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Best of SWS 2012

Your top 20 posts, articles and galleries from the 2012 year.

December 19, 2012

The 2012 year was a great one for yellowfin tuna anglers. In September, a potential world-record yellowfin tuna was caught off Cabo. The fish could also be worth $1,000,000 as part of a contest. Then in December, angler John Petruescu trumped that by landing a 445-pound yellowfin tuna, making it the largest recorded yellowfin tuna ever caught on rod and reel. Unfortunately, Petruescu's record tuna was not able to be submitted to IGFA.

Knowledgeable captains know that following obvious signposts as they head offshore put them in the right neighborhood. Information gleaned from sea-surface-temperature, chlorophyll, water-color and current charts, as well as on-water observations and catch information, contributes. It’s a matter of maintaining awareness of what is happening around you once you’re on the scene. Read the complete feature article.

Marina Puesta del Sol is situated on a protected bay on the northwest coast of Nicaragua, three hours by car from Managua. We fished this up and coming destination recently to sample the facilities and the fishing potential. Black marlin and Pacific sailfish highlight this lightly-fished Central American destination. Click here to view the entire photo gallery.

Having trouble with a knot? This page has step-by-step instruction, accompanied with clear illustrations, to help you learn all those difficult knots. Click the link below to find that knot you were going to learn over the winter holiday. Click to see the complete list of knots.

Canada might have the best heavy-tackle tuna action in North America. But few fisheries have ever demanded so much of anglers and tackle as giant bluefin tuna in the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Check out these hotspots for tuna that can reach up to 1,000 pounds. Read the entire feature article here.

Have you ever heard of a fish called opah? It's strange looking, to say the least. This jewel of the Pacific Ocean might be more plentiful than previously believed. Learn how to catch them in this feature article from earlier this year. Read the complete feature article here.

Each month we ask for and receive many reader-submitted photos. In case you've forgotten, send your best shots with the details of your catch, full name and hometown to: catches@saltwatersportsman.com. We highlight our favorites on the website, and the cream of the crop appears in the pages of Salt Water Sportsman magazine. At right, Heather landed this massive snapper, as featured in our September Gallery.

Each issue, Salt Water Sportsman provides insightful, timely reviews of new boats. At right, the Boston Whaler Montauk 210 is a great boat to fish from and create new family memories. For more boat reviews, check out our complete list of boats below. See our complete list of boat reviews.

It may be wintertime now, but this 2012 article chronicles five northeast fishing hot spots for the spring striped bass run. Striped bass make their spring run up the East Coast, hitting spots like Chesapeake Bay, New Jersey, Montauk, Block Island and Cape Cod along the way. Bookmark this link, and come back to it in a couple months. Read the complete story here.

While persistent rain bands and winds from passing Hurricane Sandy slowed us down a bit at this year's Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show, we still wanted to bring back a bit of what we saw from the convention center and Bahia Mar docks. There were numerous new boat launches and exciting gear on display. See the entire gallery here.

Deep-drop fishing for snapper and grouper requires special rigging and tactics. Read this entire article to learn how to rig, where to go, and what top tactics are needed to land deepwater targets such as wreckfish, queen snapper and Atlantic scombrops. All photos were taken by Sam Root. View the entire article here.

We've compiled this list of some of the top new fishing gear for 2013. Check out these 16 great pieces of fishing tackle to look for at your local shop. The list includes new reels, rods and other terminal tackle for the inshore and offshore angler. View the complete gallery of gear here.

When it comes to holiday gift ideas, boaters never seem to have trouble filling out a list. There's a constant flow of useful boating accessories hitting the market every season, and there's always something we desperately need. Check out this list of our top holiday gift ideas to boaters. See the complete list here.

With the success of last year's Salt Water Kids Contest, Salt Water Sportsman continued it for this year. All you have to do is submit your favorite Salt Water Kid's photo. Be sure to include no more than 50 words on how your child has promoted and/or furthered the sport of salt water fishing. See the complete gallery and submission form here.

Out with old, in with the new. Are you starting to look for that next boat? Here's a preview of what to expect at the boat shows this winter and on the water next spring. The 2013 year provides plenty of center-console bay and offshore options from top boat-makers. View the entire gallery here.

Salt Water Sportsman field editor Gary Caputi reflects on Hurricane Sandy's fury from his home state of New Jersey. He recounts: "I started picking my way through flooded streets strewn with debris. There were boats everywhere, on railroad tracks, golf courses; dozens were left high and dry." See the entire gallery here.

The International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, mostly known as ICAST, is the top tackle-trade event for the sportfishing industry. It's new products galore for those able to participate in the event and glimpse some of the innovative, refreshing gear. We covered this year's event in Orlando, Florida (ICAST pingpongs back and forth between Las Vegas and Orlando on a yearly basis). See the complete gallery here.

Accomplished with a rod and camera, Salt Water Sportsman magazine has been using Pat Ford's work for as long as he has produced it. Recent Salt Water Sportsman covers? It could be a Pat Ford shot. This inshore gallery collects together some of Ford's favorite inshore scenic and species photographs, including tarpon, snook, redfish, striped bass, seatrout, and sharks. See the full gallery here.

Our popular Fish Babes monthly photo contests continued in 2012, with lady anglers sending in photos of their top catches. By February 2013, 12 women anglers will have been picked as Salt Water Sportsman's Fish Babe of the Month. And still, there's time to submit your own photos or vote on your favorite catches. Vote on the latest gallery here. Submit your own photo entries here.

An after-dinner conversation about great boats led a group of us here at Salt Water Sportsman to discuss what we might consider the best boats of all time. So we polled our staff and contributors to come up with this list of the top 50 sport fishing boats ever. Who did we neglect to include? How would you have switched the order? See the full gallery here.

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