So, a request from my good friend Jon Eberly to hear about our fishing gear. Sometimes we even catch stuff with it so here goes.

First off, the gaff. I have a net that we used to use in SF Bay for halibut and bass, but on the ocean we never touch it. Get a good gaff. For a sailboat with fairly high freeboard where you have to bring the fish in over the side, get a long enough gaff. Ours is about four feet. Also have a good protector on the end because you will keep it on deck (we keep ours along the handrail) and don’t want your crew to get gaffed by accident.

Also have a “kit” ready for when you actually catch a fish. The kit should have a knife, ice pick or equivalent, mesh gloves for pulling in the handline (don’t even touch the handline without gloves) and handling the fish and something to tie the fish to the boat when you land it. Some use a slip knot over the tail-which is what I did until I lost one from a loose knot. Now I have a large carabiner like thing on a rope. First thing I do it put the wire part through the mouth and out the gill. That way if it suddenly jumps and goes over the side it’s still attached to the boat (this WILL happen).

The tackle: We have evolved a lot since BVI. Everything is 300 lb test or better. We lost a bunch of fish last year that simply broke the leader/lure because they were too big, the line was too light, we were going too fast and the shock cord was too short. See below for the changes.

I now use about 90 feet of cord as the main line. I’m not sure what it is. I got it at the tackle shop though. It’s like parachute cord only not as thick. Probably about 1MM. In any case, it’s easier on the hands when you’re handling a 40 lb or bigger fish. To this is attached a ball bearing swivel. Beyond that is about 10 foot leader. I’m now using wire leaders. Broke too many lighter ones. When a 40 lb tuna hits the rig at 20 mph or better with the boat going 6 knots-the force is substantial. It’s important for the leader to be long so the swivel/swage fitting is a ways away from the lure. The fittings will break the water occasionally and scare the fish if they are too close to the lure.

I’ve stopped using rapalas. I haven’t had any luck with them and I don’t really like the treble hooks. What I would recommend is you buy a couple of cedar plugs (they sell painted ones, but get at least one just plain wooden one) and some assorted color squid like lures. 8″ should do. They have a solid weighted head/eyes, and trailing plastic tentacles. Get bright green, pink and a couple multi-color.

It total, we’re running the lure about three boat-lengths or so back. What you want to do is set it so it rides on the FRONT of a stern wave. This way it breaks the water fairly constantly “surfing” down the wave, showing a stream of bubbles from below which is attractive to the fish. If you were motoring you would set the sure on about the front of the fifth stern wave back. Sailing you’ll have to ad lib but it is important the the lure breaks out of the water from time to time. Of you never see it, the fish probably don’t either.

Another thing we’ve learned about is trailing a “birdy”. This is a just an attractant of some sort. Some folks use feathers, but one thing that’s worked for us is just a plastic bottle with enough rocks or shells or whatever to make a racket when towed behind the boat. Tow it about 20 feet back. It works.

To make the handline easier to deal with when it’s time to bring in, we have bought a simple “yo-yo”. It’s a plastic reel about 10 inches across that we roll the line around when we bring it in to store it. Once in, we tie the thing to a life line with a piece of shock cord. For the first year we just rolled the line around a piece of cardboard from an old six pack, so you don’t have to get very fancy here.

Speaking of shock cord, I now have six feet of 3/8″ shock cord doubled to three feet as the main shock absorbing aspect of the handline. Previously I had less and lost lures to the big fish. With this rig we caught that marlin while doing something like 5 knots, so I think it’s now the right size. Anyway, tie the line from the boat to the shock cord, then the rest of the line to the other end. Also tie a piece of “safety” line across the shock cord. Leave enough slack so it doesn’t go tight until it’s about at the breaking length of the shock cord. You’ll have to play with it to see what you think feels right. The shock cord should ride just out from the boat and not touch the water. One thing though with the shock cord, I think it doesn’t set the hook as well so once you pull it in past the shock cord give it a good “jerk” to make sure the hook is set.

So there you are. We’ve fished with this all the way down to Mexico and across the Pacific. Sometimes we even catch. I like using the pole and reel, but on a sailboat you have to be really fast or you lose all your line. Best with a full crew. With the handline, you can take your time getting the fish in. In fact, I now deliberately go slowly getting ready to pull it in because the fish is then tired and easier to get aboard. When the clothespin goes “snap”, we usually take ten minutes getting all the gear ready, slowing the boat down and ultimately lying ahull to land it.

Hope this helps. Good fishin’!