Cat Fishing

[smokie]

Do any of you cat owners fish (other than a hand line) when you cruise to destinations?

Seems like a cat can carry a good size dingy, perhaps a rib that can be used for sport fishing.

I would love to have a big cat to take down to Baja for the crusing & fishing.

[sv_makai]

We use 2 rods and one handline in the center of the boat. We have been using cedar plugs and have caught just about everything one them. They run on the surface about 50-65 feet behind the boat in the wake.

We have caught: blackfin tuna, mahia-mahia, spanish mackrel, barracuda, and more.

The lines hit the water as soon as possible.

[cameron forsyth]

We have a leopard 45 in Belize, one of the nice design features is the stern walkway or back porch which is excellent for bringing in the catch. When sailing, normally have at least two rods out and a couple of short hand lines with surface feathers or lures. When in what look like good locations try to anchor with the stern over a drop off for night fishing with hand lines of the stern.

[jean1146]

I have a question for you.I have heard many times about cedar plugs.Can you tell me what they are and where can I finf them. I do intend to do a lot of trolling when I get my boat later this year.Thanks.

[Talbot]

cedar plugs - see http://www.meltontackle.com/shopping...ategory_id=323

[jean1146]

Thank you Talbot.I have seen them before,just didn't know how they were called.

[Harriet]

Not much I can add, except that we will dine tonight on mahi caught while underway from Georgetown to Black Point (Bahamas) last week on our Manta 42. Yes, you can fish (but not always catch!)

[jean1146]

Thanks Harriet.I have a question for the board. Once you hook a fish undersail,what do you do? do you try to slow the boat,or do you just reel in the fish at the risk of loosing it? trolling under sail is going to be a brand new adventure for us,used to be a power guy who just saw the light.....it is never too late.

[craig boorman]

If you hate blood on your boat do this,,,,when you gaft the fish, lift it up and re hook it throuh the gils and out the mouth with one of those stainless steel spearfish divers hook,, looks like a giant safety pin,,close the hook and toss it back into the sea with a lenght of line attached . After about 20 minutes the fish has died and bled out.

Never stop the boat when a fish is on, if under sail slow it the best you can.

Wallmart sells cedar plugs and the wood color is good,,,but the plug has to be at least 150 to 200 feet back,,,tuna dive deep when they sence your boat and come back up once the boat passes.

I have a actual rocket launcher on my cat (rod holder and swival gimbal to fight fish) and I also have electric reels for push button because I fish in rough seas and it is much safer and I deep drop fish for snapper and grouper in the 600ft range.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by craig boorman

...when you gaft the fish, lift it up and re hook it throuh the gils and out the mouth with one of those stainless steel spearfish divers hook,, looks like a giant safety pin,,close the hook and toss it back into the sea with a lenght of line attached . After about 20 minutes the fish has died and bled out...

Which will usually turn your intended lunch into shark (or 'cuda) "bait". The practice is often called "trolling".

[craig boorman]

Actually Gord, I drag the caught fish very close to the boat and in 8 years of doing this I have never lost a fish to a shark or cuda.

[Sonosailor]

Off Antigua, we brought aboard 4 fish-halves in 2 days, even though we hauled in as soon and as fast as possible. The cleanliness of the cuts suggested big sharks, not cudas. Still, one mutton snapper half had enough meat for 6 servings. I hope it does not reflect poorly on me, but I would rather not share - especially the snappers and cero mackerels. There is a lesson here, though: don't drag friends and family behind the boat on a rope or splash around like a wounded creature. They will not appreciate being tricked into biting a dirty ole human. (yuck - what the heck is that in my mouth?)


To minimize the blood from cleaning, we quickly transfer the fish to a cooler tied to the side of the cat. If we could, we'd try to clean them in there asap; esp the tuna and tunnys, as they should be "bled" for better taste.

Filletting usually was the way to go, as anything else requires more time and good equipment or strong swing to get through the backbone.

Down-island, esp around Chatham Bay, Union Island, it is common to find fellow cruisers trolling behind their dinghy with live minnows, to catch those wiley cudas, as they are edible down there, and quite tasty. A cruiser off Cariacou went out daily to deep water in his dinghy, and did some deepwater fishing, but I am unaware of what he used or caught.

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by craig boorman

Actually Gord, I drag the caught fish very close to the boat and in 8 years of doing this I have never lost a fish to a shark or cuda.

Thats amazing, must be some technique I am missing. I know that if you leave a hooked fish trailing behind a boat here for five minutes you probably have something like a 75% chance a barracuda will hit it.

[Lodesman]

Smokie,

If you're an enthusiastic angler, you may want to have a look at this site:
http://www.runningtideyachts.com/gamefishing/
for the ultimate in a fishing boat.

Kevin

[Harriet]

Jeanne1146 - Sorry I failed to answer you sooner. To answer your question, we slow down the boat and bring the fish aboard asap (we don't like to share either). We squirt alcohol in the gills, which kills the fish almost immediately. We have a filet table mounted on the hand rail on the stern steps, and that is where we filet the fish. Then we use the stern wash-down to clean up the mess right away to prevent it from drying on the fiberglass.