Do I really need these fishing rods?

[GILow]

My boat came with three fishing rods. One of them looks like it was designed for catching whales, the other two are pretty normal.

I don’t fish. (Gasp!) I do accept that I will need to start doing so soon as I get on the move.

Ideally I’d catch something nicely filleted and crumbed, but if that’s not possible, something small. I have no desire to wrestle something aboard that is bigger than me and would feed a small island nation for a week.

So do I really need these rods? Surely the hand lines I have will be fine?

Confused-non-fishing-person.

[bensolomon]

Hand lined are tough, especially single handing. I find it much easier to sit down on the deck, and gently lean back, and reel, lean back, and reel until the fish is along side.

There are definitely two "schools"....rod vs. hand line.

I don't stop the boat to land the fish.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by bensolomon

Hand lined are tough, especially single handing. I find it much easier to sit down on the deck, and gently lean back, and reel, lean back, and reel until the fish is along side.

There are definitely two "schools"....rod vs. hand line.

I don't stop the boat to land the fish.

Ok, great start to the topic already., thank you.

You’ve made me think, I should clarify something...

What about if I assumed I would only ever fish at anchor?

[rbk]

Never fished down under but rods can be good at anchor as well. Once the anchors down we generally have some lines in the water for halibut various rock fish (non-pelagic/bottom dwellers) or if we are anchored in some current we will let a line out with a spoon or bait to drift. There is rarely a time we don’t produce a few fish. Makes for great appies or full on dinner.

[bensolomon]

It would depend on what type of fish you were looking for. I see you're located in Australia and I'm not very familiar with fishing in Australia. I personally prefer using a spin casting rod if I'm fishing it anchor because one it's more responsive and I can feel the fish bite and two most often I am casting from the deck of the sailboat to the schools of fish that I can see on the surface. If however, you are a bottom fishing then a conventional rod and reel would work just fine. I've always found hand lining personally difficult. Just got used to The leverage of a fishing rod making it easier to set the hook and having the drag on the fishing reel gives me an opportunity to land a much bigger fish.

For me, the ability to cast is indispensable. Especially when I see schools of bait fish on the surface. Tthere's no way I would be able to get my boat into those schools but I can easily cast into them from a distance away.

When I'm sailing, by the way I only fish and catch as much fish as I can eat.

as a side note, I keep a cast net on board so I can net The bait fish then I can either send them to the bottom with sinkers, cast of distance, or free line them across the surface.

[bensolomon]

My go to fishing lure is a size one or double zero spoon. almost any fish will hit something shiny and sparkly moving through the water.

[AiniA]

We fished only with a handline and one of those black plastic O-ring things. Caught maki-mahi up to about 42" and a barracuda, north of Oz that was about as big as my wife (she isn't that tall). Never felt it was a problem.

[Jammer]

Scott and Wendy Bannerot's book,"The Cruiser's Handbook of Fishing," covers species, technique, and gear. I read every page and recommend it. It will answer your questions on which gear is suitable for what purposes and may help you understand what you have.


While I have fished extensively, it's all been in fresh water where a large fish is 15 pounds.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by GILow

What about if I assumed I would only ever fish at anchor?

Then you'd be denying yourself pelagic fish in blue water, other than flying fish that suicide on your deck.

[jamhass]

May depend some on where you are, fishing or not. In Mexico (for example) you MUST have a fishing license for each individual on the boat if you have fishing gear aboard. Fines for violation are steep and may involve impounding or seizing the boat.

[Hardhead]

I'd keep them. Good pastime on a passage, and you can always trade them for beer.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by GILow

Ok, great start to the topic already., thank you.

You’ve made me think, I should clarify something...

What about if I assumed I would only ever fish at anchor?

That's what the light rods are for.
You will lose far more fish using a handline at anchor than you will with a rod and reel that lets you "play" the fish.

The heavy one is for trolling offshore and it just makes hauling the fish in a lot easier, but it's not really necessary. A yoyo with a heavy line does a pretty good for anything you want to catch offshore.

[stormalong]

For retrieving larger fish a rod is essential. A hand line on one of those plastic reels gives you no leverage to pull the fish. Larger fish will fight hard. Tuna will fight so hard that they will die from exhaustion by the time you land them.

[BlueH2Obound]

You definitely don't need those three rods! PM me, and I'll give you an address to send them to! Please include any lures and any other extra fishing stuff left on the boat as well. No need to thank me! I'm just doing my part to help you get rid of useless stuff on your boat!

[JPA Cate]

Matt, fresh fish is beautiful. Generally, the large, pelagic fish are not as big as you, even though you've lost weight. You take them in and share them with other cruisers if they are too much for you, and make new friends. Or, since you have a freezer, you take two fillets off, and freeze one, and eat off the other. Very few things in this world as nice to eat as fresh yellowfin, or wahoo or dorado. Coastally, in Oz, meat line success is limited, but people who make the effort do catch fish. Some places are more fruitful (as it were) than others.

Keep the rods, and set up a drag line, also. Let your boat fish for you while you're keeping watch. And like the guy above wrote, you quit fishing when you've caught enough. Along with the Cruisers Handbook of Fishing, I'd recommend a Grant's Guide to Fishes. Grant's is Australian, printed on polypropylene "paper" (like the money), and water doesn't damage it. It contains almost everything you would ever need to know about fish found between the equator and about 40 deg N. or S, even shows colour pics of colour variants, and in some cases not only who to eat but how to cook them.

Plus, if anyone visits you while you're cruising, they may enjoy fishing from your boat as you cruise.

Ann