Fishing equipment

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

I've got all the set ups, and I prefer the hand line due to it's simplicity...

Another plus of hand lines is that they are nice and compact for use from a dingy. I have a few Cuban rigs aboard and sometimes use them to fish from the dink. You can troll, cast, or still fish effectively one very compact rig.

[captain58sailin]

I was in Papeete, many years ago, and saw 2 of the biggest tuna hanging, I have ever seen. One was 750 lbs, the other 800, the man who had caught them was a dried up little old man in an outrigger canoe with a 300 lb test hand line and a hand carved lure out of oyster shell. He told me once he hooked up, he just tied the line to his bow and waited for the fish to get tired. For me that would be a little frightening, the boat was not as big as the fish. He was pretty relaxed about it, it just meant food for his family.

[Wraith_Mac]

We use a variety of rods, reels and hand reels, none of them are expensive and all are expendable, except my wife's rod which has mystical powers and should be exorcized.
The exception is my old 'Alvey Snapper' reel, I've used it for forty years and it was my father's before me.
It can and has caught just about every major type of fish in our waters, some very unwelcome, inshore and offshore.
It's simple to rig and maintain, my 'antique' is made of wood and stainless steel with 75lb mono and wire trace on a 4' boat rod of unknown parentage.
It looks like this current Alvey model but with wood instead of plastic.
http://alvey.com.au/products/725c52/
I stress 'it' catches the fish because my [much more expensively equipped] mates deny me any ability at all in this area and that as luck plays no part in fishing it must be the Alvey.
Oh and the lures [when used] are usually homemade from scraps or from the $2 table. They seem just a successful as expensive ones.
We only catch what we want eat, including freezer stocks, so we don't use stainless hooks or trace.
Cheers,
Mac

[salticrak]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

I was in Papeete, many years ago, and saw 2 of the biggest tuna hanging, I have ever seen. One was 750 lbs, the other 800, the man who had caught them was a dried up little old man in an outrigger canoe with a 300 lb test hand line and a hand carved lure out of oyster shell. He told me once he hooked up, he just tied the line to his bow and waited for the fish to get tired. For me that would be a little frightening, the boat was not as big as the fish. He was pretty relaxed about it, it just meant food for his family.

that is a lovely story. Btw, are you Hemingway?

[salticrak]

me and me mates do a bit of tuna wrangling with kayaks, they are incredibly strong and do tow you around a bit.

[captain58sailin]

No I am not, however I did see his and Zane Gray's photos on the wall in the Hotel bar with 1000+ pound Marlin.

[Cheechako]

I cant give you speifics of what to buy, but I prefer a rod and reel. Buy a stout maybe 7 ft rod and the biggest reel you can afford.Then put 80-150 # test on the reel and use 3-4 ft of Stainless steel leader.

[MARC D]

Cheechako,

Thanks for the advice. This is what I'm looking to buy.

Marc

[Cheechako]

stout rod. I used almost entirely about 8"-10"blue/white and green white rubber squid, weighted with bullet shaped weights. You just buy the rubber squid and thread the weight on the leader. Big hooks... 2-0?? maybe 1.5" + or- shank to tip

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

I was in Papeete, many years ago, and saw 2 of the biggest tuna hanging, I have ever seen. One was 750 lbs, the other 800, the man who had caught them was a dried up little old man in an outrigger canoe with a 300 lb test hand line and a hand carved lure out of oyster shell. He told me once he hooked up, he just tied the line to his bow and waited for the fish to get tired. For me that would be a little frightening, the boat was not as big as the fish. He was pretty relaxed about it, it just meant food for his family.

He was doing attended handlines though, not cruiser style unattended where you just check in every half hour in between chapters in your Kindle.

[bobconnie]

I use an old bike bell, the kind with the little handle ya push with your thumb. I run a small line from the bungee cord to the bell handle, bell dings like heck when ya hook up ! works great with a center cockpit! Heck I can hear it when Im the bunk sleeping!! Try something like this and ya can fish 24-7 with plugs or lures and not worry about loseing any fish !! Just a thought !

[foggysail]

Originally Posted by salticrak

that is a lovely story. Btw, are you Hemingway?

Love that response

Foggy

[foggysail]

It has been years since I did any fishing from my boat. Wifey has an enduring disdain for the running reel. But this thread has regenerated my thoughts of catching a big...not huge one.

Today I just won on auction at Ebay a Penn 113H Senator with a graphite body for $50. It looks like new! Next spring I hope to have better luck catching a few fish than I have had trying to catch blue crabs.

Foggy

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by foggysail

It has been years since I did any fishing from my boat. Wifey has an enduring disdain for the running reel. But this thread has regenerated my thoughts of catching a big...not huge one.

Today I just won on auction at Ebay a Penn 113H Senator with a graphite body for $50. It looks like new! Next spring I hope to have better luck catching a few fish than I have had trying to catch blue crabs.

Foggy

[captain58sailin]

I've had good luck with feathered jigs with the barbless hooks, easy to extract. I have never paid too much attention to the line until it hooks up, maybe pull it in once in awhile to clear the seaweed or grass off of it. Like BobConnie, I hang a small bell on the snubber and it gives me all the notice I've needed.