Seeking Fishing Gear Advice, Please.

[Tallen8892]

My sailing buddy and I are preparing for an extended trip, departing from the Pacific Northwest, sailing south to the Panama Canal, making our way to Florida and eventually arriving in Maine. We would enjoy supplementing our meals along the route with fresh fish caught off the stern of our boat. The problem is, neither of us know much about fishing and the gear required. Any advice on the basic equipment needed (type of poles, length and weight of line, lures, etc.) would be greatly appreciated!

[StuM]

There are loads of previous threads discussing this exact topic with a great deal of good advice from many experinced people.


Have you done a forum search?


Here's one 80 post thread to get you started:
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ng-220420.html

[chris mac]

Cheapest and easiest intro would be a cuban Yoyo. Strong line , I use 250 lbs mono. And some "bubblers" 6 or so inch squid like lures.
All can be found on amazon. The rest is fine tuning and practice.
I lost every(edible) fish we hooked the first year. This year got us 2 mahi and a little tunny.

[Dave852]

My neighbor wore this book, lots of good info https://www.amazon.com/Cruisers-Hand...a-458840598144

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Dave852

My neighbor wore this book, lots of good info https://www.amazon.com/Cruisers-Hand...a-458840598144

Not as comprehensive as that one, but at $5 for a downloable PDF, it should answer all the OPs questions.
https://www.sailboat-cruising.com/se...t-fishing.html

[DefinitelyMe]

We use a length of monofilament leader, maybe 800lbs test, with a loop in it and a bungy cord to mediate shock loading from a strike. On the end of that is a wire leader approx. 500lbs test and then a swivel with 350lbs test to the lure (which is made from epoxy resin mixed with food colouring and poured into a piece of PVC pipe, then shaped with an angle grinder, hole drilled through the middle and some sort of skirt fashioned from whatever is lying around). Takes a day or two to catch anything but then we're set for a couple of weeks with fish. Tuna, Wahoo and Mahi Mahi mainly. Got a sailfish once.

It's not fancy but it works and is a hell of a lot easier to pull in than something on a rod. Others catch more fish, but we don't really need to do that because we have lots and lots of time. :-)

[StuM]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

... to the lure (which is made from epoxy resin mixed with food colouring and poured into a piece of PVC pipe, then shaped with an angle grinder, hole drilled through the middle and some sort of skirt fashioned from whatever is lying around). Takes a day or two to catch anything but then we're set for a couple of weeks with fish. Tuna, Wahoo and Mahi Mahi mainly. Got a sailfish once.

Talking of home made lures:
https://twoatsea.com/fishing-lure/

[zemurray]

Originally Posted by chris mac

Cheapest and easiest intro would be a cuban Yoyo. Strong line , I use 250 lbs mono. And some "bubblers" 6 or so inch squid like lures.
All can be found on amazon. The rest is fine tuning and practice.
I lost every(edible) fish we hooked the first year. This year got us 2 mahi and a little tunny.Attachment 241017

curious how did you lose all those fish? I caught a ton and rarely lost any.

[CruiseN]

Wash dishes in bucket or if with drainage hole close tap and wait until lure in.
A bit of scent helps trail.

We used short boat rods but never caught anything underway.
Best catch was in Anchorage, lined to shore, an American tourist saw me catching fish with lure every cast so asked if he could record holiday. No mobile phones then.. said yes, he started recording, didn't catch a thing since.

[Tallen8892]

Thank you, StuM for your reply. After posting my question, I scrolled down the page to discover “Similar Threads,” which offered a lot of great advice. With this being my first post, that alone was a great discovery! Thanks also to the replies that have come in so quickly. I just now ordered "The Cruiser's Handbook of Fishing!" Tim

[Jammer]

The Bannerot book linked in post #4 upthread is excellent and will tell you more about the nuts and bolts of fishing than most people ever learn.

[Paul Howard]

Lots of info on making your fishing rig, but a few sidebar info tips:
Some areas have lots of seaweed and other stuff floating on the surface that snag on the line where it goes into the water, then slides down the line and snags on the hook/lure. Fish will not strike if weed is trailing off the lure. check frequently and clear.
If a lure is attractive to a predatory fish from below, it will also attract predatory birds from above. I have had many seabirds dive on my lures, get snagged, I drag them in and, wearing a good pair of gloves, try to untangle them as the hook sometimes is in their bill, sometimes on the wing. Let the bird rest on the foredeck/trampoline and it will regain its equilibrium and fly away.
I use heavy cord handlines on a plastic reel, but when a fish strikes I pull in hand over hand. Keep tension on the line, as if there is even a moment of slack, the fish will throw the hook.
I made my own gaff, purchasing a hook and made a handle of the appropriate length for the boat topsides so the fish can be gaffed in the water at the side of the boat. Gaff them in the gut, as that sort of stuns them.
If you get a very big fish, large tuna or billfish, you may have to heave-to to fight them and get them onboard.

[Cadence]

If you are subsistence fishing use heavy line a steel leader and a spoon or jigged eel ( surgical tubing).
And don't cheap on rod and reel.

[chris mac]

Originally Posted by zemurray

curious how did you lose all those fish? I caught a ton and rarely lost any.

It wasn't all that many, 5 or 6.
Lost a couple from thrashing at surface and dislodging the hook. We added a shock absorber in the setup that limits this now.
Lost one that tore a cedar plug in half, and a couple more that chewed through or tore apart lures or leaders(all came with the boat and were of unknown age/strength) new lures fixed that issue.
Like most things in life, it's a learning experience. Doing a little better each time adds to the pleasure and excitement

[waterman46]

Do you guys worry about catching a porpoise by mistake? Has it ever happened? Whenever I see them I quickly reel in the line, but nearly always they approach too fast for me to retrieve the line in time. Would hate to hook one! In some places we've been accompanied by porpoises for hours on end, so no fishing there.