Fishing on long haul or ocean passage

[n5ama]

It's been my experience that some of the plentiful fish nearer the Gulf of Mexico coast (+- 100 mi out) some of which you catch isn't very tasty (example: Spanish Mack -very oily tasting with a large blood line). Edible but not as tasty as Red Snapper and Trigger fish.

If you are trolling past some of the deep water production platforms, that have been out there for awhile (several years), they have enough eco system (food chain) to have a nice selection of edible fish. It takes awhile for the smaller fish to show up in areas that don't have a dense rig count. The first fish out there are the large mobile fish 50-600 pounds. Of course you may need to crank up the engine and make a few passes real close (on different sides of the rig) to pick up many fish.

BTW, Don't swim around any of the quarters platforms. It's against the MMS laws to dump food overboard but sometimes they either can't wait for a supply boat to haul it back to shore or just don't take the time and trouble. Food dumped off the rig attracts some of the largest sharks I've ever seen (and some really mean hammerheads).

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by n5ama

It's been my experience that some of the plentiful fish nearer the Gulf of Mexico coast (+- 100 mi out) some of which you catch isn't very tasty (example: Spanish Mack -very oily tasting with a large blood line). Edible but not as tasty as Red Snapper and Trigger fish.

If you are trolling past some of the deep water production platforms, that have been out there for awhile (several years), they have enough eco system (food chain) to have a nice selection of edible fish. It takes awhile for the smaller fish to show up in areas that don't have a dense rig count. The first fish out there are the large mobile fish 50-600 pounds. Of course you may need to crank up the motor and make a few passes real close (on different sides of the rig) to pick up many fish.

BTW, Don't swim around any of the quarters platforms. It's against the MMS laws to dump food overboard but sometimes they either can't wait for a supply boat to haul it back to shore or just don't take the time and trouble. Food dumped off the rig attracts some of the largest sharks I've ever seen (and some really mean hammerheads).

Yeah, I like the whiter mackeral like Sierra though. Oily is good in my book!

[dennismenace111]

I dragged lures all the way to Bermuda from. Miami and back! Nothing! Not a single hit. It's my opinion that the ocean is for the most part a desert without alot of life!

[KP44]

Originally Posted by StuM

100lb line on a yoyo and metal spoon

For coastal fishing with a hand line, 100 lb line is OK. (Never use the new braided line for a hand line because it will cut your hand.)
For ocean crossings, I'd recommend 400 lb line and a snubber. You do not need to kill or keep huge fish. But you need powerful line so you will not lose your entire rig when a big one bites.

There is a self-published booklet on offshore sailboat fishing that is worth reading.
https://www.sailboat-cruising.com/se...t-fishing.html

[SteveSadler]

Some areas are devoid of fish, others plentiful. We caught plenty of fish on every passage, including the Med! Just not often close to civilization. Forget rods and reels, 3-500# handlines are the best with wire leader. Plenty of books on the subject.

[slug]

Yah

I only use handlines

Two or three boat lengths of 3mm Dacron cord with a one boat length monofilament leader , heavy stuff perhaps 100 kg break

Wear leather work gloves for handing the line and fish

Use thin gauge hooks , that straighten out when the fish is oversized
No need for accidental oversized fish and waste

[Group9]

Originally Posted by cooper1991

Are you guaranteed to catch fish every day across the oceans?

What kit or lines do you need? What bait or lures?

Obviously most time it's mackerel and tuna and other top feeders so is it just the same coloured feathers or silver paper lures you use?

Just planning ahead to when I buy a sailboat.

We're the worst fishermen in the world, but we usually seem to catch at least one fish on every passage.

[doog]

yeah no, fish congregate in groups and when you're in the fish you are, and when not you are not then this is mostly the case. But I'm commenting mostly to suggest using vinegar to pickle the fish rather than finding room in a small freezer which you won't have. You could also use salt to preserve the meat. I've kept meat for 90 days and more with no issues and no Refrigeration needed.

[slug]

Originally Posted by doog

yeah no, fish congregate in groups and when you're in the fish you are, and when not you are not then this is mostly the case. But I'm commenting mostly to suggest using vinegar to pickle the fish rather than finding room in a small freezer which you won't have. You could also use salt to preserve the meat. I've kept meat for 90 days and more with no issues and no Refrigeration needed.

Cube the flesh , pack into a jar , fill the jar completely with olive oil , add some flavor ... capers, dill or your choice

Cover the jar . Put in a pot of water , bring water to boil for ten or fifteen min , let cool , refrigerate

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by dennismenace111

I dragged lures all the way to Bermuda from. Miami and back! Nothing! Not a single hit. It's my opinion that the ocean is for the most part a desert without alot of life!

I spent some time doing a floral survey in the Mohave Desert a couple years back and thought there can't be much that actually flowers here. "What has that got to do with fish?" you might ask. Deserts (like open ocean ecosystems) are vast and variable places so "life" is timed closely to nutrients and temperature. We are slowly starting to reverse declines in ocean biodiversity. Commercial fishing can't be blamed for lack of fish everywhere -- you also need to know when and where to look. Coral reefs are quite nutrient poor, but they provide structure (like rigs and other artificial reefs) that allows for a food pyramid to build up through the chain. Upwellings with or without deepwater pinnacles, as someone mentioned, create incredible life around them because of their nutrient source alone, but these are dynamic features that move around a lot so the fish won't always be in the same place every time you look. Know thy fish

[GWilly]

The deep ocean is a much different environment than the shallower coastal areas. The (relatively) shallow continental shelf creates a lot of productivity, hence that's where fish congregate. Sure, you can catch fish out in the deep ocean, and usually the highly migratory pelagics, but they're in schools. So coming across a school is usually by chance, or perhaps you pass nearby some floating structure. Remember, fish are moving to find feed, or to go to more favorable areas to live/spawn. BTW, trawlers don't fish the deep ocean much, mainly for the above reasons. Much easier and efficient to fish on the shelf. Some longliners that use floating gear for tunas fish out in mid ocean, but they leave their gear out for days before being retrieved.

[roverhi]

We were meat fisherman. Our gear consisted of paracord fishing line with 200# stainless leader. We used a red feathered lure and caught fish every time we drug a line from San Diego to the Tuamotus. We only put the lines out when we got a hankering for fish and sometimes would be hours before we got a bite but we'd almost always caught something.

When we left the Tuamotus never caught another fish through FP and back to Hawaii despite almost always dragging a line. Don't know why other than our feather lures were getting a bit dedraggled after getting chomped on so many times and hours in the water.

[Issywa]

Crossing the Atlantic last summer we encountered so much sargasso that we were able unable to keep the lure free of catching bits of sea weed.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by cooper1991

Are you guaranteed to catch fish every day across the oceans?

What kit or lines do you need? What bait or lures?

Obviously most time it's mackerel and tuna and other top feeders so is it just the same coloured feathers or silver paper lures you use?

Just planning ahead to when I buy a sailboat.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life - you should probably just give me the fish It seems that the only time I've been able to catch fish - I wound up catching too many

[CLady]

Re fishing in the ocean deserts--
I just drag 200 feet of handline with 15 feet of leader with a big hook and a plastic squid lure--this rig is simply tied off on the stern cleat. I wait until the fish is tired and then I bring it in by hand wrapping the handline around one of my small starboard cutting boards. I use a net to board the fish more easily and set it up for filleting on my makeshift fish-cleaning board. Usually I have to stop fishing because the freezer is full. Eating fish tacos, fish soup, fish fillets in panco crumbs, fish chowder, etc., after several days promotes growing gills or a lot of "finning around".
What I have found is within 90 seconds of seeing flying fish emerge, I have a hookup. Also, the boat speed between 5.5 knots and 6.5 knots seems to be the sweet speed range.
To not have fish juices or blood on my boat, I bought a large starboard (Kingboard), type cutting board at a thrift shop for a few dollars. I drilled holes in its corners to tie small gauge dyneema line to secure the board to the aft quarter toe rail and the rigid lifeline so that the board sloped slightly down away from the boat. I also drilled holes at the forward and aft ends of the cutting board to tie "securing" lines to use to tie the fish to the board at its head/gills and at its tail end to secure it while I fillet it. This setup allows quick flilleting of the fish with all of the bits and blood, etc., instantly going into the water and not on my boat. Then, I just rinse it all off with a couple of buckets of sea water. I lease the board tied to the aft quarter toe rail and raise it up (like fold it up) to tie the outboard edge up to the rigid lifeline when not in use.
Having a gaff to board larger fish, (more than 3 feet), is handy as well. I try to minimize touching the fish to reduce fish smell aboard.