“You kill it this time I’m tired of killing them,” said the captain. And with that I was left to do the deed to a three-foot long, brilliantly green and gold colored Mahi-mahi we’d caught in the Mediterranean while cruising there now some years ago. “Just put him in a bucket and gut him,” came the command. It seemed a bit barbaric for such a beautiful fish, so I decided to enact a slightly different alternative and humane technique and grabbed the
winch handle. The plan was to knock the fish out. Here we go, I thought, and brought the
winch handle crashing down. My aim, either due to the pitching boat or adrenaline, was off. The next thing I knew I had an injured fish with a jaw ache that was making it very known it would rather not leave this world. Containment became the next issue. I had a bucket of water nearby and figured that if I put the fish in it there I’d limit its movement. And the next thing I knew the fish’s tail hit warp speed
—it thought it was back in the ocean and started a dive to the depths. Eventually the fish made it to the table, but the experience was less than easy. Several hundred fish later, here are some tips to make fishing underway a little less traumatic for everyone.
Gear I’ll admit to being a minimalist. While a several hundred dollar fishing pole with state of the art line and lures would be nice, stowage and finances seem to consistently conspire against me and most of the fish we’ve landed have been in the manner that the majority of the world’s fishermen use, a hand line.
If you’re out in the middle of nowhere and this crude, but effective, approach breaks or goes overboard, it will be a lot less heartache than if it were the latest Shimano fishing gizmo. Our present model is a hundred-pound test line rolled around a plastic ring. A changeable wire leader leads to whatever lure seems to be working best: feathers, a few different colored skirts, and Rapallas were among our best working.
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"“A fish strikes, the clothes pin pops off, the bungee keeps a steady tug on the hook, the cat meows, and the crew moves into action.”" |
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On more than one occasion I was afraid to put our Rapalla in the water since it was one size to big for a fish for two people and several times we hooked into some real monsters. We’d leave a hundred or so feet out off the back of the boat, letting it trail on the surface. Flocking birds and jumping fish mean it’s time to pay attention. You’ll also want to keep an eye on over curious gulls, pelicans, and terns that may dive after your lure. We’ve never landed a bird and don’t hope to, but have had some close calls. Dolphins and seals seem to be smart enough to stay away. The boat side of the arrangement has a bungee cord which is fastened to a stanchion. A clothes pin is clipped to the fishing
line and the life
line. A fish strikes, the clothes pin pops off, the bungee keeps a steady tug on the hook, the cat meows, and the crew moves into action.
A number of fellow cruising boats we met on our travels said that they’d stop the boat and drop the sails when landing a fish. We prefer to make it as little of an ordeal as possible
—despite the excited shouts that usually accompany a strike, it’s not exactly for sporting reasons that we’re doing this
—and usually keep underway. We use orange fishing gloves to protect our hands against the
line. Pulling the fish in is usually a simple hand over hand affair. We’ve also never used a gaff or a net
—more clutter
—but manage to just pull them on the aft deck and hold them from jumping back over board
—a towel and a foot work well.
There have been a number of recommended techniques for dispatching with the fish, among them spraying the fish with alcohol. The time or two we tried it, it just seemed to make the fish madder, and in retrospect perhaps it was trying to tell us it preferred a different sort of rum. I’ve found a few kind thoughts toward the fish helpful, followed by a couple of good whacks with a short club or, if you prefer, an ice pick to the brain. Not exactly like shopping at the supermarket, but it is an experience that instills a reconnection to the food chain nonetheless.
Cleaning If you’re cruising boat becomes a serious fishing operation, you can consider mounting a dedicated fish cleaning station on the rail. Better this than the solar panel, which the previous owner of our boat decided would work well as a fish cleaning station, that is until he cut through it, leaving it a future of less than optimal output.
If you only catch a fish every now and then, we, um, I’ve found filleting a fish in a bucket works fine. Sit down. Go slow and be safe, there’s usually not to much of a rush by this stage in the game. Grab the fish by the tail and bend it so the fish arcs slightly. Begin at the tail with a sharp flexible fillet knife. Make an incision a hair outboard of the centerline of the fish at the tail and cut a third of the fish’s length forward. Then make an similar incision on the bottom and run this forward a third of its length. Work the incisions toward each other, angling just slightly upward to take in account the backbone. Once the section is complete, repeat until you’ve reached the head and the side fins.
With a little practice, once you’re done the gooey organs will be kept out of the mix and you’ll be left with what looks like a diagram from a
Grey‘s Anatomy book. Flip the fish over and repeat. Say a few words of thanks, and return the fish to the sea, albeit a little lighter. Give a few pieces to the cat and mix up your favorite marinade and fire up the barbeque, or pass the fish down to the sushi maker
—you remembered the wasabi and the seaweed, right?
There are a couple of fish to be wary of, especially in the Caribbean. We met two South African boats who were effectively feeding their families by spear fishing. Several months later, these families contracted ciguatera—a cumulative neruotoxin that collects in reef fish whose symptoms include dizziness and nausea and include the reversal of hot and cold sensations. Barracuda in these waters with ciguatera should be avoided as should big groupers and any other fish high on the food chain that feeds on smaller reef fish. The homepage image of this article is a Californian barracuda, which was delicious. Open ocean water fish like tuna and Mahi-mahi are considered safe. A good fish identification book is a must—we threw more than one good fish back just because we didn’t know what it was until later.
For the Squeamish/ Unlucky And then
there are times when conditions are too rough for fishing. The last thing you want to deal with is cleaning a fish in 25 knots of wind while going upwind in choppy seas. Once the passage is over, if you haven’t been lucky or the weather has kept you from putting a
line over, it might be time to visit the local pros. Don’t underestimate the power of bartering with local fishermen.
Here are some of the exchange rates we found. Off the coast of Panama we traded a flashlight and two baseball caps for two lobster and two fish. In Costa Rica we traded a gallon of oil for about the biggest red snapper I’d ever seen
—the smallest fish they had on their boat and one that would mean inviting 11 people over for dinner to finish it. In Venezuela two spark plugs on some off-lying islands bought two lobsters. Other good trading ideas for fishermen are small hooks, light
line, sinkers and lures, or paper, pens, crayons for their kids. Naturally some fishermen will be interested in cigarettes, rum, and
Playboys, none of which we had aboard or would recommend trading. If you don’t know the language, don’t be afraid to bust out the sign language. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Here’s hoping the fish and friends are plentiful, wherever you may be.
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