How's the fishing out there?

[blove8]

I'm curious about fishing while cruising. Do many of you do this? Is the fishing good? I assume it depends on where you're at. How about on some of the longer passages? Is it possible to obtain a large portion of your diet on seafood alone? How about crabbing? Is there a way to have an on board garden of some sort? or even a trailer garden. I'm just thinking along the lines of self sustainable cruising... Is it possible to be completely self sustainable on the sea and still remain relatively comfortable? Any thoughts, input, or experience you could share on any of these topics would be much appreciated.

[cnj]

Fishing depends on where you are. We never had much luck when we were off shore and the fish tend to be too big - unless you have a freezer you're going to waste most of it. While along the shore, crabbing, clamming, etc usually aren't bad but you don't know where the good spots are. As far as gardening on board it can be done but many countries are very particular about what's brought in- you could end up havingto get rid of the plants to be allowed in to some countries.

[Fishspearit]

Fishing is for people who are afraid to get in the water!
But seriously, I've always found it a lot more effective and enjoyable to swim the clear cruising waters and search for fish, lobster, crabs, etc. than to dangle a line and hope some random fish comes after the bait. Trolling in blue water is a different matter. Living off the sea is still fairly easy to do in most places, although some governments prefer that you don't.
We never found the gardening onboard to be a very fruitful endeavor. We blamed it on the salt air, but I'm not so good at growing things on land either. In most places fruits and vegetables and herbs are cheap and easy to find because that's what most locals consume.

[jean1146]

I am always trolling while sailing. I have 3 fishing lines behind our cat,with different lures,we catch Mackerel,Mahi,even little tunas depending on where we are.Once I caught enough for one or two days I will stop fishing because we can't keep the fish for too long.It is a lot of fun....JC.

[Vasco]

Pretty good.

[jean1146]

Nice Mahi Rick! lots of blood too....
JC.

[Vasco]

I gotta admit I didn't catch it. My buddy on "Watermusic" did. I did eat lots of it though.

[S/V Antares]

I have caught many tasty fish off sailboats. We stopped on a very still day on the way from NC to BVI to add fuel from the deck jerrys and before we could finish there were a dozen Mahi under the boat. You can catch them on bare hooks when they are "on the bite". Look for large sargasso weed patches and you will have plenty of fresh fish.

Will

[blove8]

Originally Posted by cnj

Fishing depends on where you are. We never had much luck when we were off shore and the fish tend to be too big - unless you have a freezer you're going to waste most of it. While along the shore, crabbing, clamming, etc usually aren't bad but you don't know where the good spots are. As far as gardening on board it can be done but many countries are very particular about what's brought in- you could end up havingto get rid of the plants to be allowed in to some countries.

thanks for the reply cnj. heaps of good info.. interesting about plants in different countries.. i wouldn't have thought of that. is the middle of the ocean no mans land or does every piece of it belong to someone?

[blove8]

Originally Posted by Fishspearit

Fishing is for people who are afraid to get in the water!
But seriously, I've always found it a lot more effective and enjoyable to swim the clear cruising waters and search for fish, lobster, crabs, etc. than to dangle a line and hope some random fish comes after the bait. Trolling in blue water is a different matter. Living off the sea is still fairly easy to do in most places, although some governments prefer that you don't.
We never found the gardening onboard to be a very fruitful endeavor. We blamed it on the salt air, but I'm not so good at growing things on land either. In most places fruits and vegetables and herbs are cheap and easy to find because that's what most locals consume.

I dig it Fishspearit... Seems like hunting while swimming along with them is much more sporting as well. Living off of the sea completely is fairly easy?

[blove8]

Originally Posted by S/V Antares

I have caught many tasty fish off sailboats. We stopped on a very still day on the way from NC to BVI to add fuel from the deck jerrys and before we could finish there were a dozen Mahi under the boat. You can catch them on bare hooks when they are "on the bite". Look for large sargasso weed patches and you will have plenty of fresh fish.

Will

Thanks for the tips Will... and thanks everyone for contributing to this thread.

[Vasco]

Watch where you fish. here's the story of a couple of cruisers in their Mainship trawler which is reported as an "unlicensed fishing boat". Take care in BVI.
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