Recreation Office

A Primer on Competitive Fishing

Over the last 10 years or so, the internet has really facilitated in the growth of the fishing communities - via MySpace, Facebook etc, it’s now simple to coordinate or simply go to a fishing competition or informal get-together, while exchanging handy tips and tricks on Twitter, forums, blogs, Facebook etc

Continue Reading January 19th, 2010

Understanding the Effects Moonlight on Swordfishing

In order to better understand why swordfish concentrate their feeding habits in certain depths on any given night or why the bite is better during different times of the month requires you to better understand how the effects of moonlight influence swordfish.

Before you can understand how moonlight affects swordfish, you must understand the moon and its phases. The moon revolves around the earth in 27 days. The first phase of the moon at the beginning of its new revolution is what we call the “New Moon”. The new moon is when the moons face is in the shadow of the earth causing the moon to reflect no light and look dark to us. A week after the “new moon” the moon will be in its first quarter, meaning that one quarter of the moons total surface is reflecting light back to earth. Since we only see 50% of the moons surface, when the moon is in its first quarter it is actually referred to as a half moon by many of us since one half of the moons face is reflecting light. One week after the first quarter the moon will be full, and the whole face of the moon which is visible to us will be reflecting light. One week after the Full Moon and again the moon will appear as half since it will be in its last quarter. One week after the last quarter the moon will have completed its lunar cycle and be a “New Moon” again.

Now, if we look back to our past swordfish trips and our catch statistics we would see patterns for a few nights when all bites were at depths greater than 200′. And we would also see a pattern for a couple nights when all bites were at depths less than 100′. These changes are a direct effect from the amounts moonlight which was present during these patterns. We know swordfish are predatory species feeding on concentrations of squid and mackerel which are both diurnal species, meaning that during the bright daylight hours they stay in the deeper darker depths of the ocean and as daylight diminishes and night falls they rise to the shallower depths. Now, moonlight plays a role in where the concentrations of the bait will be congregating. For example, during a full moon, since much of the moonlight is shining through the oceans surface, the bright moonlight will cause the bait to stay deeper in the water column. Conversely, during a new moon with virtually no moonlight breaking the oceans surface the bait will congregate in shallower depths closer to the surface.

Of course, we should always have a bait in both the deeper and shallower part of the water column no matter what moon phase we are in, just in case there is swordfish wandering. Although, the brightness of the moon is an extremely good indication of what depth the majority of the swordfish bites we will be. During nights when the moon is full and bright the majority of baits should be fished deeper in the water column.

Tightlines,

Captain Vinnie La Sorsa
Swordfishing & OffShore Charters.

http://www.GoodFellasCharters.com

January 5th, 2010

How Fishing Has Gained from the Social Networking Scene

And in the last 10 years or so, the web has genuinely helped grow the angling communities - via Twitter, blogging etc, it’s now easy to coordinate or merely go to an angling competition or informal meet-up, while swapping handy tips and tricks on forums and blogs

Continue Reading December 29th, 2009

Acquiring Carp Fishing Tackle on the Internet Is Simple as Long as You Have Done Some Research before You Buy

Author Clinton J Veasey tells you where to get the right carp fishing tackle

A lot of people enjoy fishing trips each and every year and it’s not surprising given that fishing is such a popular hobby and sport. One of the most important purchases for this hobby is your tackle. There are a range of options available online as well as in stores throughout the UK.

First things first, if you’re interested in buying carp tackle, you’ll have a few things to think about. You’ll have to consider a budget because knowing how much to spend is important. It’s quite easy to work this out as long as you do your research.

Go to your favourite search engine, whether it’s Google or somewhere else, and type in products that you’re looking for. You should also have a pen and paper with you so that you can write down the prices as you go. Once you have a list of prices you should easily be able to work out a realistic budget.

Make sure that you have a pen and paper with you and make a note of the deals you see as you browse the web. You should also consider quality while you’re browsing because you want to ensure that the products you buy aren’t low quality and that they’ll last a few years at least.

It can be quite tempting to opt for the lowest prices but keep quality in mind. You may also want to consider heading into your local fishing store to see what they have on offer. However, only do this once you’ve got a good idea of what’s available online.

Buying online will give you access to a larger range of products and should help you see a huge range of options compared to simply looking in one store. Usually, the best deals are available online so you should definitely prioritise your shopping to the online market.

Overall, as long as you do your research, buying carp tackle should be easy. It’s simple to find offers online but you’ll have to ensure that you keep your wits about you and look out for deals that could be too good to be true. Keep a pen and paper with you when you’re browsing online so that you can make a note of the offer that you like the look of.

July 22nd, 2009