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1 month ago | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
Capt. Kevin Jeffries and I settled into a drift across a deep reef off Key Largo, Florida. Having boxed our share of blackfin tuna and rainbow runners over a wreck in 225 feet, our goal was to add a mutton snapper or two to the mix. Our wishes were fulfilled promptly. Drifting a live ballyhoo near bottom, I felt a slight tap, a pause, another tap, and a longer pause. “Must be small fish picking away at the bait,” I quipped to Jeffries. Seconds later, a thump pulled my rod into an arc.
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1 month ago | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
When it comes the live baits, there’s a worn adage. “Elephants eat peanuts” acknowledges that big fish sometimes consume small baits. But is that an exception that proves the rule? Big fish have insatiable appetites and large mouths, hence their inclination to hunt for one or two satisfying meals versus expending energy herding tiny prey. In the offshore world, some prime examples include blue marlin keying in on mahi and tuna, big mahi cannibalizing smaller mahi, and wahoo gorging on tuna.
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2 months ago | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
“A 50-pounder is the new 40-pounder,” quipped Rick Mola. “Trophy bass fishing in Western Long Island Sound has been exceptional over the past 10 years, and nothing short of incredible during the last few years.” As the owner of Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, Connecticut, few people know the Western Sound’s fisheries as thoroughly as Mola. I’ve fished the Western Sound numerous times over the years, primarily out of Norwalk and Long Island’s Port Jefferson.
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2 months ago | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
A few seasons ago, I dropped a ballyhoo-tipped 10-ounce jig along the deep edge of a Bimini reef in the Bahamas. I did not hook my intended target; instead, I found myself battling a massive shark. After fighting the fish for over an hour on 30-pound jigging tackle, I placed the outfit in a bow-mounted Lee’s swivel rod holder. It was time for the fish to wear itself out, not vice versa.
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Mar 10, 2025 | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
Spring is one of the hottest fishing months off southeast Florida, particularly Miami. In April and May, a major sailfish migration occurs along the coast. These are large breeding-class sailfish, not the typical 35- to 45-pounders common during winter. Add in a mix of large blackfin tuna, early arrivals of mahi and a sprinkling of wahoo, and it becomes difficult focusing on just one species.
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Feb 12, 2025 | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
A steady drizzle of liquid sunshine kept us huddled underneath my T-top. Armani Garcia, Diego Toiran and I had just entered Hawk Channel by the Marquesas, some 28 miles west of Key West. This navigable, shallow belt averages 10 to 30 feet deep and spans along the Keys’ Atlantic side. During the cooler waters of winter and spring, an influx of bait and gamefish enters these shallows, hence what brought us here. We trolled Rapala hard baits from two 10-pound-class spin outfits.
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Jan 13, 2025 | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
We were 70 miles offshore of Destin. Intently focused on the rod tip for a bite, Capt. Adam Peeples and I were slow-drifting a skirted strip bait 1,500 feet deep for swordfish. That’s when the rod tip straightened up from a lack of weight. A swordfish was swimming upward with the bait. I rushed to the outfit, reclaimed the slack, came tight to the fish, and settled into battle. Just shy of an hour later, Peeples did the gaffing honors on a memorable fish.
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Nov 11, 2024 | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
When bottom bites are few and far in between, the ballyhoo plug will shake things up. This popular rigging tactic fools not only leery mutton and mangrove snapper, but also grouper, cobia, and various lower- and midlevel species. As basic as the ballyhoo plug may appear, follow our guidelines to maximize its stealthiness and, in turn, effectiveness. Capt. Ben Sharpe has been fishing the Bahamas and southern Florida waters for most of his life.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
I love to fish for anything that swims in saltwater, yet I’m an offshore man at heart. And while I’ve spent decades chasing marlin, sailfish, tuna, swordfish, wahoo and dolphin, everyone has their favorite game fish, including me. If someone forced me to narrow my favorite to just one species, I’d tightly squint my eyes, take a deep breath and say, “dolphin!” I doubt I would be alone in this decision.
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Sep 25, 2024 | 
saltwatersportsman.com | George Poveromo
Swimming plugs catch a wide variety of inshore and offshore game. When trolled, these lures excel at covering ground, which in turn expedites finding fish, penetrating active water-column sections while exuding enticing swimming actions and vibrations, and solidly hooking predators that buy the illusion. As simple as towing a swimming plug behind a boat might sound, specific rigging tactics and materials maximize their action, longevity and strike potential.
