Suggestions for measuring tournament fish before gaffing

[Reeltitanium]

I'll wait for someone else to start the discussion as to measuring at boat side,estimating weight etc...please make your comments constructive please!

[Tuna Taxi]

Good topic, and if someone can come up with something good it will be some incredibly useful info.

Last week at the Ducks Unlimited, we had a 110" length of pink masonry twine attached to the end of the tag stick to use as a gauge for the fish length. On our second blue, Mike put it in the water at the lower jaw and it looked like we had a fish about 10-12" longer than the 110" string. When we boated her, she measured 106", 4" short of the min. Luckily for us and her, we got her in the boat alive with a lip gaff and we were able to slide her back, revive her and send her swimming off. Being that lucky and being able to correct the mistake is the exception rather than the rule.

So my experience is that the line on a stick method does not always work, at least not well enough for my satisfaction. We're trying to come up with something better, but haven't yet. Maybe something heavier that twine (like 275# 49 strand cable) on a snap swivel that can be attached to and slid down the leader will give a more accurate measurement. It seems the problem we had with the twine was that it would become wavy in the turbulent water, shortening the linear measurement, and it would only work if the fish was up breaking the surface along its length, not head slightly up and the tail a couple feet below the surface.

I hope someone has a good idea or something that works well for them, next time the first kill gaff will hit and I don't want a short measurement on a dead fish.

[FESS]

measurments on the splash rail (bigger boats only probably) can help as a secondary aid....if the rail's long enough....or if u have enough room and qualified deckies....two poles...one guy get's a good peg on the lower bill and yells.."mark" or something, and the other man redies the tail end ,being carefull not to pull the lower jaw man off his mark...one guy on the leader, two for measurements and one ready w/gaff....that takes a 60+ footer more than likely...never been a big fan of sliding it down the leader....too far from tip of lower bill anyhow as a rule. I used the screw holes in the splash rail to re-attach marks.

[junior trade]

For tuna, I took a heavy tape maesure and attached a safety snap. I can clip it to the leader and it weighs enough to sink down to the fish's mouth. I marked the tail end very brightly. It is not an exact science, you have to look at where it lines up at the mouth and adjust at the tail, but it seems to work. Just make sure you get a clip that has no sharp edges on it that may nic the line.

Here is an example of a safety snap like the one I used.
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...03000_200-3-10

[gradywhite273]

one of the members chili had a great way to do it, it basically was taking a snap with a rope on it sliding it down to the hook, and the rope would stream to see if it was a qualifier, let me see if i can find the thread.

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

Tag stick 200 lb dacron, then put a pink squid skirt at 105-106 then a pink or green mold craft small chugger at 110 the chugger will pull tight with the force of the water since you will need to be going ahead at 5 kts or better to get the fish on top this works i've used it for quite a few years just hold the tag stick at the tip of the lower jaw. Remember most fish are hooked in the throat or corner of the mouth so the rope trick is not going to be accurate as the lower jaw could be 8-12 inches more. Hope this helps.

[gradywhite273]

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[frankypettolina]

I have marks on my boat (mental marks actually, not real marks in the paint).

The difference from 105 to 110 is hard to accurately measure in the water (just like the difference between 46" and 48")

Lots of good advice going on here guys. Keep it coming.

[Tuna Taxi]

Tag stick 200 lb dacron, then put a pink squid skirt at 105-106 then a pink or green mold craft small chugger at 110 the chugger will pull tight with the force of the water since you will need to be going ahead at 5 kts or better to get the fish on top this works i've used it for quite a few years just hold the tag stick at the tip of the lower jaw. Remember most fish are hooked in the throat or corner of the mouth so the rope trick is not going to be accurate as the lower jaw could be 8-12 inches more. Hope this helps.

Good point, John. That may have been the problem....we didn't have enough drag at the end of the line to pull it tight. I'll play around with your set-up.

[bigeasy]

Tag stick 200 lb dacron, then put a pink squid skirt at 105-106 then a pink or green mold craft small chugger at 110 the chugger will pull tight with the force of the water since you will need to be going ahead at 5 kts or better to get the fish on top this works i've used it for quite a few years just hold the tag stick at the tip of the lower jaw. Remember most fish are hooked in the throat or corner of the mouth so the rope trick is not going to be accurate as the lower jaw could be 8-12 inches more. Hope this helps.

The above method is probably fairly reliable and you only need one man with a stick.

I have two mop handles with a 110 inch mono line between them. One man holds his handle in the fork and the other man estimates his position in relation to the lower jaw.

How do you measure girth with the fish in the water? I expect most people use the "he looks pretty fat to me" method.