I just discovered that Casio offers some watch that do a whole lot more then tell time. That have watches with compasses, moon phases and tides all wrapped up in one tasty package. If you are a long time fisherman, I’m sure I don’t need to explain how all of these things could came in very handy for a fisherman. Since I live near the ocean, there tides and moon phases really interest me. I’ll be hitting the saltwater every chance I can for the rest of the season since a friend of mine now has access to a decent little boat.

Combining the best elements of Pathfinder & Sea Pathfinder, Casio introduces the best Pathfinder to date. The Multi-Band 5 Atomic Solar Pathfinder steps beyond its core competencies of Digital Compass, Altimeter, Barometer and Thermometer by adding Tide and Moon Graphs and Moon Age Data. And if that wasn’t enough, it’s 200M Water Resistant!

Casio Sea Pathfinder

Sadly I could never justify the $400 price tag that comes with this watch – especially when there are so many awesome fishing reels that need to be purchased first!

This beautiful muskie was caught in the Saint John River near Fredericton, which despite its size and distance (200km) from the ocean rises and falls with the world largest tides in the Bay of Fundy.

via Muskies Inc New Brunswick

“I think these were just fish that were poking around, looking for food,” said Brett Barkdull, a fish biologist with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife who lives near the stranding area. “These fish have been out here for quite a while now, but I’ve personally never seen anything quite like this.”

It is believed that most of the fish survived long enough for the tide to rise.

“It looks like they chose to overextend their visit on the mud flats,” James said. “The feeding must have been pretty good.”

via The Female Angle

How do you catch fish in water over ten meters deep using a rod that does not have a reel, or even guides for your line? Simple: fashion the rod from bamboo, hollow out the centre and run the line through the middle and out the very end of the rod. Wrap your spare line around a couple of pegs at the other end, and you are ready to indulge in the traditional Japanese fishing technique known as tebane.

I first started using this technique to catch a fish known in Japanese as haze. Its scientific name is Acanthogobius flavimanus; however, there appears to be a lack of consensus over its common name in English, with references calling it spiny goby, yellowfin goby or spotted goby. For the sake of simplicity, from here on I will refer to the creatures as just ‘goby’. Gobies are a small, seasonal fish widespread throughout Pacific Asia, and grow up to 20cm in size; they favor muddy habitats and are tolerant of a wide range of temperature and salinity. The traditional goby fishing season starts in September, when the fish migrate from rivers and estuaries to the sea, in order to spawn. Boats packed with goby fans leave port early in the morning from all over Tokyo and Yokohama, and head to sheltered coves and bay areas where the gobies are known to congregate; although the general regions are fairly well known, each skipper has his own secret spot, usually well-managed and handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. The best goby points are those that are inaccessible from land, preventing others from casting or throwing nets from the shore, and where the waters and tides are relatively calm. When I go fishing for goby, I always use the services of a boathouse called Fukagawa Fujimi, which is located in the southeast of Tokyo. Fujimi is one of the longest-running such businesses in Japan: they have been a family-run affair since before the beginning of the Edo Period, over four hundred years ago. The skipper, a lean, sun-tanned Tokyoite known to regulars as ‘Captain Beard’ due to his whiskers, is famous for both his prowess at catching gobies (which is quite fearsome) and for his no-nonsense, old school approach to not just fishing, but to life in general. Although his countenance is often intimidating to newcomers, he is always happy to take the time to teach beginners – in his thick, east Tokyo accent – the science of traditional goby fishing with bamboo rods, and as a novice I count myself lucky to be able to learn from his vast experience.

Continue reading A Different Kind of Fishing, by Adam Guy