Do I really need these fishing rods?

[MicHughV]

yep, that is exactly what happened....whap....a quick convulsion and it was all over...

interestingly enuff, his method of cleaning a fish was something I had never seen before...

not sure if I can describe it correctly....but he basically kept the fish whole and peeled the skin off...leaving a membrane of sorts that still covered the flesh...this he would place in styrofoam cooler full of ice, which he would mail off to a relative somewhere..

his whole method of catching fish was eye opening....he had fabricated a wire cage of sorts....he had several of these on an old rickety wooden skiff....inside he'd place an old fish head and drop these over the side in various spots he knew....he would take bearings off various landmarks he had jotted down in a small book....there was no float or anything...just the cage.

the next day, we'd go back, he would check his little book, find his spot, use a " look bucket" and lower a small weighted grapnel hook on a line to catch the cage and hoist it up....
inside would be some grouper and other fish.

no fuss...no muss....he collected conch in the same manner...using a "look bucket" and and a different type of weighted grapnel....

I still have some photo's of these expeditions....the man was a marvel...

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Good luck with that. I gave up fishing at anchor after many fruitless hours.



Heavy rod in a stout rod holder and tether to the boat. 80# line or heavier. Drag set light, about 10# max to set the hook. Troll a squiddy or cedar plug, 6 knots minimum speed.

All depends on the anchorage and knowledge of the fishery (key to successful fishing anywhere).

When I worked as a charter captain in Belize, there was an achorage that had a big coral head in casting distance that was always loaded with snapper (and deep enough not to be a hazard). The rest of the anchorage bottom was like a desert.

I used to mess w guests there. We would drop the hook, invevitably they would want to fish. Ok, here's a rod...nothing...cast, cast, cast...nothing. I would pick up a rod...BAM!, strike first cast, every cast! Eventually, I would tell them where the coral head was located.

No matter what gear you have, you are a lot less likely to catch fish than someone who knows where they are and what they like to eat.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by StuM

Commonly known today by the Japanese term "ikijime/ikejime" or just "iki".


They sell special "iki spikes" everywhere these days. They are pretty much what we used to call an "ice pick"



The Japanes fisherman often use a hooked spike and you can even get an " ike gun"

I keep an old ice pick in my tackle box just for this purpose.

If not handy, like on another boat, brute force application of the end of a winch handle, or other stout blunt object to the same area works too.