Catching Fish while Sailing?

[MicHughV]

Trolling a lure generally requires some speed. The speed is what provides the "action" of a lure, be it a bubble trail, zig-sag motion or flash of color, etc, this what attracts the predator fish. My experience is at least 5 knots of boat speed is required.

Some fish, like wahoo, require trolling speeds of 15-20 knots, generally only powerboats can do that...but I know some wahoo has been been caught by a sailboaters.

Fish can spot a fishing line and be hesitant.
The trick is to have a short steel leader, maybe 12" or so, and then about 20' of fluorocarbon line and attach that to your primary fishing line. Learning how to tie these two lines together is a bit of art...you can use a swivel, but fish can see these and be spooked.....

The color of the lure feathers is also important. If one color does not produce any bites, switch colors. Green, yellow and red are prominent colors. Silver metallic is always a good bet.
Some lures have a flat head to produce a good bubble stream.

You can also get " diving lures"....these usually look like baitfish with a paddle shape on the head so as to force the lure down. They put quite a strain on a fishing line. These are good for slow speed trolling...3 knots and thereabouts.

A visit to any fishing store can overwhelm a prospective newbie. There will be a gazillion lures on display. I think a lot of these are designed to catch newbies and not fish.
Rod and reel selection can be equally confusing. You can spend a little or a lot...Youtube is an excellent source to point you in the right direction.

Even armed to the gills with the best and latest of everything does not guarantee you'll catch anything. An afternoon with a pro can teach you more than you are likely to learn on your own in a year.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Cliffhanger

Good question, interesting replies. I never seem to catch anything when doing less than 5kts. Best results at 7kts and above. Hauling a fish in under those conditions is a challenge I normally lose.



Next time I am going to try heaving-to. This should mean hauling the fish in on the beam or even the bow. So, less likely to get the line wrapped around a prop or rudder. Landing the fish might be more difficult but a long-handled gaff might be OK.



Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

Yes, many larger predator species prefer their prey have some speed! Remember, 7 kts is not fast for them.

Re heaving to. Yes, its my usual routine for larger fish. Heave to, fight, gaff, haul aboard, subdue. On my cat I still bring them in on the transom steps.

[Cheechako]

I'll jump back in after many replies I guess.
-"Just heave to": There is often no such thing as 'just heave to'. In perfect conditions maybe, you just push the helm over. But the reality is that most people dont sail with a smaller headsail these days. If you backwind that sail, you are going to corkscrew around, slap the boom across, knock the Admiral overboard etc etc etc, All while you are trying to land a fish!

- Hand lines are fine, and I'm sure they work well for many of you. But for the sailor that is autopiloting and not paying attention constantly to the line, they may not be that great. When I used them in the 80's I landed a lot of wahoo heads. I'm sure the sharks loved it! You can say "just attach a "bell and bungie" but really, the simplest thing is a stout rod and a reel drag that screams at you! Sometimes it's a game to get a fish in before the Sharks or Barracuda eat him.

-For those losing fish while trying to get them in; USE BIG HOOKS. It took me a while to learn this. In the end I was using single 2-0 (?) hooks and SS leader. These are long shank and 1.5 to 2" across from shank to barb. I stopped losing so many fish immediately.

- Nets/dip nets: Being a PNW salmon fisherman, I started using a big hand net. I found for bringing Dorado , Wahoo etc aboard they were not great. These fish will look done with fighting and when you dip that net, they may run out 100 feet of line! Or worse, go deep under the boat, then run out and up to the surface, possibly pulling the line into your prop or shaft. Not to mention these fish may be 4 ft long and flop out of the net meant for Salmon. I eventually got a good Gaff and found that to work better.

-I have never found sailboat speed to be an issue. Most of these pelagic species want it fast! Heck, isn't 7-9 knots normal for Marlin fishing? Slow down for salmon, sure.

-Always try to drag your bait past any floating object, reef, or sudden depth change. Many times I have dragged a line for hours and hours only to nail a fish right at a bottom/color change.

-Green, blue , yellow and silver combos are the best for me using weighted head rubber squid.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I'll jump back in after many replies I guess.
-"Just heave to": There is often no such thing as 'just heave to'. In perfect conditions maybe, you just push the helm over. But the reality is that most people dont sail with a smaller headsail these days. If you backwind that sail, you are going to corkscrew around, slap the boom across, knock the Admiral overboard etc etc etc, All while you are trying to land a fish!

- Hand lines are fine, and I'm sure they work well for many of you. But for the sailor that is autopiloting and not paying attention constantly to the line, they may not be that great. When I used them in the 80's I landed a lot of wahoo heads. I'm sure the sharks loved it! You can say "just attach a "bell and bungie" but really, the simplest thing is a stout rod and a reel drag that screams at you! Sometimes it's a game to get a fish in before the Sharks or Barracuda eat him.

-For those losing fish while trying to get them in; USE BIG HOOKS. It took me a while to learn this. In the end I was using single 2-0 (?) hooks and SS leader. These are long shank and 1.5 to 2" across from shank to barb. I stopped losing so many fish immediately.

- Nets/dip nets: Being a PNW salmon fisherman, I started using a big hand net. I found for bringing Dorado , Wahoo etc aboard they were not great. These fish will look done with fighting and when you dip that net, they may run out 100 feet of line! Or worse, go deep under the boat, then run out and up to the surface, possibly pulling the line into your prop or shaft. Not to mention these fish may be 4 ft long and flop out of the net meant for Salmon. I eventually got a good Gaff and found that to work better.

-I have never found sailboat speed to be an issue. Most of these pelagic species want it fast! Heck, isn't 7-9 knots normal for Marlin fishing? Slow down for salmon, sure.

-Always try to drag your bait past any floating object, reef, or sudden depth change. Many times I have dragged a line for hours and hours only to nail a fish right at a bottom/color change.

-Green, blue , yellow and silver combos are the best for me using weighted head rubber squid.

Heaving to may not be for everyone or every boat, but Ive hove to in a wide range of boats in a wide range of conditions (up to hurricane force) and never had any such uncontrolled calamity occur. However, if I am fishing, it aint likely to be in heavy conditions! [emoji6] i usually bring in the lines if conditions degrade or it looks like we are about to get into a more "interesting" sitution...like approaching the Panama Canal breakwater.

Re colors/lure types. I keep an assortment of skirts in a mix of colors aboard. Along with trolling weights and other rigging so I can make up what I need easily. Which species prefer which colors can vary a lot between venues. The best strategy for fisihing effectively is to get to know a specific fishery, but we cruisers often dont that option.

[Sidney777]

It can be a challenge, especially if you are alone. But after I caught a fish I turned into the wind to stop.
I trolled in Gulf of Mexico.
Gotta tie down rod good.

[jalmberg]

Originally Posted by chris mac

We trail hand lines tied to a cleat, with a bungee absorber.(250# test)
Once we hook, we maintain speed and direction, drag the fish until it skips along the surface for a few minutes. At that point we reel it in as the fight is over

This is the easiest way. Actually, a couple of times we didn’t even realize we’d hooked a fish, and by the time we dragged it in, the fish was way beyond fighting.

[mtrees]

Originally Posted by TheDrunkenKetch

Question for those Fishermen and Sailors. How do you usually land a fish when you're sailing and trolling? Do you just keep the sailboat going and try to wrestle the fish in against the current? Get the sails in irons to stop moving? What do you guys recommend? Thanks for any advice!

.
No need for a rod, just the reel. Use line with the highest breaking strain. Using a bungy cord and a clothes pin set up a large loop to the taught line. When the fish strikes the bungy cord will set the hook. U As long as the fish is not too large it is not difficult to pull the fish to the surface and using a hand over hand method haul in the line T.hen as quickly as possibly it will not be difficult to have the fish aquaplane across the surface. When the fish is within a couple of yards from the transom give it a vigorous tug hauling in on the line to get the fish into the boat. A good slug of hard grog down the fishes throat will knock it out quickly that will eliminate the amount of blood splattered around the boat.

[quartersplash]

I caught many while sailing the Pacific, and rarely did we slow down or stop. It depends on what kind of fish. Many times if we were sailing 5-7 knots, the fish would get tired quick and turn sideways to the water and just skip along the surface, and then easy to haul in...Hauled in a 52" bull dorado that way coming around punta mala Panama
in a gail...

[argonauta1]

We usually dragged a line with a wind up reel of serious strength with 30 Lb. plus test which meant unless the fish broke off, we were going to land it or drag it to the next anchorage. On a circumnavigation we were mostly on a run thus coming into irons was not an option especially in a big swell. So we would slow her down usually by furling the head sail. OK, one knows that mid ocean in 20,000 feet of water is a virtual watery desert; no fish other than the odd pelagic beast. Thus we did not fish other than in seas or coastal waters. For example, The Red Sea and Timor Sea were productive. Once hooked, comes the fun part: hauling the catch in to the transom area. Once at the transom, the hauler plus helper standing by with a bottle of whiskey or gin would pour it over the gills as soon as possible. We found this highly effective in keeping a battle in the cockpit to a minimum. A rubber hammer was used for final dispatch. Yes, we used a gaff, not a net. No sportsmanship here! Small sharks and Spanish Mackerel were the main catch. Largest was 42 pounds. As visitors to Trinidad will likely know, shark burgers are great!

[AilesEtIles]

My own attitude:
-always towing two lines on port and starboard with different and relatively small lures (to avoid... as much as possible... catching an oversized fish... which can occur anyway; and better to renew fresh fish than eating for days the same fish getting older and older in not so performant fridges),
-link the lures to the line with a 10-cm length of specific wire (too irritating to loose a fish for technical reasons),
-always full-moderate-safe speed, never slowing down when a fish is caught (not making any specific effort, not loosing precious miles and not taking any risk to recover a fish... except if too hungry),
-waiting (in the open ocean) for the fish to be tired (which is the best way to avoid having the fish excessively struggling when it comes close to the boat), eventually using the brake, and waiting for the fish generally coming to surf behind,
-not waiting (in lagoons and along reefs) for the fish to make a trail of blood due to sharks (or share the fish with them),
-wear a harness and operate (position, displacement, knife, etc.) as carefully as possible,
-hang pieces of fish to let them dry in the wind (no problems in the open ocean, eventually protected by a mosquito net when close to shore), this is my favourite "preparation"
-as previously mentioned by another cruiser, and after a round the world trip and tens of years in the Mediterranean, the biggest mai-mai (my own experience) and tuna can be caught there...
Enjoy and live it up as much as possible,
Claude

[deblen]

The only mackeral that I have experience with is N.Atlantic variety.
We find that removing the dark brown fat streak from under the skin lightens the flavor & lengthens the storage time considerably.
This video shows a slick method of doing that. Cheers/Len

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIHNxhGLYsw

[JPhantom]

I usually keep sailing. I fish a roller rod with 2 speed reels, off port and starboard sides and a hand line off the stern with a pink birdie. This is the set up I fish in pacific Mexico. I set the rod lines about 10-15’ behind the lure off the birdie, to get a proper spread. I will usually fish at least one neon green feather plug or chugger. And a cedar plug. Depending on what line goes off I’ll change out the other gear. I will troll any where from about 6.5-9kts. When I’m sailing above 9kts I don’t fish. ALWAYS use a gaff, nets will pull you in. With the right gear you don’t need to luff up or anything.
This set up works so well I don’t call it fishing anymore. I call it catching.

[AuroraGH]

Originally Posted by captmikem

A shot of cheap vodka, gin, or tequila tossed in the gills stuns them and they do not flop around. They stay quiet while you cut them up.

M

I tried this on my first wahoo (about a 2.5' fish). It gave the fish a gran mal seizure and thrashed the hell out of my cockpit.

I have switched to the knife to the brain method. Much cleaner.

I troll two lines on poles set in PVC pipe hose clamped to the stern rail. One on each corner. Cedar plug on one, some multicolored squidy looking thing on the other. In the Sea of Cortez one of these will hit within an hour. When I get a hit, reel in the idle line, stop the boat, start working the fish. I need to get a gaff. I've been hooking the gills with a boat hook to pull em aboard.

I caught a wahoo and a dorado on the recent Baha HaHa. I could have caught lots more but that's all I could eat. I gave away half the dorado as it was.

[JohnHolland]

Just roll in the headsail to slow down, then bring aboard using heavy deck mounted reel and the 10' SS leader and gloves. Then used a gaff for the big mahi mahi or tuna

[lo2jones]

This is exactly the technique I have used for years. I’ve watched people try to use a rod and reel, but it takes forever to get the fish in. 10ft of bungee, 30ft of hand line, some fishing line and the leader. The fish gets towed, and can’t fight. Half way in, then let it drag the surface. I usually whack it with whatever is handy or pour some cheap rum down through the gills to anesthetize it. “Never pull a live fish with with a hook in it’s mouth onto the boat” is a good rule to live by.