Author: BD STAFF

The exotics just keep coming and have reached a new height. The warm water flow of El Nino has brought amazing fishing to the U.S. waters of Southern California. There continues to be encounters with fish not normally found in SoCal waters, such as slender sunfish and pilot fish. Yellowfin and bluefin tuna have made a showing of epic proportions. Throw in a few high-speed wahoo and you have the makings of first class fishing in your own backyard. With all of those fish around, it was only a matter of time before the tuna predators came calling. Captain Clayton…

Ever wondered about kayak fishing for halibut? Check out Rudy Tsukada’s video of subduing a big halibut from a Hobie Outback kayak with their amazing Mirage drive. He caught a 105-pound halibut in Kodiak, Alaska, about three miles offshore. Watch him fight, harpoon and land this beast by himself at one-foot above sea level. Photo Credit: YouTube video capture – Kayak Fishing for Halibut

Buyer Beware Fake Seaguar Fluorocarbon Well, one more thing to watch out for in this crazy world. If you see a bargain price on Seaguar’s premium Blue Label Fluorocarbon from seemingly shady online retailers, you may be buying a counterfeit product. It has come to light that someone is packaging regular monofilament or similar material and selling it as the very desirable Seaguar Blue Label. Seaguar has reached out on their Facebook page to warn anglers and relayed one person’s video demonstration of the difference between the real product and the fake. Seaguar said: Anglers – Beware of Counterfeit Seaguar!…

The Longfin in Orange, CA is your one stop shop for all things fishing. They stock everything you need to fish freshwater streams and lakes to the deep blue offshore water. They also offer rod and reel repair or upgrades. Longfin is also the exclusive booking agent for Tony Reyes fishing tours out of San Felipe Mexico. It is an incredible fishing trip at an amazing value, for information please visit http://www.tonyreyes.com/ On September 13th from 7 AM to 7 PM, the Longfin will hold their third annual Customer Appreciation Day and Parking Lot Sale. This sale just keeps getting…

The Old Reel Collectors Association (ORCA), in conjunction with their annual National convention, will sponsor a Show and Sale of antique fishing reels and other fishing tackle. On display will be some of the finest fishing reels ever produced for both Saltwater and freshwater fishing. The show is open to the public at no charge and people are welcome to bring along tackle for appraisal and/or sale or auction. The show will be from 9AM-2PM on September 6, 2014 at the Kona Kai Resort, 1551 Shelter Island Dr, San Diego, CA. You may also wish to join ORCA and participate…

Erik Van Der Goot and some friends were diving in the crystal clears waters of Wied il Mielah, on the north coast of Gozo. The came across and videoed this gentle giant of a sunfish or Mola mola. These strange fish have a unique body shape and their diet of jellyfish and other tiny creatures is deceptive because they can grow up to 5000-pounds. Check out this video as it is one of the biggest I have ever seen. Photo Credit: YouTube video capture from Erik Van Der Goot

Well we have a winner for the Race to PEI 2014. BD member Avo Oughourlian of CA will join the BD team for an all expense paid trip to Prince Edward Island to chase bluefin tuna aboard Tony’s Tuna Fishing charters. This is the third year that BD has taken a lucky winner to fish with Capt. Tony McDonald and his crews. We also thank this year’s Race to PEI sponsors Okuma, Seaguar, Costa, AFTCO, Brandt Beef Jerky, and Mustad for making this dream-come-true a reality. Capt. Tony always treats us well and works hard to put us on the…

Tarpon Insanity 2 Caution, watching this video may give you the urge to punch out and go fishing. The crew of Salty Roots in Central Flordia have compiled some of the most insane tarpon jumps and all from paddleboards and kayaks. Throughout the summer and well into fall, the east coast beaches of Florida are patrolled by giant tarpon who feast on the great schools of pogies and mullet. Once hooked these giant baitfish take to the air and put on an amazing display. Not good to eat, and now totally protected from harvest, these giants will provide great fun…

Rare Manta Ray Sighted – Manta Ray Facts Carter Jessop was spearfishing last week with some buddies at San Clemente Island, CA. He got the surprise of his life as one more example of El Nino swam by. He had this to say about his experience: “On Monday, 8/18, we were hunting yellowtail off the southern tip of San Clemente Island, diving a spot with strong wind and current. After an hour or two in the water, I got worried about the anchor set for our RIB, so I decided to go check on it. As I was kicking over,…

Accurate BX2 Series II The Accurate BX2, Series II is the latest offering from Accurate. These small but sturdy reels are made of T6 6061 aircraft aluminum and have a redesigned the look of their anodized coating, which also provides corrosion resistance. Internally, the BX2 features a large 440 heat-treated stainless steel gear shaft and stainless steel gears that will stand up to even the toughest battles. A new and improved ARB bearing has been tested for resistance to corrosion and a calibrated lever drag lets you know exactly how much pressure you are applying to the fish. The BX2…

The Mad Hueys are a group of guys who travel around surfing, fishing and drinking. They’ve caught the highlights of the last year’s travels on this GoPro video clip. THEMADHUEYS & MR GOPRO from THEMADHUEYS on Vimeo.

Back for a second year, the Dana Landing Jackpot sponsored by Yamaha has some pretty enticing reasons to enter, so save the date. It costs just $50 a person to enter. Yet, there is a guaranteed first place payout of $2,000. Second place pays $300, third $200, plus prizes. This one is BIG! If you are fishing on a Yamaha powered boat, the entry is free for up to two anglers on the team. Any additional team members pay the usual $50. There is no limit on the number of anglers on a boat, but all people on the boat…

Costas Geobass Africa Costa presents their GEOBASS project, a video series documenting the struggles, drama and glories of a group of determined fly-fishermen as they travel, explore and endure the harshest conditions in search of exotic bass. In this trip to Africa, they scour this wild continent for elusive and fabled bass species like the emerald fire-bass and the golden bass. A bycatch species of toothy tigerfish will get your attention too. Check out the “swamp mamba” bass fly they make out of hair weave material from the African grocery store. Throw in some grumpy hippos, elephants and crocodiles – you…

A cool clip in slow motion from Pisces Fishing in Cabo San Lucas a few days ago. A hooked up marlin comes in hot and jumping and slides down the gunnel of the La Brisa, who happened to have the GoPro running. Photo Credit: YouTube Video Capture

Accurate Fury The Accurate Boss Fury reels from Accurate were their first generation of single drag reels. These popular introductory level reels, have been given a new look this year with the addition of a high-polished silver finish. Both single and two-speed versions will be available starting in August 2014. These lightweight, but tough reels are made of T6 60 61 aircraft aluminum and feature a stainless gear shaft and gears. The Boss Fury has a great free spool for fishing bait or throwing the iron. The Fury series reels are available in both single and two-speed versions in the 400,…

Dave Knecht has grown up fishing the inshore and offshore waters of Southern California. He spends most of his time fishing on his kayak or on private boats for everything from bass and rockfish, to yellowtail and tuna. He also loves to chase threshers by kayak and has some awesome stories to tell. Dave also writes for BD and shares his fishing knowledge with us. Q:What’s the biggest shark you’ve ever caught? A: When I was growing up I used to fish mako and thresher with my dad a lot. We never got into any huge ones, but plenty in…

Shark Encounter Rosemary White Rosemary White of Clearwater, Florida is not afraid to hug a shark. She is a BD Fishin Chick and truly loves to fish. She has some shark stories born out of her many hours on the water. She shared them with us in this BD Shark Encounter. Q:What’s the biggest shark you’ve ever caught? A: The biggest shark I have ever caught was my spinner shark last year in the Florida Keys during, of course, SHARK WEEK!!!!! I was wearing a harness and I could sense every time the shark was about to jump and spin.…

Deidra Bridger is no stranger to the fishing world. She works with Capt. Bo Johnson running Tenacity Guide Service in Southwest Florida and Key West. Together they put clients on a wide variety of saltwater gamefish including tarpon, goliath grouper, barracuda, and yes… sharks. In fact they actively compete in many fishing tournaments including the Madfin Shark Series, which they won in 2013. This televised shark fishing tournament focuses on a point system for species, method and release. Rigging for sharks is second nature for Deidra and she joins us in this BD Fishin Chick How-To Video demonstrating, step by…

Using his lifelong love and observation of nature in California and around the world, Casey Parlette uses wood, metal and stone to carve incredibly life-like replicas of the natural world. You’ve got to check out his website to see more of his work. He shared some of his shark experiences with us. Q:What’s the biggest shark you’ve ever caught? A:I caught a mako shark that was around 130-pounds. It was wild and squirrelly. Q:What’s the biggest you’ve seen? A:I swam with a roughly thirty-foot whale shark. It was a great experience. Q:Where have you seen the most sharks? A:I was…

Michelle Gandola, Marketing Director at BD, has spent time fishing and diving in the waters of California and Mexico. During this time she has had several shark encounters. Q:What’s the biggest shark you’ve ever caught? A:I hooked and handed off a 100-pound mako shark one time and I’ve caught plenty of leopard sharks on my kayak. Q:What’s the biggest you’ve seen? A:I saw an 18-foot great white and man was it BIG and scary. Q:Where have you seen the most sharks? A:I went on a Great White dive trip on the Islander out at Guadalupe Island. We were there for…

San Diego native, Brian Hebets has been intrigued by the ocean and sharks since childhood. The movie Jaws brought this love of sharks to a whole new level. It is a big part of his artwork and passion. He shared with BD some of his personal shark stories. You can see more of his work on his website. Q:What’s the biggest shark you’ve ever caught? A:I can’t really brag about a big catch here but I did have a nice catch and release of an 8-foot thresher shark. Q:What’s the biggest you’ve seen? A:I was cage diving out in Haleiwa,…

Imagine if diving with tiger sharks and catching makos was part of your job description. It is for Greg Jacoski, the Director of Operations at the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. He spends time chasing sharks around the world and tagging them for research and tracking. You can follow the tagged sharks too, on the Guy Harvey Research Institute website and learn more about all of Guy Harvey’s conservation efforts at www.guyharvey.com. Greg shared some of the amazing images and stories from his shark encounters with Guy Harvey and his team. Q: What’s the biggest shark you’ve ever caught? A: Biggest…

The goliath grouper is back and many think to a point of over-population. They certainly grow large enough to be a factor in whether or not you get to keep the fish you catch. Some shallow wrecks and reefs, their preferred habitat, have so many giant grouper on them that you can’t even fish, or should I say land a fish. Here is a video of what I’m talking about. Angler has a small shark on the line and it is being stalked by a goliath grouper, who finally makes its move.

Marine Artist Shark Encounter Dennis Friel Marine artist, Dennis Friel, of DFAS in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida is an amazing artist whose works adorn many places. He shares his personal shark stories with us for Ten Days of Sharks on BD. Q:What’s the biggest shark you’ve ever caught? A:I caught a 7-Foot hammerhead while tarpon fishing at Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys. Q:What’s the biggest you’ve seen? A:I once saw what must have been a 10-foot hammerhead run through a dolphin school we were fishing some years back. We were on a 17-foot Boston Whaler so perhaps it looked…