InTheBite

2019 ICAST Wrap Up: InTheBite Editor’s Choice

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Check out our Editor’s Choice of the latest new products at the annual ICAST show. Each year we attend the show to stay informed on the latest news, trends and equipment in the fishing industry. You’ll see most of the new products start to hit the shelves this fall and early 2020.

Live at the 2019 ICAST in Orlando, Florida – John Drouet shares with us the new product line of Diamond Fishing Products and maker of Hi-Catch monofilament fishing line. Diamond Fishing Products is dedicated to providing Fishermen and Women with the highest quality materials engineered to exceed the demands of fishing.

Eyewear – Costa Del Mar, Inc.
Product: WaterWoman

Squidnation – 

Footwear -Xtratuf

Clarion Marine Systems

Live at the 2019 ICAST – Steve Martin shares the latest and greatest coming from FishRazr Teasers.

Bubba – Fishing Net

Shimano – 2019 SpeedMaster 12 LDII & 16 LDII

Decorative Concepts – Supreme Canvas Line

Bionic Bait

 

Live at 2019 ICAST – Mike Milford, Owner of PlayAction and Braid Products, shares the newest products with a shoulder harness and HD rod belts.

Gerber Gear – Saltwater Fishing Tools & Knives

Bote – Inflatable Chair

SubSafe – Because nobody likes a soggy sub sandwich!

Luna Sea – Cushit Rod Butt and Floater

 

Atlantic Marine Electronics Transducer Install

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Ever wonder what goes into putting transducers under the hull of new Viking? We stopped by Atlantic Marine Electronics in Riviera Beach, Florida and watched and observed one of the top installers, Angel, demonstrate his skills on building a triple transducer installation. In Angels own words, “This will look like a cruise ship when I’m done with it”. We didn’t stick around for the in-hull application but we were certainly amazed how much goes into one of the captains biggest tools for finding fish.

Furuno NavNet TZtouch2 Now Offers CMOR Seafloor Mapping

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Camas, WA – Furuno USA has announced a software update for NavNet TZtouch2 that enables use of the popular CMOR seafloor maps. CMOR’s high-resolution, shaded-relief bathymetric bottom images help navigators identify suitable locations for fishing and diving, overlaid on top of NavNet’s conventional vector, raster, or fishing charts. CMOR’s high-resolution coverage for NavNet TZtouch2 Multi-Function Displays currently includes parts of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and southern portions of the East Coast, and additional areas will be available in the coming weeks.

The ability to overlay CMOR maps on the chart type of the customer’s choosing is a unique feature of NavNet TZtouch2. For current TZtouch2 owners, the maps properly formatted for use in TZtouch2 MFD’s are available for download from the Furuno web site at www.FurunoUSA.com, along with the software update and instructions for updating the NavNet TZtouch2 system. For customers new to TZtouch2, all new TZtouch2 MFD’s will now ship with a 256GB Micro SD card that includes all of the CMOR maps available, in addition to the system’s pre-loaded raster and vector charts that include most of the western hemisphere. Customers can unlock the CMOR charts at the time of purchase, or at any time thereafter.

For more information on CMOR maps, visit their website at www.cmormapping.com. To learn more about NavNet TZtouch2, or the complete line of Furuno Marine Electronics, see your local Furuno dealer or contact: Furuno U.S.A., 4400 N.W. Pacific Rim Blvd., Camas, WA 98607. Phone: (360) 834-9300

Furuno is a proud sponsor of the InTheBite Captain Of The Year Gulf Division. Click HERE for the current Cup standings in the Gulf.

InTheBite Dock Talk: St. Lucie Battery & Tire

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In this Dock Talk edition, President Doug Miller of St. Lucie Battery & Tire, showcases their line and services for marine batteries. Whatever your needs are, St. Lucie Battery & Tire has the marine batteries you need! Providing professional installation, dock side delivery, same or next service across Florida.

Final Results: 2019 Orange Beach Billfish Classic

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The 23rd Annual Orange Beach Billfish Classic (OBBC), kicked off the 2019 Gulf Coast Tournament Season with 48 boats chasing Blue Marlin and more than a $1M in prize money.

Relentless Pursuit, a 95′ Jim Smith, caught the winning fish shortly after the fleet departed Orange Beach on Thursday, May 16th. “We didn’t have a chance to do any pre-fishing before the tournament,” said Captain Robbie Doggett. “But we hadn’t been on the troll all that long when we got the bite we needed. What a way to start the season!”

Angler Dennis Pasentine, Jr. brought the fish to the boat in less than two hours and the crew started heading for Orange Beach to weigh their fish early the next morning. The team celebrated both the 116″ fish that weighed 658.2 pounds and team owner Dennis Pasentine’s birthday before a nice early morning crowd at The Wharf. The Blue Marlin would still be atop the leaderboard when the scales closed on Saturday night.

No other fish were weighed on Friday, but Saturday night saw two more Blue Marlin come to scales. Double J, a 42′ Freeman, saw their fish measure 107″ and 399.4 pounds. Current Alabama State Record holder for Blue Marlin, Chris Ferrara on the 70′ Viking Reel Fire, claimed third place with his 376 pound Blue Marlin which measured 108″.

Mollie the 66′ G & S from Destin, won Catch and Release and will have their name added to the Johnny Johnson Memorial Trophy, by releasing three Blue Marlin. Reel Fire also placed in the Catch and Release category with a second place finish by releasing two Blue Marlin.


Born 2 Run, a 72′ Viking from Pensacola finished in third place in Catch and Release by also releasing two Blue Marlin.

One of the highlights of this year’s tournament was the weighing in of two giant Bluefin Tuna. Hot Rod, a 56′ Viking from Sasser, GA, brought their 107″ fish in early on Saturday night to the delight of the crowd as the scale read 735 pounds. That fish was bumped to second place as the final fish of the night brought huge roars from the fans in attendance and those watching online.

Crawgator, a 61′ Viking from Venice, LA, caught their 110″ Bluefin late on Saturday and just missed setting a new Alabama state record with an 825-pound giant tuna. Tireless, a 44′ Cabo from Orange Beach, finished third with a 172.4-pound Yellowfin Tuna.

CE, a 65′ Hatteras from Point Clear, AL won the Wahoo division with a 58.0-pound fish. Crawgator also placed in the Wahoo division with a second place fish that weighed 45.2 lbs. and Relentless Pursuit also placed in multiple categories with a third-place finish in Wahoo at 40.2 lbs.

It was good to again see big Dolphin coming to the scales as a new tournament year begins. Lucky Dog, a 57 Bayliss from Destin, took first place with a 46.2 lbs. Mahi-Mahi. Second place went to A Team, a 43′ Viking from Galveston, Texas and third place was won by Breathe Reel Deep, a 52 Ocean from Orange Beach. Both fish weighed an identical 36.6 lbs.

The Top Lady Angler was Katie Gonsoulin on Done Deal as she released two Blue Marlin.

Thirty-Six Blue Marlin and three White Marlin were released in the 2019 Orange Beach Billfish Classic.

Official 2019 Orange Beach Billfish Classic Results

Blue Marlin
1st- 658.2 lbs. Relentless Purist- Angler Dennis Pasentine
2nd- 399.4 lbs. Double J- Angler Greg Gaubert
3rd- 376 lbs. Reel Fire- Angler Nathan Neames

Catch and Release 
1st- Mollie
2nd- Reel Fire
3rd- Born 2 Run

Tuna
1st- 825.6 lbs. Crawgator- Angler Bill Butler
2nd- 735 lbs. Hot Rod – Angler Stewart Fickel
3rd- 172.4 lbs. Tireless – Angler Gregg Trenor

Wahoo
1st – 58 lbs. CE – Angler Scott Cooper
2nd- 45.2 lbs. Crawgator – Angler Bill Butler
3rd- 40.2 lbs. Relentless Pursuit- Angler Johnny Pasentine

Dolphin
1st- 46.2 lbs. Lucky Dog – Angler Jarrett Johnson
2nd- 36.6 lbs. A Team – Angler Robert Sanderson
3rd- 36.6 lbs. Breathe Reel Deep – JC Jacobs

Top Lady Angler
Katie Gonsoulin on the Done Deal

Transducer Breakdown and Awards From AIRMAR

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AIRMAR Technology Corporation, the leader in the manufacture of transducers, is a proud sponsor of the Captain of the Year East Coast Division. 

When it comes to transducers, there is much more to it than meets the eye. In this edition of InTheBite Dock Talk, Airmar’s Marketing Director Craig Cushman provides an overview of how to determine the best package of transducers for your sportfishing program.

InTheBite presented the AIRMAR East Coast Division Captain of the Year award at the Bohicket Billfish Tournament captains meeting. Congratulations to Captain Alan Neiford and crew aboard Mister Pete, they had an awesome year! In addition to the recognition he receives from InTheBite, AIRMAR rewarded an additional prize of $2,000 because the boat was equipped with an AIRMAR transducer.

Orange Beach Billfish Classic Kicks Off the Furuno Gulf Coast Division

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The kick off to the Furuno Gulf Coast Division— the Orange Beach Billfish Classic— is officially underway.  Check out InTheBite.com for updates…

Source: Gulf Coast Triple Crown Enews —

Grander Marine & Invincible Boats Present The 2019 Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championship

Celebrating its ninth season in 2019, the Gulf Coast Triple Crown Championship, The Most Sought After Championship in Sportfishing will feature a couple of important changes to the series, including new sponsors. Grander Marine and Invincible Boats are coming aboard as the new 2019 Presenting Sponsors. The pairing is a good synergy on several levels.

“I personally like to fish the Triple Crown tournaments and have been part of a team that was in contention previously,” says Grander Marine owner and angler Chris Bazor. “Our company sells new boats, brokerage boats and offers service, so sponsoring the series is a good way to help fellow contestants and promote our business. We’ll be competing aboard a 40 Invincible catamaran this season, so we figured why not? The owner of Invincible Boats is a passionate offshore angler too and the company builds some of the best quality mono-hull and catamarans in the sport-fishing industry, so it was a natural partnership.”

Grander Marine has a showroom and full service facility on Canal Road in Orange Beach, Alabama. Another satellite facility is scheduled to open later this summer. In addition to being the Gulf Coast dealer for Invincible Boats, Grander Marine also carries a full line of premium fishing and pleasure boats as part of its line-up. The Blue Marlin Grand Championship, the final leg of the five-tournament series, is held at The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach.

GCTC Director Scott Burt also commissioned a commemorative trophy that will be on permanent display at The Wharf Marina’s Outfitter’s Store. Created by marine metal artist Frank Ledbetter, the perpetual trophy will sit atop a rotating base and will feature all previous Triple Crown Champions. The team trophy, another stunning marlin sculpture crafted by Ledbetter, will be awarded annually to each champion.

Access to ROFFS Through the FREE Mazu Sportfishing App

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Download your ROFFS fishing forecast hot spots while offshore with the free mazu SportFishing app. The detailed sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll, current and altimetry charts in the mazu SportFishing app, combined with overlaid ROFFS data is a powerful tool. Elevate your offshore angling with access to ROFFS comprehensive descriptions and information directly through the app. Visit www.mazu-marine.com for details!

InTheBite Dock Talk: Bye Bye Barnacle

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Ensure a trouble-free maintenance experience with Bye Bye Barnacle. The systems need to be flushed every 1 ½ months to avoid buildup of marine growth especially in warm waters and warmer climates. The flush unit is plumbed into the supply and return manifolds of the air conditioning and refrigeration systems. The flush unit is plumbed to on board fresh water system for filling and pumped overboard for draining contents overboard.

Check out this video tutorial on Bye Bye Barnacle by AugustWorks:

Bye Bye Barnacle is currently the only proven permanently installed flush unit on the market.

  • Save thousands on yearly flushes
  • Flushing takes mere hours, not all day
  • 1-year warranty on flush unit

Willy Vac – 2019 Latest Model

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Owner Bill Wallace shows us the latest model of the Willy Vac— a system that vacuums up standing water in the trouble areas that every boat has.