Fishing Blog
Hook & Tackle was proud to sponsor the 9th Annual Mad Dog Mandich Fishing Classic in Islamorada, The Florida Keys.
Proceeds benefits Oncology Department at Mariners Hospital in the Florida Keys. It allows residents to receive treatment locally as oppose to traveling over 60 miles to the mainland in Miami.
Over 40 boats attended this large extravaganza with parties, music, cocktails and fun.
The event was started 9 years ago by Jim Mandich, former Miami Dolphins player who played during the "Perfect" Season and in 3 Super Bowls. Jim passed away 6 year ago from bile duct cancer and his children has continued the event making it a world class fishing tournament while raising awareness and helping to battle cancer #tacklecancer
Modern bass fishing has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry. The sport has changed drastically since its beginnings in the late 19th century. From humble beginnings, the bass has become the second most specifically sought-after game fish in the USA. The sport has driven the development of all manner of fishing gear, including rods, reels, lines, lures, clothing, electronic depth and fish-finding instruments, drift boats, float tubes, also boats specified for bass fishing.
Largemouth bass populations boomed after the U.S. Department of Agriculture began to advise and assist farmers in constructing and stocking farm ponds with largemouth bass, even offering advice on managing various fish species. Soon, those who had stocked largemouth bass on their farm ponds began to pursue them on a burgeoning number of new reservoirs and impoundments built in the United States during the 1940s and 1950s.
The increasing popularity of the sport combined with "catch and release" practices have in some cases led to an overpopulation of bass.
An overpopulated, stunted bass population can best be detected in the spring when all the bass are at least one year old. If virtually all the bass are 4 inches long or smaller, the population is probably stunted. Some indicators that a bass population is overpopulated.
In modern bass fishing competitions, caught bass are placed in a live well, and released as soon as caught and weighed by officials. Competitors are penalized heavily for dead fish and in some cases dead fish are not weighed. Fish turned in for weighing are immediately released or placed in tanks and treated for stress and glyco-protein injury, then released back into the water.
There are lots of Red Snapper being caught today in Panama City Beach. Just ask the guys from Reel Addiction Fishing Charter. Anglers travel to the Emerald Coast hoping to make that catch in the Gulf of Mexico.
The typical Red Snapper grows to 25 pounds, though the largest ever caught in the state of Florida is 46 pounds.
Red Snapper are typically found in deep waters, and like to hangout in schools near reefs, shipwrecks, and oil rigs. Your best chance at catching some tasty Snapper is to head out to deep waters.
In 2016, new laws were put into effect that will offer a much longer and more fruitful Snapper Season to for-hire vessels, while tightening up on private vessels
While in Panama City Beach, please visit the new Hook & Tackle Flagship store located at Pier Park and contact our friends at Reel Addiction Fishing Charters at 850.768.2327
Snook Fishing has become a sport in itself.
Snook are opportunistic predators whose feeding habits indicate that there is a positive relationship between their size and the size of their prey, meaning that as the snook grows it feeds on larger and larger prey.
The snook is a popular gamefish alongside the tarpon, permit and redfish.
They can be found inshore alongside mangroves and widespread throughout the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from the coast of the North Carolina to Brazil including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Many sport fishing fans enjoy the Snook so much, Hook & Tackle has created The Snook Collection of Snook fishing shirts, Snook fishing t-shirts and a Snook backpack.
Because there is no vaccine for Zika, the CDC recommends protection from mosquito bites including the use of permethrin treated clothing, such as Hook & Tackle's® Insect-Repellent Apparel.
Prevention tactics recommended by the CDC:
- #1 Use insect repellents.
- If you use both sunscreen and insect repellent, apply the sunscreen first and then the repellent.
- Do not spray insect repellent on the skin under clothing.
- Treat clothing with permethrin or purchase permethrin-treated clothing like Hook & Tackle's® Bug/X shirt and Head Honchos Face & Neck Gaiters.
- Always follow the label instructions when using insect repellent or sunscreen.
- Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
- Use air conditioning or window/door screens to keep mosquitoes outside. If you are not able to protect
yourself from mosquitoes inside your home or hotel, sleep under a mosquito bed net.
- Help reduce the number of mosquitoes inside and outside your home or hotel room by emptying standing
water from containers such as flowerpots or buckets.
- Prevent Zika by avoiding mosquito bites. Mosquitoes that spread Zika virus bite mostly during the daytime.
Zika virus is transmitted to people from the bite of an Aedes aegypti, or Aedes albopictus mosquito. The Zika virus, unlike other mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue or malaria, is newer and less studied. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Outbreaks of Zika have occurred in areas of Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas.
Travel Health Warnings:
The CDC has issued travel health warnings for pregnant women considering travel to the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, The Pacific Islands, and South America.
About Insect Shield® Technology:
Insect Shield Repellent Apparel and Gear are revolutionary products designed to provide long-lasting, effective and convenient personal insect protection. The durable protection provided by Insect Shield is the result of years of research and testing. In July 2003, Insect Shield Repellent Apparel was registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Insect Shield Technology is utilized by leading lifestyle brands, work wear distributors and International relief organizations across the globe to provide effective protection against insects and the diseases they can carry. Insect Shield® is an approved vendor of the US Army and US Marine Corps.
Mosquito-borne illnesses such as malaria, Dengue fever and West Nile virus are still a challenge throughout the globe. However, a newer mosquito-borne illness called Zika Virus is causing serious concerns in the U.S., Brazil as well as the Caribbean (