Powerboating Sport Fishing

Saltfishing.about.com--  Hurricane season and winter storms both bring to light several questions that are asked every year when storms plow through the Gulf of Mexico and up and down the Atlantic seaboard. Do these storms affect the fishing?  There are debates that end up on both sides of the aisle. Big storms can ruin natural reefs and destroy live bottom habitats. They can also stir and move layers of bottom silt, promoting future growth for that same live bottom. Studies can be produced that support both theories, making us wonder which theory is right.  Perhaps there is factual evidence that both theories are correct. In any given winter, nor’easters blow long and hard along the Atlantic. Wrecks and artificial reef structure can be moved literally hundreds of yards by the heavy wave action. Over the years, the location change can be dramatic – so much so that some anglers accuse their GPS of lying to them. Read More

wsmv.com--    The boater standing up behind the steering wheel was naked. That's right, in the buff, said Johnny Carter, who was fishing on the river.  Carter said the cruiser came so close to him that the waves washed over the top of his boat and swept his craft against the rocky shore and damaged it. That's when Carter said he noticed the man was alone and wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. There was more, Carter said, but I won't go into that. A half-dozen kids were across the river riding their inner tubes and two cruisers were anchored nearby. Carter said he yelled at the man to put on his clothing, but, the fisherman claims, the man tried, but was too drunk to get into his shorts. Carter called 911 and officers of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency arrived. 45-year-old Robert DeWayne Johnson, an ex-handy-man who married into Belle Meade society, was charged with indecent exposure, intoxication and reckless and negligent operation of his boat.  Read More

Sportfishing Magazine--  Yesterday, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) hailed the passage of H.R. 5949/S. 2766, the Clean Boating Act of 2008, in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Passage of this legislation, which has been the top legislative priority for NMMA during the 110th Congress, will permanently and fully restore a longstanding, commonsense regulation that excludes recreational boaters and anglers from the federal and state permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act designed for land-based industrial facilities and ocean-going commercial ships. Introduced by Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in the Senate and by Representatives Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) and Candice Miller (R-Mich.) in the House, the Clean Boating Act of 2008 will prevent federal and state permitting of water-based, non-polluting incidental discharges that occur in the normal operation of a recreational boat, such as weather deck run-off and engine coolant water. Read More

Wall Street Journal (July 18, 2008)-For Anthony Hsieh and other wealthy big-game fishermen, this is a summer of great expectations. Or maybe grand illusions -- it's too early to know.    

Mr. Hsieh, the former president of LendingTree.com, and some of the world's best-financed fishermen are flocking to the cobalt blue waters here off the coast of Hawaii to try to catch what many consider the holy grail of trophy fish, the grander -- a blue marlin that tops 1,000 pounds. Not only are these fish prized for their size, beauty, and heroic fighting ability, they have serious literary cachet: the most famous one stars in Ernest Hemingway's classic novel "The Old Man

AP--  A man who was drowning in a Maine river is recovering after someone reeled him in with a fishing rod.  Bob Greene of Hallowell says he heard what he thought was a bird early Thursday as he was having his morning coffee. He then realized there was a man bobbing in the Kennebec River.  He says a 911 dispatcher told him to throw something to the man. He snagged the man's shirt with a fishing lure and reeled him in.  The rescued man is in critical condition at a Portland hospital.  Hallowell Police Chief Eric Nason says Greene did the right thing by calling police first and not jumping into the water.

American Sportfishing Association--  Ten influential fishing products created over the past 75 years -. from rods to reels to electronics -. have helped make fishing the great sport it is today, according to a new survey from the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).  ASA, the sportfishing industry’s trade association, today released the country’s first top ten list of the items that have changed the way people fish, as determined by a survey of the nation’s most avid anglers. The Anglers’ Legacy Innovations Awards were unveiled at the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST), the world’s largest annual sportfishing trade show. More than 7,000 members of the sportfishing community are gathered in Las Vegas to see the latest innovations in gear and accessories.  “We’re thrilled to be commemorating the way that fishing has endured as one of America’s favorite pastimes,” said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman.

The Providence Journal (RI)-- Dave Hochman set a world spearfishing record on Independence Day, when he shot a 68.4-pound striped bass on a reef in Block Island Sound. The fish was 55 inches long with a 32.5-inch girth. The diver was in 54 feet of water. Hochman has been diving on that reef for years, he said, because it holds big bass. “I know the bottom there better than the charts know the bottom,” he says. Hochman is a chiropractor who lives in Oxford, Conn. He has shot several bass weighing 58 pounds, his previous personal record. When he is lining up a shot, Hochman can lower his pulse to 32 beats a minute. “It’s like yoga,” he says. “It’s the most peaceful feeling when you’re in that state of mind. You’re in a state that is not normal on land.” He describes the sensation as being similar to the moment just before one falls asleep. He says, “It’s a tranquil feeling.” Read More

CostaRicaPages.com--  Cost Rica is known as one of the best sport and deep sea fishing destinations in the world. The Northern Pacific region of the popular tourist destination is known for six different types of popular trophy winning game fish. Both marlin and sail fish can even be found year round in the warm Pacific waters of the Northern region. Tourists and local fishermen alike enjoy the satisfaction of hoisting a large Rooster fish, Pink Marlin, or even a Yellow Finned Wahoo on board. It is Costa Rica’s welcoming seas and abundance of rare fish that keep the Los Sueños Marina busy with camera happy tourists and recreational fishermen.  Lately, however, in some of the most popular tourist fishing locations, large seiner fishing ships have been spoiling the fun and threatening recreational fishing all over the world. A seiner is a special type of fishing boat that uses a seine, which is a large fishing net that hangs vertically down into the water anchored by weights along the bottom, to increase the daily catch. The nets are usually long and flat and resemble a chain link fence. Seiners drive around the fish in a circle in order to capture large amounts of fish at a time draining the popular fishing areas of their natural

Ron Brooks About: Saltwater Fishing Blog--  Sky rockets! This time of year up and down the Gulf and East Coast, it is not unusual to see king mackerel, or kingfish (scomberomorous cavalla), leaping high into the air for no apparent reason. According to biologists, this has something to do with their mating ritual. But leap they do, often straight up and as high as eight to ten feet in the air. It is quite an awesome sight!  Kingfish can be caught from the surf to the Gulfstream as far as 80 miles offshore. Many are caught every year from the long fishing piers up and down the coast. The "king" fishermen on the piers are easy to spot - all the way on the end of the pier fishing with live bait such as bluefish or blue runners.  Fishing methods differ from South Florida to New England to Texas, and all of them seem to work. My favorite method is to slow troll a live menhaden shad (pogie) either on a downrigger or just free-lined. I usually have some of both. Ribbonfish are also great bait trolled, but they are harder to come by and take a lot of care. Specially made ribbonfish rigs allow the bait to be trolled much like any other offshore rigged bait.  The season for kings in South Florida is winter. Beginning in

June 25th, 2008- Narragansett Bay fishing is improving with the menhaden starting to push South from Providence. The water temp in the upper bay has reached the point where the bait will start searching for cooler water. We managed a few trips this week and fished places like the North end of Jamestown, Dutch Island, and Prudence Island this week and found fish from 15-40lbs. These fish were in shallow water from 10-30ft. Live menhaden was the trick as you could not keep a bait water with out a bass sniffing it out within minutes. The fluke fishing is still improving and is the best it has been this year. There are big fish around with many reports of fish over 10lbs. These fish will start moving into water between 30-45 feet and will feed aggressively at the peak flow of the tidal movement. Lands End, Butterball Beach, Baileys Beach, are all hot spots this time of year. Bluefish have been in the bay and in force. If you want to target these fish, find structure like pilings, reefs, and rips. The fish will forage around these areas and are relentless when it comes to feeding time. They will hit just about anything. Try throwing a few plugs around the Newport Bridge pilings and see what happens! If you don't get any action on one piling, move to another. I like to fish the first few pilings on the Jamestown side.