Fish conservation and saving the resources is at once both emotional and radical in some circles. Marine Protection Areas - No Fish Zones - are popping up along the coast line in many areas. Are they right? Is the science behind them flawed?

Here is my original take on at least a part of the issue. A follow-up from a Biologist comes up next.

Fall has been late coming and as such, the migration of big, doormat flounder has been delayed - actually I believe it has just slowed and been extended. We have been catching big flounder in the inlets for two months now... Read more...

We ran probably 10 miles off the reef, past the southbound shipping lanes and toward the middle of the Gulfstream. Southbound ship traffic always runs just inside the stream to avoid it's six-knot northerly current. Northbound traffic rides the middle to take every advantage of the extra push. We found a small weed line of Sargasso and put out our baits... Read more...

The bite is on up and down the eastern seaboard and boats are limiting on a variety of fish - that is if they are able to get out. This fall has been a particularly windy one, and relatively calm days are few and far between. Read more...

While the fish we caught were relatively small, we had a blast catching over twenty rocks in less than thirty minutes. Once we located a school while trolling plugs, we stopped and jigged the pilings . Had double hook-ups numerous times. Actually left them biting at dark!

Although fall means that bluefin tuna season is almost over in the northeast, some big catches can still be made by those who watch the weather and make the 20 to 30 mile trip offshore in search of BFTs. Fishing offshore in the northeast US usually means being a part of a fleet of anglers, all looking for the same thing - a big tuna...

Sometimes the weather and wind is just too much for us to handle. We sit home wishing we were fishing. There are some things we can do when the weather kicks up and prevents us from getting out on the water. I wonder how many of you think about these things on bad fishing days

Charlie. Every angler should have a Charlie in their life at some point. Charlie was the quintessential sportsman. From fishing South Florida to hunting caribou in Canada, Charlie was about as good as they come... Read more...

According to a press release from the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) and on the heals of radical changes to the grouper fisheries in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and an expected total closure of red snapper fishing, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has now closed amberjack fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, effective October 24. According to the release, the science involved in this decision is sketchy at best. Commercial fishing interests are apparently not affected by this latest closure. The reason being stated is that the recreational harvest has reached its quota for the year. How that harvest is measured remains a mystery - I have never been stopped or asked about my catch in over 50 years of fishing. None of my captain friends have had their catches question. So - where does the NMFS get their catch numbers? Good question...

The swivel is normally the tie point between line and leader. It is supposed to act, as its name implies, as a swivel point. Essentially, the leader and everything below the swivel can spin and twist with out twisting your line. Instead, the bottom half of the swivel is supposed to turn. We all use them at some point in our fishing life. Swivels are an important part of the terminal tackle in use by most saltwater anglers. Yes, we all use them - but do we all use them for the same reasons?