Anchoring technology has come a long way since the early days of boating. Power-Poles and Minn Kota Talons are remote-controlled anchoring systems that are great for inshore anglers, and Minn Kota’s iPilot and Motorguide’s xi5 trolling motors lock on to a satellite through GPS and keep a boat’s position steady, leaving anglers free to fish without having to worry about the boat slipping off the fishing hole.
Yellowfin tuna may be just a memory for bluewater fishermen along much of the south Atlantic coast, but if you’re heading out of Oregon inlet in a big offshore boat, they’re very much a part of the fishing scene, especially in June.
Fishermen won’t be allowed to keep any red snapper in the Atlantic Ocean this year, after a May 20 announcement from NOAA Fisheries explaining that the total number of fish removed from the population in 2015 exceeded the allowable catch and discard level — somewhat surprising since there was no open season last year.
Catching a dolphin and releasing it may sound like sheer lunacy to some bluewater anglers, but there is a sound reason to let a few go each year.
Few organisms in the ocean can match the fast life cycle of the dolphin fish, coryphaena hippurus. Dolphin reach sexual maturity at four to five months, where it takes a king mackerel three years to spawn. The world-record dolphin, 87 pounds was believed to be slightly less than five years old. By comparison, the world-record king mackerel, a 93-pound fish, was thought to be closer to 25 years old.
1) Using a thawed, small/medium, high-quality ballyhoo, remove the bait’s eyes with an arrow shaft.
2) Use cutting pliers to remove the bait’s pectoral fins.
“This is a great time of year for anglers along the coast. There is a lot going on, inshore, nearshore, and offshore. Everything is biting,” said Capt. Ned Campbell of Murrells Inlet Outpost. […]
Responding to concerns from the public and data collected by S.C. Department of Natural Resources biologists, the South Carolina General Assembly has passed legislation to help rebuild the state’s cobia fishery. The new cobia regulations, which are effective for the 2016 season after receiving Gov. Nikki Haley’s signature, include a catch-and-release period in May and smaller bag and boat limits.
It’s a warm, early morning in the middle of spring, with a slight breeze out of the southwest. Stephen Hunter keeps his Cape Horn center console in Holden Beach, but he often chooses to use the Cape Fear River channel when leaving before dawn, for no other reason than the reliability of its water. Picking his way behind Oak Island and Southport, he makes a starboard turn into the channel, slips into the ocean, then pushes the throttle down and heads offshore.
Spring fever has arrived along the coast, and a mild winter followed by a warm spring is setting up to make May a tremendous fishing month, especially for anglers with an affliction for the jazzy-colored dolphin.
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