The Weekly Salvage
(4.2.25) 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…
🎙️| Cut & Retie Podcast - The Striper Panty Twist —> Joe chats with Dave Petry of Twister Lures on Striped Bass culture, the rise, fall, and rise again of custom plug-building and whether there can still be anything sacred in the surf.
🎙️| Surfcast Podcast Archives - Frank Goncalves —> Frank and the host discuss Cuttyhunk legends of old and new, seasonal plug tendencies, and why NJ surfcasters should always be blamed when then the bass won’t bite.
🎥 | Always Bent - Where the Tunas Roam based on Temperature & Bathymetry —> A refreshingly intuitive breakdown of just how ‘Bigeye water’ is formed and how it passes through the nooks and crannies of the NE canyon contours.
Fishing Reports | OnTheWater - FishermanMag - HullTruth - SOL
***Reminder to renew your licenses here. HMS vessel permits here.***
Gear Guide by Tak Waterman | Accurate 4” Knot Puller
Description | Details matter when it comes to getting bit and staying hooked up on the fish of your dreams. That means your leader connections need to be DIALED. This durable and convenient knot-puller consists of two pieces that screw together, and includes a hole at the top for a key ring and a slot that can be used for cinching down knots.
Tuna Q&A With Capt Gene Quigley & UVT Fishing
Q - What is the backstory for UVT Fishing? What’s your mission for La Familia?
UVT stand for uncle Vin’s tackle. Vin was the current UVT owners’ fishing mentor and uncle who got him into fishing and sparked the flame in him to create great products for an affordable price. The mission for La Familia is three fold ….first to provide director and feedback on new and existing products. The team that has been put together has some of the best jig and pop captains in the industry…..second is to promote and introduce the products to other anglers in order to increase their catch and make it easier for anglers to land more and bigger fish. Third is to share the passion of the sport and introduce jig and pop to those that want to learn.
Q - Tuna jigging in the Northeast has come a long way from the days of bottom-bouncing Norwegian Cod metals. How has UVT embraced the advances in light tackle tuna technology in your latest offerings?
I started jigging and casting for tuna some 30 plus years ago. Back then the tackle and techniques were barbaric; bouncing A67’s off the bottom with 30 and 50 wides. Once the concept of verticals speed jigging came into the game , things started to change very fast. The Shimano butterfly jig paved the way for sure. Today UVT is all about embracing new technology and creating products that are developed from scratch, not out of a tackle manufacturer’s catalog. Capt Cory’s tuna jig emulates a sand eel like no other. Length, thickness , action….it has it all.
Q - Sandeels, Squid, Herring, Mackerel and Silver Hake are perhaps the most common Bluefin forage in our waters. How does the team at UVT view this ever-changing menu as impacting jig selection and presentation?
When we talk about jigs , we are really trying to match the hatch with eels and squid. Bigger bodies baits like herring and bunker get mimicked with UVT stick baits and poppers, creating a full menu of products for any situation.
Q - What would you say were the most dominant trends in tackle design and sales in 2024?
Definitely in the rod category. The concept of utilizing rods like the Shimano OCEA, CB one and Mogi to “high stick” takes tremendous pressure off the anglers and transitions it on the rod; allowing anglers to land giant tunas in record time with much less fatigue.
Q- Are there any emerging trends for the coming seasons that jig & pop fisherman should be aware of? Where is UVT headed?
I think we are continue to see the emerging trend of high sticking get even more main stream. Hooks trends are also improving tremendously with the introduction of Yamai-Suteki global coming into the US market, as well as BKK and others continuing to improve strength and quality.
Lightning Round
Favorite jig pattern of all-time? Capt Cory’s tuna jig in Pink Glow
What is one species you want caught on one of your lures? Blue Marlin. But it was actually done this past season on the pink glow jig by Capt Mark Horn.
What fights harder, 200lb Bluefin or YFT? Depends on water temp. If it’s warm all the way through the column definitely the 200 lb YF. Those long sickles have a way of holding to a point where they can handle be budged.
If UVT had a theme song, what is it? Hail to the King, Avenged Sevenfold
Which US state has the best tuna fisherman? NJ of course !! (Loaded question and answer) Mass, NY, NJ, NC - just depends on where the fish are when the question is asked!
Understanding the Shifts in Cobia Populations (SaltwaterSportsman) - “In light of a booming Chesapeake Bay fishery, the idea has even been floated that Gulf cobia packed their bags and swam to the mid-Atlantic. Gibson says that although a few rare Gulf-tagged cobia have shown up in the Chesapeake over decades of tagging, there is no scientific data to support this mass-evacuation theory. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is another potential culprit. From April 20 to July 15, 2010, 4 million barrels of oil spewed from the seafloor 42 miles off Louisiana. Gibson says the peak spawning season for cobia is May and June, and the swath of coast impacted by the oil spill is an assumed spawning region, where researchers have collected a lot of cobia larvae.”
Swimbaits in the Spring with Chris Zaldain (Bassmag) - “At this time of the year — April — I like big, oversize ones. There are basically two reasons for that. The first is that I’m targeting prespawn, spawning and postspawn bass. They’re eating, and I believe they want something big. The other reason is that big swimbaits are intrusive. Bass in the spring get territorial. They’re protecting the place where they’re going to lay eggs and produce fry. A big swimbait looks like a threat to them so they attack and try to kill it.”
265.5-Pound Yellowfin is the Largest Ever Caught in the Gulf (Wired2Fish) - “We headed out that morning and ran about 18 miles offshore where pods of menhaden were being hammered by tuna,” Moranda, age 34, tells Wired2Fish. The anglers ran from bait pod to bait pod, casting plugs to schools of menhaden using heavy spinning tackle, 100-pound test braided line and large surface plugs to tempt tuna to strike. The three fishermen battled the tuna for over an hour, passing the rod among them to ease their fatigue. Finally, they muscled the fish close to their Freeman boat, where Moranda and his deck hand Matt Carrin put two gaffs in the yellowfin. One of the anglers helped with the gaffs, and a video of them boating the fish shows it was all they could do to haul the massive tuna aboard.”
This Heisman Trophy Winner Would Rather Be Bass Fishing (FishWire) - “Univ. of Colorado phenom Travis Hunter is one of the most talented and dynamic players in all of college football. A force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball, Hunter played virtually every snap with the Buffaloes this season, alternating between wide receiver and cornerback. He easily won the 2024 Heisman Trophy and is expected to be a top-five pick in the upcoming NFL draft. But if you really get down to it, the Heisman winner would rather be bass fishing.”
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