is for the skipper to head for his favorite GPS number, drop anchor uptide when he gets there, and then let the anglers lower an assortment of frozen threadfins, cigar minnows or squid down on 60-pound-tackle. Using braided line makes it easier to feel the bite and get a good hookset, but you’ll need at least five feet of 60 to 80-pound-test mono leader to fool the fish and keep their teeth clear of the braid. (In extremely clear water or where the fish are being fished hard, it’s sometimes necessary to go to lighter tackle to fool snapper–you lose many but you get bit more often.)

Weights of 4 ounces and more are needed to get the bait deep, and hook sizes are typically 6/0 and larger circle hooks, extra-strong. (Circle hooks are required by law, as are hook removers, both aimed at improving survival of released reef fish. Venting devices, required formerly, are no longer on the must have list.)

The angler drops the bait to bottom, then takes up several turns of the reel to suspend the bait in the snapper zone–keeping an eye on the sonar will help you put the bait where the fish are. The snappers take it from there. When you feel a bite, you reel like mad and hopefully the circle hook digs in. Jerking on the rod to set the hook rarely works when using circle hooks; just keep tension on the line and reel very fast and the fish will usually set the hook itself.

Red snapper these days typically average 5 to 8 pounds, but there are many, many of 10 pounds and more, and 20-pounders are not unheard of. The limit is two per angler per day, minimum size 16 inches. Red snapper are among the tastiest of all fish, and are great broiled, fried or baked.

RELEASING SNAPPER

Fish caught from deep water frequently have issues with the rapid pressure change as they are brought aboard–they blow up like a balloon, and are unable to swim when put back over the side. Since the limit on red snapper is just two fish daily, it’s common for anglers to release much of their catch these days, and improving survival of these fish makes good conservation sense–as well as being required by state and federal law.

Improving survival depends on several steps.

1. Use circle hooks so that the hook is unlikely to be swallowed.
2. Get the hooks out promptly with an efficient hook-removing tool or long-nose pliers.
3. Don’t let the fish fall on the deck.
4. If you want a photo, make it quickly.
5. Use either a deflating tool or a deep-release “descender” device like the Seaqualizer (www.seaqualizer.com) to help the fish get back down to bottom safely. Descender devices include large weights to which the fish is hooked and lowered back to a comfortable depth, then released.
6. Which ever device you use, do it promptly–minutes out of water are the biggest enemy to survival.

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