CharlestonFishing.Com's FREE Weekly Newsletter

The In-Water Boat Show
The Charleston In-Water Boat show is this weekend offers a great opportunity to anglers and folks in the market for a new boat. Having the opportunity to compare a few boats you may be trying to make a decision about, all in one location is convenient and productive. The new venue at Ripley Light Yacht Club offers more space and a great setting for the show. There will be over 100 boats in the water and over 120 exhibitors on the land. Dealers offer some great deals at the shows and if you know what you are looking for and ready to buy, many times you can get a great price on the boat you want. Not only will you find boat dealers you can also find boat financing and insurance on site, as well as electronics and tackle retailers. The weather looks like it will cooperate for the show and offer some nice weather to get out and enjoy a day looking at and/or buying that boat of your dreams. For more information you can go to the boat show website at www.scinwaterboatshow.com

NEWS From BoatUS - Donate Your Boat To Science - NASBLA Accident Investigation Program to Stage Boat Collisions
     If you're a boater with a passion for forensic science - and you have a trailerable boat or PWC that you might consider using as a tax write off - a new program funded by a grant from the US Coast Guard could help the nation's waterway accident investigators improve training and better understand boat collision dynamics. The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) is using the grant to glean information from a series of staged, two-vessel collisions starting this September in Virginia. A variety of powered, trailerable watercraft from bass boats, open runabouts and pontoon craft to small cabin cruisers and personal watercraft will be involved. After the staged collisions are performed, NASBLA intends to relocate the subject vessels to the National Transportation Safety Board's Training Academy in Ashburn, VA, where they will be used in future NASBLA boating accident investigation training.
    The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is assisting NASBLA in its quest to secure donated boats for testing. Officers from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will help conduct the tests and TowBoatUS Potomac Marine is assisting with the on-scene logistics of the staged collisions.
    Watercraft owners who wish to donate their boat will receive verification of the IRS 501c3 donation for the fair market value. Boats need to be in operating condition - including propulsion - and include a trailer. Boat, motor and trailer certification of legal ownership and assignment to NASBLA is also required (either Certificate of Title, Certificate of Number or a Manufacturer's Statement of Origin).
    To donate your boat or if you have questions about the types of boats NASBLA is requesting, call 859-225-9687 or Email info@nasbla.org
The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit education and research organization primarily funded by the voluntary contributions of the 670,000 members of BoatUS.

Dolphin Tagging Research Project - April Update
Revelations Via Satellite
The program’s use of pop-off satellite tags to study dolphinfish has provided an exciting first-time glimpse into the world of the dolphinfish. These high-tech instruments indicate that fish off south Florida and those off South Carolina have many behavioral similarities. However, the data from each area also exhibited subtle differences that could be a function of the region’s seasonal ocean hydrology. Readers are reminded to keep in mind that these study specimens represent large and old members of the species during a specific time in a specific region. These results may not represent the behavior of smaller, younger members of the species.
Large bull dolphin in both areas clearly spent the majority of their time, both day and night, in the surface layer extending down 33 feet. Fish in both regions were found to use a larger portion of the water column, down to 300 to 400 feet deep, than previously suspected. They
made deep dives, below 98 feet, during both daylight and darkness but made more frequent and deeper dives during the night. It was during these deepest dives that they entered their coolest waters. Water temperatures utilized by the fish varied 21oF overall but showed a
common use of the temperatures between 72oF and 83oF and shared a use of surface waters in the range of 77oF to 83oF. After these common points, the behavior of the fish in each area showed possible temporal and spatial adaptations.
Read the full newsletter here

The fishing is turning on inshore and offshore as the weather warms up. Offshore the tuna yellowfin and blackfin are here. There has been a lot of action on dolphin and wahoo as well and there were several marlin caught and seen this week. Closer to shore the weakfish bite has been good around the reefs. Larger bluefish have been coming through and can be a great fight on light tackle. The sheepshead bite is going strong around the docks, bridges, and any type of piling you can find. The trout fishing has been really good inshore as well as the redfish and the flounder bite is picking up. There is some bait starting to show up in the creeks and it looks like we are off to some great spring fishing in the lowcountry. In the immortal words of the Miller High Life man, “It don’t get no better than this”.

Tight lines…
Andy Pickett
CharlestonFishing.Com