Fishing Under Sail

Worth watching...

2012-01-23T08:52:00.000-04:00

Important stuff if you read blogs like Fishing Under Sail

2012-01-18T10:37:00.001-04:00

What is so bad about SOPA and PROTECT IP?

Threat to online freedom of speech

According to the EFF, proxy servers, such as those used during the Arab Spring, can also be used to thwart copyright enforcement and therefore may be made illegal by the act.On TIME's Techland blog, Jerry Brito wrote, "Imagine if the U.K. created a blacklist of American newspapers that its courts found violated celebrities' privacy? Or what if France blocked American sites it believed contained hate speech?" Similarly, the Center for Democracy and Technology warned, "If SOPA and PIPA are enacted, the US government must be prepared for other governments to follow suit, in service to whatever social policies they believe are important—whether restricting hate speech, insults to public officials, or political dissent."Laurence H. Tribe, a Harvard University professor of constitutional law, released an open letter on the web stating that SOPA would “undermine the openness and free exchange of information at the heart of the Internet. And it would violate the First Amendment.”The AFL-CIO's Paul Almeida, arguing in favor of SOPA, has stated that free speech was not a relevant consideration, because "The First Amendment does not protect stealing goods off trucks."

Negative impact on websites that host user content

Journalist Rebecca MacKinnon argued in an op-ed that making companies liable for users' actions could have a chilling effect on user-generated sites like YouTube. "The intention is not the same as China’s Great Firewall, a nationwide system of Web censorship, but the practical effect could be similar", she says.The EFF has warned that Etsy, Flickr and Vimeo all seem likely to shut down if the bill becomes law. According to critics, the bill would ban linking to sites deemed offending, even in search results and on services such as Twitter.Christian Dawson, COO of Virginia-based hosting company ServInt, predicted that the legislation would lead to many cloud computing and Web hosting services moving out of the US to avoid lawsuits. Conversely, Michael O'Leary of the MPAA argued at the November 16 Judiciary Committee hearing that the act's effect on business would be more minimal, noting that at least 16 countries block websites, and the internet still functions in those countries. Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Italy blocked The Pirate Bay after courts ruled in favor of music and film industry litigation, and a coalition of film and record companies has threatened to sue British Telecom if it does not follow suit. Maria Pallante of the US Copyright Office said that Congress has updated the Copyright Act before and should again, or "the U.S. copyright system will ultimately fail." Asked for clarification, she said that the US currently lacks jurisdiction over websites in other countries.

Weakening of "safe harbor" protections for websites

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), passed in 1998, includes a provision, known as the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act, that provides a "safe harbor" for websites that host content. Under that provision, copyright owners who feel that a website is hosting content that infringes on their copyright are required to submit a notice to that website to ask for the infringing material to be removed, and the website is then given a certain amount of time to remove such material. SOPA would override this "safe harbor" provision, by allowing judges to immediately block access to any website found guilty of hosting copyrighted material.According to critics of the bill such as the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the bill's wording is vague enough that a single complaint about even a major website could be enough to cause the site to be blocked, with the burden of proof then resting on the website to get itself un-blocked. The focus of much of the criticism is on a statement in the bill, that any website would be blocked that "is taking, or has taken deliberate actions to avoid confirming a high probability of the use of the U.S.-directed site to carry out acts that constitute a violation." Critics have read this to mean that a website that does not actively monitor its content for copyright violations, but instead waits for others to notify it of such violations, could be guilty under the law.Law professor Jason Mazzone wrote, "Damages are also not available to the site owner unless a claimant 'knowingly materially' misrepresented that the law covers the targeted site, a difficult legal test to meet. The owner of the site can issue a counter-notice to restore payment processing and advertising but services need not comply with the counter-notice".Goodlatte stated, "We're open to working with them on language to narrow [the bill's provisions], but I think it is unrealistic to think we're going to continue to rely on the DMCA notice-and-takedown provision. Anybody who is involved in providing services on the Internet would be expected to do some things. But we are very open to tweaking the language to ensure we don't impose extraordinary burdens on legitimate companies as long as they aren't the primary purveyors [of pirated content]".The MPAA's O'Leary submitted written testimony in favor of the bill that expressed guarded support of current DMCA provisions. "Where these sites are legitimate and make good faith efforts to respond to our requests, this model works with varying degrees of effectiveness," O'Leary wrote. "It does not, however, always work quickly, and it is not perfect, but it works."

General threat to web-related businesses

A news analysis in the information technology magazine eWeek stated, "The language of SOPA is so broad, the rules so unconnected to the reality of Internet technology and the penalties so disconnected from the alleged crimes that this bill could effectively kill e-commerce or even normal Internet use. The bill also has grave implications for existing U.S., foreign and international laws and is sure to spend decades in court challenges."Art Bordsky of advocacy group Public Knowledge similarly stated that "The definitions written in the bill are so broad that any US consumer who uses a website overseas immediately gives the US jurisdiction the power to potentially take action against it."On October 28, 2011, the EFF called the bill a "massive piece of job-killing Internet regulation," and said, "This bill cannot be fixed; it must be killed."Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, spoke out strongly against the bill, stating that "The bill attempts a radical restructuring of the laws governing the Internet," and that "It would undo the legal safe harbors that have allowed a world-leading Internet industry to flourish over the last decade. It would expose legitimate American businesses and innovators to broad and open-ended liability. The result will be more lawsuits, decreased venture capital investment, and fewer new jobs."Lukas Biewald, founder of CrowdFlower, stated that "It'll have a stifling effect on venture capital... No one would invest because of the legal liability."Booz & Company on November 16 released a study, funded by Google, finding that almost all of the 200 venture capitalists and angel investors interviewed would stop funding digital media intermediaries if the House bill becomes law. More than 80 percent said they would rather invest in a risky, weak economy with the current laws than a strong economy with the proposed law in effect. If legal ambiguities were removed and good faith provisions in place, investing would increase by nearly 115 percent.As reported by David Carr of the New York Times in an article critical of SOPA and PIPA, Google, Facebook, Twitter and other companies sent a joint letter to Congress, stating "We support the bills’ stated goals — providing additional enforcement tools to combat foreign ‘rogue’ Web sites that are dedicated to copyright infringement or counterfeiting. However, the bills as drafted would expose law-abiding U.S. Internet and technology companies to new uncertain liabilities, private rights of action and technology mandates that would require monitoring of Web sites.” In response to Carr's article, bill sponsor and Committee Chairman Lamar Smith said the article "unfairly criticizes the Stop Online Piracy Act", and, "does not point to any language in the bill to back up the claims. SOPA targets only foreign Web sites that are primarily dedicated to illegal and infringing activity. Domestic Web sites, like blogs, are not covered by this legislation." Lamar also said that Carr incorrectly framed the debate as between the entertainment industry and high-tech companies, noting support by more than "120 groups and associations across diverse industries, including the United States Chamber of Commerce".

Threat to users uploading content

Lateef Mtima, director of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice at Howard University School of Law, expressed concern that users who upload copyrighted content to sites such as YouTube could potentially be held criminally liable themselves, saying, "Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the bill is that the conduct it would criminalize is so poorly defined. While on its face the bill seems to attempt to distinguish between commercial and non-commercial conduct, purportedly criminalizing the former and permitting the latter, in actuality the bill not only fails to accomplish this but, because of its lack of concrete definitions, it potentially criminalizes conduct that is currently permitted under the law."An aide to bill sponsor Lamar Smith has said, "This bill does not make it a felony for a person to post a video on YouTube of their children singing to a copyrighted song. The bill specifically targets websites dedicated to illegal or infringing activity. Sites that host user content—like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter—have nothing to be concerned about under this legislation".

Threat to internal networks

A paper by the Center for Democracy and Technology says that the bill "targets an entire website even if only a small portion hosts or links to some infringing content."According to A. M. Reilly of Industry Leaders Magazine, under SOPA, culpability for distributing copyright material is extended to those who aid the initial poster of said material. For companies that use virtual private networks to create a network that appears to be internal but is spread across various offices and employees' homes, any of these offsite locations that initiate sharing of copyright material can put the entire VPN and hosting company at risk of violation.Answering similar criticism in a CNET editorial, RIAA head Cary Sherman wrote: "Actually, it's quite the opposite. By focusing on specific sites rather than entire domains, action can be targeted against only the illegal subdomain or Internet protocol address rather than taking action against the entire domain."

Threat to free and open source software

The Electronic Frontier Foundation expressed concern that free and open source software (FLOSS) projects found to be aiding online piracy may experience serious problems under SOPA. Of special concern is the web browser Firefox, made by Open-Source advocate Mozilla, which has a plug-in, MAFIAAFire Redirector, that redirects users to the new location for domains that were seized by the U.S. government. In May 2011, Mozilla refused a request by the Department of Homeland Security to pull MAFIAAFire from its website, asking "Have any courts determined that the Mafiaafire add-on is unlawful or illegal in any way?"

Ineffectual against piracy

Edward J. Black, president and CEO of the Computer & Communication Industry Association, wrote in the Huffington Post that "Ironically, it would do little to stop actual pirate websites, which could simply reappear hours later under a different name, if their numeric web addresses aren't public even sooner. Anyone who knows or has that web address would still be able to reach the offending website."An editorial in the San Jose Mercury-News stated, "Imagine the resources required to parse through the millions of Google and Facebook offerings every day looking for pirates who, if found, can just toss up another site in no time."

Deep-packet inspection and invasion of privacy

According to Markham Erickson, head of NetCoalition, which opposes SOPA, the section of the bill that would allow judges to order internet service providers to block access to infringing websites to customers located in the United States would also allow the checking of those customers' IP address, a method known as IP blocking. Erickson has expressed concerns that such an order might require those providers to engage in "deep packet inspection", which involves analyzing all of the content being transmitted to and from the user, and may raise new privacy concerns.

Negative impact on DNS, DNSSEC and Internet security

The Domain Name System (DNS) servers, most often equated with a phone directory, translate browser requests for domain names into the IP address assigned to that computer or network. The bill requires these servers to stop referring requests for infringing domains to their assigned IP addresses.Andrew Lee, CEO of ESET North America, has expressed concerns that since the bill would require internet service providers to filter DNS queries for the sites, this would undermine the integrity of the Domain Name System.Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), whose district includes part of Silicon Valley, has called the bill "the end of the internet as we know it."According to David Ulevitch, the San Francisco-based head of OpenDNS, the passage of SOPA could cause Americans to switch to DNS providers located in other countries who offer encrypted links, and may cause U.S. providers, such as OpenDNS itself, to move to other countries, such as the Cayman Islands.In November 2011, a new anonymous top-level domain, .bit, was launched outside of ICANN control, as a response to the perceived threat from SOPA, although its effectiveness (as well as the effectiveness of other alternative DNS roots) remains unknown.

Internet security

A white paper by several internet security experts, including Steve Crocker and Dan Kaminsky, wrote, "From an operational standpoint, a resolution failure from a nameserver subject to a court order and from a hacked nameserver would be indistinguishable. Users running secure applications have a need to distinguish between policy-based failures and failures caused, for example, by the presence of an attack or a hostile network, or else downgrade attacks would likely be prolific."

DNSSEC

There have been concerns raised that SOPA would harm the usefulness of the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), a set of protocols developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for ensuring internet security. A white paper by the Brookings Institution wrote that "The DNS system is based on trust," adding that DNSSEC was developed to prevent malicious redirection of DNS traffic, and that "other forms of redirection will break the assurances from this security tool."On November 17, Sandia National Laboratories, a research agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, released a technical assessment of the DNS filtering provisions in the House and Senate bills, in response to a request from Rep. Lofgren. The assessment stated of both bills that the DNS filtering would be unlikely to be effective, would negatively impact internet security, and would delay full implementation of DNSSEC.On November 18, House cybersecurity subcommittee chairman Dan Lungren stated that he had "very serious concerns" about SOPA's impact on DNSSEC, adding, "we don't have enough information, and if this is a serious problem as was suggested by some of the technical experts that got in touch with me, we have to address it."

Lack of transparency in enforcement

Brooklyn Law School professor Jason Mazzone warned, "Much of what will happen under SOPA will occur out of the public eye and without the possibility of holding anyone accountable. For when copyright law is made and enforced privately, it is hard for the public to know the shape that the law takes and harder still to complain about its operation."

Who are my congressional representatives and how do I contact them?

Congress needs to hear from all of us or this bill is going to pass. Each representative usually publishes their phone number, email address, or a contact form on their individual official websites. Links to their websites can be found in these directories:

I don't live in the US. What can I do?

The US State Department constantly speaks out against internet censorship in other countries. Pressure them to speak out against America’s new domestic censorship system.

Email the State Department

No such thing as a scrap piece of teak...

2012-01-17T10:17:00.001-04:00

Doing some boat projects on "So It Goes" has left me with some old teak chain plate backing pads that are no longer needed. What to do?

I kinda like the thought of doing a bunch of teak lures...

What a great idea...

2011-12-27T09:16:00.000-04:00

I've always thought a lot of dive gear cost too much, especially spearfishing gear. Let's take the humble spear head or tip as an example...

... It's your basic double barb spearpoint and this one will set you back nearly $40 (do I hear an ouch?). Now archery is a much bigger sport than spearfishing so how does does an arrow head compare?

Kinda looks about right does it not? Even better, they come in packs of THREE for less than $15...

The only problem is that arrow heads and spear tips use different size screw standards... Bummer!

Well as it happens some guys over at Poseidon Spears are making just the thing to allow us spearfishers to use archery hunting and bow-fishing arrowheads.

A really simple thread adapter in stainless for $15...

Now how cool is that?

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on a couple of these as well as giving the new Poseidon Pole Spear a try in a blue water situation as it just seems to say Mahi Mahi to me...

Reflections on a blank page...

2011-11-03T10:32:00.001-04:00

Hey, remember me?

You might say I've been having a certain blockage of the writing-about-fishing-and-critter-hunting kind. It's not that I've been bored with it, didn't have anything to say, or that I did not want to write... It was simply that the blank page simply got the upper hand. Which, when you think about it, is a lot like fishing and not fishing...

A lot of cruisers and boat folks get gear and fish a bit. Sadly a large percentage tend to quit as they cross the line from not catching to not fishing at all... So many old unused gnarly fishing rods dying a slow death by UV simply a sign of lost dreams.

Where writing is concerned you simply have to write and I'm pretty sure that talent, great ideas, or a good turn of phrase are not nearly as important as simply getting down to it and writing.

So, earlier this week, I bought a new rod and reel (I'm waiting for it to make it's way down as we speak) which I'll be using to illustrate some ideas I have for the blog and (hopefully) catching a few fish in the process...

Kind of the point, isn't it?

Coming attractions...

2011-10-11T09:33:00.000-04:00

Off the Grid Fly Fishing Trailer from RA Beattie on Vimeo.

Bugs...

2011-10-06T08:20:00.000-04:00

Kayak Angler has an excellent how-to on catching lobster without getting wet...

Check it out!

Some excellent reading...

2011-10-05T10:10:00.000-04:00

Get it here

Get your popcorn ready...

2011-09-12T17:28:00.002-04:00

A six pack...

2011-09-11T10:23:00.001-04:00

We've been doing a lot of not fishing of late and it has taken a toll on "Fishing Under Sail" and our sanity... Fishing is a needful thing and we plan to be doing a lot more in the very near future!

In the meantime you might want to take a look at Gink & Gasoline for a six pack of fly patterns everyone should have...

If everybody had a notion... Lion Fish safari!

2011-07-29T10:43:00.000-04:00

While the economy continues to flag down here in the Caribbean, intrepid souls search for ways to bring folks and their tourist dollars back down to paradise...

Want to kill some Lion Fish?

Lionfish Hunter gives us the low down on a Grand Cayman Lion Fish Safari...

Sadly there are so many in the bay we are anchored at all I have to do it simply jump over the side of the boat!

A new blog to check out...

2011-06-04T10:48:00.000-04:00

Saving the Atlantic Reefs is a new blog that looks well worth bookmarking... Lots of Lion Fish content!

Dude...OMG!

2011-05-22T10:26:00.001-04:00

Phasers on stun...

2011-05-20T09:39:00.000-04:00

I've been looking for a light spinning rod and reel to add to the quiver of gear aboard "So It Goes" and I have to admit it makes me feel kinda old...

Sure, design trends come and go, but I find it kind of hard to take a reel seriously that looks like it came out of a Star Trek episode...

Ya know? Maybe that is the appeal of fly fishing, as it seems to have maintained an anchor to the fishing continuum I grew up in.

Some serious Mojo...

2011-05-18T11:37:00.001-04:00

I've never really understood the fixation that a lot of folks have for buying fly reels over a certain price range. Off hand I'd say it was more akin to Leica collectors and suchlike, rather than a need for a better reel.

Which is not to say that every once in a while I get just that little tinge of gear lust for a neat reel as well as a splash of envy... In this case, how could you not suffer a momentary lapse from happily casting my current cheap graphite reel and lust after the Mojo 425? Truth is, they kinda had me at the word M-O-J-O...

Of course, I'm more than happy with my current choice of graphite knock-around reel as it works so well I just can't see much of an improvement in my fishing technique by spending a whole lot of money...

How much money you ask?

Well, my current reel of choice costs a whopping $30 and if you add a couple of spare spools at $15 you have a grand total of $60... Hey, it works for me!

The Mojo 425 reel, on the other hand, goes for $690 and a couple of spare spools would add another $680 so total would be somewhere in the region of $1370... Not exactly blue collar budget territory!

I'd really love to do a side by side test of the Okuma, Diesel (to cleanse the palate), and Mojo just to see how they perform and see what exactly a $1310 difference in performance there actually is...

A few thoughts on a fishing kit for emergencies...

2011-05-17T12:35:00.002-04:00

Someone recently asked me about his recent purchase of an "emergency fishing kit" to go in a ditch bag...

Off hand, my first impression is that while less than it could be it is so much better than what you'll find included in your liferaft's inventory. That being the case, it is a quantum leap forward, so you could do a lot worse.

The current contents of our emergency fishing kit consist of a couple of Sabiki rigs, some lead head jigs, a bottom jig, an assortment of hooks (double and singles), two handlines (25# test, 100# test), a multitool, and a proper filleting knife.

Except for the filet knife, this all fits into a six-inch stuff sack or small tupperware box. To improve things, I have my eye on this folding filet knife to get the whole thing into one compact container...

I also try and keep my hand spear, mask, and fins within easy reach of the of the ditch bag...

Some blue collar fly goodness...

2011-05-05T09:57:00.000-04:00

It's here and it's free!

Sawfish...

2011-04-19T09:18:00.000-04:00

To Save Sawfish from Jordan Kahn on Vimeo.

Speaking of Lion fish...

2011-04-14T10:39:00.000-04:00

Training sharks to eat Lion fish?

Fun stuff...

2011-04-12T18:07:00.000-04:00

Flying fish...

2011-04-08T19:58:00.002-04:00

It's out...

2011-04-02T10:36:00.001-04:00

Read it...

and the circle goes on...

2011-04-01T15:01:00.000-04:00

I've been muddling over something of a conundrum about what makes a good starter fishing package for someone just getting into it... and the going has not been easy.

The problem with most starter gear or packages is it's mostly crap but cheap. If you start out with crappy gear your experience will be less than wonderful and more than likely you won't continue fishing... Sort of a problematic equation!

On the other hand, if you happen to start out with a decent rod and reel you won't feel a burning desire to upgrade to non-crappy gear. Which the vendors of gear don't like because they want you to trade up as that's where they start showing a profit...

Like I said... a conundrum!

A Caribbean must have...

2011-03-31T10:51:00.000-04:00

It's what's for dinner...

Zero to cruising catches something...

2011-03-25T11:02:00.000-04:00

I'm just curious about how they know what sort of mess an axe murderer leaves behind...

Projects abound...

2011-03-18T10:12:00.000-04:00

I'm just about to do a remake of my lobster snare as the stainless wire I used took about a day to start rusting and only a couple of weeks to become unusable.

The new version will use some heavy mono fishing line (200 pound test) and should make the mark two version maintenance free...

Other fishing related projects aboard "So It Goes" is some serious lure making mayhem and fly tying as well as the construction of a dedicated hand spear for Lion fish.

More soon come...

Ciguatera blues...

2011-03-16T11:05:00.002-04:00

The other day I was snorkeling to check my anchor and came across a rather large grouper in the process... Now grouper is one of my favorite fish but the ciguatera throughout the Caribbean makes the idea of reef fish of any sort a bit nervous making...

There has been a kit available (Cigua-Check) for around $30 that allows you to test three fish samples for the presence of ciguatera toxins but the company making it is currently back-ordered and is not accepting orders...

Which leaves us in the realm of taking one's chances and wishful thinking while keeping an eye out for such symptoms as...

Tingling, numbness, or stinging sensations around mouth, hands, or feet
Temperature reversal sensations (cold feels hot, hot feels cold)
Body chills, itching, headaches, perspiration, or dizziness
Muscle pains, weakness, cramps or joint aches
Vomiting or diarrhea

On the other hand, I could simply confine myself to pelagic species like Mahi, Tuna, and Wahoo and leave the reef fish alone... Which, since I'm not real big on vomiting and diarrhea seems like the most prudent course...

Which I am sure comes as good news to the grouper in question!

Not just a hook on a stick...

2011-03-09T10:31:00.003-04:00

Once sailing between the Canary islands and Martinique, I hooked a monster Mahi Mahi and while trying to get him aboard saw my cheap no-brand gaff hook go from hook shape to not hook shape and watched sixty pounds of Mahi filets slide off and go bye-bye as a result...

A while back I lost my good gaff and as everything available on island was silly expensive, bought yet another no-name cheapie gaff which if it were to encounter a fish greater than about twenty pounds would more than likely fall apart. So I've been searching for a couple of gaffs to beef up the team.

Since Amazon is my choice for getting gear and suchlike down to the Caribbean in a frugal manner, I did a search on "gaff" and the results were some kind of surprising as it returned a lot of "exotic apparel" apparently for cross-dressing men... Who'd have thought? By adding the word "fishing" to "gaff" I found what I was looking for but be forewarned that "gaff" in some circles means something other than a hook on a stick...

Of course, these days stuff is just silly expensive and gaffs (the hook on a stick sort) are no exception but deals can be found and my next order to Amazon will include ...

A short cheap but reasonable quality gaff which is all most of us need from a sailboat with not a lot of freeboard. I looked at a clone of this the other day down here and it was $50 (yes, there is still piracy here in the Caribbean) and a...

Rapala Lock & Grip which is more fish friendly to those critters that I want to catch and release...

Not exactly "exotic" stuff but they should work!

A pretty excellent guide to saltwater fly fishing...

2011-02-26T10:50:00.000-04:00

It has what you need to know...

"The Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fly Fishing"

A nice and cheapish reel...

2011-02-22T10:05:00.001-04:00

Several readers have asked about what sort of fly reel to go with an Eagle Claw Trailmaster.

As much as I like the new reels from Diesel, the Trailmaster is a cheap (but excellent) rod and as such is much happier with a good but cheapish reel to go with it. As it happens, Eagle Claw makes just the thing...

The Brave Eagle reel is just the right weight and size for the Trailmaster and it's well suited for the sort of abuse that we boat-bound fly-fisher folk put our knockabout rods/reels through. Throw some affordable on sale 5 weight line and some backing (no reason to get silly) on it and you're ready to go...

Oh yeah, did I say it was cheap at $20?

What's not to like?

Mahi Mahi...

2011-02-21T12:42:00.002-04:00

This weekend coming back from shopping we noticed as we were leaving the dinghy dock a big fish swimming under one of the docks...

Big fish here are pretty common as we have a hellacious number of real big Tarpon who hang out near the docks waiting for the sports-fisherman to clean their catch and throw the funky bits in the water. Sort of a Tarpon all-you-can-eat buffet!

However, as the first fish disappeared we noticed another and it was not a Tarpon but a Mahi Mahi and then we saw another...

Mahi Mahi (also called Dorado or Dolphin fish) are not fish you see very often within soundings and especially fish you don't see at the dock in six feet of water. More than likely they followed one of the inter-island cargo boats or the ferry in and were just giving the neighborhood a quick look see before they headed back out to deep water.

Most cruisers, if they are going to fish, are mostly going to catch Mahi as they populate all of the worlds oceans and are something of the go to fish. Unlike the tunas and billfish, they are much hardier, quick breeding, and reach maturity quicker so they, while not exactly thriving, are not as in decline as other commercially harvested fish.

Fishing for Mahi, it pays to keep in mind that they like cover so shifting course to troll by a patch of grass or flotsam is a great way to find them and while they seem to like most trolled lures, the most consistent ones in my quiver are cedar plugs and the squid with feathers sort.

I'm looking forward to this...

2011-02-18T11:10:00.002-04:00

Mike goes fishing...

2011-02-17T09:43:00.000-04:00

Capt Mike from Bianka blog took a little holiday in the Maldives...

Fish were caught!

Holy crap...

2011-02-14T11:11:00.000-04:00

Yowza...

Read the story here!

An excellent resource...

2011-02-10T10:48:00.001-04:00

Saltwater Fly Tying really is a must see for anyone fly fishing and there are always good ideas to get the creative juices flowing...

I really like this little popper and a how-to video of how to tie it can be found here.

Spin off being a good thing... A near perfect sailboat lure?

2011-02-09T10:29:00.002-04:00

In the past I have bemoaned (well OK, ranted) the fact that most production made lures for trolling are not designed for sailboat speeds...

For most of us the answer is to make our own or modify existing lures but every once in a while someone actually gets the fact that all fishermen are not driving gas guzzling muscle boats and pulling hellacious wakes.

Luckily for us slowpokes on sailboats, the new found popularity of kayak fishing has a lot of tackle folks scratching their heads and coming up with new products for this new found market.

Case in point Pelagix has come out with some very neat kayak lures that look like just the thing to be trolling behind your sailboat when you are ghosting along at three or four knots... Even better they are priced reasonably so won't mess too much with a cruiser on a budget!

Color me pissed off redux...

2011-02-08T10:05:00.000-04:00

Stupid assholes...

I so need a new reel...

2011-02-03T10:03:00.001-04:00

The 7/8 Diesel fly reel from Red Truck just happens to be top on my list for all-around fly fishing mayhem...

A new This is Fly...

2011-02-01T11:11:00.000-04:00

Read it...

Mola Mola on fly...

2011-01-31T10:01:00.000-04:00

One of the great things about ocean passages is you often see really interesting fish that are something of a rarity close to shore... Like the Ocean Sunfish or Mola Mola.

I've never heard of anyone catching one (or even trying for that matter) at least until now.

A good day fishing...

2011-01-29T07:48:00.000-04:00

Over at Drifting Son (an excellent blog) they went out and caught some fish and even took some video!

Speaking of Fly Tying...

2011-01-28T09:20:00.000-04:00

Seriously hardcore...

Hardcore Fly Tying 11 from chase hancock on Vimeo.

Thorn may have been on to something...

2011-01-25T06:34:00.002-04:00

Writer James W. Hall's character Thorn ties flies for a living when he is not dealing with various mayhem and suchlike... I'm certainly looking forward to the new book "Silencer"...

Off hand I can get into the whole fly tying gig... I've always enjoyed tying flies and building lures and there is something about being at anchor, sitting in the cockpit listening to music, and letting the creative muse take hold. The idea of actually getting money for such an enjoyable task is just gravy!

Doing your own lures and tying flies is something of an natural reaction to the cruising lifestyle as there are very few lures and flies that are suited for the cruising experience. So let's face it, if you want to get serious about catching fish, getting creative is going to be part of the program and, if it can add a little bit to the cruising kitty, all the better...

Now if I can just avoid the mayhem and suchlike...

Some tools for Lion Fish...

2011-01-23T10:33:00.001-04:00

I mentioned a while back that I was thinking of buying a cheap short pole spear with a paralyzer tip to use as a dedicated Lion Fish tool...

Thing is, while waiting for my new spear to come in, I have been working on a design that is a bit scaled down and even lighter than your normal pole spear. Yesterday I picked up the needful bits and some time in the next week or so will have a prototype and see how it fares with the local Lion Fish population.

For those who can't wait for me to sort out all the details and publish a plan you might want to check out Hammer Head (apparently great minds think alike) who has already come to market with a pretty awesome little Lion Fish Buster...

While I was putting together the materials for my new pole spear I also bought a telescoping BBQ fork that just cried out to me as a means of close quarters Lion Fish mayhem and murder!

Color me pissed off...

2011-01-21T09:12:00.002-04:00

As someone who fishes and spearfishes I am not unfamiliar with those who find nothing wrong with eating fish but think that fishing and spearfishing is wrong and damaging to the ecology...

Fact is, most of the pressure on our fish stocks come from pollution, commercial over-fishing, and bycatch. During my college days I worked for a while as a commercial fisherman (tuna) so actually have an understanding and feel for the lot of the commercial fishermen who are just trying to get by and keep a roof over their families' heads. Most of the evil in the commercial fishing industry is done by people in suits in board rooms or government offices who set the rules in favor of rape and pillage to the highest bidder.

Well that is most of the time, but sadly, some blue collar commercial fishermen are not immune to the greed-is-good gene. Moldy Chum has more on the culling story in North Carolina...

YOWZA...

2011-01-20T14:48:00.000-04:00

Seriously impressive...

The 300 pound tag might be just a kiss optimistic but any marlin caught on light tackle from a kayak is a serious YOWZA moment!

Fly fishing is after all seriously sexy...

2011-01-19T10:26:00.001-04:00

Suffix 832 - The Line That Changes The Game (Saltwater) from Tristin Rupp on Vimeo.

Worth a look or three...

2011-01-16T09:42:00.000-04:00

A pretty awesome site... Saltwater Rusty Memories

I want...

2011-01-15T10:37:00.000-04:00

Classic glass and in an eight weight 7'6" package...

Cabelas must have been listening...

Need new flies...

2011-01-13T10:24:00.000-04:00

Speaking of new fly patterns...

I really should get into some serious fly tying but with all the other various projects on the boat that will have to wait for a bit. Kind of a bummer really as I have some ideas about Tarpon flies that I'd love to try on the local tarpon population.

In the meantime, I noticed that Leland has a really nice collection of flies for folks visiting Belize and the Yucatan that pretty much fulfills my wish list for a basic Caribbean fly selection ...

Good stuff...

2011-01-11T16:09:00.001-04:00

Light at the end of the tunnel...

2011-01-08T09:07:00.001-04:00

We've been somewhat hampered on the fishing front with various must do projects for the boat and, as a result, bugger all fishing, spearfishing and critter catching...

Bummer!

Hopefully we will be getting back to our normal fish getting groove real soon...

A new Catch...

2011-01-02T13:07:00.000-04:00

The new issue of Catch Magazine is just waiting for you to read it...
Life is good!

Where a cheap pole-spear makes sense...

2010-12-29T11:02:00.001-04:00

In general, I'm not a big fan of the three prong paralyzer heads for the spearfishing I do...

That said, with Lion Fish, the Paralyzer tip makes all kinds of sense and I have been seriously considering adding a cheap fiberglass pole-spear to my quiver as the cost of a paralyzer tip for my current spears is more expensive than the cheapie spear with a fixed head.

Unlike other species Lion Fish are a somewhat easy prey. Since they don't have any natural predators and don't feel the need to get out of your way close shots are easier. Also, being smallish, you don't need the heft or penetration speed of a more expensive pole-spear to do the deed...

The real advantage of the three prong paralyzer tip for Lion Fish however is that it keeps your fish at the other end of the spear unlike other sorts where a good shot might have the fish sliding down the shaft to your hand...

Spearing Lion Fish...

2010-12-28T07:24:00.003-04:00

Lion Fish are something of an escalating problem here in the Caribbean but since they are actually quite tasty... Eat lots!

A moment of clarity...

2010-12-27T10:07:00.000-04:00

This post over at Whitefish Can't Jump makes all kinds of sense...

I need a cunning plan...

2010-12-22T09:59:00.001-04:00

While my first thought for the new kayak/kayaks for "So It Goes" would be inflatable as the deck territory on a 34 foot sailboat just does not cry out for friendly rigid kayak storage solutions...

On the other hand, there is a lot to be said for a boat like this...

Seriously way cool stuff coming out of Diablo Paddlesports...

More platform fun... Mistakes were made!

2010-12-20T09:46:00.001-04:00

We used to have a two person Sevylor "dive" kayak AKA the DiveYak which was a pretty awesome platform for either diving or fishing...

Sadly though it succumbed to one of those idiotic purges that folks on boats tend to go through from time to time in a silly bid to reclaim their boat's waterline... But the fact was at the time we simply were not using it much so we felt it had become excess baggage. In hindsight it is obvious that we were simply not using it because we were in an area that did not require us to paddle at all... Of course, we are now within paddle distance of any number of dive and fishing sites we regret selling it... So it does go.

Now I am in the process of looking for a replacement and so far the Sevylor sit-on-tops were the only ones that seemed tough enough to stand up to serious diving and fishing. The downside is that toughness comes at a cost of increased weight, bulk, and a performance curve that keeps the really far away fishing spots just out of reach... The real bummer is that as much as I try, I can't seem to find any DiveYaks as they seem to no longer be part of the Sevylor program in the US of A...

Though Sevylor has something in the "close but no cigar" zone, the DiveYak seems to be a rare fish indeed.

So the search continues...

A neat platform...

2010-12-17T07:28:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking for a long time that kayaks as a cruising tender make a lot of sense. More now, as kayak fishing becomes more and more popular it's led to a whole bunch of designs that are well suited to take on the various jobs that most cruisers use their dinghies for.

Fishing from a kayak has always made a lot of sense but how about stand up boards? While I have nearly zero interest in surfing SUP's as a multi-use platform they are starting to look interesting!

Alex Aguera makes a pretty good case...

Bad news from California...

2010-12-16T12:55:00.000-04:00

Kayak Angler Online has the lowdown...

Something I'd like in my Xmas stocking...

2010-12-15T07:25:00.003-04:00

The best fly reel I ever had was a no-name cheapie I bought from a tackle shop in the UK. It was mainly carbon fibre with a bit of allow but it seriously rocked and if memory serves me well if cost all of 12 quid...

I've nearly given up finding a replacement for the reel and have come to the conclusion that the only way I'm going to replace it is to simply build one from scratch.

As it happens, apparently I'm not alone in being dissatisfied in what passes for reels these days and a lot of folk are cobbling their own instead of paying silly prices which are more collectible than serviceable... A tool as opposed to a toy.

Which is why I want the dude in red with the beard to drop a copy of "The Reelsmith's Primer" off on "So It Goes"...

Do you think reindeer like rum?

and we want to sail to Belize because?

2010-12-13T08:58:00.000-04:00

Squid anyone?

2010-12-11T10:28:00.000-04:00

Any old rod will do... an AFCFG exercise

2010-12-09T12:33:00.002-04:00

I'm the first guy to admire and lust after great fishing gear... I mean cool rods and reels are... well, COOL!

I've mentioned before my love affair with the Eagle Claw Trailmaster which had an enjoyment quotient far higher than its dollar value simply because it got used on a regular basis as my more expensive tackle was often considered too expensive to put at risk while traveling or left in the van 24/7/365.

Readers of this little bit of madness in cyberspace write and ask about gear and they often ask questions about "what is the best" or "what's the ultimate boat rod". The truth of the matter is that "best" and "ultimate" simply don't make any sense in the real world that is cruising on a sailboat... Which is not to say that there is not such a thing as the perfect rod.

The perfect rod, however, is not about how much you pay for it, how well it is engineered, how it is made of some super state-of-the-art composite and finished by artists so that it could be hung in the Louvre. No. The perfect rod is about how it makes you feel when you have a fish on and the electricity is thrumming through the matrix of rod/reel and you feel it... You are just as likely to "feel it" with a ten dollar swap meet bargain rod as you will with a $1000 work of art.

Your mission is to find that rod...

Just seriously cool...

2010-12-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Red Truck Fly Rod Company

The big question...

2010-12-07T09:32:00.000-04:00

How many of you are fishing from your boat?

I know as far as I'm concerned I'm not fishing nearly enough and yesterday while I sat on the foredeck here that a seriously huge fish broke the surface not more than ten feet in front of my boat and I did not have a rod ready to throw some lures or a fly in his direction... Bummer!

Those boy scout dudes may have been on to something...

... Be prepared!

Close to perfection...

2010-12-04T12:59:00.000-04:00

The Mitchell 300...

Demented?

2010-12-03T07:12:00.003-04:00

Red Truck Fly Rods... Demented, but who cares as long as the rods rock!

Just below the surface...

2010-12-02T09:29:00.001-04:00

I'd hazard a guess that 95% of the fishing done from sailboats is using surface lures but the problem is that far too often the fish tend to hang out a bit deeper...

One way to get off the surface is to use a lure that is designed to work below the surface. Most of these lures have lips of one sort or another that act as a diving plane...

What's even better about this sort of lure (in this case a Rapala X-Rap) is that just about every diving lure is designed for slower speeds so just perfect for sailboat use...

Another Rapala but this time with a jointed body which I have been noticing have become serious fish catchers here in the Caribbean of late...

Of course, you could just use a diver/plane (a Luhr Jensen Jet Diver is pictured) to get your normal squid or lure down into the fish zone.

A good hedge is to troll a couple of lines having one on the surface and the other running deep and see what happens...

For those who need fleece and socks...

2010-11-30T09:35:00.003-04:00

Just a quick note that EMS is having a sale...
20% OFF ALL EMS Brand Products at EMS.com thru 12/7

A balmy 82° here in the Caribbean and I can't recall the last time I even wore socks!

A basic fishing quiver for "So It Goes"...

2010-11-29T17:22:00.002-04:00

I like fishing...

It is hardly surprising that the gear on "So It Goes" is as much about enjoyment as it is about catching dinner. So, at any given time you will most likely find the following fishing gear aboard:

Hand lines do the heavy lifting, so to speak, and pretty much any time we are sailing we have a line or two out with at least 80 pound test line. Not really a lot to say about hand lines that is not self evident other than it's handy to have a bunch of them. Last time I checked there were six aboard.

A couple of fun sacrificial combos for light fishing that you won't mind so much when they get stolen out of the dinghy, lost or destroyed by a friend while you try and teach him/her to fish. At the moment this would be a cheapie fly combo and spin combo. Lately though, I have been planning on getting a couple of Eagle Claw Trail Masters. Being pack rods, they stow small enough so the urge to leave them in the dinghy as prey to errant villains is nil as they will fit inside a day pack. That said, they are still cheap enough to destroy or lose without major psychic trauma...

The next section of the quiver is a couple of levels up in the form of good fly and spin combo. Currently my needs run to an 7 or 8 weight fly combo and a light spin combo using 6 pound test... I'm still looking at new additions in this area and I will be letting everyone know how the search goes.

To round it all out, a light tackle boat rod or two would be no bad thing when I want to have a little sport while sailing somewhere in the 12-20 pound test arena. Blame my dad for his genetic addition to the mix, as his lifelong goal was to catch the world record Marlin on light tackle.

Next stop: reels and jewelry...

I didn't fish yesterday...

2010-11-28T11:21:00.000-04:00

So hardly a surprise I didn't catch anything...

What's your mantra?

An ultra light would be awesome for this little mangrove lagoon...

2010-11-24T07:40:00.002-04:00

Sage TXL-F Fly Rods... YOWZA!

Note to Santa... A fly rod to check out!

2010-11-23T07:27:00.000-04:00

Maybe the Loomis NRX Fly Rods are a little too rich for my style of fly fishing in out of the way places or budget but I can always hope that Santa might just get with the program...

Then again there is a lot to be said for Red Truck rods as well...

AFCFG... What about Wahoo?

2010-11-22T11:08:00.002-04:00

Since the Wahoo tournament just finished, thoughts of Wahoo are very much on my mind...

One of the big problems with a fish like Wahoo and sportsfishing tech is that most of the gear and advice you will find at the corner tackle shop is designed for trolling at higher speeds than sailboats cruise at and lures designed to perform well at fourteen-knots or so seldom do well at six.

Of course, Wahoo, having excellent eyesight, are even more picky than such cruisng staples as Mahi Mahi or Tuna. So, if Wahoo filets are the objective, it's even more important to get it right. My usual suspects when trolling for Wahoo are Cedar Plugs or Squids in a daisy chain presentation or spoons (which just don't seem to get the respect they deserve but as they are cheap well worth trying).

More often than not, when fishing for Wahoo I also up the hook size a notch or two. If you are making up your own rigs this is the one species I prefer wire leaders to 100-pound mono.

Since I normally troll at least two lines (say a daisy chained cedar plug at three boat lengths and a big spoon at a single boat length) there is a better than good chance that if you do get into Wahoo that you are just as likely to get hits on all lines at once (Wahoo not being a solitary fish they tend to do things as a group). Being prepared for all hell breaking loose and putting a little forethought as to how you might deal with two big fish at the same time would be no bad thing as things could get a little crazy...

... And crazy is no bad thing!

Fish...

2010-11-21T10:55:00.000-04:00

Over at th dinghy dock yesterday they were having the first days weigh in of the local Wahoo fishing tournament...

... And with what would have been the biggest Wahoo of the day if a shark had not got to it first...

Houston we have crab trap...

2010-11-17T17:40:00.000-04:00

Fly Fishing Suckiness Index...

2010-11-15T14:58:00.000-04:00

Bjorn over at Bonefish On The Brain has done the math and come to a conclusion...

More from the "Any Fool Can Fish Guide"

2010-11-08T07:30:00.003-04:00

When writing a tome such as the "Any Fool Can Fish Guide" I should admit to have taken a certain liberty in the title and in point of fact there ARE fools about who have found it difficult to get with the program...

I know that I should have entitled it something more along the lines of "Any Fool With An IQ Above Room Temperature That Can Sail A Boat Can Fish Guide" but to be honest it seemed a little long so I went with the shorter title. But I trust if you don't need a secret service detail to bait your hook you'll get with the program and catch fish.

Now a quick and important question...

Do you remember the AFCFG mantra? If the answer is no... Have you considered running for office?

If you knew the answer was "To catch fish you have to fish" you won't have any problems. If by chance you have actually taken the mantra to heart and pulled a squiddy thing behind your boat you are ready for your homework... Which is to reflect on the words of Albert Einstein...

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

More soon come...

The return of the "Any Fool Can Catch Fish Guide"...

2010-11-06T10:36:00.001-04:00

Last year having the mast fall down and go boom seriously cut back on my fishing and, as such, cut back quite a bit on the ongoing series of the "Any Fool Can Fish Guide". It was hard to get in that "headspace" while building a new mast, sewing new sails and splicing really big fishing line to hold the new rig up...

Sorry about that!

Anyway, the AFCFG will be back starting next week.

A good read...

2010-11-04T08:42:00.000-04:00

The new This is Fly just hit the stands...

Go get it!

Coming to a vending machine near you...

2010-11-01T10:29:00.000-04:00

Catch your own or...

JapanProbe dot com
Uploaded by pubjapaned. - More video blogs and vloggers.

A thought or two about my next rods...

2010-10-29T09:43:00.001-04:00

I've seriously been considering a new fly rod or two and while there are no shortage of excellent rods out there, not a lot of them call out to me with come hither voices of silk. Part of that I think has to do with a certain lack of attitude... A rod for saltwater needs a little tude!

Way back when, I had an Ugly Stick Big Water Fly rod and it had some serious attitude... Well, it had to because it was really a pretty awful rod that had an action not unlike a Louisville Slugger or section of rebar. Though what it missed in casting ability it more than made up for in brute force and it could always do double duty for a pick up game of baseball, driving nails or beating someone senseless if the need arose.

While I had something of a love/hate relationship with that rod (well, yes to be honest, mostly hate) it did set something of a pattern of a dislike for rods that were more works of art than tools... A little art is a good thing but one should never lose touch with the fact that a fly rod is a tool.

A fellow sailor and killer of fish (when he is not catching and releasing of course) has been telling me about some new rods and reels with the rather interesting name Red Truck...

Now a name like Red Truck just cries out "I'm not a work of art or a toy" big time. Checking out one of their videos, you know right off they have a serious sense of humor and where I come from that spells tude...

I'm not sure about you, but that is just the kind of attitude I want in a rod that is going to be part of who I am and there is this big tarpon just up the reef...

Check out Red Truck Fly Fishing Rods I know I will be...

Skin like sandpaper and real big teeth...

2010-10-26T12:27:00.000-04:00

Back when I was a kid, my brother and I started our version of a lemonade stand... Since we lived on Catalina, instead of making lemonade we did the next best thing and started catching fish for salt-water aquarium folk.

As things go it was actually a pretty successful business enterprise for a couple of kids. Once we moved from simply using an aquarium net to home-built slurp guns we actually started making money.

The downside was being the greedy kids we were we'd find ourselves festooned with plastic bags containing little fish all thrumming with danger danger Will Robinson vibrations which attracted sharks who thought someone had just rang a dinner bell. The worst were young adolescent Tiger sharks who would rip the bags off our belts and come back for more... Coming home from a hard day catching critters, the difficult part was having to explain to my dad how I wound up looking like I'd lost a fight with a belt sander.

Have I ever mentioned I used to be young and stupid?

Over the years while spearfishing and surfing I have had no shortage of up-close-and-personal experiences with a variety of sharks who never seem to have been interested in eating me but they have had some serious interest in fish I've speared and my surfboards...

Which is why I perk up when folks mention shark repellents as anything that makes sharks less interested in my upcoming dinner or surfboard would be no bad thing!

Shark Camo out of OZ is making a large decal you put on the bottom of your surfboard that says to sharks don't bother...

Since it's less than $50 and even looks cool it's sort of a no-brainer!

Another company that seems to have a viable product is Shark Shocker which is a wrist/ankle band containing very strong magnets that sharks and rays don't find pleasing. The video of various rays reactions at an aquarium petting pool seems to show that they just might be on to something. At a pretty reasonable $30, I'd certainly give it a try...

Hey, I'm no longer young but apparently still kinda stupid!

Listening to Shark-Fin Blues by the Drones.

So it goes...

Lobster snares... DIY or buy?

2010-10-24T06:08:00.008-04:00

Most of the lobster I have caught over the years have been of the use-a-funky-garden-glove-and-grab technique but here abouts lobster snares make a lot of sense as some of the holes are deep...

My current problem is that my snare seems to have gone walkabout. While I'm pretty sure the cats know where it is, they are not talking... What's a poor boy to do?

Well, I could buy one for about $45...

Or, I could cobble one out of hardware store bits and pieces for less than five dollars... What do you think Mr Cheapseats is going to do?

Ace hardware had all the bits. Some 1/2 inch PVC pipe, some end bits, some stainless cable, and some soft vinyl tubing.

The bill came to a bit less than $5...

Putting it all together was dead simple and it took all of fifteen minutes to do the deed...

Not exactly rocket science...

Of course Buffy helped...

Doing the happy dance!

Thoughts on going cold turkey and crab/lobster traps...

2010-10-21T11:03:00.003-04:00

There was a time when I could get up in the morning, pour myself a cup of coffee, and meander through cyberspace over to Navagear for some crab trap goodness...

Sadly it would seem those days are no more. While I keep going to Navagear for my crab and lobster trap fix, Tim is not producing what I need (I almost said crave but that would sound needy) but yet, I still live in hope. Of course, like anyone with a serious habit, I've tried to distract myself by reading other stuff but, when all is said and done, I find myself looking at Tim's old crab trap articles and wishing... Sigh.

Left to my own devices, I've searched the web yet only seem to come up with those I've already read at Navagear... Bummer!

Well, that was till today... Today my little search engine that tried, tried real hard and came up with some new (to me at least) crab trap goodness (well sorta-kinda) and all is a blue skies, fair winds and who needs Navagear anyway kind of day!

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the CrabHawk!

More info as soon as I can check one out up close and personal!

2010-10-20T12:13:00.002-04:00

What size otter do you use for Mahi Mahi?

2010-10-19T08:33:00.000-04:00

a new word... Tenkara

2010-09-26T09:21:00.000-04:00

Tenkara...

Interesting!

Yowza!

2010-09-01T22:24:00.000-04:00

A new and most excellent issue... Go read it!

More pointy end... A slip tip of note!

2010-08-24T09:34:00.001-04:00

Neptonics has the new Daryl Wong...

The pointy end...

2010-08-17T09:34:00.000-04:00

For hand spears there are really only three ways to go for the pointy end...

The paralyzer... Which has three tines that spread apart as they enter the fish. Some have barbs but they are not really needed as the spreading action does a pretty good job of keeping the fish on. In the one pictured by Gat-Ku the tines are textured to help keep the fish on. If you are somewhere where you can spearfish for reef fish (IE NO Ciguatera) this head makes a lot of sense.

The flopper head is the one most people think of when they think spearfishing and fr the most part it is your mainstay as you can use it for Pelagic fish as well as reef fish. However, where hand spears are concerned this sort of head can put a lot of strain on the spear when spearing a big fish...

Which is where the "Slip-tip" comes in... The head comes off once you spear the fish and the resulting strain is taken up by the connecting cable. This Gat-Ku is the head I use for all blue water triggerless spearfishing.

More than likely you will want to have all of the various types on hand to better suit your conditions and the sort of prey you have in mind.

Catch and release (warning terminal dumbness content)

2010-08-13T08:57:00.000-04:00

How not to catch and release a baby Great White Shark...

Cool deal...

2010-08-04T14:40:00.002-04:00

Josh from Neptonic Systems (which is one of my first go to places for spear gear) dropped me a line and mentioned that they were having a little sale this weekend... Any $20.00 order this Thursday, Friday and Saturday will come with a free Neptonic Systems T-shirt and $25.00 off any pelagic floatline (which is what I use personally) this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Neptonic has great gear and really excellent service...Check them out!

Getting started with spearfishing... ongoing

2010-08-03T11:44:00.004-04:00

While most newbies to spearfishing get seduced by the spear side of the equation, the first thing to sort out before you even think of guns and suchlike is your freediving gear... Which is not to say you can't get by with those old fins and mask that you have laying around the boat but if you actually want fish on the table your fins, mask and snorkel have as much to do with it as the gear on the sharp end.

Fins are the make or break item and if you do not have a set of long blade fins you might as well be fishing with a club! Long fins can be pricey so you might want to keep an eye out for last year's models or sales but whatever you pay, it will be well worth it.

The thing about long fins is they make you faster and get you where you want to go in a hurry with less effort (I was going to say flailing). With less effort you have more time on the bottom and with more time on the bottom you have a greater chance of catching dinner.

Freediving masks are, as a class, all low volume (spelled really really low volume) and you really need to look at quite a few to see what works for you... Personally, I shy away from masks in any color other than basic black and notions as purge valves and suchlike. As a general rule, masks are not cheap but I always seem to be able to find just the right mask for under $30... it just takes a bit of a search.

Snorkels have been the bane of my personal existence. For the last several years I have tried every new snorkel on the market only to find that anything with a purge valve or other cunning system to make them work better are for lack of a better word... rubbish! What you want is a simple J sort in a soft material like rubber or silicone that you can fold over in your hand, otherwise you may find that a big fish + a rigid tube snorkel = expensive dental work when combined with a little Nantucket sleigh-ride action!

Getting to the sharp end next...

Getting started with spearfishing...

2010-08-01T10:51:00.001-04:00

Easily the most eco-friendly way of putting fish on the dinner table is spearfishing... Sadly, spearfishing has many adversaries who have spread a lot of propaganda that makes far too many people believe just the opposite. As a result, there is both a certain social stigma as well as far too many anti-spearfishing laws.

The big advantage of spearfishing is that it is a selective means of harvesting fish while, on the other hand, hook and line, nets, and fish traps are not. With spearfishing there is no such thing as by catch or damaging a fish you do not want to catch.

For the record, I never ever spearfish in places where it is illegal, nor am I suggesting that folks on sailboats should ignore such laws (even if they are dumb laws). I am simply pointing out that if you actually think through the various processes of fishing that spearfishing is easily the most green and eco-friendly method available to us.

Lately, I have been reconsidering the use of spearguns in general, because of the bureaucratic hassle factor of having a "gun" onboard the boat. Some places require you to bring your spearguns to the police where they will keep them for the duration of your stay. Which becomes all sorts of problematic if you want to leave from somewhere other than where you arrived. For those folks who think that hiding their spear guns is an option that makes sense, there are two words you should keep in mind... Fines (as in huge) and inmate (as you may very well become one) to help you keep things in focus.

Most places that have unreasonable anti-spearfishing laws seem to ignore triggerless (hand spears and Hawaiian slings) spear fishing gear. But even in places where they are not allowed, the price of triggerless gear is such that you could lose it and replace it later for a fraction of the cost of a quality gun.

The downside of triggerless gear is that it takes quite a bit more skill and is very much more up close and personal than using a spear gun. For those of us who seldom even think of eating reef fish (can you spell Ciguatera), it is still early days in terms of technique and gear to go after pelagic fish species (Mahi Mahi, Wahoo, Tuna, etc) with a hand spear instead of that Tuna gun!

More on triggerless set-ups next...

Just the thing... Spearo Backpack

2010-07-29T10:23:00.000-04:00

One of the big hassles for both fishing and spearfishing gear on a boat is keeping it all contained and manageable... Over the years I have spent a lot of time searching for a cunning method of keeping my spearfishing gear together and this one looks like just the thing!

Precision Dive Products with their Spearo Backpack seems to get it pretty right and if you need to get organized on the spear gear front it is something to seriously consider and I, for one, am looking forward to what they come up with next!

More on fishing line...

2010-07-19T10:02:00.004-04:00

Eagle Claw has recently come out with a new 100% biodegradable fishing line called Bioline... Which is very good news!

Not so good news, is that for the moment it is only available up to 12 pound test. That said, we now have an alternative for all of our light fishing needs and hopefully, in the not too distant future, we will be seeing salt water weight lines coming on the market...

Maybe not such a bad idea to write the folks at Eagle Claw and let them know (while you're at it write folks like Ande and other line manufacturers and ask why they don't offer a product like Bioline) that heavier weight lines would be welcome.

Goofy shows us how it's done...

2010-07-18T09:32:00.000-04:00

Scary fact...

2010-07-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

Did you know that it takes modern fishing line over six hundred years to break down? That is seriously scary and I'd have guessed a couple of years at most the way plastics are affected by UV and suchlike...

Something to think about when disposing of fishing line and leaders!