Author: BD STAFF

We just ran an article by Capt. Steve Klimek about his survival of a lightning strike while flats fishing. He was one of the lucky ones as about 10% of strikes are fatal due to cardiac arrest. Florida is the lightning capital of the U.S., but all states have the potential for deadly lightning. A study shows that fishing and boating have the most lightning related deaths of all outdoor activities. So be careful and don’t push it when storms are brewing. Possibly attributed to the fact that fishermen cannot get to shelter, but I know I have probably pushed…

Shell Beach Oarfish Another specimen of the “less rare all the time” oarfish has been found washing ashore at Shell Beach in La Jolla, California.  Lifeguards spotted the large fish and called in a crew from SIO and NMFS who collected the specimen for further study back at their lab. Today they shared more pictures of the dissection of the 17-feet long fish that weighed about 260-pounds according to the Coastal Angler Tagging Cooperative Facebook site.  The otiliths or ear bones were collected along with many other samples for future study. The cause of death, was still unknown and will be very…

Video of Killer Whales Just recently, a group of San Diego fishermen were about five miles off Point Loma, California, when they discovered that their 20-foot boat was surrounded by killer whales. They took off and the whales playfully gave chase.  It is much more often that dolphins, the smaller relative to killer whales will behave this way around the boat.  Since a killer whale can reach up to 32-feet long and weigh as much as six tons, to have them chasing and jumping on the stern of your boat is a whole other experience.  It just goes to show…

Bluewater Copper Works BD would like to introduce R. Hanes Hoffman Jr., of Bluewater Copper Works as our next BD Artist Spotlight. Q:Where do you live? A:I grew up in North Carolina, but was lucky to travel the world as a young man, searching for myself I guess, but now I’m so happy to be back in North Carolina again. Q:What form does your art take? A:Well I pretty much work with copper and flame. Copper is not only beautiful and rich in color when heated, but it can be manipulated with hand tools while other metals are too hard…

SIMMS Pro Dry Demo and Fishing Seminars On Sat. September 26th at Angler’s Center in Newport Beach, CA from 11 am to 4pm some of the very best local saltwater in-shore bass anglers will converge and speak at the SIMMS Fishing Products Pro Dry Demo Day.   The Southern California in-shore bass fishery has been a very fertile and highly competitive arena for it’s most coveted species of bass, the calico bass, for decades. In the recent past with the emergence of competitive fishing in Southern California with the SWBA and SBS tournament strings, the level of knowledge and skill has…

Costa’s Kick Plastic Campaign From plastic water bottles to discarded children’s toys, plastic in every shape, size and color floats in gigantic swirling garbage patches across the oceans. The majority of this trash starts on land, and then ends up dumped or blown into the sea. For every piece of trash we see washed up on the shore, there are thousands more pounds collecting in an oozing, melting mess in every ocean across the planet, threatening fish, sea birds and the ecosystems’ fragile existence. Costa, a company committed to sustainable sport fishing practices and ocean conservation, launched its Kick Plastic campaign earlier…

Yellowfin Tuna They don’t call Puerto Vallarta Cow Town for its cattle industry. PV’s cows swim offshore. If you want to put a 200- to 300-plus-pound tuna in the boat, make sure PV is at the top of your list of places to check out. Rainbow Runner Mexico Always fun on light tackle, rainbow runners also make a great marlin bait. Slow-troll a live runner and watch for the explosion behind the boat. Barred Pargo The brown head and alternating wide and narrow white bars running down the side of the fish make identifying the barred pargo easy. The bars…

As boaters, most of us are aware that having the required flares aboard is kind of like insurance. You have them, but hope never to use them. And I’m sure we have all had to deal with the expired flares and dealt with the dilemma of what to do with them. I always recommend saving the old ones just in case, because they would probably still work, but at some point you are faced with disposal. Now research is showing that the perchlorate used in flares is contaminating our water and is cause for serious health concerns. Now there is…

Save the Date for TroutfesT It’s awfully difficult to fathom that it’s almost mid-September already, and with that comes the sudden realization that the 11th annual TroutfesT is now less than a month away – but that, of course, is a very good thing. And the 2015 version of the event is poised to be quite the show considering the chain of events that have brought us from last year’s TroutfesT to the present. ALWAYS A HIGHLIGHT of the event, the awards ceremony will once again be chock full of great prizes and raffle items, capped by the grand raffle prize…

Going fishing on a charter boat is a great way to experience inshore, offshore and freshwater fishing.  Like any charter operation, the experience, good or bad, is often determined by the match-up of expectations to reality and the crew. Here are a few tips to help make your charter fishing experience a good one. Charter Fishing Tips Search BD’s Destination page to find areas that excite you, both local and exotic, or visit the Bloodydecks forum for a region your are interested in and ask our local members for seasonal information of what’s biting and when. Check out the trips offered on Share…

Spearfisherman Makes History Joel Smith of San Diego has checked the “largest marlin taken with speargun in CA waters” box with his recent feat.  Joel was fishing with his father and friends about 25 miles out of San Diego.  They decided to try spearfishing under a kelp paddy and quickly scored on a dorado. Shortly there after, a huge blue marlin came in to check out the scene and gave Joel a perfect broadside shot, which he quickly took.  The marlin was stunned, but soon began to take off with Joel in tow.  The marlin stopped briefly and Joel struggled…

Save the Date for the WON Yamaha Jackpot When: WON/Yamaha Dana Landing Jackpot is Friday, Sept. 11, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015. Where: Dana Landing Market, Tackle and Fuel Dock , Mission Bay. Check-in: Shelter Island launch basin in S.D. Bay 8 to 9 p.m. Friday, or Saturday 5 to 6 a.m., or at tourney headquarters at Mission Bay’s Dana Landing Market area Friday 4 to 10 p.m. or Saturday morning 5 to 6 a.m. Fishing/Weigh-in: Start fishing after check-in. The exciting weigh-in at the Dana Landing Market on Saturday is from 4 to 6 p.m. Awards and Drawings: Mexican dinner…

Global electronic chart provider C-MAP by Jeppesen has announced an available software update for Simrad Evo2 Multifunction Displays (MFDs), making them compatible with C-MAP MAX-N+ 2015 cartography. This update brings an exciting new charting option to users of the highly popular NSO/NSS EVO2 MFDs. The update is now available at no cost to owners of these advanced navigation systems. C-Map Charts The new compatibility with C-MAP MAX-N+ 2015 cartography brings a range of proven C-MAP 4D chart content and advanced features to these navigation systems. For example, avid saltwater anglers running compatible Simrad systems will benefit from Jeppesen’s leading library…

Make-A-Wish Tournament Results The extraordinary fishing of 2015 continued for the Make-A-Wish Tuna Challenge.  92 boats with 412 total anglers with 35 lady anglers and 18 junior anglers fished a wide swath of water from South of the border to West of San Clemente Island.  A total of 84 yellowfin tuna to 62-pounds, 50 dorado to 25-pounds and 12 bluefin tuna to 43-pounds were weighed in. The top overall team was the crew of Nick Smith, Brandon Nelson, Erik Nelson and Darren Pasalich from the “Mi Panga” who headed to the “43” and decked nine large yellowfin from 50 to…

Say Hi to Amber Miller – Fishing Chick Amber Miller BD welcomes Amber Miller, our latest Fishin’ Chick from SoCal. She shares her story of how she got into fishing and why she loves to chase tuna and yellowtail. BD: Where do you live? Amber Miller: I live in Huntington Beach, California. BD: What is your occupation? Amber Miller: I’m a model, Host and Brand Ambassador. BD: What are your other hobbies? Amber Miller: I really enjoy wakeboarding and snowboarding in addition to fishing. BD: Who or what got you into fishing? Amber Miller: I grew up in Colorado and fished…

Save $100 dollars on the awesome Daiwa Saltiga Sald60.

Over the last few years, anglers have all benefitted by big improvements in top tier tackle. Our fishing gear these days is made lighter, stronger and tougher than ever. As with any new technology introductions, these new features are usually reserved for a manufacture’s flagship or high-end product. But just like in any business, these tech breakthroughs eventually make their way into the mainstream product. Remember when only luxury cars had Bluetooth? This migration of tech was instantly apparent when we first laid our hands on the new mid-range saltwater rods and reels from Shimano.  Both the new Torium HG reels…

Balboa Angling Club Weighs Wahoo The first wahoo of the 2015 season was weighed in at the Balboa Angling Club on Saturday. The wahoo was caught by Mikko Monte along with his dad, Eric, who was the captain and gaff man. They were fishing aboard the Mas Tarde, a 37-foot Hatteras owned by grandfather Neal Monte, a long-time member of the BAC. Eric and Mikko were fishing the 17 Fathom Spot when the wahoo hit Mikko’s trolled lure at 10:00 am.  It took Mikko about twenty minutes to bring the wahoo to the gaff. The fish weighed 52.58-pounds and was caught on 50-pound tackle. Wahoo are…

Triggerfish Deznutts Holy ouch; What started out as a casual day of spearfishing for a triggerfish dinner turned into a knife battle for the jewels.  Painful to watch but a classic blooper.

Cajun Fishing Adventures Check out this cool compilation video from Sam Root about the Cajun Fishing Adventures Lodge in south Louisiana.  Epic inshore fishing and duck hunting are the house specialty, but offshore adventure is never far away too. Photo Credit: Screen Capture Sam Root Youtube

Check out the Extreme Kayak Summer Slam video.  Offshore fishing tournament in kayaks as well as standup paddle board races and beach fitness.

Race to Louisiana An angler often dreams of exotic fishing trips of “bucket list” proportions. Adventures filled with heart pounding battles and a host of hard fighting species just waiting to clobber your offerings. Now in its fourth season, BD’s most popular contest is back, the Race to “Somewhere”, and this year, “Somewhere” is Louisiana. Imagine three days of pure offshore and inshore fishing with the experts from Journey South Outfitters in Venice, LA. The Race to LA contest could not be any easier; just sign up for the drawing and that’s it. You do not even have to be…

Open Waters We all know how fun it is to buy gadgets and accessories for our boats as well as the plethora of boat products that are required to maintain and protect your investment from the rigors of the marine environment.  So often you have to run all over town hitting a variety of different stores to find what you need in stock. No more running around or paying a premium for the marine products you need. Welcome to The Open Waters, your online source for quality  boat supplies at the best prices, guaranteed. That’s right, The Open Waters site has…