A couple of months back, we ran an article about "New Age" deep jigging. Popular in Asia, the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, it's taken a while for the technique to gain much traction with American fishermen.

The technique has finally gotten a boost in the US with Shimano's introduction of their "Butterfly Jigging" system. Shimano has been sellng the technique as a total system: rods, reels, line, lures, and a retrieve technique that they equate to the equivalent of "walking the dog".

"Walking the dog" is a method of retrieving topwater lures so that the nose of the lure swings back and forth. The Shimano deep jigging technique does a similar thing but on a vertical plane as the jig is retrieved. Check out the intro video from Shimano's website. NOTE: this video uses Quicktime technology, and is NOT a streaming video link, so it may take a while for the thing to start up. This is an issue with Shimano's site, not OSJ...

Shimano has updated the specs on the reels they recommend for deep jigging to include inches of line retrieved per turn of the handle, and the maximum drag force the reel is capable of generating. Some of the specs on their spinning reels are surprising, to say the least - their 10000FA and 20000FA Stella reels boast twin drag systems capable of generating over 55 lbs of drag, and they both pick up over 3.5 feet of line per crank of the handle. Compare this to the Trinidad 30, which picks up a little less than 4 feet of line per handle turn, but only generates about 16.5 lbs of drag!

When we first saw the specs of the Stellas, we were a little concerned about how our test Thunnus 16000 spinning reel would stack up, but it turns out the Thunnus 16000 specs compare very well to the Trinidad 30 (about 3.5 feet of line / crank, 17 lbs of drag).

Where are we with the technique? Unfortunately, we're still waiting to give it a serious try. It's been a dismal summer offshore season here in San Diego, and we've only had one or two situations where we could give it a shot. However, with water temperatures dropping, we're looking forward to trying it on our deep water home-guard yellowtail this winter.

If you've been following the Toy Boat 2 Vessel Log, you know that while we've been very happy with the performance of our new Evinrude E-TEC, we've encountered a few problems:

• The engine died once, and would not restart. Apparently we had trashed the fuel pump with dirty fuel.
  
  
• The "Low Oil" alarm would trigger occasionally when going off large swells. Apparently, the oil level sensor was not set up to handle the zero-G "float" conditions that we saw while running in big swells.
  
  
• The "Check Engine" light would come on for no apparent reason. According to the dealer, this was due to a
  
  faulty Engine Management Module (EMM). The EMM recorded low voltage being output from the stator when idling (the system requires 55V in order for the fuel pump and injectors to function properly), but diagnostics indicated the stator was OK..

Where are we now? On 8/31/2005 we took the boat in to have the dealer (Sunset Marine in Oceanside) work on the last two problems. As of 11/01/05, we're still waiting to get the boat back.

Sunset Marine indicated that Bombardier decided to replace the stator and associated wiring harness in addition to the EMM, "just in case", and that they were waiting for the parts to arrive. We were assured that the new EMM included the software patch for the Low Oil alarm problems as well.

Target date for returning the boat was no later than 10/21/2005. Then it was 10/27/2005. Then a problem was discovered with one of the parts, and replacement parts were being over-nighted from Wisconsin. And so, here we are...9 weeks later, with no boat. However, if everything arrives as planned, we should have the boat back this week.

We have to admit that we're a little disappointed. Not in Sunset Marine, who appears to be working the problem as well as can be expected. And not in Evinrude's warranty repair policy - Evinrude has been great about stepping up and replacing parts proactively.

We're disappointed because given the fact that the E-TEC 90 has been out for at least a couple of years, it's hard to believe that relatively low-tech items like a wiring harness and a stator are so hard to obtain. We hope that this is not a bad sign for parts availability.

After reviewing a bunch of posts on the Internet, we've come to the conclusion that demand is so high for the E-TECs that Evinrude is having trouble getting enough parts. If true, that's a mixed blessing - good news for Evinrude financially, but potentially bad news for parts availability for a while.

Once we get the boat back, we'll get the boat out on the water ASAP, and let you know how the engine is working.

Fisheries management is an incredibly complex topic. It involves scientific, social, political and economic forces on a global scale, yet the impacts are often felt by recreational fishermen on a local basis. There is no "silver bullet" for protecting fisheries, and in all likelihood, the real answers will have be decided on a case-by-case, region-by-region basis for non-pelagic species, and on a global basis for pelagics like tuna and billfish.

There are lots of ways to affect fisheries, but one that has not been exploited much is trying to control consumer demand for seafood. The underlying concept is that overfishing and poor aquaculture practices are (at least partially) caused by too much demand for certain types of seafood.

As demand rises, prices go up. And when prices go up, bad things can happen. Commercial fishing or aquaculture goals may focus on maximizing short-term yield, rather than protecting long-term sustainability of the fishery, or safeguarding the environment. By managing demand, market forces will help guide all parties (governments, commercial fishermen, environmental groups and recreational fishermen) to the right answers.

With this in mind, the Blue Ocean Institute has written a brochure called "Miniguide to Ocean Friendly Seafood ". It reviews 32 types of seafood, ranging from swordfish through shellfish and discusses the environmental and resource management issues surrounding the consumption of that type of seafood.

It distinguishes between farmed vs. wild fish, different catch techniques and the impact of bycatch, FDA / EPA health advisories, and regional concerns. They have a color-coding sheme to identify those seafoods that they consider to be most "ocean-friendly", e.g. clean/green, and coming from a sustainable, renewable resource. It seems like a pretty unbiased view.

"We spent a lot of time collecting and reviewing information from all viewpoints," says Mary Turnipseed, Senior Researcher at Blue Ocean. "All seafood guide entries and rankings were reviewed by people involved in research or management of the species listed, and we tried very hard to present a balanced summary of the information."

"Most people don't realize that many fish species are in danger and are not being fished in a sustainable manner. And very few know about the affects of bycatch", continued Turnipseed. "By educating the public, our belief is that people will try to do the right thing, and adjust their buying habits to be more ocean-friendly".

Before you dismiss this effort as some sort of fringe-element, thinly-disguised PETA propaganda, you need to know that one of the sponsors of the Miniguide is the United Anglers of Southern California, a well-respected recreational fishing lobbying group, and the Miniguide is endorsed by the Coastal Conservation Association, a recreational fishing organization that represents fishermen along the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard.

"We looked over the guide very carefully," says Dan Fink, Outreach Coordinator for UASC, "and we believe it does a good job of summarizing the issues. Even if people don't agree with the rankings, we feel that just getting people to think about these issues and make the connection to what they eat in a restaurant or buy in a store will have value".

Both UASC and the CCA have mailed copies of the Miniguide out to their members. If you don't have a copy, you can download either a color or B&W version of the miniguide in our Resources section of the website.

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A lot of press on the topic of trolling spreads in the last few months (see sidebar). We find it really fascinating to see the different approaches to setting out baits, lures and teasers, and how they vary by species and geographic region. One of the most applicable articles to OSJ is George Poveromo's Tactics+Tackle column in the July 2005 issue of Salt Water Sportsman, titled "The Small-Boat Spread" .

While George's 28 ft. Mako center console is a bit longer than our self-imposed limit of 24 feet, it seems like most of the comments still have value. Here are some highlights:

• He fishes a dense spread for a small boat - 8 lines
  
  
• He runs his lures in a staggered diamond formation , to set each lure visibly apart from the others
  
  
• He runs a center stinger lure at least 100 yards behind the boat
  
  
• He runs two lines off each outrigger. To accomplish this, his outriggers have external eyes (rather than running the rigging through the center of the rigger like our Precision Marine outriggers), and he has two halyards per outrigger . He does not combine two clips on one line.
  
  
• His favorite teasers include the Moldcraft fenders, a daisy chain of bowling pin lures, and the Strip Teaser , which is a six-arm dredge of mylar strips with fish images imprinted on them
  

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The July/August 2005 issue of The Big Game Fishing Journal contains an interesting article titled "Small Tackle -> Big Bills", by Hippo Lau. The article describes an interesting approach to fighting fish when using heavy GSP braids. Since superbraids are so thin, it has become possible to use smaller and smaller reels with heavier and heavier line, and still achieve the capacity needed for fishing offshore. For example, we were able to fit almost 500 yards of 50 lb PowerPro on our test Shimano Thunnus 16000 spinning reel. Compare this to a Penn Senator 114H, which "only" holds 475 yards of 50 lb mono!

Some small reels have been adapted mechanically to handle the heavier drags, and there are more than a few (such as one of our test reels, the Accurate Boss 870 ) that are more than capable of handling the superbraids. However, these small reels are not well matched to rods that are strong enough to survive using these heavy test lines. On the other hand, rods that balance well with these reels are usually too light to handle 50 - 80 test line.

To get around this problem, some innovative Bay Area fishermen have developed a new form of fighting fish that removes the rods from the picture almost entirely. They use a heavy drag, point the rod directly at the fish, and pull straight back (the "Draw"). To gain line, they simple thrust the rod straight towards the fish, while cranking the reel (the "Shoot").

While you don't gain a lot of line with each cycle, it is claimed to be a very efficient way of fighting fish. Even more than a regular "short stroke" pump. No word on where a rod belt or harness fits in, but it looks like the technique is not well suited for it.

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Nowadays it seems like people are more interested in seeing a conflicting view or new product go down in flames than in developing a fair opinion.

A good example occurred when Powerboat Reports' ran an article in their July 2005 issue that announced that one of their long-term Evinrude E-TEC test engines had the powerhead replaced. The engine had just over 100 hours on it. Within a few days, the buzz on some of the Internet forums was that "One of the E-TECs developed a loud rattle and failed, forcing Evinrude to replace the powerhead. Evinrude blamed the failure on the use of non-Evinrude oil". A number of people trumpeted this as confirmation that E-TECs were untested, unreliable, and too complicated for the average person to use.

To recap the FACTS: At just over 100 hours, one of PBR's E-TECs developed a rattling noise at idle (600 rpm). There was never any loss of power or poor performance. When they reported it to Evinrude, Evinrude replaced the powerhead under warranty, even though there was no sign of a problem other than the rattle.

Unfortunately, the powerhead swap took two weeks to complete. It took some time to ship the new powerhead, and then the mechanic did not have the right tool to pull the fuel injectors. As of PBR's press time, no one knew what caused the rattle. PBR's contact at Evinrude conjectured that the rattle MIGHT have been to due to the use of non-Evinrude oil, but she didn't know for sure.

Is this a disappointment? Sure. Is it an indictment of E-TECs? Hardly. It is interesting to note that all  of PBR's other long-term test motors (which include 3 Evinrude Fichts, a Mercury Optimax, a carbureted Evinrude, a Honda and 2 Suzukis ), in PBR's words, "performed almost flawlessly".

However, a review of their past issues found that all but one engine had had at least one minor problem during their tests ( the only trouble-free motor? The Honda, of course). None of the other problems had precipitated a powerhead swap, but it's not clear if the swap was really necessary. Hopefully, Evinrude will get back to PBR with some sort of diagnosis which will clear things up.

May, June and July saw a couple of magazines (Big Game Fishing Journal, Pacific Coast Sportfishing) feature articles on making a small boat fish better offshore. We were excited, to say the least, until we read the articles.

They were great issues, but we forgot that to most people, a "small" offshore boat is 21'. Sheesh...

Still, there was some good info in the articles, although many of the points have already been discussed here. We recommend that you take a look at the May/June 2006 issue of BG Fishing Journal, and the July 2006 issue of PCS.

Some of the more interesting points:

Big Game Journal, May/June 2006:

"Making Your Small Boat Fish Big" by Captain Jim Freda,
Captain Freda adjusts his speed "by ear". That is - when he finds a speed where he is getting strikes, he adjusts his speed to reproduce the sound of the motor, rather than trying to match a tach or throttle setting.

"8 Steps to Make Your Boat Bigger" by Captain Tred Barta
Capt. Barta is a controversial character, to say the least. A lot of people disagree with what he has to say. But he had one bit of philosophical advice in this article that I really liked: "Success in bluewater fishing is all about believing in yourself and not changing techniques like your underwear."

Pacific Coast Sportfishing, July 2006

"Tricked Out Trailerables" by Bill DePriest
A number of points already covered here, such as outriggers/downriggers, more rod holders, larger bait tank. One nice touch was a set of tuna tubes for the transom of the boat, fabricated from PVC pipe and plumbed into the livewell system. A nice touch for a billfisherman. The author also replaced his ice chest with a soft-sided kill bag, which he felt was easier to clean out, and more convenient to store.

You've got to hand it to the folks at Google - they come up with some clever ways to advertise. One of the neatest wrinkles (how's that for an oxymoron) is a concept they call "AdSense".

AdSense works like this:

• Google provides code to create small block or banner ads on your web page. The ads are paid for by their advertising customers.
  
  
• Google's software evaluates the content on the page where the ad appear, and tailors the content of the ad to match the page content (or as close as possible).
  
  
• The owner of the web page gets paid a small amount of money for people clicking through the ad to the customer's site.

Since our initial survey indicated you don't have a problem with limited advertising, we've decided to give AdSense a try, at least for a few issues. Check out the links on the left side of the page. This fits in well with the OSJ model. Since we don't wind up directly taking advertising money from anyone, we can remain objective as we work with different products.

So, if you want to help us keep the site going, click on some of the ads that you see - the spare change will be a big help in offsetting the cost of running OSJ.