DEALING WITH TEETH

It doesn’t matter if you do your fishing in fresh, salt or brackish water because there are species of game fish in all aquatic environments that come equipped with formidable weapons of the dental variety—teeth. Small razors or big, pointy choppers, they all can have the same result when placed in proximity to fishing line and for the angler on the other end none it ain’t good!

Among the most popular game fish swimming around in North America’s abundant freshwater rivers and lakes are the northern pike, the muskellunge and their diminutive cousin, the chain pickerel, all toothy critters. In bays and along our beaches the bluefish is a notoriously aggressive inshore game fish with teeth sharp enough to make quick work of any baitfish.  Then there are those pesky barracudas, king mackerel and wahoo all of which can snip through line like a pair of fine scissors. Sharks are probably the most well known of saltwater’s toothy critters (what fisherman doesn’t look forward to Shark Week on cable each year?) and their reputation for having a sharp personality is well deserved. Do some traveling to Central and South America, Africa or the Far East and the number of species of fish with awe inspiring dentures increases considerably.

AFW/HI-SEAS has been helping anglers deal with tooth critters for three decades by producing the finest wire and cable leader products in the world. All of their wire and cable is manufactured in their facilities in Valley Township, Pennsylvania using modern equipment run by skilled technicians who continually check the material coming off the line for quality, uniformity and durability. It doesn’t matter which toothy critter you have to contend with, AFW/HI-SEAS has the right leader for you. Tournament fishing for king mackerel is one example.

Kingfish have razor sharp teeth—lots of them—and they are as fast as a speeding bullet when they go on an attack run. When they nail a fish that has been unfortunate enough to get in the crosshairs of their sights it looks like Edward Scissorhands was on the job! Wire leaders are essential for catching these fish. The largest saltwater tournament trail in the world is run by the Southern Kingfish Association, which puts on or sanctions upwards of 60 events each year from Texas to North Carolina and in every state in between. Over the years AFW/HI-SEAS has been one of the SKA’s most reliable corporate sponsors and with good reason, these events provide an ideal testing ground for many of our products, especially wire leader material. AFW/HI-SEAS Tooth Proof Single Strand Stainless Steel leader wire has been the wire of choice for SKA competition teams for close to twenty years because it performs up to the expectations these anglers demand. I rest my case.

AFW/HI-SEAS has a wide selection of wire and braided cables for every use you can think of in freshwater and saltwater. Do you fish ultra light tackle for pickerel? They’ve got you covered with Surflon Micro Supreme in diameters so small you can hardly see it and that will work well with even the tiniest lures. Best of all you can tie it direct using the same knots you use in monofilament line. And while you’re checking out all the leader products at www.americanfishingwire.com be sure to check out the new Titanium Single Strand and Titanium 1X7 braided materials, the latest in products developed at the AFW research facility.

Teeth are no problem for anglers who fish with AFW/HI-SEAS wire and cable leaders. Check out their website and see for yourself.

Caputi’s Blog Tip: Fly fishing for bluefish, kingfish, pike and other tooth critters is great fun, but they are murder on unprotected tippets. That’s why I tie six to 12 inches of Surflon Micro Supreme using a Uni-to-Uni jam knot between the tippet and fly. Properly done, it’s IGFA legal for record fishing, too. 

USE THE RIGHT COMPONENTS FOR CAROLINA RIGS

One of the most productive methods of fishing plastic worms is the time proven Carolina Rig. It differs from the more commonly used Texas Rig, which places the sinker right on the nose of the bait, by moving the weight a couple feet away using a barrel swivel, bead and short leader. The components you use to make your Carolina Rig can affect how successful it is in attracting bites from wary largemouth bass, but we’ll get into that in a minute. First, why use a Carolina Rig in the first place? 

Texas rigged worms are great for shallow water use. You can pitch or cast them into heavy cover and they won’t get hung up. Throw them into the nastiest spots, snake them through the branches of fallen trees, flooded bushes, rip rap, just about anything, without having to worry about negative consequences. Used in this manner they have an enticing action as they fall being pulled down by the slip sinker that slides away from the lure on the drop. Most bites occur on the drop so a low stretch line on your reel like Hi-Seas Grand Slam Braid, Wildfire or 100% Fluorocarbon pays big dividends when fishing Texas rigged worms.

Ah, but the Texas Rig has limitations and when you get it out of shallow cover and into deeper, cleaner bottom areas where bass often retreat to during hot summer weather or when the weather begins to turn cold in the late fall it just doesn’t look very enticing. Fact of the matter is that the worm will have about as much action as a pipe cleaner. That’s where the Carolina Rig takes over. It is right at home in water 10, 15, 20 feet deep and even deeper. The only limitations on depth is increasing the sinker size to get the worm down there and keep it on the bottom. The Carolina Rig keeps the worm separated from the sinker by a couple feet of leader so it can’t inhibit the action as you slide it across the bottom. Use a worm that is slightly buoyant, has a swimming tail or go to a lizard style that looks natural crawling across the bottom and they come alive with the slightest movement.

The rig is easy enough to make. It starts with a standard worm hook tied to an 18 to 24 inch length of leader material. I strongly recommend using Hi-Seas 100% Fluorocarbon for the abrasion resistance and near invisibility it provides, in 16 to 25 lb. test. Remember, lighter leader allows the worm to move more freely back there behind the sinker. At the other end of the leader tie on an AFW Mighty Mini #4 Crane Swivel. Even though they are extremely small the #4 has a breaking strength of 78 lbs. Now slide a slip sinker (¼ to 1 ounce depending on the water depth) and then a tiny plastic bead onto your running line before you tie it to the other side of the swivel and the rig is complete.

The sinker rests against the bead preventing it from jamming on the tiny crane swivel and it also puts out a subtle clacking sound as the sinker bounces back against it while you are working the rig across the bottom.

Carolina rigged worms can be fished using spinning or baitcasting tackle, but be sure you use a moderately stiff graphite rod to enhance your feel and give you a solid hook set when the time comes. Fish the Carolina Rig by making long casts and allowing it to sink to the bottom before you move it. Then reel up any slack line and work the worm by making long, slow sweeps of the rod to the side keeping it horizontal to the water. As you pull it along you will feel the sinker scraping along the bottom and tapping any objects it might come in contact with. A strike can be detected in several ways. You might feel the classic bump through the rod; you might see the line start to move off to one side or another; or the line could tighten up. The last two are indications that a bass has picked up the worm and is swimming away with it. Remember, the bass is pulling the line through the slip sinker, which can dampen the feel of more tradition hits. If you feel or see any of the indicators keep the rod low and strike to the side, not up and over your head. Once you get the hang of it you’ll find the Carolina Rig to be a valuable tactic in your quest to catch largemouth bass. Just be sure to rig ‘em right with Hi-Seas lines and leader material and AFW Mighty Mini Crane Swivels. Using these quality products assures you will get the best performance from your rigs and increase your bites!

Caputi’s Blog Tip:

AFW Mighty Mini swivels and snap swivels are marvels of strength in a tiny package. Old style swivels were made out of brass, which is a soft metal that requires bulk for strength. Mighty Mini’s are finely crafted from stainless steel, which means they are capable of providing three to four times the breaking strength of similarly sized brass swivels. 

Offshore Leader Systems

Canyon fishing is really heating up and a lot of newcomers are heading offshore to get in on the action. One of the key components for successfully pursing tuna and billfish is the leader system and keeping it simple is the way to go. The system I recommend starts with two knots that should be in every offshore angler’s bag of trick and works equally well on any pound class tackle.

Start by creating a double line with the terminal end of the running line using a Bimini Twist. The double line acts as a safety feature when you bring a large fish close to the boat, leader it then gaffed or release it. It’s insurance incase a fish chafes the line or even breaks one of the two legs of the double. It’s saved the bacon many times for me.

For most instances I like the double line to be about 10 feet long, but you can make it longer or shorter if you desire. Then tie a high quality ball bearing swivel to the terminal end of the loop using an offshore swivel knot.

Next comes the leader, which will attach to the double line at the swivel and the strength and length will vary with the application. Each lure or rigged bait will have its own leader. I use Hi-Seas 100% Fluorocarbon in 50 to 130 lb test for rigged ballyhoo because the trolling speed with baits is slower than with lures so the fish get a better look at them and any telltale indication of something not looking just right can be a turn off. Heavy mono leaders are stiff and too visible, hence leaders of lighter testing fluorocarbon.

For lures I make leaders using Grand Slam or Quattro Plus monofilament leader material in 150 to 400 lb test depending on the size of the lure, its swimming action and the fish it is most likely to attract. Lures for blue marlin or bigeye tuna are rigged on heavier leaders than the smaller lures I use to target longfin or yellowfin tuna. If you worry about your leader system being approved for IGFA record catches then keep in mind that you can run a combined double line and leader up to 20 feet up to 20-pound class tackle and up to 30 feet in 30-pound class and heavier.

For chunking tuna day or night use fluorocarbon leaders and have hooks rigged and ready on 30, 50, 80 and 100-lb test so you can start heavy and switch down in thickness if the fish are finicky. Chunking leaders are usually no more than six feet long with an AFW Mighty Mini Crane Swivel at the opposite end from the hook.

With these basic leader systems you can be ready to switch from one technique to another at a moments notice using the same rods. Practice your knots so you’re sure to have them right and go fishing.

Caputi’s Blog Tip:

Circle hooks are your best bet for chunking tuna. I use non-offset circle hooks only usually in size 7/0. Just remember when a fish takes your bait DO NOT try and jerk set the hook. Just slide the drag lever forward and let the line come tight. The hook does the rest. 

Tournament of heroes

This past Saturday I was involved in a tournament for the military called Tournament of Heroes. The event is held during the Dallas Summer boat show. Great event, the soldiers had a good time, the VIP's had a good time, and I had a good time.

There were a few elite guys involved,Gary Klein and Kenyon Hill, along with local fishermen.There were 34 boats (all Tritons) in the tournament. Some were paired with a soldier and others had a soldier and a VIP. The day started with military band, national anthem and a flyover. Then a flotilla type parade out of the marina. The weigh-in was held at Market Hall in downtown Dallas which is around thirty miles from lake Lewisville. We had a police escort in which the highways were shut down to allow us to stay together in a parade of boats.Here are some pictures.This is the third year and it keeps getting bigger and better every year. 

P.S. I believe we finished 4th.

Tricks for Summer Trout

Summer time is not usually considered prime time for trout, but if you start treating the fish that made it through the spring like natives you can score. Most states stock huge volumes of trout in rivers, streams and even ponds prior to the opening day and many “inexperienced” hatchery fish are caught quickly in the first few weeks of the season, but certainly not all of them. Some states do follow up stockings later in the spring and a greater percentage of those fish escape capture to become and join the others to become what are generally called holdovers.

The survivors learn quickly to become more wary and adept at finding hiding spots and ambush points for feeding. They aren’t getting a daily dose of pellets in the hatchery anymore and have to learn to fend for themselves. They start to take on characteristics of native trout and that makes them a more challenging to catch, so you have be a more savvy angler to score, but there will be a lot less angling pressure and more opportunities to have some great spots all to yourself.

Learn to read the water and pick out ambush spots where feeding trout will position themselves to grab prey drifting by. Places like undercut banks, runs with rocks to hide behind, heads of pools, seams and riffles that channel prey items into a specific spot. Acclimated trout will feed on insects, but also have a preference for small fish and that means using tiny spinners and swimming plugs and they can produce some surprisingly large trout. One of my favorites for holdovers is the Rapala F5, a 2-inch wonder that imitates a variety of tiny fish found in streams and rivers. Cast it across current so it swings downstream through a potential feeding station and it is one tough offering for a hungry trout to let go by. Ditto some of my favorite small Roostertail and Vibrax spinners.

To make any of these offerings more inviting line choice is an important component of your strategy and the main considerations are thinness and invisibility. I have walked stretches of streams in the summer behind another angler fishing with just slightly heavier tackle and caught fish that never took a second look at his offerings because I was using Hi-Seas White Lightning monofilament in 4 pound test. This clear, co-polymer line is so thin, only .006 inches diameter, it lets the lures work in a totally natural way and is near impossible to see. Take my word on that because I have a hard time seeing it to tie knots in it! Using the right line and lures will have you catching more and bigger trout during the summer months than you ever thought possible.

Caputi’s Blog Tip:

Summer trout tend to feed most heavily under low light conditions so plan on being on the stream at first light and being done by 8 or 9 AM or go fishing after dinner and watch the stream light up with feeding activity at dusk.

50lbs Cobia in Florida

The cobia was 50lbs and was caught sight fishing off a shallow shoal in FL. Always nice to catch a fish that's almost as big as you are.

RIGGIN’ FOR JIGGIN’ TUNA

Butterfly jigs have reawakened interest in one of the oldest techniques for catching saltwater fish—using metal jigs—except now there are specialized rods, high speed reels and a different kind of line that makes it more exciting and productive than ever before.

It is amazing how much pressure
you can put on a fish with these little
outfits paired with Grand Slam Braid.

Jigging for tuna isn’t new by any means. I’ve been doing it since the first time I went to the submarine canyons off the Mid Atlantic Coast over twenty-five years ago and it was already an accepted and well practiced technique, we just didn’t use specialized tackle and jigs. Jigging was done in conjunction with chunking tuna while the boat was either at anchor or drifting. The standard lure was a heavy diamond jig clipped on the end of a 50-pound class stand up outfit. Drop it down, jig it up and down until your arms got tired or you hooked up. When you arms got tired we would drop the jig down 50 to 150 feet, put the line through a release clip and run the clip up to the top of one of the outriggers. As the boat rocked it would do the jigging and when a tuna hit the line would snap out of the clip and hook the fish. No fuss, no muss, but it wasn’t the primary technique we were using, just a adjunct to chunking with bait.

Today the tackle is strikingly different. Light-weight graphite-composite rods are paired with small, high speed reels, both conventional and spinning, that take on big, strong fish like bluefin tuna with surprising ease. Don’t get me wrong, you are going to be on a fish for a while, an hour or better if it’s a larger fish, but the tackle is so light and easy to handle it doesn’t fatigue the angler nearly as much as heavier stand up gear.

The key to the success of the technique and the ability to use such diminutive tackle is the line. Without the advantage of thin, strong, sensitive Spectra® braided like HI-SEAS Grand Slam Braid the whole system would collapse. The light rods still require line of 50 to 80 lb test and the small reels could never hold enough line to challenge fish that fight as hard and run as far as tuna if it wasn’t extremely thin. The last critical factor imparted to the tackle by the line is sensitivity because the line has almost no stretch, which makes is possible to feel a fish hit a jig while it is descending in time to engage the reel and set the hook. The thinness and sensitivity are also critical when jigging in deep water by allowing you to get relatively light jigs down and still feel the hits. We frequently jig and catch bluefin tuna hunting for sand eels right on the bottom in up to 250 feet of water using six and eight ounce jigs!

Little outfit, tough line, big fish! 

I usually take two jigging outfits with me. One heavier rod and reel rigged with 80 lb Grand Slam and a lighter outfit rigged with 50 lb. The reels are complete filled with braid. No backing for this set up because if you hook a big tuna you might need every foot of line capacity the reel can carry. I add six feet of HI-SEAS 100% Fluorocarbon or the new Quattro Fluorocarbon as a leader and keep a selection of 40, 50, 80 and 100 lb test onboard in case the tuna are line shy. I tie a 40-turn Bimini Twist in the braid and then attach the leader using a No-Name (worm) knot. I start with heavy leader, usually with 80, and only rarely have to go lighter. But if I’m not getting any hits and there are tuna showing on the depthfinder, I will drop switch to 50 and then 4 lb leader, whatever it takes. On one occasion I had to drop all the way to 30 before the fish started nailing the jig and that’s light for fish that were averaging 70 lbs or better.

These hot new jigging outfits aren’t just for tuna, either. They are gaining popularity for a variety of bottom species like groupers, snappers, jacks and more. Fish that were rarely associated with jigging are being caught on butterfly type jigs. It’s a lot of fun and you should get in on it. Just be sure you’re spooled up with HI-SEAS Grand Slam Braid, it’s the best!

Caputi’s Blog Tip: When attaching a butterfly type jig to your leader leave the hardware out. You want the line attached directly to the welded ring the assist hooks are hanging off. With heavier line you can do it with a crimp or tie a clinch or uni-knot to make the connection.