Here are a few samples of past and current writing. I haven’t done much boating/fishing-related editorial work since I started doing commercial stuff, so those samples are older. Recent commercial copy is toward the bottom. I’m comfortable with expository, how-to, travel, explaining technical concepts to lay audiences, and essay/opinion/humor
Sportfishing Section from Sea Magazine
I did all of Sea’s fishing stuff from 2005 through early 2008. Most issues included a longer how-to piece, a couple of shorter “Fishtips,” and a little first-person vignette.
Rigging Small Boats to Fish Big
Despite the increasing popularity of smaller, more economical fish boats, big twin-diesel battlewagons remain the choice of serious offshore fishermen. They put spotters higher above the water, back down on fish better, and can accommodate wider, larger trolling spreads. On the other hand, smaller boats can be modified to overcome some of their inherent disadvantages — to "fish bigger."
Possibly the most critical shortcoming of many smaller boats — at least in terms of offshore fishing — is lack of height. For spotting kelp paddies, working birds, jumping tuna and tailing marlin, elevation is crucial. This is a fairly simple — if fairly expensive — problem to remedy.
Aftermarket tower fabricators can add a second helm station on the T-top or hardtop/half tower of almost any boat, although it can cost as much as $10,000. A simpler and less expensive option is to add a "crow's nest" or "belly loop" — essentially a secure, semi-comfortable place for a spotter to stand aloft — rather than a complete second station with controls. Adding a crow's nest to an existing T-top or half tower should run you roughly $1,500 to $2,000.
Another shortcoming of many smaller boats is limited ability to back down on a fish. Big battlewagons back down well both because they have full, high transoms to keep (most of) the water out and because their widely spaced twin screws allow them to pivot in their own length.
Unfortunately, there's not much to be done about engine placement nor about transom height or configuration, but adding a fighting station forward capitalizes on one of the primary strengths of many smaller boats — ease of access to the bow. It's rarely practical to add a true fighting chair to the bow, but it's relatively easy to add a leaning post of some kind against which an angler can brace him- or herself while fighting.
A forward fighting station avoids the problem of waves smashing into or over the transom. Single-engine boats, obviously are much more responsive in forward than in reverse, and, for the helmsman, staying with a fish being fought from the bow is far more intuitive than chasing a fish in reverse.
For increasing the width of the trolling spread on smaller boats, outriggers are the obvious answer. Boat size, of course, limits outrigger length, but 15- to 18-foot models can be mounted on the T-top, hardtop, gunnels or flybridge sides of virtually any boat. The new generation of high-quality telescoping poles makes 'riggers even more convenient on small boats. Prices range from about $200 for a basic, gunnel-mount setup to $2,000 or more for trick, top-mount bases and telescoping poles. To really max-out your spread, consider adding a center-rigger, which can be easily clamped to the aft edge of a T-top or hardtop.
Fishtip 1: Store Rods Vertically
The best way to store fishing rods, even for short periods of time, is in a vertical rack with no tension at all on the line. Leaning them against a wall, especially with a reel attached, bends the tip slightly, and eventually the bend will become permanent. (Fiberglass rods are more prone to "taking a set" than graphite.) Storing rods with tension on the line has the same effect. Likewise, always loosen reel drags completely at the end of each day to keep drag washers from compressing under constant pressure.
Fishtip 2: Another Option for Semi-private Communication
Want to share information semi-privately with a fishing buddy or two? DSC-capable VHF radios allow a certain degree of privacy, but not a lot. Cell phones are of course very private — assuming you and the skipper you want to communicate with both have a signal.
For the time being, a better option than either for semi-private fishing chatter is a pair of the new generation of handheld, hybrid FRS/GMRS two-way radios. These radios typically feature 22 channels — 7 FRS, 8 GMRS and 7 combination.
At ski areas, shopping malls and amusement parks, FRS and GMRS channels are crowded, but so far very few anglers have started using these radios. So chances are good you can call a buddy in on a bite without alerting the whole fleet.
The effective range of FRS transmissions is no more than a mile or so, but GMRS range, depending on transmitter power, can exceed 15 miles. The catch is that you're officially required to have an FCC license to use GMRS. There's no exam, but the application fee is $85. On the other hand, a pair of good radios costs less than $100.
Firsthand: Bananas and Superstition
I don't consider myself a superstitious guy. Sure, I forbid bananas on my boat, but that's just playing it safe. I don't particularly like the things anyway, and it certainly doesn't hurt to run a banana-free boat.
If I were really superstitious, I wouldn't even write the phrase "bananas on my boat," let alone allow crew members to bring Banana Boat sunscreen aboard, which I occasionally have in the past with no apparent ill effects.
The ancient no-bananas superstition is prevalent at least throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and quite likely throughout the world. And there are nearly as many theories about its origin as there are anglers who subscribe to it.
They range from the relatively mundane — anglers slipping on banana peels dropped on deck and injuring themselves, for example — to the sinister — crewmen being stung or bitten by spiders, scorpions or snakes that stowed away in banana bunches on cargo ships, or poisoned by methane gas produced by cargoes of bananas rotting in poorly ventilated holds.
Regardless of its origins, the idea that the simple presence of a harmless yellow fruit aboard a boat could keep its crew for catching fish — or worse — is, like all such superstitions, essentially silly. So am I going to put it to the test? Not a chance ...
Expository Column from “FishRap”
Drift-control for Fishing and Safety
Drift socks and sea anchors are commonly used for fishing reasons on the East Coast and Gulf Coast, but most California anglers still think of them mainly as safety devices. There are lots of applications, though, in Southern California fishing for drift-control devices, from inshore to offshore.
Different Animals
Drift socks and sea anchors are cone-shaped or bowl-shaped cloth “bags” that are deployed overboard with the open end facing the boat. Just as a parachute slows the descent of a skydiver through the air, drift socks and sea anchors slow the wind-induced drift of a boat. Otherwise, the two are quite different animals.
The most obvious difference is size. Drift socks are smaller — usually 6 feet or less across the open end. Sea anchors come in wide range of sizes, but for typical recreational fishing boats, they're about 9 to more than 15 feet across.
The first sea anchors were actually surplus parachutes, and modern versions retain that basic shape. Most drift socks, on the other hand, are conical. Drift socks are usually made of heavy nylon or canvas, in contrast to the lightweight, high-tech materials used in sea anchors.
Drift socks, which are much less expensive than sea anchors, are intended only for fishing purposes — not for safety. Their advantage — in addition to a smaller price tag — is that they’re rigged very simply and thus are much easier to deploy, retrieve and handle.
Sea anchors, on the other hand, offer far greater “holding power” than drift socks, even with the same diameter. They’re more expensive, but remember that you're buying both a fishing tool and an extremely valuable safety device.
Fishing Applications
The most obvious fishing application for either kind of drift-control device is slowing the boat while drift-fishing on or near the bottom for halibut or rockfish, and even for bass in the bays. When the wind is up, a drift sock or sea anchor can reduce drift speed enough to make fishing possible when otherwise your line would belly out, making it hard to detect bites or even get to the bottom.
Reducing drift speed can also be useful in other types of fishing. Take a good kelp paddy on a breezy afternoon, for example. If you can slow your drift, you can stay in the "zone" on each drift and motor back upwind less often.
Drift socks — but not sea anchors — also work well to slow your boat down when slow-trolling live baits. Many boats with high-horsepower engines and lots of prop pitch move too fast even at dead-idle to effectively slow-troll. Tie a drift sock to a stern cleat, and you've got far more control over boat speed.
A somewhat less intuitive application for drift socks and sea anchors is actually increasing drift speed. In some cases, especially in harbor mouths and channels, an opposing wind and current can reduce the drift to practically zero. Here, a drift sock or sea anchor can “catch” the current like and drag the boat along behind it, again making fishing possible when it would otherwise be impossible or at least unproductive.
Valuable Safety Devices
As a safety device, a sea anchor keeps the bow of a drifting boat into the seas. Because most fishing boats naturally drift with their sterns to the seas, this is critical if you lose power. Otherwise, the vulnerable transom is exposed to the waves, increasing the chance of swamping.
The ability of a sea anchor to dramatically slow a drifting boat can also be important in emergency situations. If you lose power off a lee shore, for example, a sea anchor will buy you valuable time to make repairs, set ground tackle, wait for help to arrive, etc. And if you lose electrical power and radio communications after an initial distress call, a sea anchor will keep you closer to your last known position, making rescue easier.
Even for a boat still under power, a sea anchor can provide a measure of safety in heavy weather. Keeping the bow of a small boat into the wind can require quite a bit of throttle. In some situations maintaining enough headway to steer into the wind can be downright dangerous. But a sea anchor will hold the bow into the wind without burning fuel that may be needed to get back home.
Lastly, drift socks and sea anchors can make laying over for a night offshore safer and more comfortable. With a sea anchor out, the distance you drift during the night will be reduced by as much as 90 percent, which both improves safety and, if you ended the day before with a hot bite, keeps you closer to it. Also, for crewmembers not on watch, sleeping is much more comfortable with the bow into the seas than with the boat drifting stern-to or rolling in the trough.
Travel Feature from Sea Magazine
This was based on research I was doing for my book, The Angler’s Guide to Trailer-Boating Baja.
Three Great Baja Trailer-boat Expeditions
There are upwards of 20 places in Baja California where it's possible to launch a substantial trailer-boat, and nearly all of them are close to outstanding fishing. But there's more to a great trailer-boat destination than good fishing and a place to put a boat in the water. The very best, to my way of thinking, are places a little off the beaten path, without nearby airports or big charter fleets — places, in other words, that reward the do-it-yourself spirit and healthy sense of adventure required for trailer-boating Baja. Here are three of my favorite below-the-border trailer-boat trips:
Mulegé for Winter/Spring Yellowtail
The Fishing: Sure, the winter and spring yellowtail fishing out of Loreto may be more famous, but that's only because Loreto has an airport and a lot of sportfishing operations. The fishing out of Mulegé is just as good, and you'll never have to contend, on the water or off, with anything that could be called a crowd.
In mid- or late December, bruiser yellowtail show up en masse around Isla San Marcos, Punta Chivato, the Islas Santa Inés and Punta Concepcíon and stick around until April. Occasionally you'll get smaller fish under 20 lbs., but they typically run between 20 and 30, and 40-pounders aren't uncommon.
During the early part of the season, they're usually down deep in 150 to 250 feet of water, and the best way to get them is by drifting live mackerel or caballitos on dropper-loop rigs. There's no bait for sale here; catch your own at sunup just north of the light at the river mouth. "Yo-yoing" heavy metal jigs like Salas 6Xs or 6X Jrs. is another option, although it's a lot more labor-intensive. Again, these are big, powerful fish, so leave the light gear at home. Even with 40- or 50-lb. gear, you'll lose a lot of fish to the rocks when fishing deep.
Later in the season, when the fish move up in the water column and begin feeding on or near the surface, look for boils and working birds and work flylined live baits or cast and retrieve "surface iron" jigs like Tady 45s.
The Logistics: Mulegé is about 625 highway miles below the border — allow at least 14 hours. Stay steps from the launch ramp at the Hotel Serenidad (011-52-615-153-0530; serenidad.com), which has a good restaurant and secure parking. A big Pemex station a mile from the hotel has both gas and diesel, plus ice, water, sodas, beer and snacks. They'll also let you wash down your boat with their hose.
Mulegé proper is a pleasant little oasis of a town with several well-stocked markets (Saul's is the best), a good bar and grill called Pelican Reef (where you can usually get a firsthand fishing report), and numerous restaurants, the best of which is Los Equipales. There's also surprisingly good shopping for such a small town.
The launch itself isn't bad on the top half of the tide, but at low tide you often can't get out of the river mouth to deep water — or back in — so plan your departure and arrival accordingly. Realistically, you want a 23-footer or less here. Fortunately, the fishing grounds at the Islas Santa Inés, Punta Chivato and Punta Concepción are just 10 to 15 miles away.
With good weather, you can also venture up to the north of end of Isla San Marcos, out to Isla Tortuga, or down to Isla San Ildefonso. Be careful, though, especially when fishing "down" the Cortez. In winter and spring, strong afternoon northerlies are common here, so keep an eye on the horizon and head for home when you see whitecaps on the way.
San Quintín for Summer Seabass
The Fishing: Actually, San Quintín has good summer fishing for a whole smorgasbord of species, both inshore and offshore, but the white seabass fishing is downright phenomenal. It bears little resemblance to the kind of white seabass fishing most of us are accustomed to — lines in the water before first light, waiting hour after hour for a pod of fish to come through, being really happy to get even one on the boat.
Here, for whatever reason, the seabass bite just as well in the middle of the day as at dawn and dusk, and there are a lot of them. It's not uncommon to get two or three or more seabass per rod here, and there are plenty of 40-lb.-plus whoppers mixed in. Plus, they're usually caught in areas where yellowtail, calico and sand bass, bonito and barracuda are also frequent catches, so you won't be just sitting and waiting between seabass bites.
Live mackerel, either flylined or fished on a dropper loop, are consistently productive, but you'll also catch plenty of fish on lures like large Krocodiles and heavy "yo-yo" jigs. Mackerel are easy to catch just inside and just outside the mouth of the bay. Typically, the seabass here are hooked in fairly open water, so you can get away with relatively light tackle — 25- or 30-lb.
Focus your efforts outside the kelp line along the gently curving coast south of the bay mouth. Drift over areas with a hard, rocky bottom while watching for working birds, which usually mark large schools of mackerel feeding on tiny baitfish — and, more often than not, big seabass feeding on the mackerel.
The Logistics: At about 200 miles — or 5 hours — below the border, San Quintín can reasonably be done in a three-day weekend from Southern California. Stay at Don Eddie's Landing (011-52-616-165-6061; doneddies.com), which, like the Serenidad in Mulegé, is steps from the launch ramp. There's plenty of parking at Don Eddie's, as well as a boat wash area and an upstairs restaurant/bar with a great view.
The launch is on Bahía San Quintín at the end of a bouncy 3-mile dirt road that turns right off the highway just south of the town of San Quintín. Ice, water, soda, beer and snacks are available from a little market right at the ramp, but consider stocking up in town, where everything is cheaper. There's no fuel available out at the bay, but there's a Pemex with gas and diesel on the right at the very southern end of town.
The ramp here can handle any boat you'd care to tow down at all but the lowest tides, but the bay is shallow with a narrow, winding channel that can be tricky to follow. Consider hiring a local guide to pilot your boat out the first time (and mark the route on your GPS for future trips), or just follow the usual line of boats down the channel in the morning. The bar at the mouth of the bay can also be intimidating at first.
Often, you'll find white seabass biting just a few miles from the bay, but you may have to run as much as 15 miles down the coast. Another option is to head northwest to Isla San Martín, about 8 miles from the bay. The offshore fishing is often quite close as well — just 10 or 15 miles out — but sometimes it's as much as 50 miles out to the blue water.
Mag Bay for Late Fall Marlin
The Fishing: The annual "pileup" of striped marlin off Bahía Magdalena is growing increasingly — and justifiably — famous. In November and December, the marlin action here is what's called in fishing lingo "silly." The stripers actually school up in groups as big as a dozen fish, and skilled crews fishing hard sometimes release 20 or more in a day. Even inexperienced marlin anglers can get them here.
The productive grounds stretch from below Punta Tosca, at the southern end of greater Magdalena Bay, up to Thetis Bank, off Cabo San Lázaro, and from there on up the roughly north-south line of offshore banks commonly known as The Ridge. Check sea-surface-temperature charts like those from Terrafin.com to narrow your search.
This area is also well-known for wahoo, and they're usually around at the same time of year as the marlin. So are lots of dorado and yellowfin tuna. The dorado and tuna will hit the same 6- to 12-inch trolling jigs as the marlin; for the wahoo, run plugs like Braid Marauders on cable leaders. Obviously, live bait will work for all of these species as well; where to catch it depends on where you choose to stay.
The Logistics: The best way to fish Mag Bay's offshore waters is to stay at one of two boat-in "camps" on Bahía Santa María, a well-protected bay on the "outside" of one of the barrier islands protecting Mag Bay. There's good anchorage just off both camps, and camp staff will ferry you and your gear back and forth to shore. From Santa María, the action is sometimes as little as 10 miles away.
The camps — operated by Mag Bay Outfitters (877-621-2252 or 011-52-613-131-5279; magbayoutfitters.com) based in Puerto López Mateos, and Mag Bay Tours (215-285-8132; magbaytours.com), based in San Carlos — both offer rustic but comfortable accommodations, meals, water, soda and beer. Bring plenty of your own ice. From either San Carlos or López Mateos, it's an approximately 50-mile run to Santa María, so you may also need to bring extra fuel. Both operations will deliver fuel, but there's a fee.
It's a bit over 800 miles, or around 20 hours, to either town. Supplies and ice are available in both. Gas and diesel are available in San Carlos, but only gas in López Mateos. If you need diesel, load up in Ciudad Insurgentes, 25 miles short. It's possible to launch boats up to about 25 feet in both San Carlos and López, Mateos, but you may need to wait for the right tide.
SIDEBAR: On the Road
We've all heard horror stories about driving on Mexican Highway 1, but remember that hordes of octogenarians somehow manage to safely pilot their giant RVs up and down it every year. Realistically, you can tow anything with a beam of 8'6" or less all the way to Cabo. Yes, the road is narrower than you're accustomed to, and yes, it is inconsistently signed, and yes, it does wash out from time to time. But take it slow, keep your eyes on the road, stop often to stretch your legs and have a taco, and you'll be fine.
In addition to a boat permit and individual fishing permits, you'll need Mexican insurance for both your tow vehicle and boat/trailer; it's available at numerous little kiosks near the border in Chula Vista or through Baja travel clubs like Vagabundos del Mar and Discover Baja. You'll also need a Mexican Tourist Visa, available at the border, and a passport.
There are plenty of good sources of information about the road itself, the services and accommodations along it, and how to prepare for a trip. The AAA guidebook to Baja California is indispensable, as is the AAA road map. Membership in one of the travel clubs (required anyway to purchase insurance) is also more than worth the price; the experienced Baja travelers you can meet online or in person are the best resource of all.
Model Description for Sea Fox
A few years back, I wrote a bunch of new model descriptions for Sea Fox.
288 Commander
A pedigreed fishing machine, the 288 Commander combines the proven performance of the Sea Fox 286 hull shape with a carefully redesigned layout and console and a new, stainless-framed side boarding door. The result is a refined, capable offshore platform with more than a touch of style.
On the way to the grounds, a 20-degree deadrise aft yields a soft ride at speed without sacrificing stability while anchored, drifting, or trolling. Meanwhile, twin Yamaha F300s with full digital instrumentation deliver a blistering 60 mph top end and, just as importantly, an incredibly economical 32 mph cruise at 2.4 mpg. With a 200-gallon fuel tank, that translates to a cruising range in excess of 400 miles. Driving is both comfortable and secure with tilt, power-assist steering and deluxe convertible bucket/bolster helm seats.
Forward of the console, the 288 is all diamond-stitched luxury. Twin high-back loungers in front of the console conceal a 75-gallon dry storage box, while a pair of aft-facing, curved-back loungers are built into the bow. Flip-out backrests convert the U-shaped bench into additional forward-facing seating. With an optional filler board and removable table, the bow area can also be converted into either a full-width lounger or a dining area. Entertainment comes courtesy of a standard twin-amp, eight-speaker JL Audio system housed — along with a misting system and recessed LED lighting — in the over-engineered hardtop, also standard.
At the 288’s business end, her massive 60-gallon live well is pressurized under a clear plexiglass lid to minimize sloshing, while her well-thought-out tackle and rigging station provides a place for everything from lures and leader to tools and cleaning supplies — plus a convenient fiddled rigging surface. A 65-quart premium cooler stows underneath with an electric slide-out system. Belowdecks are four overboard-draining fish boxes as well a cast net locker forward. In addition to 22 total rod holders, additional storage for rods, gaffs, and tag sticks is located beneath the gunwales.
For long days on the water — or at the sandbar — the step-down console hides a comfort station with head, sink, and portlight, while a 26-gallon freshwater tank makes for refreshing on-deck showers and easy tackle cleanup at the end of the day. And when the fishing rods are stowed, folding cockpit seating for four can be deployed bringing total seating to 10 adults for that cruise to your favorite waterfront eatery.