Fishing?

[forsailbyowner]

My favorite is the eco spoon in silver. The flash elicits a lot of strikes. It has one large hook attached directly to the body. Often bounces off trap lines without getting hung up. Fishing varies greatly with location. We slayed tuna wahoo and kingfish off florida then didn't get a strike near georgia and carolinas where gulfstream is farther offshore.

[stevensc]

When you look around the tackle and bait stores you will see lots of "sexy" lures with multiple trebel hooks. I'd recommend NOT using these, they can be very dangerous when you are trying to unhook a thrashing fish, you could easily get hooked yourself and with the fish flopping around it won't be fun. Stick to lures as mentioned in previous posts like, spoons and jig types which have only one hook.
There are lots of books on fishing some for cruisers that might be a help. A good fish ID book would be helpful also some are good eating some are terrible!
I agree heavy tackle 60-100 lb range will be best for a cruising boat, the "stand up" style of rods are quite short and easier to store.
Carry some Kikkoman and wasabe aboard fresh sahimi is great!
Good luck
Steve

[sww914]

I bought this book on Amazon- Amazon.com: The Cruiser's Handbook of Fishing: Scott Bannerot, Wendy Bannerot, Scott Bannerot, Wendy Bannerot: Books

It's a great read even if you never get a line wet and it will easily pay for it's self on your first trip to the fishing aisle, IMO.

[Cheechako]

+++++ on the Sashimi! Man the best I ever had was a Bigeye tuna we caught in the caribe. At first I thought it was a small Bluefin, they look a lot alike in my fish book. I cut the slabs on the side of that fish , cooled them down for an hour and a half and.... sashimi!

[captain58sailin]

I always carry a kilo of wasabi powder & some soy sauce on board. That is the stuff of life!

[George Wade]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

I always carry a kilo of wasabi powder & some soy sauce on board. That is the stuff of life!

When you sit down to sashimi with wasabi the devil will leave you alone. Just remember your beverage...

[Curmudgeon]

Scott Bannerot's book is quite good. Very detailed. I use a 5'6" tuna rod and Shimano TLD-25. The TLD has a "clicker" that lets you know immediately if you have a strike.

But I use lighter (40 lb. test) line. If I can't land it on 40 lb. test, I don't want it flopping around my cockpit.

[scubasteve]

Trolling won't get you much unless you pass over underwater structure (reefs, rocks) or pass by a platform. Also drop off's, temperature breaks, weed lines and fishing boats cleaning nets will attract fish. You can always purchase offshore fishing charts and map your course over the structure. May be difficult to maneuver while sailing but at least you know where the fish are. Most reels have a clicker so set your drag and turn the clicker on....you will know when you have a fish on.

I recommend the following hardware to start out with.

1. 4OT Penn Senator or similar with 30#-50# line.
2. I would use steel leader as most pelagic fish have sharp teeth. Line to a swivel, steel leader then lure.
3. Any pole that’s rated for the reel; as stated a stand up rod.
4. Several "snapper slapper" and spoon/jigs. Be careful trolling spoon because many of them spin and this can cause your line to get twisted really bad. If you are around structure, weeds etc, you might want to tip the lure using ballyhoo, icefish, etc. This will really increase your chances.
5. Offshore fishing chart.

Tight lines!

[zeehag]

we blue water trolled with some spoon lures and some squidly looking lures--got nothing from the spoons except twisted line--from lures with feathering stuff or different colors and sparkles i caught spanish mackerel--nice for dinner, --i got 3 of those, 2 tuna and i could not land my kingfish-actually broke 2 rods while fishing by trolling...--the fishies like shiney stuff , blue and white stuff, and red and white with silver hilites so far in the gulf---was fun and goood eating....at anchor, i use the squigly rubber thingies called bass killers or some such on a hook---bottom fishing for redfish and trout and what ever besides a hardhead catfish--caught a gaff head with katfood..lol....my first tuna was almost eaten by a shark--i landed him just before the small shark i was watching decided to go in for the kill....lol..

[Cheechako]

It is amazing that after trolling for hours with no luck, often just as you are reaching your destination, the reel starts screaming at you. This is likely due to the fact that the bottom has moved up and your lure is going over the transition from deep to shallow.

[scubasteve]

The fishing is normally good around the outer reefs of islands. Unless the fish are migrating, its hard to find them over open ocean. The key is to find the small fish the big fish eat and most small fish don't like to be out there without cover. Being way out, debris and weed lines are what I would aim for.

[Cheechako]

One thing about fishing... you just never know whether they are not around or just not hungry! If you have sailed inthe Sea of Cortez at night much, there is a lot of phosphorescence in the water... it's amazing how many large fish you can see following your boat! Once crossing the Sea of Cortez to the mainland in the daytime, the water was flat calm like a mirror. We were crossing with another larger boat and they motored faster than us. We noticed they stopped a couple miles ahead. They were swimming off the boat to cool off. When they got out of the water they called to us. While they were swimming, they noticed a really huge Marlin just sitting still in the shade under their boat! Another time I had gone out Marlin fishing on a charter. We had had little luck that day. As we were just about to give it up we noticed a large Marlin laying on top of the water on it's side, evidently resting or sleeping or sunbathing! as we got closer it suddenly heard the engines I guess and took off... The biggest Mahi Mahi I ever caught was in shallow water between Vieques and Puerto Rico. 56 lbs. ........They are out there

[Curmudgeon]

If yiou have the right terminal tackle at the right depth, you will catch fish trolling. Structure helps, but it is not required.

[Captain Bill]

The issue of handlines was raised early in this thread. I have two that were designed and built by a friend of mine and he has posted the build instructions on another forum. These are pretty convienient things to use, they don't take up much storage space and they're pretty effective at catching fish. I've found this rig especially effective for spanish mackeral, king mackeral, and bluefish. In addition to the clark spoon he recommends I have used it with small trolling skirted lures of the yellow and green variety. He has given me permission to post the instructions here if this link doesn't work.

A Simple Handline for Trolling while Sailing - Anything Sailing Forums

A fine example of successful use of the handline is a picture from my blog of the designer holding up a spanish mackeral caught in Florida on one of the handlines.

Picasa Web Albums - Gayle - 2007-8 Bahama...

[bottleinamessage]

Mark: You need some coaching. I had minimal luck until I attended a seminar at the cruisers rally in Georgetown, Bahamas a couple years ago.
The presenter, a cruiser, said " I don't go fishin, I go catchin"! Last year I hooked this monster Mahi of the coast of Long Island, Bahamas. Biggest one I've ever seen.