The Weekly Salvage
The Weekly Salvage
(10.17.24) Fishy News from Around the Northeast and Beyond
The maritime rule of salvage has its origin in Roman law, which dictates that one who preserves or improves upon the misplaced property of another is owed compensation, even if the service was not requested. Let’s get out the internet trawler and get to work…
🎙️| Shawn Ryan Podcast - Admiral Tim Gallaudet: Underwater Alien Bases, UFO Psyops and Weather Weapons —> A bit outside the usual strike zone, but given the stock and trade of fisherman is conspiracy theory, why not enjoy a nice deep dive into patterns of the extraterrestrial amid spooky season? Good for a long drive to the boat ramp, work site, or undisclosed government installation.
🎥 | Speed Trolling for BFTs [BDO] —> A refresher on the finer points of rigging high-speed plugs, several tips I could’ve used to avoid a heart-breaker of a lost fish this past weekend search-trolling Out East. Don’t make the mistakes I made…1) not using a swivel and split ring to connect to the plug 2) not using chafe tubing on the crimp connection to the swivel/plug (that vibration will chafe up flouro) and 3) not using an upsized bite-leader. Just remember, school is always in session, and giant Bluefin are ruthless teachers.
Fishing Reports | OnTheWater - FishermanMag - HullTruth - MAFishReport
Looking for a tackle recommendation? Try GearSay, the first generative AI search tool specifically tailored to helping you find specific gear for a specific purpose. Type in a question, a set of parameters, or just copy & paste a block of text from a fishing report to get instant results. The more detailed you are about your target species, location, season, and pattern, the better your feedback.
Dialing in Big Bait Opportunities for Bass (Wired2Fish) - Bass are of course opportunistic and occasionally territorial, so you don’t strictly have to “match the hatch.” However, if you want a consistent bite they need to be conditioned to larger meals. Throughout much of the south that means gizzard shad, but elsewhere it could be trout or perch. Palaniuk’s general rule is that the fish should be in less than 10 feet of water for it to be consistently good, which obviously favors March through May as a time to lean on it all day. No matter what, when you’re switching to a 6- to 9-inch lure, you’re almost always going to get fewer bites than you will with a dropshot, so you need to put the odds in your favor by assessing the weather. “In the spring you want more warm sunshine,” he said. “Maybe even calmer water, so it pushes those big bass to docks and laydowns. In August, on the other hand, you might still want sunshine, but a little bit more wind or current will generally make things better.”
Rules For Rigging Sword Baits (SaltwaterSportsman) - “The quickest bite I ever had while daytime swordfishing was on a bait I rigged almost as a joke. I took an entire fresh mahi, topped and tailed, completely deboned and gutted, and I made a fold-over bait and sewed squid inside of it. I was unable to confirm the chum-bag effect I was looking for because that bait got smoked seconds after dropping it down. As a charter captain, artist and full-on weirdo, I love the creativity of making my own swordfish baits. Just about any properly rigged species will do the trick. Some of my favorites are strips, fillets and bellies of mahi, bonito and tuna. I also like whole mackerel, rainbow runners, squids and eels. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if a sock full of squid was a productive bait, as long as it followed two main rules. 1) the hook must be secured tightly to the bait and 2) the bait must swim straight.”
No Ballyhoo? No Problem! (BigGameFishingJournal) - “A good aspect about trolling these soft plastics is that if you want to troll faster, these rigs work very well at faster speeds, where ballyhoo tend to wash out quicker at higher speeds. Rigging lures using this method is very productive when fishing for the school bluefin tuna, larger bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, yellowfin and longfin tuna. This lure-and-soft plastic combination also works extremely well when rigged in a chain or behind a spreader bar. One thing that I might keep around just in case, is a small bottle of ZAP or super glue. I would use this on the shank of my “J” hook if after a while the water pressure caused the soft plastic to slip any. Usually this is not a problem though.”
Tautog Fishing Master Class (OnTheWater) - “Twenty years ago, few New England captains could fathom a fully booked tautog fishing season. Back then, the humble blackfish had only a small, cultish following of masochistic diehards willing to endure frozen fingers and stolen bait to catch a couple of these bucktoothed bottom dwellers. As tackle advanced and fishing rods got lighter and more sensitive—while maintaining strength and fish-stopping power—more anglers discovered the fun of tautog fishing. Seemingly overnight, Tautoga onitis became like a small-town band that finally caught a big break and went mainstream, leaving their fans from the old days feeling both vindicated and a little annoyed at the increased attention. The growing fishing pressure on the tog grounds has educated the fish and forced fishermen to get smarter as well.”
Season of the Surf (AnglersJournal) - “Surf fishing binds you to the landscape. I sit on a beach log in early October and listen to a conversation that the southwest breeze is having with the young flood. The small swells answer, and the terns carry the tune a little further with their dips and dives and cries. It is nearing 5 p.m., and things are looking fishy. The fall light is special. It has a tangible quality that you can touch and feel. A bass or false albacore never looks more golden or green or black or silvery than when dripping wet, gleaming with this light. A windy glow sweeps over the bluffs, beach grass and surf, and your small corner of the world catches its breath and comes alive. It’s as if you whispered abracadabra. All the players, from the breeze and tide to predators and prey, are held together like atoms in a chemical bond — there may be no way to break it, nor any reason to.”
Thanks for reading The Weekly Salvage, until next week!
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