Green Bay Isn`t Just Football The Spook Master Tricky

Transcription

Tricky
Tripletail
Sea Gypsies offer
challenging sport for
those who spot them
Green Bay Isn’t Just Football
It’s a top walleye destination
The Spook Master
Missouri’s Campbell perfected a magical topwater dance
BoatU.S. Angler
2
Summer 2012
SUMMER 2013
www.BoatUSAngler.com
18
Green Bay Isn’t
Just Football
PLUS
Shallow bay a top
walleye destination
22
38
24
32 40
The Spook
Master
Tricky Tripletail
Sea Gypsies offer
challenging sport for
those who spot them
Signing In: Fishermen
mark their spots
Getting A Line on
Fishing Apps
Missouri’s Campbell
perfected a magical
topwater dance
3
Denny Brauer
Still Very Much
on the Radar
Twilight hardly quiet for
retired bass-fishing legend
15
Sanders: Only
Bass Remain
Same
16
Seaworthy:
Outboard Flushing
The Right Way
46
Denny Brauer’s
Tackle Box
50
Zona: Pick
Your Poison
BoatU.S. Angler
COVER PHOTO: Tripletail are gypsies of
the sea, staking out ambush points under
most anything floating. Savvy anglers can
learn to pattern this elusive fish. Page 24.
(David A. Brown photo)
Publisher
Richard Schwartz
Chairman, BoatU.S
BoatU.S. Angler manager
Steve Levi
My Addiction
It started in college. While most kids
my age were celebrating their quasiindependence by getting pierced, tattooed,
or taking up bad habits, I got hooked on
something else. I bought a boat.
I had to sneak out to do it. My parents
had left town for Easter weekend. I found
what I’d been looking for in the local
classifieds. Without the benefit of parental
guidance, I borrowed the car with a trailer
hitch, drove over to the seller’s house,
made a low but fair offer ($300) and drove
off with a boat. But I couldn’t exactly store
it in my dorm room. So I left it parked in
my parents’ driveway with a note that said,
“Surprise!”
I was now the proud owner of a 16-foot
Prindle catamaran sailboat. I know, not
what you thought I was going to say, but
there was this girl on the school sailing
team, and well, you get the picture.
This left just two problems: 1) the boat
needed repairs and parts equal or greater
than its value, and 2) I didn’t know how to
sail. A parts catalog and some effort sorted
out the first one. As for the learning, well, I
bought a book and set about trying to teach
myself to sail.
Take our free, online boating safety
course: www.BoatUS.org
Executive Editor
Michael Vatalaro
By the time I sold the boat a few years later,
I could get from point A to point B and back
again with confidence. I never did get the
girl, but I did realize that I could learn to
run larger, more complex boats if I studied
the right resources.
That’s why I’m pleased to share with you,
starting in this issue, a new column called
Seaworthy, from our sister publication of
the same name. Seaworthy articles will
always teach you something, whether it’s
how to keep yourself and your family safe
out on the water, or tips and techniques to
maintain your boat. Much of this material
is drawn directly from the lessons taught
by our BoatU.S. Marine Insurance claims
files. We study what went wrong, so you
can learn to avoid the same mistakes.
Not so many years after I purchased
that first boat, I bought a 32-foot flybridge
sedan. Driving Akua into the wide-open
Chesapeake the day we picked her up gave
me an amazing feeling, one I’ve never
forgotten. It gave my wife (then girlfriend)
Stephanie quite a different feeling. “Have
you ever driven a boat this big?” she asked
with apprehension.
“Sure,” I replied.
“Have you ever docked a boat this big?”
“No,” I said. “But I’ve read everything about it.” n
Managing Editors
Steve Bowman
Mike Suchan
Art Director
Kara Darling
Director of Advertising
Elio Betty
703.461.4383
Internet
Creative Services
JM Associates
1200 Scott St.
Little Rock, AR 72202
888.372.6544
Fax 501.372.0431
Printed in the USA
Copyright, 2013, BoatU.S. Angler. All rights
reserved. BoatU.S. Angler Magazine is published
three times annually and is mailed directly to
BoatU.S. Angler members and select fishing
clubs in the United States. Subscription is $6
annually to BoatU.S. members. No part of this
publication may be reproduced without permission from the publisher. Contact 703-461-2878.
Postmater: Send change of address of BoatU.S.
Angler Magazine, 880 South Pickett Street,
Alexandria, Va. 22304.
BoatU.S. Angler
4
Summer 2013
Christie Doubles Up On
‘Weigh-to-Win’ Bonuses
Jason Christie had an April full
of tournament success that was
more like a dream than reality. In
back-to-back weeks, the former
college basketball player won two
professional tournaments.
First he won the Walmart FLW
Tour event on Beaver Lake in
Arkansas then headed 120 miles
east to Bull Shoals Reservoir and
won the Bassmaster Elite Series
event. His winnings totaled more
than $225,000 in about eight
calendar days.
Thanks to BoatU.S. Angler’s
“Weigh-to-Win” cash bonus program, Christie is still cashing-in;
picking up $500 for each of his
professional victories, to add an
extra thousand bucks to his April
to remember.
“To be honest, as a professional
angler, any tournament bonus
program gets my attention,” Christie said, “and the chance to win extra cash through Weigh-to-Win is
the biggest reason I signed up for a
membership with BoatU.S. Angler.
“But, the added benefit of knowing if I blow a trailer tire or have
More bang for your boating budget
To help you stretch your
boating budget, BoatU.S. now
has more than 1,000 marinas
and other boating and fishing businesses in the BoatU.S.
Cooperating Marina Program
that offer discounts on fuel,
repairs, transient slips and even
fishing guide services.
The discounts vary by the
business. 360 marinas in the
group offer up to 10 cents off
per gallon of fuel, while more
than 320 marinas and boatyards offer repair discounts,
and 600 offer up to a 25
percent discount on transient
slip fees—or essentially four
nights for the price of three.
Other discounts are offered
at bait and tackle shops, boat
storage facilities, restaurants,
boat rental companies and ships’
stores.
To find a discount in
your neighborhood, go to
www.BoatUS.com/ServicesLocator.
Membership benefits include
24-hour dispatch for on water
boat towing as well as roadside
assistance for boat trailers
and tow vehicles, access to
feature-packed boat insurance
programs, and more savings
with West Marine shopping
discounts. BoatU.S. is also the
nation’s leading advocate for
recreational boat owners—
joining means your voice is
heard on Capitol Hill when
anti-boating legislation is being
debated.
mechanical issues, that I can dial
the toll-free number on this key
chain, and BoatU.S. will send
somebody to help me fix it, or get
off the highway safely, is worth
way more than the $38 it cost to
sign-up.”
Simply said, it pays to buy a
highly affordable BoatU.S. Angler
membership regardless of what
B.A.S.S., FLW, LBAA, College Bass
or PAA events you compete in,
especially when you’re registered
for the “Weigh-to-Win” cash tournament bonus program, and that’s
why hundreds of anglers have
already signed up.
To make sure you are eligible, just
dial (918) 742-6424 between 8 a.m.
and 5 p.m. CST, Monday-Friday, and
ask for Kendell; she’ll make sure you get
signed-up. Or to learn more, please visit
www.BoatUS.com/angler.
Win “Elite Fishing Experience” with Dove
Join BoatU.S. Angler Pro-Staffer and Bassmaster Elite Series
pro Kurt Dove for an unbelievable fishing trip to fabled bass factory Lake Amistad in Del Rio, Texas. All BoatU.S. Angler members as of Aug. 25, 2013 are automatically entered. A random
drawing will be conducted under the supervision of the Sponsor,
whose decisions are final. The winner will be announced in September 2013, and the trip will take place in October 2013. The
winner also will receive a $500 gift card for airfare and lodging,
and a prize pack containing various BoatU.S. Angler logo apparel.
Visit BoatUS.com/Angler for complete rules.
Your Angler Membership with the
Boat Owners Association of The
United States (BoatUS) Has Benefits
Trailer Assist: 24-hour On-the-road Towing Service
dispatched directly by BoatU.S. with f lat-tire assistance,
battery jumps, fuel deliveries, and lockout service. Trailer
Assist will provide for towing to the nearest facility or safe
location up to 100 miles from point of breakdown.
Towing Dispatch:
800.391.4869
Membership: 866.906.0013
24-Hour Water Towing: As a BoatU.S. Angler
member you receive 24 hour on-the-water towing
dispatched and paid for by BoatU.S up to the towing
service level you’ve selected. One membership applies to
ALL recreational boats you own, borrow or charter.
Tournament Incentive Program: The Weigh-to-Win
Program pays the highest placing registered BoatU.S. Angler
member in most B.A.S.S., FLW, and PAA events.
5
BoatU.S. Angler
Photo by James Overstreet
Falcon Frenzy
Legendary angler Rick Clunn hauls
in a lunker during the Bassmaster
Elite event on Falcon Lake. With
a tournament-best 36 pounds, 14
ounces on Day Three, Clunn put
himself in position to win his 15th
B.A.S.S. tournament, but high
winds postponed a day before
Keith Combs edged Clunn for his
first victory on the circuit.
Catch And Feast
An osprey flies home with lunch. Also called sea hawks, fish
eagles and fish hawks, the raptors almost exclusively eat
fish. Found around the world except Antarctica, ospreys can
entertain anglers when the fish aren’t biting.
Photo by Heidi Suchan
Photo by David Hatfield
Setting Sail
A sailfish comes up in an attempt to shake free. Sailfish,
clocked at speeds of up to 68 mph, are among the fastest
in the ocean, and they fight feverishly. This fish made nearly
a dozen jumps before finally escaping close to Blue Heaven,
the boat of guide Skye Stanley out of Islamorada, Fla.
Dean Rojas fishes under the I-10 bridge on an arm of the
Sabine River during the Bassmaster Elite Series event
out of Orange, Texas. Built in 1957, the southernmost
transcontinental highway stretches 2,460 miles from
Jacksonville, Fla., to Santa Monica, Calif., and apparently
holds some fish.
Water Under The Bridge
Photo by Steve Bowman
A biologist said discovering a new bass
species is the biggest thing to happen in his
career. (Courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife)
There’s a new bass in town
Choctaw don’t look much different from a spotted bass, but the DNA is
Introducing, the Choctaw bass.
Scientists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have discovered a new species of black bass in the southeastern U.S. The American Fisheries Society
must approve the suggested name of the species, but that appears to be only a formality.
“We didn’t set out to find a new species,”
said Mike Tringali, the head of the genetics
laboratory at the FWC’s Wildlife Research
Institute. “It found us.”
For decades, biologists and anglers
had not realized this bass, which inhabits
coastal river systems in the western Florida
Panhandle and Alabama, was actually
distinct from one of its relatives, the
spotted bass.
The discovery process spawned from a
2007 genetic study on the Chipola River over
concerns involving the possible introduction
of shoal bass to the river.
“During our studies, a DNA signal came up
that was different,” Tringali said. “As we set
out to determine what it was, it became very
clear that it was a look-alike, a mimic.”
After confirming the initial discovery,
scientists searched for the same DNA profile
in bass caught in nearby rivers to determine
the species’ range. They found Choctaw in
coastal river systems in Alabama and along
the western Florida panhandle, including the
Choctawhatchee River.
Discoveries of new fish species are uncommon but not overly rare. But most freshwater
discoveries in the U.S. are small darters.
“I would say this would be the biggest thing
that has happened in my career,” Tringali
said. “It’s definitely a proud moment for
everyone here.” —Steve Rogers
ICAST Show Draws Flies
ICAST and the American Fly Fishing Trade Association shows
joined forces this year in Las Vegas, terming it a “co-location,” and
they’ll do it again next year in Orlando, Fla.
AFFTA maintained a separate “new product showcase,” and fly
fishing booths were located in one section of the Las Vegas
Convention Center floor. But what was previously two trade shows at
different dates and locations was blended seamlessly into one.
“It has been great for both of us,” said Mary Jane Williamson,
communications director for the American Sportfishing Association,
which hosts ICAST. “The energy level has been pretty high. A lot of
folks have told us this is awesome.”
Internationally-known fly angler Carter Andrews attends both and
said combining them was great.
BoatU.S. Angler
The casting
pond at
ICAST was a
bit larger this
year. (Steve
Wright photo)
“I love them both. I think it’s really nice for the fly guys to see the
other side of the world, and at the same time introduce those anglers
to the fly side of things. It makes perfect sense to me that we all join
together.
“The bottom line is: we all fish. That is what we do. So why separate
them?” —Steve Wright
10
Summer 2013
No Launch ramp?
No Problem
“What’s the black thing on the shore over there?” I asked while
stepping aboard the small outboard-powered craft I was to jockey for
the six-day African fishing safari.
“Likely a rhino or a hippo,” came the casual answer from guide
Hayne Smith. “’Want to go see?”
For a second, I wasn’t really sure. I had been in South Africa all
of 14 hours, and was about to take the handlebar-controlled helm
of a combination personal watercraft/rigid hull inflatable boat atop
waters in the hinterlands of a wild-looking region named Zululand.
With a nod to crocs sunning themselves, I had already been
advised not to rinse my hands in the water beside the boat, and on
the drive down to Lake Jozini I was warned not to step off the road
to photograph a distant giraffe, in deference to the rhinos that were
protective of their well-disguised personal space.
“Time to fish or cut bait,” I thought, before following Smith’s wake
toward the beast on the far shore.
Developed in South Africa where there are few improved launch
ramps and lots of avid fishermen, the AquaQuad is an outboardpowered hybrid PWC/RIB built for fishing in areas requiring surf
launches or put-in and take-outs without the benefit of a traditional
ramp. The easily trailerable watercraft weigh less than half that of
comparable-sized jet-powered PWC, and are twice as stable, thanks
to inflatable pontoons that flank the fiberglass hull.
The stability factor was paramount when we tested the AquaQuads
on their home ‘turf’ in waters teeming with tigerfish, crocs and
“’You looking at me?” Fishing from his AquaQuad, guide Hayne
Smith tries to avoid eye contact with a black rhino that appears a
bit protective of a stretch of Lake Jozini shoreline that is famous for
producing prized tigerfish. (Dan Armitage photo)
hippos inland and off the Indian Ocean coast famous for its shark
population. The nimble boats handled incredibly well, while allowing
us to fish waters not accessible to traditional powerboats.
The AquaQuads can be rigged with everything from baitwells to bait
tubes for offshore fishing, and are offered with a variety of rod holder
and rocket launcher configurations, and in sizes accommodating one
to three anglers powered by outboards from 9.9 to 60 hp.
Now available in the U.S., the AquaQuad CLX model shown, with a
15hp Suzuki EFI outboard, retails for $8,065. For more information,
visit aquaquad.com. —Dan Armitage
Don’t Mess With GPS
Two years ago a cell-phone business startup, which could have disrupted Global
Positioning System (GPS) signals for boaters
and everyone else, was denied a broadcast
license, thanks in part to an ad-hoc coalition
that told the Federal Communications
Commission, “Don’t Mess with GPS.”
Vowing to continue to protect the GPS
radio spectrum, the GPS Innovation
Alliance formalized in mid-February.
BoatU.S. is a founding affiliate member. The
GPS business and user advocacy coalition
expanded its mission to include fostering
innovation, creativity, and business
opportunities as well as. Members are drawn
from manufacturing, aviation, agriculture,
and transportation, as well as organizations
representing consumers who depend on GPS.
Go to www.BoatUS.com/Gov for updates.
—Ryck Lydecker
How Not To Sell A Boat
A California craigslist ad for a 26-foot 1992
Mirage ski boat sounded good. An $8,000
asking price (“runs great, looks awesome,
ready to hit the water”), and the seller was
even willing to barter, offering to accept a
215 trade plus cash, or just cash.
That last bit drew some unwanted attention
because”215” is code for Proposition 215,
the state law legalizing medical marijuana,
and it’s a popular enough currency that
many Craiglist ads in Chico, Calif., specify
whether they accept it (or, in many cases,
that they do not).
Police in Oroville, Calif., say they
responded to the ad, and arranged a pot buy
from the advertiser. They arrested a 35-yearold man from Eureka and seized $2,500
worth of marijuana. —Chris Landers
11
Fish Guts
Count
To assist fishery scientists in better
understanding the fish they pursue, last
year more than 50 individual saltwater
anglers on the West Coast carefully
collected stomachs, fin clips, otoliths
(the ear bone, used to age fish), gonads,
or other organs from 75 albacore, 381
bluefin tuna, 199 yellowfin tuna, 159
yellowtail, and 50 rockfish, according to
NOAA Fisheries.
75
381
199
159
50
ALBACORE
BLUEFIN TUNA
YELLOWFIN TUNA
YELLOWTAIL
ROCKFISH
Virginia Passes
Boater-Friendly
Title Law
The state of Virginia became the first
state in the nation to adopt a boat-titling law
instigating consumer protection mechanisms
already commonplace for motor vehicles.
In passing the Uniform Certificate of Title
for Watercraft Act in February, lawmakers
gave Virginia boaters a tool that makes it
easier to identify previously damaged boats,
recognize the legitimate owner in a boat
sale transaction, and prevent the sale of
stolen boats.
“While two-thirds of the states have
titling laws that cover boats, they can vary
state to state in what is recorded on that
title, leading to potential for error or even
fraud,” reports David B. Kennedy of BoatU.S.
Government Affairs.
Kennedy said the Virginia law is based on
model legislation approved by the National
Conference of Commissioners on Uniform
State Laws. “That means, as other states
adopt it, this will create a uniform system of
boat titling that will be recognized nationwide and by the U.S. Coast Guard.”
The law requires a vessel title to clearly
label any significant structural damage to
the boat such as might be found in vessels
severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy.
By “branding” such titles for damage,
buyers will know to carefully consider a
vessel’s condition, and that information
can also alert the next buyer and subsequent
buyers, whether they are local or across
the country.
“In states that don’t currently issue
vessel titles, a stolen boat can be sold using
a fraudulent bill of sale or forged registration
document,” Kennedy said. “Uniform titling
will help prevent such transactions and that
protects the owner of the stolen boat and
the potential buyer.” Now that Virginia is
leading the way, Kennedy said non-title
states can adopt the uniform law and the
others can use it to make existing laws
conform for the benefit of all boating
consumers. —Ryck Lydecker
BoatU.S. Angler
Steve McDonald shows off a colorful peacock bass caught in a
canal behind a Miami warehouse. (Cash Lambert photo)
Peacock Bass in Miami
Offer A Bit Of Amazon
Trolling in the heart of Miami, Steve
McDonald waits for a bite. His target is a
rare fish known for its bright colors, a fish
that in the U.S. can only be found in this
huge canal system.
“Everyone always comments on its
vibrant yellows, reds, and greens,” McDonald
said. “That’s why this fish is a novelty.”
Suddenly the braided line dances and
the mortgage-broker turned guide
reels in a violently
thrashing butterfly peacock bass.
Native to South
America’s Amazon
River, the butterfly
peacock bass were
intentionally introduced into South
Florida in 1984.
The butterfly peacock fishery now extends
through 330 miles of canals in Dade and
Broward counties and is self-sustaining.
“South Florida had canals that were
inundated with tropical fish that residents
tossed out, and the water system grew
disproportionately,” said Larry Larsen,
President and Executive Director of the
Peacock Bass Association. “There weren’t
predators for the larger fish, so the state of
Florida introduced butterfly peacock in a
one-year experiment to establish a fishery.”
For the past two decades, this one-year experiment has been a craze for fishermen and a
profit for fishing guides, including McDonald,
who runs Bassmaster Guide Services Inc.
12
“It’s a big excitement watching them hit
the bait,” McDonald said. “There’s no other
fish that takes the bait—and I’ve seen
tarpon, big snook—they’ve got nothing on
the peacock.”
According to McDonald, the fishery is
year-round but March through August is
the best time of year. The daily limit is two
per person with only one over 17 inches.
Oh, and peacocks
are good eating.
“The meat is
white, flakey, and
as good to eat as
any saltwater fish,”
McDonald said. “I’d
compare it to eating
snapper.”
According to the
Florida Fish and
Wildlife
Conservation Commission, the largest butterfly
peacock caught in South Florida is 9.08
pounds. The current International Game
and Fish Association (IGFA) all-tackle
world record is 12.6 pounds, caught in
Venezuela.
Many of the larger peacock species reside in the Amazon, where McDonald biannually travels with customers to catch
peacock that can be up to 40 inches and
30 pounds.
“If you want to experience peacock fishing,
and you don’t want to spend $5,000 traveling to the Amazon, you can do it here in
South Florida,” he said. “And eat American
food while doing it.” —Cash Lambert
Summer 2013
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
China Daily reported in February that a stateowned shipyard there was gearing up to build
a ship for Australian mining billionaire Clive
Palmer. The 885-foot ship, scheduled for a
maiden voyage in 2016, is a replica of its famous
namesake, and will be christened Titanic II.
Palmer told Reuters news service that he
was “not too superstitious” about recreating
the ill-fated White Star liner. He hoped
to travel third class on the maiden voyage,
“like Leonardo does.”
—Chris Landers
Overfishing
Going Down
In 2011, the number of fish stocks that
NOAA Fisheries considers “overfished”
or “subject to overfishing” continued to
decline. The agency declared six stocks
popular with anglers to be newly rebuilt,
including chinook salmon on California’s
north coast, coho salmon in the Strait of
Juan de Fuca, black sea bass in the South
Atlantic, and Gulf of Maine summer
flounder and haddock. —Recreational
Fisheries Year in Review, 2012
One more day.
Countless
more catches.
Extend your next outing with a free weekend day (plus up
to 25% off). Then sit back, relax and let the fish come to you.
Make your reservations at avis.com/boatus
or by calling 1-800-225-7094. Remember to
use AWD # A637200 and coupon # TUTA035.
Terms and Conditions: Offer of one weekend day free applies to the time-and-mileage charges only of the third consecutive day of a minimum three-day weekend
rental on an intermediate (group C) through a full-size, four-door (group E) car. Maximum rental period is five days. Taxes, concession recovery fees, vehicle license
recovery fee, customer facility charges ($10/contract in CA) may apply and are extra. Optional products such as LDW ($29.99/day or less) and refueling are extra.
Weekend rental period begins Thursday and car must be returned by Monday 11:59 p.m. or a higher rate will apply. A Saturday night keep is required. Offer cannot
be used for one-way rentals; one offer per rental. May not be used in conjunction with any other coupon, promotion or offer, except your member discount. One offer
per rental. Valid at participating Avis locations in the contiguous U.S. and Canada (excluding the New York Metro area). An advance reservation is required.
Offer may not be available during holiday and other blackout periods. Offer is subject to vehicle availability at the time of reservation and may not be available on
some rates at some times. For reservations made on avis.com, free day will be applied at time of rental. Renter must meet Avis age, driver and credit requirements.
Minimum age may vary by location. An additional daily surcharge may apply for renters under 25 years old. Rental must begin by 12/31/13.
©2013 Avis Rent A Car System, LLC
22827-00
13
BoatU.S. Angler
Century-Old
Wreck
Identified
Maritime archeologists got a positive
ID on a shipwreck off Key Largo
popularly known as “Mike’s Wreck,”
thanks to some sub-surface sleuthing
by members of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers. The wreck,
now confirmed as the Hannah M. Bell, is
popular with snorkelers as well as scuba
divers because it’s in only 25 feet of
water on Elbow Reef, six miles offshore.
The 315-foot British freighter grounded
there on April 4, 1911, carrying a load
of coal to Mexico, and a May storm
tore the wreck apart, making positive
identification difficult.
Working with underwater archeologists from NOAA’s National Marine
Sanctuary program, the volunteer divers took measurements and photos of
the wreck for comparison with known
vessel records. “Similar to the way
detectives use forensic information to
solve a crime, we compared the dimensions and construction characteristics
with historic records,” said NOAA
maritime archaeologist Matthew Lawrence. “Measurements of the shipwreck
and the records for Hannah M. Bell were
virtually identical, as were the reported
sinking location and actual location of
the wreck.” —Ryck Lydecker
BoatU.S. Angler
Tarpon, bonefish only
catch and release
Because of the economic and fishing value
of bonefish and tarpon, the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission made the
species catch-and-release only, while also
proposing to modify gear used by anglers when
targeting tarpon in Boca Grande Pass.
The changes go into effect Sept. 1 in state
and federal waters off Florida.
All harvest of tarpon will be eliminated
unless in pursuit of an IGFA record and in
conjunction with a tarpon tag. Tarpon tags
will be limited to one per person each year
except charter boat captains.
Temporary possession will be allowed for
photography and scientific sampling, but
tarpon more than 40 inches must remain in
the water.
For bonefish, the tournament exemption
permit, allowing tournament anglers to
temporarily possess bonefish en route to
tournament scales, has been eliminated.
For complete regulations, go to
http://myfwc.com/news/news-releases/
2013/june/12/tarpon-bonefish/
—Florida Fish and Wildlife
Reel powerful lunch
Kevin Shiotani and a Mexican crew weren’t thinking record when they landed an amberjack that
might have rivaled the 156-pound IGFA world record. No, they were thinking lunch. Lots of lunch.
The fish, conservatively estimated as 135 pounds, was pulled from the Sea of Cortez to a remote
Baja California beach and filleted before it anyone considered weighing it.
This has happened numerous times before, and is sure to happen again. Man’s gotta eat.
—Mike Suchan
14
Summer 2013
Has anything
really changed
in bass fishing
in the past
50 years?
—Phil O’Brien,
Oak Ridge, Tenn.
the late space program was able to develop. The line is similarly
strong, light, invisible and nearly indestructible, thanks to the same
technology.
The boat paddle is gone, replaced by a 36-volt trolling motor.
The anchoring is instantaneous as poles drop into the water at
the push of a button. And if the water is too deep, then that sweet
trolling motor has GPS programmed into it that can hold you on a
spot, come wind or current.
Depth, water temperature, presence of baitfish and big fish, and
underwater structure you get with a quick glance at an oversized
LED screen. No more triangulating, either — the guys on this dock
all have hundreds of waypoints punched into their GPS system.
It’s just another planet from 50 years ago.
But, you say, these are all just mechanical gizmos that are no
substitute for experience. There’s space-age technology now, for
sure, but it’s the space between the ears that’s most important.
Well, we’ve got an app for that, too. At the fingertips of everyone
who has ever thought about getting better at fishing is the most
incredible treasure trove of tips, techniques, fishing reports,
tournament statistics, videos, satellite mapping, message boards
and everything else the almighty internets can provide.
It’s breathtaking, this leap forward. But believe it or not, while
all this technology has made everyone better, it hasn’t made
everyone great. The fact of the matter is that on the Bassmaster
Elite series, there’s one guy who has won 20 events, while for the rest
of the field the average number of tournaments won probably has a
decimal point in front of it.
Strange to say it, but it’s kind of comforting to know that despite
all the technology, a strong work ethic and a good bit of God-given
talent still count for something. n
Let’s quickly review the things that haven’t changed in the sport
of bass fishing over the last half century:
Bass.
That’s it, and I’m not so sure that the fish haven’t slipped some
changes in on me as well.
But everything else has changed, and in this sport, unlike
football or basketball, the changes have all been about advances
in technology.
I think about the guys, 50 years ago, who went out on the water
in a V-bottom boat with a 20-horse engine. If they were serious,
they’d have the latest glass rod with a nice reel. Maybe some of
them had a bit of that new monofilament line, but most likely some
braided Dacron.
If they wanted to know what the terrain was like under the water,
they might be lucky enough to have a contour paper map but most
likely studied the bank for clues. To find depths, they could measure
their line as it came up from the bottom.
To quietly troll was often a matter of deftly feathering a boat
paddle in one hand and casting with the other. And if they wanted
to stop and thoroughly work over a spot, they could drop an anchor
tied to a rope or use the rope to tie off to a tree.
If they caught them well one day in deep water, they could eyeball
the spot and try to triangulate a position or just improvise some
kind of buoy marker and hope it was still there the next day.
Today I stand on the dock at a Bassmaster Elite series event
and see the 21-foot boats that can handle just about any kind of
water and make 300-mile round trips in a fishing day, courtesy of
225-horsepower engines.
Strapped to the decks and below decks are a couple dozen rods
constructed of the lightest and strongest composite materials that
15
BoatU.S. Angler
SEA
Worthy
Outboard Flushing
The Right Way
By John Tiger
It sounds simple, but hang on!
There’s a right and a wrong way
to perform this essential task
Back in the day, flushing an outboard with fresh water was
done only one way. A set of “ear muffs” or “flush muffs” was fitted
around the engine’s gearcase to cover the water intakes, connected
to a garden hose with a good water supply, and the engine was
run for five to 10 minutes. But today’s outboards can be flushed
using other, sometimes easier methods, without even starting
the engine.
When attaching the muffs, be sure they cover the water inlets completely, and don’t pop or slide off when the water is turned on.
Why Flush? Salt and brackish water is a corrosive killer of the
aluminum from which outboards are made, so flushing every time
after saltwater use is a must. Left unchecked inside the cooling
passages, saltwater will quickly build up and may cause cooling
blockages, leading to overheating and, over time, can corrode an
engine from inside out. All outboard manufacturers recommend
flushing (according to the procedures outlined in the engine owner’s manual) after every use in salt, brackish, dirty or polluted waters. Operating an engine in sandy, silty or muddy fresh water also
dictates the need for periodic flushing.
Be vigilant, and don’t leave the engine while flushing. Watch
the engine’s “tell-tale” overboard water indicator to ensure that
the engine is pumping water.
The engine should be kept in neutral and not run above a fast
idle speed (1,000 rpm maximum).
Built-In-Flushing Attachments Built-in garden hose attachments are a standard part of many outboards manufactured in the
past decade or so. These attachments make flushing easier, because the engine usually doesn’t need to be running (and in some
cases, should not be) to accomplish the flushing procedure. Simply
check to see if your engine has this attachment (look in the owner’s
manual), find the connection point, hook up a garden hose, turn
on the water, and let it flow for 10 minutes. This is handy if you
can’t start the engine (dead battery, for example) or if your neighbors would balk at your engine’s noise. Some caveats about using a
flushing connection:
The Old-School Way Flush muffs are the most common way
to flush an outboard; they’re available at most marine stores and
online resellers. They’re inexpensive, and easy to use. Connect to
a garden hose, fit the muffs over the engine’s water intakes on the
sides of the gearcase, turn the water on, start the engine, and let it
run. That’s it, with the following precautions:
If your engine has additional water intakes that are not being
directly fed water via the flushing muffs, they must be sealed
off with a bit of duct tape, or overheating may occur.
Be careful not to cross-thread the connection. Many are plastic,
and can be ruined quickly if threaded incorrectly with the brass
fitting of a garden hose.
If your engine doesn’t have water intakes on the sides of the
gearcase, you’ll need a special type of flushing attachment that
covers the front of the gearcase. These can be purchased from
aftermarket shops (www.bobsmachine.com).
BoatU.S. Angler
Pay attention to the manufacturer’s recommended procedure.
As follows.
16
Summer 2013
Flushing Bags Flushing bags are soft-sided heavy plastic/
vinyl bags with a support framework, designed to be fitted up and
around the lower end of an engine and fully enclose it. A garden
hose is attached to fill it and keep water circulating; the engine
is then started and run much the same as with a flush muff
attachment. Flush bags allow for engine-on flushing without the
loud noise of the engine’s open exhaust. Online, Google “outboard
flushing bag,” and several options pop up. As with other flushing
devices, caution must be exercised:
The bag must fit pretty snugly around the engine’s midsection,
and be tall enough to reach well above the water intakes.
The propeller should be removed before installing the bag.
As with a flush-muff attachment, engine speed should be kept
to a fast idle, no more than 1,000 rpm. The engine should be
kept in neutral.
note of using this adapter to drain the cooling water from the
engine by disconnecting it from the water-supply hose, then tilting
the engine to allow all the water to drain out. This is especially
important in freezing climates. Water pressure no higher than
45-psi should be used. The engine can be running or not when
flushing, and flushing should be for at least 3 minutes. Mercury
notes that this procedure should be used when flushing the engine
after use in salty or dirty water, and also as a part of preparing the
outboard for storage.
Verado four-stroke outboards: No description of using flush
muffs is shown in the manual, only the engine’s hose-adapter
fitting. The description of the procedure is short, noting only that
the engine should be off and can be either tilted or vertical.
Manufacturer’s Recommendations Most outboard manufacturers’ flushing recommendations are similar. All of them make a
statement about ensuring that all water is drained from the engine
after flushing. This is especially important in freezing climates, so
that there is no water left inside the engine that could then freeze
and cause damage. However, there are some differences, so here
they are, straight from the manufacturers themselves:
Evinrude (BRP) For flush-muff attachments, temporarily
cover the auxiliary water inlets with heavy tape on their 15- to
30-hp models and high-performance Lightning M2-type gearcases
(remember to remove the tape afterward). Water pressure should
be between 20- and 40-psi. Flush for at least five minutes at an
idle speed, with the engine in a vertical position. When using the
flushing port, it is not necessary to run the engine. Keep the engine
vertical after flushing so that all water drains from the powerhead.
Suzuki The preferred method is to flush with a flush-muff
attachment or built-in port. With flush muffs, run the engine only
at idle speed in neutral for a few minutes while monitoring it at
all times for proper water flow out of the tell-tale outlet. There
are two possible flushing ports — one on the port side of the
engine midsection, the other on the front side of the lower cowl.
The engine can be running or stopped; flush for about five
minutes, and ensure the engine drains completely. When not
running, the engine can be flushed in the tilted position, but must
be returned to the vertical position to drain afterward.
Honda Honda’s flushing procedure varies by engine size and
model. In all cases, the engine must be in the vertical position
during flushing and after, to drain the water from the engine.
Smaller engines (2- to 20-hp): Flushing in a small container (such
as a flushing bag or small bucket or can) is acceptable.
For engines 5-hp and up, an optional flushing attachment (Honda part #06190-ZV1-860) is available that allows flushing the
engine through a port on the side of the gearcase. The prop must
be removed and the engine run for about 5 minutes with either
procedure. Either method is acceptable.
Midsized engines (25- to 50-hp): Use only the factory “WASH”
port located in the lower port/left side of the gearcase. Again, the
engine must run, with prop removed, for about 5 minutes. Honda
warns that if water pressure is low, tape should be used to close off
the engine’s water intakes on each side of the gearcase.
Larger engines (60- to 250-hp): Honda’s only recommended
flushing procedure is to use the factory flushing port connected to
a garden hose with the engine not running.
Tohatsu/Nissan For smaller engines (2- to 6-hp), use either
the optional flushing plug or a small container such as a garbage
can or tub filled with fresh water. For larger engines, use the flush
port or a set of flushing muffs. Water pressure should be set to
one-half or more to ensure adequate flow to the intakes. The engine should be run for 5-10 minutes.
Yamaha Yamaha gives three choices — with a flush bag, muffs,
or hose-port connector – and says all three methods work equally
well. Bag and Muffs: Engine should be vertical, run no more than
800-900 rpm in neutral for 15 minutes with the prop removed. Be
sure the engine is receiving cooling water (by checking the overboard indicator). If your outboard has more than one set of cooling
inlets, a flush bag should be used. Flushing Port: Engine should not
be running; it can be tilted or vertical. Prop should be removed.
Flush for 10-15 minutes. n
Mercury Mercury’s procedure varies by engine size and series.
Smaller and midsize four-stroke outboards: The engine must be
warmed up to open the thermostat and circulate water throughout
the engine’s cooling passages completely. The engine can be vertical or tilted. Remove the prop, and run in neutral at no more than
an idle speed for at least 5 minutes. The water supply should not be
opened more than halfway to regulate water pressure.
Optimax two-stroke outboards: Remove the prop, attach the
muffs so that the rubber cups fit tightly over the water intakes,
then adjust water flow so that some water leaks out around the
cups. Start the engine and run at idle speed in neutral for 3 to
5 minutes. For flushing without muffs, Mercury offers a gardenhose adapter that connects to a port in the lower engine cowl; this
port is accessed by removing a dust cover. Mercury makes special
John Tiger owned his first outboard at age 7; since then he has owned
more than 60 boats and outboards. He started outboard racing at 14 and
is still active, building racing engines and rigging performance boat in
his ship in upstate New York.
Seaworthy is the BoatU.S. Marine Insurance publication dedicated
to helping members avoid injury and boat damage due to accidents and
storms. It’s published four times annually.
See more great articles from Seaworthy at:
www.BoatUS.com/Seaworthy
17
BoatU.S. Angler
n Bay
e
e
r
G
I
sn
BoatU.S. Angler
’t J u
b
t
o
st F o
18
l
l
a
Summer 2013
Rivers feeding the shallow Lake Michigan
bay make it a top walleye destination
Story and Photos by TJ Maglio
PESHTIGO, Wis. – Many folks outside the Upper Midwest probably
wouldn’t even know that Green Bay exists if it weren’t for the Packers,
one of the NFL’s most storied franchises.
In fact, there are folks who probably don’t know the “Bay” in “Green Bay”
actually refers to a 1,626-square mile basin off Lake Michigan’s western
edge. Although “Titletown” is so named because of the football teams
on-field accolades, the name could also work for the bay, which provides
championship level walleye fishing.
19
BoatU.S. Angler
B
ecause Green Bay is relatively
shallow (less than 50 feet deep)
compared to the rest of Lake Michigan,
it has ideal habitat for warm water species
like walleye, musky, and smallmouth bass.
The bay also has an abundance of offshore
structure, which combined with a healthy
baitfish population makes the walleyes
grow not only quickly, but to some pretty
staggering proportions.
A trip with Capt. Steve Paulsen, owner
of Walleye Madness guide service and one
of the best walleye fishermen on the water,
serves to highlight the magnificent spring
walleye fishing in Green Bay.
According to Paulsen, the walleyes
actually stage for their spring run in the
late fall, moving to reefs and structure
near the mouths of rivers to feed and wait
for the increasing water temps and flows of
spring to trigger their spawn.
“We actually start seeing fish show up
near the mouths of the rivers in November,
and guys will catch them around the same
areas through the ice all winter,” he said.
Once the water temps in the rivers start
getting consistently into the 40s, you’ll see
fish start moving into them to spawn. Not
coincidently, you’ll also see anglers show
up to target them.
The Walleye Run
Options Galore
Each spring, in response to nature’s urges,
Green Bay’s walleyes head to the numerous
rivers that dump into the bay for their annual
spawn This creates not only one of the best
times to get a feel for the unbelievable number
of walleyes in the bay, but also one of the best
times to hook the walleye of a lifetime.
There are a number of rivers that feature a
phenomenal walleye run, most notably the Fox
River in the city of Green Bay, the Suamico,
the Oconto, the Peshtigo and the Menominee.
Paulsen likes to focus on the Peshtigo, Oconto,
and Menominee rivers in the spring because
they don’t receive fishing pressure like the Fox
does being in a populous area.
“I know there are a ton of huge walleyes
being caught in the Fox, but I think the
other rivers can be just as good,” Paulsen
said. “And you’re not gonna be playing
bumper boats the whole time you’re on
the water.”
Paulsen has been fishing Green Bay’s
spring walleye run for many years, and
explains that there are three predominant
patterns for catching them once the spawn
starts.
“Guys usually fish them one of three
ways; jigging, casting stickbaits, or trolling
the mouths of the rivers, and any of them
can be absolutely dynamite if you hit the
bite correctly,” he said
Since the bay is often still ice covered when
the fish begin to move in, the first fish are
usually caught casting stickbaits or jigging
in the river. However, once fish get finished
spawning, the trolling action heats up as
fish move back out into the bay and feed to
recover.
Paulsen cautions that although the
fishing in the river can be unbelievable,
it pays to be conservation minded when
catching spawning fish.
The Bounty of Green Bay – 27-, 29- and 30inch walleyes caught trolling. It was the result of
three boards triggering at once, something that
happens on an incredible fishery.
Capt. Steve Paulsen shows off the second fish
of the day, a 28-incher that demonstrates why
you shouldn’t lip a walleye.
This 30-inch fish didn’t want to give up
even at the boat after falling for an Echotail.
BoatU.S. Angler
20
Spring 2013
The tools of the trade; Okuma Line counter
reels are a necessity to maintain proper depth
control with the baits.
The baits Paulsen trolls are often custom painted in gaudy pinks, purples, and yellows
by Tommie Harris Blades. Shown here are three of the most successful baits Paulsen
uses, the HJ-12, Thunderstick and Berkley Flicker Shad.
“At times you have a tendency to foul-hook
fish while in the river,” he said. “There
are just so many fish and they are up so
shallow, so that’s why I like to get them once
they’re done.”
The Catch
Due to a late spring, this year’s walleye run
came on in a hurry, and we hit the run slightly
after its peak. By the time we got there, the
majority of the fish were post spawn, and
aside from a couple hours spent jigging the
Menominee, we had our best success trolling
stickbaits for post spawn fish at the mouths
of several tributaries.
Paulsen actually prefers to troll for fish
coming back out of the river because you can
get some of the best action that way.
“Once those fish come back out into the
lake, they really need to feed to recover from
the spawn,” he said. “If you get around the
right areas you can really knock their lights
out.”
And knock their lights out we did, as over
two days we caught countless fish, with
an unbelievable average size of more than
25 inches long. Paulsen trolled over rocky
structures in 10-25 feet of water located
within a mile or so of the river mouth.
One of the things Paulsen recommends anglers
target at the mouth of the river is the plume of
stained water that each river produces.
“The fish will typically be located somewhere in that stained water,” he said,
“because it is usually a couple degrees
warmer, attracts baitfish and their eyes
make them more effective predators.”
The Gear
Paulsen’s trolling includes 7’10” Okuma
Dead Eye telescoping trolling rods paired
with new Okuma Cold Water CW-153
Linecounter reels spooled with 15-pound
Seaguar Senshi monofilament tipped with
a 20-foot leader of 15-pound Seaguar
Abrazx fluorocarbon.
He generally runs six lines while trolling
and employs Church tackle TX-22 planer
boards to get his lures out to each side.
While trolling, Paulsen tried an
assortment of stickbaits and crankbaits
each day to dial the bite in. The majority
bit Storm Thundersticks, Berkley Flicker
Shads, Vibrations Tackle Echotails, and
Reef Runner Ripsticks.
As far as color selection, most of the
baits Paulsen trolls are custom painted
by Tommie Harris Blades in unique
and sometimes gaudy combinations,
something Paulsen thinks is particularly
important.
“For whatever reason, the fish seem to
bite some particular colors better, and
Tommie’s developed some colors that
make a huge difference out here on the bay,
especially with the bigger fish,” he said.
Paulsen’s boat is also an integral part of
the trolling experience, as like any of the
“If you get around the right areas you
can really knock their lights out.”
21
As you can see, the small size of a flicker
shad didn’t deter this massive Green Bay
walleye from inhaling it.
Great Lakes, Green Bay can get pretty nasty
at times.
“As a full time guide, my clients need to
know that they’re fishing out of the best
and safest boat out there, which is why
I run a Ranger 621 powered by a 250hp
Mercury ProXS,” he said.
The Area
The walleye run in Green Bay typically
begins in early April and is over by the
end of the month, with the southern-most
rivers picking up fish before the northern
rivers. There are an abundance of great
lodging options located in towns like
Marinette, Peshtigo, Oconto, Suamico, and
of course, Green Bay.
There is also great food and attractions
in the Green Bay area, chief among them
being Lambeau Field and the Green Bay
Packers Hall of Fame, a destination that
even non-Packer NFL fans should make a
point to visit. As great as the area is, it’s the
walleye fishing that should be the star of
your trip as the fishing is great all season
long.
Capt. Steve Paulsen operates Walleye
Madness guide service starting in
early April, and can be reached at
www.walleyemadnessfishing.com. n
BoatU.S. Angler
Signing In
Fishing signs can provide some
valuable information, and some can
just be fun. Here’s some we’ve come
across that we thought were good
enough to photograph.
5
1 Maybe they were self-serving, but the owners of this home on
Oklahoma’s Grand Lake set up for the 2013 Bassmaster Classic,
and even had some competitors heed their message. (James
Overstreet photo)
2 Fishermen are known for keeping their best spots sacred, so this
sign might just be a total rouse, or they simply wanted to keep
others laughing on bad fishing days. (Steve Bowman photo)
3 This sign in front of a tackle shop near Lake Okeechobee comes
with a reel threat. (Steve Wright photo)
4 Rickard’s Bait and Tackle in Marblehead, Ohio, advertises its
service in a humorous turn of words. (Chip Gross photo)
5 There are variations of this caution sign posted around fishing
communities far and wide, and you just have to like that the
experienced angler has a full stringer.
6 Some signs are just so impressive, and large, that they draw the
eye. It might even get you to stop and fish. (Mark Stallings photo)
2
3
BoatU.S. Angler
22
Summer 2013
1
4
6
23
BoatU.S. Angler
take
on
the
tricky
tripletail
The Sea’s Gypsies offer challenging
sport for those who spot them
Photos and story by David A. Brown
BoatU.S. Angler
24
Summer 2013
Take that clichéd, yet undeniably
insightful saying that “one man’s trash is
another man’s treasure,” add fins, douse
it with a little sea water and voila — you
have the essence of tripletail fishing.
For certain, that’s no implication of value
for Lobotes surinamensis. No, this crafty
creature’s feeding strategy hinges largely
on mimicking flotsam — sea trash.
25
BoatU.S. Angler
Truth be told, a lot of anglers
have probably spotted tripletail
in various scenarios, only to
incorrectly dismiss the figure they
saw as, you guessed it — trash.
Maybe that was a plastic grocery bag,
or one of those cardboard boxes for frozen baits. (The most common description
for mistaken tripletail identity is a paper
plate.) Whatever the illusion, it pleases the
tripletail because if you mistake him for
a harmless piece of drifting something, a
shrimp or baitfish will likely do the same.
Masters of the hang-and-wait strategy,
these crafty fish will hover near whatever
object they encounter and turn themselves
at the most unusual of angles to simulate
a piece of flotsam drifting in the current.
When unsuspecting baitfish drop their
guard and ease into reach, the tripletail
strikes with amazing swiftness.
“When they want to eat something, they
don’t have any problem running out and
getting it,” said Capt. Mac Gregory, who
hunts along Florida’s Tampa Bay region.
One of the sea’s most distinctive fish,
the tripletail gets its name from a dorsal
and anal fin proximity that gives the
appearance of three rudders. Coloration
ranges from a chocolate brown to a pale
white with dark splotches. Typically, a
tripletail sports an uneven tone that aids
in the camouflage strategy.
BoatU.S. Angler
The common view is one of hit-or-miss, here todaygone tomorrow. That may be true for angling
generalist content to take what the sea offers, but
those who’ve paid attention to the ways of the tricky
tripletail know that patterns exist.
With few exceptions, most anglers
refer to tripletail as wanderers, gypsies, a
frustrating lot not known for predictable
patterns like those of snook, redfish, trout
and other inshore favorites. The common
view is one of hit-or-miss, here today-gone
tomorrow. That may be true for angling
generalists content to take what the sea
offers, but those who’ve paid attention to
the ways of the tricky tripletail know that
patterns exist.
FIND THE FISH
Channel markers, bridges, even piers are
likely tripletail haunts. In Bradenton, Fla.,
Capt. Mac Gregory looks forward to the
mid-October arrival of stone crab traps
in coastal waters, as the forest of floating
26
marker buoys offers abundant structure
for tripletail — as well as a new set of
position indicators for the fishermen who
seek them. (Florida stone crab season runs
through mid-May, while blue crabbing has
only short regional closures alternating
between east and west coasts every other
year. Details at MyFWC.com)
Older trap lines accumulate algae and
sea growth from the float down to the trap.
These “sea beards” form mini ecosystems,
which find a bouquet of tiny forage.
The daily need to feed means that
anywhere a baitfish holds something
farther up the food chain will eventually
come snooping. Whenever you find a
predator patrolling crab trap buoys; that’s
a catchable fish.
Summer 2013
Offshore weed lines, like those forming
outside Louisiana’s Mississippi River
Delta, offer a bounty of sport-fishing
opportunity and tripletail are often a
prominent, if not well-hidden, part of
the mix. When dense rafts of Sargasso,
flotsam and any debris the river sends
to the gulf gather along tide lines, the
result is something of a floating reef
system bursting with a baitfish and
crustacean bounty. All a savvy tripletail
has to do is stake out a little point or dip
in the contour, do the old “I’m not alive”
drifting routine and wait for something
edible to cruise past.
Trips are also commonly found around
the legs of the offshore drilling platforms,
generally known as “rigs.” Here especially,
tripletail often go unnoticed, as most rig
fishermen are seeking the snapper, amberjack, cobia, kingfish and tuna that patrol
the structures. These pursuits are usually
done from a distance, as a rig’s angled
legs extend well beyond the perimeter of
its visible structure. Bottom line — ease
in close to a rig and you may be pleasantly
surprised at who’s lurking in the shadows.
Of course, it doesn’t take a mammoth
steel tower to attract tripletail. Consider
the desert oasis image, or maybe the
stump-in-the-pond notion. At times, an
isolated object adrift in the ocean will
attract a host of hitchhikers — among
them, tripletail — that will stick with this
shaded ambush spot for days.
On a particularly memorable offshore
trip, my host captain spotted something
glistening in the distance and when
we approached, we found it was an
abandoned fighting chair. Underneath,
amid the crowd of filefish and blue
runners was a half dozen fat tripletail,
each holding to a point on the chair’s
upended frame and each doing so with
that sideways posture intended to fool any
minnow or crab that got too close.
BAITS AND TACTICS
The best advice for tripletail hunters is twofold: Keep your eyes open and
keep your distance. It’s a bit of a balancing act, and Gregory
suggests searching
Live shrimp work
likely tripletail areas
well on tripletail
by idling at least
when you spot
them, but be
a long cast away
sure to keep your
from where a fish
distance when
casting.
may be positioned.
In their hang and wait strategy,
tripletail float about and are often
mistaken for a piece of trash.
27
BoatU.S. Angler
Beach Bash
One of the most prominent aggregations
of tripletail occurs spring on the tranquil
north end beaches of Georgia’s Jekyll
Jonny Keyes of Bradenton,
Fla., didn’t miss the second
time on this tripletail.
Island, the southernmost of the Golden
Isles group. Capt. Greg Hildreth, who has
fished the area for two decades, said the
tripletail beach scene starts in March,
with May through mid-June marking the
peak action.
Spud Woodward, Director of Georgia’s
Department of Natural Resources, Coastal
Division, said the tripletail aggregations are
probably spawning rituals, but abundant
food sources help keep the fish close.
Juvenile menhaden and a new crop of
brown shrimp falling out of the spartina
marshes bring a buffet of forage to the
beach and keep the visiting trips well-fed.
The fish will position as far as a couple
miles out, based on the stage of Georgia’s
large tidal range, but the clean, gradually
sloping bottom in the 6- to 15-foot range
sees most of the action.
Without much in the way of structure to
target, anglers search for Jekyll’s tripletail
by idling along the beach and scanning
for anything that looks different than its
surroundings. Sunny skies and calm seas
facilitate sight-fishing, and Hildreth points
out that the fish will look like a silver pie
pan if they’re lying belly up, or a black trash
bag if you see them from the back down.
Hildreth arms his tripletail anglers with
7-foot
medium-action
spinning
outfits
loaded with 12- to 20-pound braided line
and 20-pound fluorocarbon leader – just
the right outfit for presenting live shrimp
on No. 2 khale hooks suspended under
small cigar floats. (Local tip: color the float
with a black permanent marker, as tripletail
often ignore baits and chase brightly
colored objects.)
“Boat positioning is an important part of
this,” Hildreth said. “I try to set up with the
fish coming at me and the wind at my back.
If your bait is five feet away, he’s not going
to get it. If it’s two feet away, he’s not going
to get it. You’ve got to just about drag a
bait right across his nose.”
Keep watch for any log, cabbage palm
frond or clump of marsh grass that floats
out of the marsh. With nothing but water
along the Jekyll beaches, any structure
that enters the scene is like a tripletail
magnet.
BoatU.S. Angler
—David A. Brown
On Florida’s open beaches, lines of crab trap
buoys may stretch for a couple of football
fields, so he’ll run about half speed along
the line with the sun at his back (whenever
possible) and note the frequency of fish.
When he finds fish on several consecutive
traps — or a particularly large tripletail —
he’ll spin about and idle into casting
position.
Given the daily wave action — natural and
boat-made — that tripletail endure, they’re
remarkably tolerant of a vessel passing
at a reasonable distance and jostling
their hidey spot. Obviously, you don’t
want to run right over any fish you hope
to catch, but easing away from the line
and then approaching the active area with
stealth generally affords ample opportunity
to present a bait.
28
Gregory likes medium spinning tackle
with a live shrimp rigged under a popping
cork with a No. 2 bait hook set through the
tail and a split shot right above the hook.
This setup allows him to make the necessary long cast past the buoy and then work
the bait into the strike zone. Patience, he
said, is essential to this game.
“You have to put the bait right in front
of his face,” Gregory said. “When he bites,
you have to let him pull (the bait) down.
Don’t jerk too soon or you’ll pull it away
from him.”
Capt. Billy Miller recalls spotting a big
tripletail hanging near a crab trap buoy off
the St. Petersburg Beach area and stopped
to make a cast. After a day of inshore fishing, he had a spinning outfit with DOA
Deadly Combo (artificial shrimp under
Summer 2013
Patience, he said
is essential to
this game
– Capt. Mac Gregorgy
a clacking cork) handy so he tossed the
rig toward the fish. The trip responded
aggressively, but quickly showed its
observant nature.
“As soon as (the rig) hit the water,
that fish ran over and smacked the
cork!” Miller recalled. “He moved back,
turned to look at the rig and then swam
away. I figured he might come back,
so I pulled away from the buoy, made
a big circle and came in upcurrent
so I could ease up to it.
“This time, I cast that Deadly Combo
a long way past the buoy and brought it
back slowly. When I got it near the buoy,
I twitched it and the tripletail came up
to look at it. I could see him — he’d look
at the shrimp and then look at the cork.
He didn’t like what he saw, so he went
down and stayed down.”
No doubt, trips can be mighty spooky
but you may also encounter those so fired
up for feeding that they appear to be
tethered with rubber bands. I saw this
once with Gregory. He and fishing pal
Jonny Keyes located a productive string
of crab traps on the Cortez Beach area
and found a fish under nearly every buoy.
One in particular seemed bent on holding
its ground, even after a close call with a
sharp hook.
As Gregory idled forward, Keyes made
a good cast past the buoy and pulled his
cork-rigged shrimp into the trip’s wheelhouse. Clear, calm conditions enabled us
to clearly observe the fish’s response and
it was nothing short of ravenous. Instant
strike, but Keyes was a little quick on
the response and the fish spit the loosely
stuck hook after a couple of surface flops.
Energized by fright, the fish took his newfound freedom and bolted about 10 feet
down the trap line — but then he turned
and raced — not sauntered, not crept —
“raced” back to his feeding position next to
the buoy. The next presentation pulled this
one aboard for a few photos followed by a
live release.
KEEP IT STEALTHY
When tripletail seem to spook away from
a cork, you may need to take your chances by
easing in closer and free-lining a shrimp or
small baitfish like a pilchard or threadfinherring near the fish’s holding spot. Light
jigs occasionally work, as do crustacean
imitators like the DOA or Berkley Gulp!
shrimp. One of the best ways to approach
wary tripletail is with a fly rod.
“I like a bulky, lightly weighted fly that
won’t sink too fast, but has a jigging type
action when stripped,” Sarasota’s Capt.
Capt. Rick Grassett of
Sarasota, Fla., uses his
own Grassett Flats Minnow
fly and advises that weed
guards are important.
Rick Grassett said. “I have done very
well on tripletail with my Grassett Flats
Minnow fly. I have also caught them
with Clousers and Enrico Puglisi baitfish
and shrimp fly patterns. I think weed
guards are important, which may prevent
snagging the crab trap line and blowing
the opportunity.”
Grassett stresses that the main thing
is to avoid is “lining” the fish — allowing
the thick fly line to land overhead.
Tripletail, he said, are one of the few
species that will eat a fly that moves
toward them. If you must cast beyond a
fish, keep it to a short distance and make
sure that only the leader and fly touch
down beyond the fish – never the fly line.
“I usually try them from different
angles, starting with presentations in
front of the fish or the fly moving across
their nose,” Grassett said. “I’ve cast to
them repeatedly and eventually gotten
them to bite. I like to approach them
using my trolling motor into the wind or
current so that I maintain control of my
boat. If a fish follows a fly back toward
the boat but doesn’t eat, take it away
from them before they see the boat and
they’ll usually go back over to the float.”
Gregory notes that live well pumps
can scare the fish, so shut them off while
making close presentations. Offshore
breezes will smooth out the beach water
and allow for optimal visibility close
to shore. Anywhere you find tripletail,
assume that this sneaky predator is
watching you as closely as you’re watching
the fish. Minimize noise and keep your motion minimal — these guys can be tough
to find, so don’t blow your opportunities. n
Stealthy approaches
will help land a tricky
tripletail.
29
BoatU.S. Angler
BoatU.S. Angler has launched a Weigh-to-Win Contingency Program, where members can win cash for
their finishes in competitive bass fishing events.
For a $38 annual membership to BoatU.S. Angler, members can not only have the peace of mind of
help at their fingertips, but they are eligible to win hundreds if not thousands in tournament bonuses by
posting the highest-place finish in a sanctioned B.A.S.S., FLW, PAA or ACA event.
REGISTER
FISH
REDEEM
Sign up for a BoatU.S. Angler membership and purchase one or both of the following towing services:
Unlimited On-The-Water Towing or Unlimited On-The-Road Towing Service Trailer Assist. Complete the
Official Weigh-to-Win Registration (online or via fax or email).
Sanctioned Weigh-to-Win events and post the highest-placing finish among program participants.
Submit the official Weigh-to-Win contingency award form within 30 days of the finish to win the cash.
For questions or help signing up, contact Kendell at the Weigh-to-Win Office
(918) 742-6424, or send email to [email protected]
2013 EVENTS AND PAYOUTS
Events
Payment
Events
Payment
FLW OUTDOORS
Bassmaster Tournament Trail
Bassmaster Classic-1 event
Highest placing eligible entrant
$1,500
FLW Tour Championship-1 event
Boater $1,500
Bassmaster Elite Series-8 events
$500
FLW Tour Majors-6 events
Boater
$500
Bassmaster Opens-9 events
Boater
$300
FLW Tour Opens-4 events Highest placing eligible entrant
Boater
$500
Bassmaster Weekend Series-100 regular season events
Boater
$150
EverStart Series-20 events
Boater
$300
Bassmaster Weekend Series Regional Divisionals-4 events
Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship-1 event Highest placing eligible entrant
Boater
$250
EverStart Series Championship-1 event
Boater
$1,000
Boater
$750
BFL-120 events
Boater
$150
BFL Regional-6 events
Boater
$250
BFL Championship-1 event Highest placing eligible entrant
Boater
$1,000
BASS FEDERATION NATION PROGRAM
State Qualifier
State Qualifier to the National Championship
$250
Federation Nation Regional Divisional Events-6 events Highest placing eligible entrant
Boater
$250
National Championship-1 event
Boater
$1,000
Professional Anglers Association (PAA)
PAA Bass Pro Shops Series-4 events
$500
Association of Collegiate Anglers
TBF PROGRAM
State Qualifier
State Qualifier to the National Championship
$250
TBF Regional Divisional Events-7 events
Boater
$250
National Championship-1 event
Boater
$1,000
BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship-1 event
Highest placing eligible team
$1,000
2013
2013
The
Spook
Master
Missouri’s Campbell perfected
a magical topwater dance
By Mark Hicks
Missouri’s enduring, endearing
Charlie Campbell, one of the
original Bassmaster pros, fell
doing yard work last fall and
broke his hip. It took something
that serious to prevent Campbell,
79, from fishing his beloved
Ozark Mountain lakes.
BoatU.S. Angler
Summer 2013
Charlie Campbell shows why his
name was once synonymous with
the Zara Spook. (Mark Hicks photo)
33
BoatU.S. Angler
Back then, teachers hardly made any
money. Nearly all the coaches took
to guiding to make extra cash on
the weekends and in the summer
B
ass fishing these still, pristine
waters runs deep within Campbell’s
psyche. He feels the creeks and
rivers that feed these reservoirs coursing
through his veins.
Born in Wheeling, Ark., “a wide spot
in the road,” in 1933, Campbell’s parents
moved to Ava, Mo., when he was 3 years old.
His father, Andy, left the farm behind and
took a job as a mail carrier. Besides hauling
the mail, his pickup truck was loaded with
25-pound blocks of ice that folks on his
route would buy for their ice boxes.
Campbell’s initial fishing experiences
happened in the creeks near home with
a willow pole, sewing thread for line and
hooks fashioned from safety pins. As soon
as he was big enough, he tagged along with
his father on night fishing adventures to
Beaver and Cowskin creeks. His father’s
wading apparel was a pair of bib overalls.
“A boat was a luxury we couldn’t afford,”
Campbell said. “When it got too cold to
wade in overalls, we quit fishing.”
His father’s steel baitcasting rod sported
a reel that had no level wind guide. He used
his thumb to push the braided line back
and forth over the spool while cranking.
Invariably, the line was knotted to a wooden
topwater plug that coaxed strikes from
smallmouth bass and goggle-eye. Campbell
well remembers the steady plop-plop-plop
of a Jitterbug emanating through the night.
One of Campbell’s treasures is a small
aluminum tackle box that belonged to his
father. It fits nicely in the chest pocket of
a pair of overalls. The scarred Jitterbugs
and Crazy Crawlers inside are some of the
very plugs Campbell listened to on those
bewitching nights long ago.
Campbell fished creeks near home often
while growing up. After graduating from
Ava High School, he matriculated to Drury
University in Springfield. He graduated
with a Masters in education and the goal
of becoming a principle or superintendent.
His educational career started on
the right path when he landed a job at
Forsyth High School in 1957. There,
Campbell taught health, physical education
and driver’s training. He was also responsible
for coaching all team sports, including
track, baseball, basketball, and girl’s
softball and volleyball. His volleyball teams
lost only three games over a 10-year span.
Soon after being gainfully employed,
Campbell bought his first boat. The 15-foot
aluminum flat-bottom was powered by a
5 hp Johnson outboard. He began fishing
Bull Shoals and Taneycomo regularly and
became a fishing guide on these reservoirs.
“Back then, teachers hardly made any
money,” Campbell says. “Nearly all the
coaches took to guiding to make extra cash
on the weekends and in the summer.”
Campbell started his guiding career at
Highway K Boat Dock near Branson, which
is still in business today. He would sit in
the back seat of his johnboat and quietly
paddle his customers within casting range
of the bank.
“I learned to paddle from the back so I
could watch two customers in front of me,”
Campbell says. “If I had a guy that couldn’t
cast worth a darn, I’d get the boat way out
from the bank so he wouldn’t be hung up
all the time.”
During this pre catch-and-release era,
fishermen kept the bass they caught for
food. The daily limit was 10 bass per angler. Campbell’s clients usually caught their
limits, and he would add his 10-bass to
their larder. The liberal limits eventually
put the bass populations in decline. The
Missouri and Arkansas fish and game
departments responded with more stringent
creel limits.
“That saved our bass fishing,” Campbell says.
From top: Campbell in a Ranger boat with stick
steering in 1971. Fishing Bull Shoals in 1957
was a great success. Campbell poses around
1990. (Courtesy Charlie Campbell)
BoatU.S. Angler
34
Summer 2013
Campbell eventually upgraded to a 16-foot fiberglass V bottom boat matched
with a flat-topped 40 hp Johnson outboard. A major improvement that
appeared about this time was the electric trolling motor. Campbell installed
one on his transom next to the outboard.
“I’d sit on a little cushion on top of the Johnson and run the electric motor
with my foot,” Campbell says. “Bull Shoals was one of the best bass lakes in the
country then. We caught lots of 7- and 8-pound largemouths.”
Campbell shows off a catch
in the first aluminum Bass
Tracker boat in 1978.
Zaragossa
It was during this phase of Campbell’s life that he was introduced to the
Zaragossa, a fishing lure that would forever change his life. The stogie-shaped
topwater stickbait was the predecessor of the Heddon Zara Spook.
Due to his coaching, Campbell was well-known and respected in his
community. Everyone knew he was also a skilled bass fishing guide. That
included Wilber Hicks, who introduced himself to Campbell and invited him
on a float-fishing trip. Campbell claims that Hicks was the first to run float
trips on the White River, which was then done with wooden johnboats.
“The first time I fished with Wilber, he pulled out the Zaragossa and started
catching a slew of big ol’ bass on it,” Campbell says. “Nobody back then really
knew how to work one.”
Campbell and Hicks fished together many times thereafter. For Campbell,
it was an education that surpassed anything he learned in college. Hicks
mesmerized Campbell by making the Zaragossa sashay back and forth with
the dog-walking retrieve.
“Wilber could walk the Zaragossa sideways 6 to 10 feet on a long cast and
make it dance all the way around a cedar tree,” Campbell says.
Campbell was determined to emulate what Hicks was doing with the lure.
The more Campbell practiced, the better he got. He eventually became a
master with it.
Bass Pro Shops came out with its first flat bottom
float boat in 1981. (Courtesy Charlie Campbell)
35
BoatU.S. Angler
About this time, the Bass Anglers
Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) was catching
fire across the country. Campbell started
fishing weekend tournaments and
winning them with the Zara Spook. Many
other anglers were fishing with topwater
baits, but the Spook, when worked
with Campbell’s dog-walking retrieve,
consistently drew strikes from bigger bass.
Campbell’s guiding and tournament
success encouraged him to change professions. He retired from teaching in 1973,
the year his boy’s basketball team won the
Missouri High School State Championship.
He boldly embarked on a new profession
that had never been heard of—pro bass
fisherman.
His big break came in 1974 when he
won a Bassmaster Federation National
Championship at Table Rock Lake and
qualified for the Bassmaster Classic. His
winning lure there was the Zara Spook.
Campbell ran away with the tournament
with a total of 55 pounds, 15 ounces. In
second place with 38 pounds, 5 ounces
was Virginia’s Woo Daves, who would win
the Bassmaster Classic 26 years later.
After fishing the 1974 Classic, Campbell
competed in one or two professional
Bassmaster Invitational tournaments a
BoatU.S. Angler
year. He would have fished more of them,
but the $100 entry fee didn’t fit his budget.
It was at one of these Invitationals
that Campbell met a young Springfield, Mo.,
angler just out of college named Johnny
Morris. A skilled bass fisherman, Morris
would qualify for five consecutive Bassmaster Classics. When Campbell met him,
Morris had already given birth to a fledgling
catalog business called Bass Pro Shops.
Besides fishing tournaments, doing
seminars and Tracker Boat promotions
across the country, Campbell had other
duties. One of them was to inform Morris
of any new hot lures on the tournament
trail that should be included in the Bass
Pro Shops catalog. Another was to check
out other bass boats at tournaments to see
if there were any innovations that could be
added to Tracker boats.
“Johnny (Morris) and I became friends and we’d
go fishing now and then. He got so busy with Bass
Pro Shops that he had to quit fishing tournaments.”
“Johnny and I became friends and we’d go
fishing now and then,” Campbell says. “He
got so busy with Bass Pro Shops that he had
to quit fishing tournaments.”
Morris offered Campbell a deal in
1977 that he couldn’t refuse. If Campbell
would come to work for Bass Pro Shops,
Morris would pay for Campbell’s professional Bassmaster tournaments. This was
about the time that Morris introduced
Tracker Boats.
36
In the 1970s, Campbell did a promotional
film showing how he walked the dog with
a Zara Spook. He imparted lively side-toside, dart-and-glide action to the stickbait.
It was pure magic. Campbell’s skill with the
Spook became so widely known that his
name became synonymous with the lure.
Campbell qualified for five Bassmaster
Classics between 1974 and 1984. At these
championship events, the competitors were
given a large Plano 777 drawer-style tackSummer 2013
Walking the dog
with Charlie
Colors: Frog finish, shore
minnow, foil or chrome, flitter
shad.
Equipment: 5 1/2 foot mediumlight graphite casting rod with
pistol-style handle; 5.0:1 casting
reel; 14- to 17- pound-test mono.
This is one of Charlie Campbell’s modified
Zara Spooks, as evidenced by the red
patch where he drilled a hole. It rests atop
one of the five Plano tackle boxes he
was given each time he qualified for the
Bassmaster Classic. (Mark Hicks photo)
le box that had their name inscribed on a
metal plate. Each competitor was allowed
to put no more than 10 pounds of lures in
their box. They could fish with no other
lures during the Classic.
Campbell still has all five of his Classic
tackle boxes. One of them is a permanent
fixture in his Nitro bass boat. He calls
it his “boat box.” The trays hold battletested lures that have proven themselves
over the years.
Many of these are topwater plugs that
Campbell has modified to achieve the
perfect balance he demands. He does this
by drilling holes in the lures, adding or
removing weights, and moving internal
BBs from one lure chamber to another.
In 1986 Campbell officially retired
from Bass Pro Shops, but he stays on in an
advisory roll and to participate in promotions. That leaves him with ample time to
ply Missouri’s clear mountain lakes with
his topwater plugs.
He lives with Wanda, his wife of 56
years, in a home perched on a 360-foot bluff
overlooking Lake Taneycomo near Forsyth.
The couple fishes together often, and they’ve
competed as a team in many tournaments.
“We can be fishing Taneycomo in 10
minutes,” Campbell says.
He claims they fished Taneycomo every
day for a solid month last summer when the
bass were on a feeding frenzy.
“Wanda doesn’t like topwatering at
all,” Campbell says. “Her main thing is
Carolina rigging a lizard. She can outfish
most of the men I fish with and always
catches a big bass.”
On practice days prior to a tournament,
Wanda insists that Campbell weigh the
bigger bass she catches and take pictures
of them.
“She does that so she can brag that she
beat me,” Campbell says.
Wanda caught her biggest bass while she
and Campbell were practicing for a tournament
at Truman Reservoir. Windy conditions
hampered Campbell’s topwater bite, but
Wanda hooked and landed a 9-pound,
6-ounce, largemouth with her lizard.
No doubt, the bass in Missouri’s Ozark
lakes were happy to see Campbell sidelined by a broken hip. The bad news for the
bass is that Campbell is mending nicely.
No doubt, he will continue plugging for
years to come.
Campbell’s hands shake, but his eyes are
clear. He still thrills to a topwater strike
and can make a Zara Spook do a magical
dance. n
37
Seasons: Can work year-round;
pre-spawn to late fall is best.
Water Clarity - Will work best in
clearer water. Use lighter colors
in clear (chrome, foil finish, or
shore minnow). In stained water,
dark colors are best (frog, or
darker shore minnow.)
Depth: In clear water, the
technique can pull fish from
depths of 15 to 18 feet. In
stained, usually 4 to 6 feet is
best.
Presentation: Longer casts are
best. Cast well beyond target to
achieve walking action prior to
reaching target.
Retrieve: Normal walking is
achieved by short, rhythmic
twitches of the rod tip. Use only
the wrist and make each pull
equal distance. To half-step,
alternate the speed and length
of your cadence, giving one
long pull followed by one quick,
short pull, another long, a short
pull, etc.
Rigging: Campbell prefers tying
to a No. 3 snap. Split rings also
work. The important thing is
not to overweight the front of
the lure. To modify the lure’s
buoyancy when it sits too low
or high in the water, you can
change the hooks.
BoatU.S. Angler
Getting a line on apps
Rundown of the best fishing apps on the market
By Jay Kumar
Choosing the best fishing apps is a point-in-time exercise simply because apps change and new ones are coming out all
the time. What makes it tougher is there aren’t a lot of across-the-board apps yet. Many look great but don’t work well,
or just aren’t useful. With that disclaimer, following are some of our favorites in
alphabetical order.
But first, what’s an app? Anyone with a smartphone or tablet computer knows
apps as little icons—some downloaded free, some a few bucks—that when clicked
open a small world of functionality. No surprise there since “app” is short for
“application,” which means a software program.
Since it’s software, there actually are two kinds of apps: ones only useable on
a phone and/or tablet like an iPad, and web-based apps useable on any device
including computers. Here the focus is mostly on the former, but include a couple
of web apps. These are only apps that are useful no matter where in the country
you fish.
Angling-Technologies.com
BassGold.com
Description: Web app that is one of the
Description:
best fishing map services right now. Lots of
thousands of bass tournament patterns
great features including shaded depths and
(how/where/what),
contour lines, and the ability to mark, save
data, then crunches that data to provide
and download/upload waypoints. Cost:
recommendations. In other words, you
$14.99/year, or less than $1.50/month.
benefit from the fish-finding and fish-
than a tank of gas, but some may find it
Pluses: Great maps, easy to use, most
catching of the nation’s best bess anglers.
costly. We’d love to see it as a mobile app.
contour data available in any one place,
Companion iPhone/Android app is in the
Why It’s Good: It’s pretty incredible.
and really helps you visualize what’s under
works. Cost: $35/year membership, less
One example: BassGold was 92 percent
the water. Minuses: Narrow scope, so
than $3/month. Pluses: It really works,
accurate in predicting 2012 Bassmaster
no weather or fish-catch data. Why It’s
nothing else like it, cuts way down on
Elite Series winning patterns and weights,
Good: Does what it does very well, and it
fish-finding time, database and features
earning props from bass experts like Mark
continually evolves for no extra cost.
constantly growing. Minuses: Cheaper
Zona, Jerry McKinnis and many others.
BoatU.S. Angler
Web app that takes
turns
38
them
into
Summer 2013
BoatUS Towing Services
Navionics
Description: Enables you to easily request an on-the-water or onthe-road tow when you need it, plus other useful features. Cost: Free,
Description:
Chartplotter from the
no BoatUS membership needed even for a tow. Tow fee depends on
leader in electronic navi-
BoatUS membership level. Pluses: App’s GPS works even when out
gation charts, Navionics,
of cell range, boaters have been found this way! Easily carry a digital
plus
membership card for discounts at some marinas. Minuses: Can’t
features. Cost: $9.99
think of any. Why It’s Good: A simple app that works well and can
for the U.S. only, $14.99 for the U.S. and
literally be a lifesaver.
Canada.
lots
of
useful
Pluses: Great charts, great
features (too many to mention), you can
Knot-Tying Apps
Description:
Diagrams,
videos
tie
animation,
of
how
fishing
to
knots.
download a chart so you can navigate
My Fishing
Advisor
without cell service. Minuses: Track-up
orientation missing. You may miss other
Description:
A popular app that
gives
fishing
advice
functions from a “real” a GPS/chartplotter unit.
Why It’s Good: Amazing charts that
used to cost hundreds of dollars now on
your phone, can work without a cell signal,
we’re
not
for all species based
of
knot
on current conditions
apps because once you
and certain parameters
learn how to tie a few of the strongest
you enter. Cost: Free. Pluses: Multi-
knots (e.g., Palomar), why do you need
species (can be a minus for some), gives you
an app with tons of knots? That said,
a starting point, at times has very
Orvis Fly
Fishing
lots of people find these apps enjoyable.
on-point advice. Minuses: Sometimes
Description:
Two of the best are Fishing Knots for
can be too generic or offbase, and is based
Highly regarded as the
Android (by Perished-Apps), and Knot
on fish behavior generalities rather than
best fly fishing app,
Wars. Cost: Free. Pluses: Tons of
actual catch information. Why
It’s
feature-rich: fly guide,
fishing knots at your fingertips. Minuses:
Good: It’s helped a lot of people find
videos, podcasts, fishing
A few knots, including knots for certain
and catch different species of fish, and for
reports. Cost: $9.99,
line or hook types, are left out, though this
multi-species anglers it has a lot of info.
but
Honestly
huge
fans
cool features.
you
get
a
could be fixed with updates. Also, there’s
$10.00 Orvis gift card with purchase and
no substitute for having someone show
registration. Pluses: Covers the bases from
you in the real, 3D world how to tie a knot.
beginner to expert, something for everyone,
Why It’s Good: These apps can help if
and well done. Minuses: Can’t think of any.
you’re still using the improved clinch, or if
Why It’s Good: Well-organized, easy to
you don’t want to surf Google results for a
navigate, nothing else as good in fly fishing.
particular knot.
39
BoatU.S. Angler
Denny Brauer shuts down at his winning spot
during the Elite Series Arkansas River event.
(Steve Bowman photo)
Denny Brauer
Still Very
Much on
the Radar
Twilight hardly quiet for retired
bass-fishing legend
By David A. Brown
When you do what you
love, you’ll love what
you do and that’s usually
enough to keep you doing
what you love long after
you need to do it.
41
Brauer has had success even after announcing
his retirement. (David A. Brown photo)
W
ell, Denny Brauer
loves fishing and he
loves the business of
professional fishing;
so, it’s no surprise that
even after retiring from the professional
bass stage, he’s still one of the sport’s most
visible and endearing figures.
A pile of B.A.S.S. victories, including the
1998 Bassmaster Classic, certainly does
much for one’s public persona; as does
his place entry as an inaugural member
of the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of
Fame; as does an appearance on Late Show
with David Letterman (1998). Oh, and
the whole first-angler-on-the-Wheatiesbox thing—enough said.
Notwithstanding the abundant accolades,
anyone who missed the retirement news
might have a hard time drawing that
conclusion, what with the way Brauer
kicked off his first year of taking it easy:
On February 16, he won the FLW Everstart
Texas Division tournament on Toledo Bend.
A week prior, TV viewers saw him raise
the first-place trophy in the Jack Link’s
Major League Fishing 2013 General Tire
Summit Cup on New York’s Chautauqua
Lake. (MLF’s made-for-TV format keeps
tournament locations and results under
wraps until they’re broadcast.)
“The timing was kinda awesome, with
me going to the Bassmaster Classic
(Feb. 22-24) to work it for my sponsors, it
was pretty cool,” Brauer said. ‘Having just
accomplished those (wins), the feedback I
got was just phenomenal and it was very,
very gratifying.”
Technically, the MLF win occurred prior
to Brauer’s retirement announcement last
fall, but notching a big ‘W’ right before
and then right after that transition could
not have been better scripted. Brauer
knows well that the timing of such news is
simply invaluable—on a professional and a
personal level. Competitive spirit is a force
that defies completion, and two big wins
at this juncture provided a great start to
the next phase of his life—a beginning of
BoatU.S. Angler
“
I think every
win is very
gratifying,
no matter
what stage of
your career
it happens
in. But when
it happens in
the twilight
years of your
career, I
think it really
personally
validates what
you’re out
there trying
to do…
”
complete departure from the thrilling ride
of three prior decades.
“I think every win is very gratifying,
no matter what stage of your career it
happens in,” he said. “But when it happens
in the twilight years of your career, I think
it really personally validates what you’re out
there trying to do more than anything else.
I think we all go through these different
mindsets of ‘Will we ever win another
event?’ ‘Are we still good enough to win
another event?’ ‘Are these guys getting too
good?’ ‘Am I getting too old?’
“A lot of those doubts and questions creep
up, but really, we haven’t lost the ability—
it’s just when the stars align or you get on
the right bunch of fish and you have one of
those tournaments where you’re executing
well and everything comes together and
you end up winning. I’ve been at it long
enough to know that hopefully, there
42
are a lot more wins out there. That said,
I’m not going to be competing as much,
so when you do get fortunate enough to
win a couple of events, you really do
cherish them.”
STATS AND SPILLS
After cutting his teeth in B.A.S.S.
federation events while paying the bills as a
mason, Brauer fished his first pro event in
1980 on Lake of the Ozarks. With skill
and determination racing neck-and-neck,
he earned his first of 21 Classic berths in
1982. In 1987, he captured the Bassmaster
Angler of the Year award, while ‘93
brought a particularly meaningful win
at the Bassmaster Superstars event on a
particularly tough Illinois River.
From there through 2012, Brauer continued to amass wins and top-10 finishes
that would take a good while to recite.
Summer 2013
MORE FACETIME
Although his days of national level
competition are behind him, Denny
Brauer’s mix of tournaments and
sponsor promotion remains. He just
has more time for the latter now.
“All of my sponsors have stayed
on board and (retirement) gives me
a little more time to go interact with
fans and do more promotions,” he
said. “It’s very gratifying the support I
have gotten from the fans, how much
they follow your career and all the
well wishes.
“We’re just so fortunate—every-
body involved in our industry—to be
dealing with people who truly love
what we do and love the sport. Now
that I’m living in Del Rio, I can’t pull
into a gas station without meeting
two or three new friends. Everyone’s
just so supportive—it’s awesome.”
One
of
the
most
enjoyable
aspects of retirement, Brauer said,
is the more relaxed pace his life
Of course, it wouldn’t be right to omit
his stellar 1998 run during which Brauer
won four Bassmaster events, claimed his
only Classic trophy, earned the FLW AOY
title and finished eighth at the Forrest
Wood Cup.
Those who follow this sport understand
that such a resume requires a level of
commitment, time, energy and sacrifice
that few can handle. In Brauer’s case, you
can add the kind of physical discomforts
that really test one’s mettle. To say he
played through the pain would be an
understatement.
Multiple knee problems led to replacement
surgery, but two particular incidents
delivered spinal cord injuries that could
have permanently sidelined him. Once
occurred on Lake St. Clair when a large
speedboat passed him and kicked up a
huge wave that popped his boat into the
air and brought him crashing down hard
enough to crush a disc in his lower back.
That was bad, but a 1989 float trip
on the Osage River took a turn for the
nearly-tragic when he and his son Chad
went overboard and ended up trapped
under a log jam. Forcing his way up through
all that wood inflicted a similar injury to
his neck.
“I had these potential career-ending
moments that were very traumatizing
because I didn’t know how it was going to
end up,” Brauer said. “It was something
you just had to fight through and you
always ask yourself what type of career
you could have had if you had stayed healthy.
That was always a little bit of a negative
thing that dwelled on me but the fact that I
never had to quit and continued to fish
through and they were able to patch Humpty
Dumpty together—that was huge.”
43
follows without the nearly non-stop
cycle of tournament preparation and
competition. Weekends frequently
find him flying out to promotional
events, but weekdays are often spent
fun fishing nearby Lake Amistad.
Brauer’s balancing this increased
flexibility and fan face time with a
schedule of regional tournaments
that keeps him close to the game he
still dearly loves.
“I’m
still
competitive,”
Brauer
said. “I still have enough scattered
tournaments in my schedule that I
can still get that euphoric feeling of
competition.”
—David A. Brown
BoatU.S. Angler
MEANINGFUL MOMENTS
Asking Brauer to share his favorite
career memory presents a real headscratcher—but not for any recollection
deficit. He turned 63 this year, but Brauer’s
still sharp as the hook on his namesake
Strike King Premier Pro Model jig. Fact
is he’s been blessed with not only a lot of
tournament success, but also a lot people
success. Here’s just a sampling of the
high points.
His Big Break: Rarely is the path of success trodden in solitude. Along the way,
special people typically play key roles in
the journey of those with great potential.
Brauer said he’ll always remember Ranger
Boats founder Forrest Wood and his wife
Nina for their early and ongoing support.
After placing 20th in his first pro event on
Lake of the Ozarks, the Woods approached
him and stated that if he was interested in
pursuing a pro career, they were interested
in supporting him.
“I approached that event as a one-time
deal to see whether I could compete,”
Brauer said. “I don’t know if I ever would
have fished another one if it hadn’t been
for sponsorship opportunities that they
offered. Forrest and Nina and Ranger
Boats were truly instrumental in me even
having a career, so I think that’s where it
all started.
“You look at different things that materialize over your career, like my association
with Strike King. John Barns is not only
the owner of the company, but he’s one of
Relationships mean
as much to him as the
fish catching. (James
Overstreet photo)
my best friends. I’ve been really fortunate
to have been with the right companies and
those associations have been long-term. It
makes everything I do fun. Everybody likes
to go fishing; some people don’t like to do
the business end. But the business end for
me has been fun because of the companies
I’m working with.”
Profound Impact: One of the important
points Brauer learned about business came
from the tall man in the cowboy hat. In the
early days of his public appearances, he did
several seminars with Forrest Wood and
noted that he always kept a note pad in his
pocket. Each time he promised someone a
post-event follow-up, Wood made a note.
Didn’t matter if it was business related, or
a Ranger hat promised to a young fan—
it went into the notebook for prompt
follow up.
“He followed through with everything
that he ever said he was going to do and
never, ever let anything slip under the rug,”
Brauer recalled. “That just impressed me so
much that I tried to make sure that, during
my career, that I returned every phone
call, every email, etc. and tried to conduct
myself in that professional way. I thought
that was a good lesson early on.”
Cultural Crossover: Structurally, it
was just a piece of folded cardboard with
words and images on the outside. However,
appearing on the Wheaties box in 1998 was
an epic achievement for Denny Brauer.
“It ranks right up there because of the
longevity of it,” he said. “It’s crazy how
much of an impact that has outside our
immediate industry. Year and years later,
people still remember that and, to this
day, when I do an appearance, almost
every time somebody will come up with a
box that they want autographed.
“It was a very gratifying deal. I recognized
the importance and the value of that from a
marketing standpoint. Career-wise, it was one
of the most rewarding things that happened.”
Brauer sure hasn’t waved goodbye to
fishing. (James Overstreet photo)
BoatU.S. Angler
44
Summer 2013
TIPS FROM THE
JIGMASTER
The Classic
win validated his
career, Brauer says.
(Mike Suchan photo)
Denny Brauer has won a lot of
money by flipping a jig and even
though he helped design the Strike
King Premier Pro Model jig that bears
his name, he still checks each one to
make sure each element is just as he
wants it. Here’s a few tips from the
Jigmaster’s prep routine:
CLASSIC CONTEMPLATION
advice—words of wisdom he has personally
Reflecting back on his storied career, followed with obvious results.
Time on the Water: The more you
Brauer said he likes to look at each of his
see, the better you understand complexities.
victories as equally important threads
in a colorful tapestry. There is, however, Tournament fishing hinges on decision
making and the more data you’ve menno overstating the impact of his Classic
tally crunched; the deeper your well of
victory. Retiring without reaching that
knowledge.
summit would’ve been
Develop the Work Ethic:
tough, he admits.
Practicing dawn-’til-dark
“The Classic was the
“When I see
is easier said than done,
thing that eluded me for
another angler
but so is winning a tournaa long time in my career,”
ment.
Brauer said. “I had the
up there holding
Develop Self Confidence:
opportunity several times,
that trophy,
“There’s a lot of networkbut the fish went left and
ing that goes on these days,
I went right. I’d show up
I hope they
but I think a lot of your
at a Classic and the first
appreciated it as truly great anglers try to
thing the media would
do everything on their
want to know is ‘Will this
much as I did.”
own.”
be the year that you finally
Business Skills: Tournado it? So when I did finally
ment checks and sponsor
(win), it was so relieving and so rewarding,
checks both cash the same way, but diligent
not only from the fact that you’ve won the
blending of the two streams yields a river
greatest thing in fishing, but the fact that
of sustainability.
it had been so hard for me to win. I just
“An angler can be successful on tournament
felt that my career would not have been
validated, no matter how many tourna- winnings if he’s a real superstar, but there
ments I won, unless I won the Classic. are very few guys, if you look at the history
of the sport, that could have made a living
When I won, I felt like I truly belonged.”
just off of winnings. If an angler’s a really
Brauer said that seeing his longtime
friend Larry Nixon win the 1983 Classic good promoter, he can probably make a
living just off promoting.
was a special moment, but he feels a
“My advice to an angler is to get really
respectful connection to all who’ve climbed
good at the two and be able to balance both
the mountain. Each year since 1998, when
he watches a new champion lift the trophy, and you can make a great living and you’re
guaranteed to be able to get through those
he understands the momentary elation, as
years when your fishing may not be up to
well as the long-term significance.
par—and everybody’s going to have one of
“When I see another angler up there
holding that trophy, I hope they appreciate
those years—and the endorsement money
it as much as I did,” he said. “That is a very
will carry you through. Treat people the
special club to be a member of.”
way you want to be treated and you’re probFor those just starting their professional
ably going to do really fine in the sport of
bass fishing journey, Brauer offers sage
bass fishing and really fine in life.” n
45
• Test all hook points by pulling
them across your fingernail. Sharp
hooks stick and hold. Those that
drag need a few passes on the
hook file.
• Don’t assume that rattles will
always rattle. Occasionally, a rattle’s
BBs stick to the glue that seals the
chamber. Shake a jig to confirm it
rattles and if it does not, give the
chamber a good thump to loosen
the BBs.
• An active trailer like the Strike
King Rage Craw is a good choice
when fish are aggressive, but if
cold water or high fishing pressure
has them a little timid, bite about
an inch off the body to minimize the
profile, while keeping the wiggle.
• When fish seem spooky, back
away from the cover and switch from
flipping to pitching presentations.
—David A. Brown
The Jig Is Up
Known for flippin’, Brauer
opens up on his go-to lures
By David A. Brown
If you can even spell the
word bass, you know that
Denny Brauer’s career as a
top Bassmaster competitor
was
flippin’
awesome.
That’s largely because of
his awesome flippin’ skills.
BoatU.S. Angler
46
Summer 2013
E
Now that he’s off the national touring circuit
and permanently settled at his long-beloved Lake
Amistad in Del Rio, Brauer finds himself reaching
for finesse baits far less often. For clarity, he knows
how to tie a dropshot and he knows just what
to do with one. But for his now-mostly southern
fishing, he keeps close an arsenal of options that’ll
handle most any scenario he encounters. That heavy
thing with the skirt and weed guard won’t lose his
favor anytime soon, but Brauer makes certain that
between jig bites, he has a bunch of proven alternates ready to step in and get the job done.
“It’s an absolute a necessity to be able to fish
all different lures,” Brauer said. “There may be
stretches of events where I never fished a jig
because the conditions aren’t right. My goal is
always to fish the technique that I think will lend
itself to winning. That’s a ways set up by the lake,
whether it’s high, low, clear, dirty, windy, calm or
different seasonal patterns.
“You have to be versatile if you’re doing this for a
living. If you’re fishing for fun and you like to throw
a plastic worm, well go out and throw it every day.
There’s going to be days when you don’t get any
bites on it, where you might be able to catch them
on a topwater lure. When you’re fishing for money,
you have to be able to adapt.”
Even in his post-retirement era, the 1998 Bassmaster Classic champ is more likely to found
fishing a jig than any other bait. But that’s not to
say Brauer doesn’t appreciate the need for tactical
diversity — in fact, he ranks adaptability as one of
the top skills that delivered a career with 17 wins
and over $2.57 million in B.A.S.S. events alone.
“When I started out fishing, I was a spinnerbait
kind of guy, but when I got into professional fishing
and I analyzed the sport, I realized that in order to
win, you had to have big fish. The creel limits were
going down and down and down. In the old days
it was 15 (daily), then it went to 10 and seven and
finally to five. It became more and more important
to weigh-in quality fish rather than numbers.
“Just analyzing the history of tournament
fishing, the majority of big fish being caught was
on jigs and I just thought that if you could develop
the techniques to really get good at jig fishing
that your odds of winning would go up. And if you
started winning, you would have a great chance of
surviving in the sport. That was my main goal —
to be able to continue to finance myself and
continue professional fishing. I knew the best
way to attract sponsors and attain that goal was
winning and that’s why the jig became my total
focus and I certainly have no regrets.”
Brauer recently gave us a peek
at his lineup of go-to baits è
47
BoatU.S. Angler
Denny
Brauer’s
Tackle
Box
Strike King Tour Grade Football Jig : Brauer’s first choice for
structure fishing as deep as 80 feet, a ¾-ounce his most common
size. Trailer options are usually either a Strike King Rage Chunk
or a Rage Craw. “If it’s sunny and the fishing’s tough, I’ll use the
Chunk because it’s a little shorter and more compact. I’ll trim the
skirt and shorten the trailer. If I’m trying to appeal to the big fish,
I’ll use the Rage Craw.”
Strike King Denny Brauer Premier Pro Model Flipping Jig:
For most flipping or pitching heavy cover or skipping boat docks,
Brauer goes with his signature jig in ⅜- to ½-ounce size. In warm
water he likes the action of a Rage Craw, whereas in cold water,
the more subtle Chunk is best.
Strike King 6XD Crankbait: For all of his deep cranking
scenarios where he needs to consistently hit 16-18 feet, the 6XD
is Brauer’s favorite most anywhere he fishes. With long casts on
12-pound fluorocarbon, he can touch 20 feet deep. Sexy blueback
herring is one of his favorite all-around colors.
Strike King KVD 2.5 Squarebill Crankbait: In heavy shoreline
cover, Brauer likes banging this sturdy squarebill across wood or
rock. Colors vary by season and forage, but one of his favorites is
the green and orange DB Craw that he designed. In any pattern,
Brauer said he feels comfortable that this bait will hold on to whatever bites. “It handles big enough hooks to handle big fish.”
Strike King Sexy Dog Topwater: A relatively new bait, this
walker fits Brauer’s second-favorite style of fishing (behind jigs).
A great choice for schooling bass, the Sexy Dog comes in 2-hook
and 3-hook models, both with an internal weight for long casts.
“The first day I got these baits in, I went out (on Lake Amistad) and
tested them and caught 63 fish up to 6 pounds. What a fun bait
to fish.”
Strike King Redeye Shad Lipless Crankbait: Grass fishing
means this popular lipless bait is always on Brauer’s deck — crawfish colors in stained water, shad colors in clear water. Although
the ½-ounce size is probably most common Brauer goes big with
a ¾-ounce Redeye Shad. “At this point in my life, the challenge
for me is catching big fish and that ¾-ounce just appeals to those
bigger fish better.”
BoatU.S. Angler
Strike King Sexy Frog: When the grass mats up, Brauer loves
to work this hollow body bait over the vegetation where vicious
strikes are the expectation. White is his favorite color, as it’s easily
tracked by fish and fisherman. “I was out here (on Amistad) last
June and the frog bite was on. This bait (pictured here) got totally
abused. You can see it’s all torn up.”
48
Summer 2013
Strike King Premier Plus Spinnerbait: A ½-ounce is his
average size for fishing over brush or through hydrilla pockets,
but at home on Lake Amistad, Brauer fishes a lot of deep-water
scenarios with heavy models up to 1¼ ounces. The greenish tint
of the Sexy Blueback Herring color is very effective in clear water.
“I leave the Premier Plus skirt the full length because I normally
fish a trailer hook and the longer skirt hides that trailer hook. If I
feel I need to shorten it, I’ll cut it off even with the back of the trailer
hook. With the vibration of the blades, the skirt actually quivers as
it’s going through the water.”
Flipping Hook and a Strike King Tour Grade tungsten weight of
⅜- to 1-ounce. His top plastic baits are (L-R): A 4½-inch Strike
King Flipping Tube for spawning scenarios. “This bait has
probably accounted for more numbers of flipping fish over the
years for me than all the other baits put together, including the
jig. It’s a real numbers bait.”
When he wants to flip a bait that has a little more action for
summer time, he goes with the Strike King Rage Craw. For a more
subtle flipping presentation that’s more compact than a jig (ideal
for prespawn), Brauer throws the Strike King Rodent.
Flipping Baits: During the prespawn through spawn and
then during the summer months, Brauer said he gets most of
his bites flipping specific targets. When he’s not flipping a jig,
he likes soft plastics Texas rigged with a Mustad Grip Pin Max
49
BoatU.S. Angler
“Mine is the
smallmouth, or
bronzeback, brown
bass, smallie or
whatever it is you
call them in your
neck of the woods.”
Pick Your
Poison
I’ve been lucky to fish for a lot of different species, from 1,000-pound
sturgeon to giant muskie and bull reds. Just lots and lots of species of
fish.
While all those fish live in varying degrees of depths, me, personally,
I’m a shallow individual, more mentally than anything else. I am. I have
no problem saying it. Smallmouth bass are the only reason I live in the
state of Michigan. My wife would not disagree.
Sure it’s a nice state, blah, blah, blah, but there’s a lot of nice states.
There are not a lot of nice states that have the population of smallmouth
bass Michigan has. Yep, there’s a few. I’m not discarding the fish in New
York and Minnesota. And Wisconsin, let’s not leave them out. Strange
folks, but good smallmouth fishing.
But smallmouth bass are by far the reason I live in the state of
Michigan. My family and I endure incredibly harsh winters to chase
that fish. There’s just something about them.
You could be a guy in northern Alabama, or about anywhere else,
saying “You’re an idiot, largemouth are the best.” You could be in south
Alabama, saying the “Coosa River spot is the best.” A dude in South
Dakota might argue walleye are the best. I understand that.
It’s what trips your trigger. Pick your poison. Mine is the smallmouth,
or bronzeback, brown bass, smallie or whatever it is you call them in
your neck of the woods.
As a kid, I remember watching Jerry McKinnis doing “The Fishin’
Hole” and saying his favorite fish was the smallmouth bass. I know why.
Whether you catch a 12-inch smallmouth or a 7-pounder, there is
something about the attitude of the fish, all the way from the bite to his
jump to his surge. And when you get him in the boat, they’re so damn
ticked off to have gotten tricked, you can feel their bodies tense up. If
they had legs or arms, they’d probably try to slug or kick you.
They don’t often come to play alone, either. Yeah, the granddads do,
the 6- and 7-pounders, but the 2- to 5-pound fish have a tendency to
gang up.
I’ve said before, back when we were covering the Redfish Cup; any
good red fishermen would be a great smallmouth fishermen. Any great
smallmouth fishermen would be a fantastic red fishermen. It’s an extremely visual fish.
I would say we’re using our eyes on 70 percent of the smallmouth we
catch before they go deep each year. There’s no better way to catch fish
than that.
What’s amazing, when you’re using your eyes and you find a pack
hunter, the dude that’s roaming the alleyways with the other bad kids,
is after you catch one, it seems like the others want to go toe-to-toe
with you.
BoatU.S. Angler
50
There’s just not many fish in freshwater like that. There are in saltwater, but God created a perfect specimen when he created the smallmouth bass.
Now you can agree or disagree. I respect that. I respect the fish you
have an attachment to.
One thing I’ve noticed about anglers’ favorite fish. When folks I fish
with tell me their favorite species to catch, I’m always amazed they, the
angler and the fish, often have similar character traits. I know phenomenal muskie fishermen who have certain traits a muskie possesses, and
the same goes for some red fishermen and the few alligator gar fishermen I’ve met. You know who you are.
Think about your favorite fish and wonder to yourself do you share
some of the same characteristics? I know I do. n
Win a day of fishing with Mark Zona!
Current members as of August 31, 2013 are automatically entered
to win. But you can increase your odds by recruiting new BoatU.S.
Angler members.
See BoatUS.com/Angeler/Zona_contest
for more details.
Summer 2013
Braggin' Board
2013 BoatU.S. Angler “Catch of the Month”
Spring Winners
Contest runs
through Oct 31.
Enter today at
BoatUSangler.com/contes
t
May Saltwater Winner
April Freshwater Winner
Thomas Maxey / Stockton, CA / 11 lb., 1 oz. Largemouth Bass
Alex Nicholas / Gulf Breeze, FL
40+ lb. Amberjack
Our Proud Sponsors
April Saltwater Winner
Richard DeMarte / White Plains, NY
13.5 lb. Striped Bass
Monthly prizes
include a one year
BoatUS ANGLER
Members hip!
May Freshwater Winner
Burnie Haney / Calcium, NY / 6 lb., 7 oz. Largemouth Bass
Enter your big catch!
www.BoatUSAngler.com/contest
51
BoatU.S. Angler

Green Bay Isn`t Just Football The Spook Master Tricky

Transcription

Similar documents

2015 Newsletter - Niobe Lake Lodge

Ground Fish Game Plan - Tuna

dry fish

The Poseidon Adventure: Humanity`s Experiment and Love Affair

July2016NEWSLETTER - Portsmouth Anglers Club

SARTIN MARINE - The Fisherman`s Guide, News You Can Use!

Presidents Castings Don`t forget the Sailfish Pot Parties May 1, 2010

19 FT Center Console Boat Comparison | Yamaha Boats

Steve Croll - American Bass Association of Eastern PA and NJ

Go Fish - Cloudinary