Thoughts on fishing while sailing:

blog.arribasail.com/2016/06/fishing-while-sailing-by-trolling.html

Why would one not??

I went fishing yesterday down off Jervis Bay. I was bottom bouncing this time but the current was too strong, it was about 3 knots down at the time and I had to move in close off Currawong to get to the bottom. I furl the headsail and let the main shiver in about the close reach position, the drag is enough to slow the boat. Tiller down a bit and the windvane engaged to hold her at the right angle. When trolling I use a flat line with a fair bit of shock cord.

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cisco said..

Why would one not??

Well, I agree! I troll more or less continuously when sailing, a practice known as "blind trolling", even in passage races.

Yet, I know folks who don't for some reason. Perhaps they don't want to get their boat messy?

I thought that was just a part of sailing, set the sails, throw out a fishing line, or start the engine, throw out a fishing line, or step on board your boat, throw out a fishing line.

I've always got a line out when passage making.

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NowandZen said..
I've always got a line out when passage making.

Lovely fish!!

Mac tuna. Did you eat it?

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Ramona said..
Mac tuna. Did you eat it?

I thought it was a Frigate Mackerel, the fish species book I have indicated so anyway.
The Mackerel Tuna drawn in the book had a yellow tinge to the fins and a slightly deeper "V" in the fork of the tail.

I did eat it and it wasn't all that special.

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NowandZen said..

Ramona said..
Mac tuna. Did you eat it?

I thought it was a Frigate Mackerel, the fish species book I have indicated so anyway.
The Mackerel Tuna drawn in the book had a yellow tinge to the fins and a slightly deeper "V" in the fork of the tail.

I did eat it and it wasn't all that special.

Too deep in the body for a Frigate and too large. It's a small Mack tuna. Small ones like that are edible if your keen. The usual size is about 10 kilos plus on the Eastern seaboard. Used to pole them in large numbers in my previous career. Not worth much money.

Funny how people perceive a fishes edibility. In many parts of the world Barracuda are snubbed. In Cape Town they are a delicacy.

I caught a small Mack last year and I really enjoyed it. More so than any white fleshed fish.

Anyhow after my Vipassana experience that is all in the past. Pity because I have some nice equipment and used to get a lot of enjoyment from it. This helped me make up my mind:

I've gotta stArt doing it. I'm a bit scared of fishing. I always get tangles and stuff. Never catch anything!
I'm really lovin raw fish atm. I mKe a mix of lemon juice, and soy sauce. Chop the fish up and marinade it for 5 min. Mouth wateringly gooood.

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Sectorsteve said..
I've gotta stArt doing it. I'm a bit scared of fishing. I always get tangles and stuff. Never catch anything!
I'm really lovin raw fish atm. I mKe a mix of lemon juice, and soy sauce. Chop the fish up and marinade it for 5 min. Mouth wateringly gooood.

That's not really raw fish!

I rarely bother. Fish love structure and when at sea I'm doing all I can to avoid structure!

Once I'm at anchor it's all rods out and hopefully fish ahoy

Pelagic species of fish don't necessarily like structure and that's the most likely species that you will catch trolling, and there's nothing better than still quivering sashimi.

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Ramona said..

Sectorsteve said..
I've gotta stArt doing it. I'm a bit scared of fishing. I always get tangles and stuff. Never catch anything!
I'm really lovin raw fish atm. I mKe a mix of lemon juice, and soy sauce. Chop the fish up and marinade it for 5 min. Mouth wateringly gooood.

That's not really raw fish!

Correct, it is ceviche, the acid in the lemon or lime cures the fish.

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Bruski068 said..
Pelagic species of fish don't necessarily like structure and that's the most likely species that you will catch trolling, and there's nothing better than still quivering sashimi.

+1!

Sadly large Pelagic species aren't on the menu. No one will touch them for fear they are of a age that dates back to nuclear testing and are subsequently poison

Nothing larger than 50cm makes the dinner table. Indeed. ..smaller the better

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ChopesBro said..
Sadly large Pelagic species aren't on the menu. No one will touch them for fear they are of a age that dates back to nuclear testing and are subsequently poison

Nothing larger than 50cm makes the dinner table. Indeed. ..smaller the better

Ahh the prejudices of the uninformed, I'd be more worried about Ciguatera poisoning in the warm topics and sub tropics.

Yep...thats a whole other way to get really sick and slowly die.
Its taken me time to adapt to local rules but the most sort after fish for dinner is about the size of your hand

I was horrified at first and tried to explain aussie fishing rules about leaving the baby's and letting them grow.

I was roughly ignored and teased how much smarter aussies are...we kill the ones that can give birth and release the ones that can't

I was told the French considered imposing rules and regulations on fishing a decade ago but were told too simply leave now b4 the riots so they stfu real quick.

You sorta can't tell island people about fishing. They just ask how many generation of your family have survived by the sea with nothing else?

Indeed.....rods are looked at with sarcasm and fish finders .sharks are family. ...don't even think about killing a shark

Have to admit some of our laws make me scratch my head at times, but that's always a problem when you mix bureaucrats with so called experts to come up with rules.

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Bruski068 said..

ChopesBro said..
Sadly large Pelagic species aren't on the menu. No one will touch them for fear they are of a age that dates back to nuclear testing and are subsequently poison

Nothing larger than 50cm makes the dinner table. Indeed. ..smaller the better

Ahh the prejudices of the uninformed, I'd be more worried about Ciguatera poisoning in the warm topics and sub tropics.

That means at least as far south as Sydney. The larger they are and the further south they are the more likely to have ciguatera.

Always have a line out on passage. West Sumatra last year

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nswsailor said..

Bruski068 said..

ChopesBro said..
Sadly large Pelagic species aren't on the menu. No one will touch them for fear they are of a age that dates back to nuclear testing and are subsequently poison

Nothing larger than 50cm makes the dinner table. Indeed. ..smaller the better

Ahh the prejudices of the uninformed, I'd be more worried about Ciguatera poisoning in the warm topics and sub tropics.

That means at least as far south as Sydney. The larger they are and the further south they are the more likely to have ciguatera.

Ciguatera poisoning is mainly found in fish in warm ocean waters, www.health.qld.gov.au/public-health/industry-environment/food-safety

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Dunedinite said..
Always have a line out on passage. West Sumatra last year

Very NIce
Looks like good eating to me.

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Bruski068 said..

nswsailor said..


That means at least as far south as Sydney. The larger they are and the further south they are the more likely to have ciguatera.

Ciguatera poisoning is mainly found in fish in warm ocean waters, www.health.qld.gov.au/public-health/industry-environment/food-safety

That maybe so, but ask the few people down here that have had ciguatera what they feel about that.

Sydney fish markets have a 10kg max on tropical pelagics

As usual the Government is three steps behind the information loop, not really surprising, you don't actually need to be competent to be a bureaucrat, in fact it seems to be a disadvantage in most cases that I've come across when dealing with the breed.

That book in the above link was my and many friends bible in Australia. The star rating for edible was the best thing!
Why kill it if you cant eat it ?
Plus....if you follow something like vispassana ....you can still fish..catch and release and make it a bit of fun by making it a competition as who gets the most stars! This is great game for kids....they look up the species and see how many stars they won . It helps them learn a bit more.

Best book

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Ramona said..
For those people looking for a good fish identification book I use one of these.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-Sea-Fishes-of-Southern-Australia-Revised-Edition-By-Barry-Hutchins-Paperback-/272130464269?hash=item3f5c3d5a0d:g:JfcAAOSwx-9Wu-wr

There are secondhand ones on eBay as well.

The best thing about books like this is that they don't use photos. A photo is a picture of one fish which may or may not be representational of the the entire species, whereas a painting or drawing is representational of the species as a whole.
I use 'The Australian Fisherman's Companion' by Harold Vaughan, excellent book, unfortunately it has photos which does on occasion cause confusion.

The trouble with photos is they are usually of dead fish. Some fish are entirely different when alive. Dolphin fish/Dorado/Mahi Mahi being the best example.