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SUBJECT: # 37757: More problems like this please, help please
Submitted by Tomm (209.240.222.32) from FLORIDA on 7/20/02 8:21:00 PM
Maybe, you all could help me with a a small/big problem. I was fishing for trout, catch and realease snook and anything that wanted to eat small white bait on the flats near Pine Island,Fl. After catching a mixed bag of nice fish on my 10lb test spinner, I hooked a fish that make us pull the anchor. Fishing a 20 ft mako. We saw the fish about 5 minutes into fight, it was a 30/40 lb cobia. Now what to do with this large of fsh that won't fit into any cooler or hatch on the boat all we have is a small hand gaff, no way to fit this fish in our landing net. Ok after 1 hour plus fight, fish was still frisky/green. We never got close enough to put the hand gaff into the fish, prbably lucky for us. The hook came loose and fish won this battle. We will have longer gaff in the future but does anyone have any ideas as to how we could have dealt with such a fish in such tight spaces. Have seen a 44lb cobia open a hatch with a man standing on it and truly was concerned about putting such a fish in the boat. Sorry for being lengthy, bt would/will you do if this happens to you. Thankyou Tomm
- 7/21/02 1:17:00 AM
Submitted by
pg (12.218.243.218) from ALABAMA says Fish billy
In addition to the longer gaff get yourself a fish billy club. I have one that is made of aluminum and looks like a small baseball bat. A few well placed blows to the head (of the the fish) will subdue the most unruly ling.
- 7/21/02 3:33:00 PM
Submitted by
Alex from GA from GEORGIA says In Alaska...
They carry a shotgun for the big halibut. You could do that but be careful about where you point it.
- 7/21/02 11:05:00 PM
Submitted by
Jeff (68.100.152.238) from VIRGINIA says Handling big Cobias
Yes the above posts are correct in the fact that you need a longer gaff for them. A fish billy is cool but a nice rubber mallet is perfect for the job. It is precise and direct enough to bludgeon that sucker out of his reality. It is what we have used for years. I learned this from Captain Rick Caton. Check out his website www.customsoundcharters.com and look back a few weeks on his reports and check out his cobia catches.
- 7/22/02 11:12:00 AM
Submitted by
Capt. Ken Roy (64.132.240.167) from FLORIDA says Cobia--do you really need to whack 'em?
Gaffing a Cobia isn't a huge problem unless it is a huge fish. I use a fairly large gaff for big Cobia (50#+) and seldom have a problem. I gaffed an 88# Cobia last year and put it in the boat by myself. Cobia and some Sharks spin on the gaff causing lots of duffers to loose the gaff. I use a gaff that I call a "slippery gaff" that can spin in my hands but I can still hang on to it.My gaff consists of a gaff hook with it's tang set in a 3/4"X 4' hardwood dowel then wrapped with 80# Dacron and epoxied in place. The entire dowel is slipped inside a length of 1", schedule 40 PVC pipe. The end of the PVC pipe on the hook end must be heated with a heat gun so it will stretch over the gaff tang. Next I slide a PVC coupling (the inside stop of the coupling must be removed with a rasp or knife)down about 18" from the top end of the gaff handle and cement it in place with PVC cement. I slide another coupling down the gaff handle about 1 foot, cement in place and follow that with a PVC pipe cap on the end of the handle. To assure that the dowel doesn't slip out, I dtill a small hole in through the top end of the pipe and screw a small round head screw into the dowel. Fish can spin and the gaff can spin in my hands with them but I can still hang on.(I can furnish drawings if you need them)
I'm 60 years old, 5'7" and 160#. I make sure I have good footing and hit a big fish in the end of the nose. A Cobia will make 3 or 4 spins and then I can usually control him.
I use an aluminum combination tool called a Boyster Billy to swat wild fish. (The Boyster Billy is a combination Billy/hook remover and does both jobs admirably well.) Don't swat the fish until he is on the deck. I've seen hooks pull out and lines broken with a bad lick.
Of course the 88# Cobia wouldn't fit into my fish box but there is an easy way around this too. After you swat the fish, put it head down in the box. Cut the fish completely through the backbone but do not cut the skin on the other side. The fish will bleed out in your box and it will be much better eating.
