Evolved HD optics, water-clearing video software and more upgrades highlight

Aqua-Vu® HDi Gen 2 Underwater Viewing Systems

Crosslake, MN (December 4, 2019) – At first ice, guide Brian “Bro” Brosdahl likes to go for a little swim. Call him crazy, but Bro chalks it up to research.

The most remarkable part of Brosdahl’s underwater exploration isn’t that he’s able to take the plunge without getting wet. Rather, it’s that this particular ‘trick’ reveals hidden fish and other enigmatic underwater details . . . right from the comforts of his ice shelter. In other words, Bro’s little trick puts him steps ahead of other anglers in a game defined by one’s ability to sniff out untapped pods of fish.

“That’s the genius of an Aqua-Vu,” says Brosdahl, a pioneering Northern Minnesota ice angler. “The optics of the new HDi Gen-2 cameras are so precise and tuned-in they can vividly display leaf colors on aquatic vegetation and the bugs living on them. My HD10i Pro shows me individual rocks so clearly that I should probably take up underwater agate hunting,” he laughs. Read more

COLUMBUS, Georgia — These breathable multi-climate chest waders have a removable zippered liner system with 120 grams of insulation for versatility and adaptive comfort in all conditions. The shin, knees and seat areas feature heavy-duty, abrasion-resistant nylon, and the 1,200-gram Thinsulate boot has a cleated outsole.

MSRP: $289.99

Buy now: Frogg Toggs Grand Refuge 2.0 Bootfoot Chest Wader

One lucky TrophyCatch registrant is going to win a brand-new bass boat this weekend and the public can enjoy the festivities. Thanks to conservation partnerships, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) TrophyCatch program will be awarding a Phoenix Bass Boats Pro 819 to one of five randomly-selected finalists. The boat is powered by a 200hp Mercury Marine motor and MotorGuide trolling motor, guided by Lowrance electronics, and anchored by Power-Pole Shallow Water Anchor System.

“It’s an incredibly nice bass fishing package valued at over $56,000,” said Jon Fury, director of FWC’s Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management. “Everyone who sees it — staff and anglers alike — have been impressed with the design and layout. Only generous partnerships with industry and conservation leaders like Phoenix Bass Boats and Mercury Marine make such an offering possible.”

The drawing will take place this Saturday, Dec. 7, following the 2 p.m. weigh-in for the Bobby Lane High School Cup (BLC) fishing tournament at Camp Mack, a Guy Harvey Lodge, Marina & RV Resort, 14900 Camp Mack Rd., Lake Wales, FL 33898. The public is invited to attend the drawing. The five drawing finalists were randomly selected from 28,384 TrophyCatch program registrants, and are Ben Furfine, Charlie Hobson, Mike Jarvis, Roland Paradise Jr., and James Morgan. The drawing this Saturday will determine which of the lucky finalists will go home a winner of the new Phoenix bass boat package.

The Bobby Lane High School Cup is a nonprofit tournament held annually to raise funds to provide educational scholarships for high school seniors with an interest in bass fishing. Teams from all over the southern states come to compete for the title of BLC Champions.

TrophyCatch is a citizen-science conservation program that rewards anglers who catch, document and release largemouth bass heavier than 8 pounds throughout Florida. Data collected by the program help the FWC better enhance, conserve and promote trophy bass fishing. Anglers who wish to participate — and who want to be included in next year’s boat drawing — can visit TrophyCatch.com to register and learn more.

OCEANSIDE, Calif. – A passport can take you wherever you want to go… as long as you have the financial resources to support your adventurous aspirations. But money doesn’t always have to be an obstacle. Hobie – provider of its own special brand of recreation and adventure – offers an ideal solution.

The latest addition to Hobie’s fun fleet of exciting, pedal-driven watercraft – the new Mirage Passport 12 – is available now at Hobie dealers worldwide. The feature-rich value-laden Mirage Passport 12 can take anglers and other on-the-water-adventure-seekers wherever they want to go with world-class Hobie performance. Best of all, it does so at an appealing price point.

Read more

By Bill Shedd, AFTCO

In the past decade, performance fishing shirts have evolved from vented, cotton and poly-blend shirts towards materials and fabrications that feature improved synthetic technology. But in the world of performance fishing shirts, which is better—old or new?

Since 1989 the American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO) has designed, produced and sold over 25 million garments for men and women anglers and others who love being in, on, and around the water. Those sales include cotton T-shirts, long sleeve and short sleeve sun protection performance shirts, hats, fishing shorts and more. Our long-term involvement with fishing clothing has generated many questions from both our retail partners and consumers about sun protection fishing shirts. At the center of many of those questions is confusion and misinformation.

It is not as complicated as many make it to be. Read more

Have you ever been fishing Michigan waters and pulled in a fish with a missing fin or one with an external tag on it? Several fish species found around the state are marked in some way, and the details on the fish and the tags are important to several DNR studies and management efforts.

Such species include Chinook and Atlantic salmon, steelhead, walleye, lake sturgeon and brown and lake trout. A fish may have an external mark, such as a fin clip, or the mark could be internal and not visible to the naked eye. Many fish with internal tags also will have a clipped fin. For instance, a fish with an implanted coded-wire tag in its snout would be missing its adipose fin (the small, fleshy fin found to the rear of a fish’s dorsal, or top, fin). Read more

Our coastline is like a magician’s hat – you never know what you’ll pull out! Red drum and flounder are just two delicious fish you might catch when you surf or wade fish.

To wade fish you walk into the water, sliding your feet to better sneak up on your prey. Surf fishing is done from the shore. Check out these 5 tips to increase your near-shore luck:

1. Use natural baits like mullet or Gulf shrimp (never use non-Gulf shrimp as bait).
2. Wear polarized sunglasses to cut surface glare.
3. Use a variety of sinkers to hold your bait in place.
4. Cast your line near underwater structures like sandbars.
5. Fish while the tide is rising or falling for the best advantage.

You find more tips and an equipment list on the Texas Parks & Wildlife blog post, Wade in and Catch Fish. Try fishing along the shore this fall and winter, when you won’t have to contend with swimmers scaring off the fish.

Be aware that the daily bag limit on flounder drops to 2 fish from Nov. 1 – Dec. 15, and they can be taken only by pole-and-line (no gigging) during the month of Nov. Check the Outdoor Annual for saltwater bag and length limits.

A bloom of the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persists in Southwest Florida. Additional details are provided below.

• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to very low concentrations in Pinellas County, background concentrations in Manatee County, background to low concentrations in Sarasota County, very low to high concentrations in and/or offshore of Charlotte County, background to high concentrations in and/or offshore of Lee County, and very low to high concentrations in and/or offshore of Collier County. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 K. brevis cells per liter) persist in Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties, and high concentrations (>1 million cells per liter) were observed in 23 samples. These included coastal, inlet, and estuarine sites in Charlotte and Lee Counties, as well as samples collected as far as 7-10 miles offshore of Lee and Collier counties.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
• Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.

In Southwest Florida over the past week, fish kill reports were received for Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties (please see https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline).

Respiratory irritation was reported over the past week in Southwest Florida at multiple beaches in Sarasota and Lee counties. Read more

An experimental regulation that allows for 33 streams in the Upper Peninsula to have a 10-fish daily possession limit for brook trout has been extended. This regulation expired Oct. 1 of this year, but was reauthorized by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission at its meeting today in Lansing.

Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists recommended against reinstituting the 10 brook trout daily possession limit on the select streams because of concerns based on biological and social science.

Select Type 1 streams, which are designated trout streams, in the Upper Peninsula have this regulation. They represent about 8% of the total mileage for Type 1 streams in the U.P. Read more