Removing Billfish From Water - a No-No

[EMTAE]

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This is how i do it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EffA4bI0JbM the fish is never on the deck or out of the water for more then 45sec.

[Captain Fred Archer]

We have always "walked the walk" on my boats, so I feel free to "talk the talk" when it comes to this subject. The billfish rule on my boats has always been, no fish in the boat or on the rail, no matter what, period.

I have always believed the reports I've read by biologists who state that a great deal of internal damage can be and is done to billfish that are handled from hoisting them into boats and that damage to their protective slime coats can and does lead to deadly fungus and other infections. There's no doubt in my mind that bills slamming their heads on boat sides during the billing process are no different than ones that have been whacked with a billy...it simply cannot be good for them, no matter how you want to slice it.

I have never seen the sense in releasing a fish, no matter what the species, that doesn't have a great chance to survive and we have always done whatever we could to assure that, be it billfish or any other species.

That included our "no billfish in the boat or hung on a gunnel for pictures or anything else" rule on my charterboat. This rule was clearly stated on our website back when I was fishing, right along with our no kill policy on sails and marlin. (We did kill swordfish and spearfish.) The bottom line was, if you wanted a picture of your billfish, take it with him in the water and be quick about it, don't take one at all, or let us take it for you. I was surprised and gratified at how many people had no problem at all with either policy.

We took other steps to ensure quality, healthy releases. They included using non-kirbed circle hooks on our lures and baits. We did so for decades. And we always reduced both the points and eliminated the barbs on the circles to make it easier to remove them, something that we always tried to do. (Just see my books and the circle hook rigging information and photographs for absolute and long term proof of this.)

Circle hooks can be a bitch to get out of a fish, but if the barb is essentially removed, it is usually a snap. And no, we didn't have fish shake off because of this - they still played hell doing that while fighting or jumping because the hook has to be backed out and around bone, where the barb, if it's there, catches and makes the hook hard to remove. We also used both early versions of snooters and Accurate Predator Release Sticks and then Arc De-Hookers to pop hooks out cleanly and quickly and thus effect our goal of clean, healthy, fast releases.

We dulled the circle hook points because circles are not for penetrating flesh - they are for wrapping around jaw hinges and bone. Neither requires a sharp hook in the first place and in the second, a sharp hook can wind up penetrating gut, gill, or mouth meat and actually preventing the hook from going where it "wants to" and is intended to wind up.

I might be one of the few who appreciates the NMFS for at least a couple of things, even though few are willing to admit it and credit them. One is that they mandated the previously hated and near-universally demeaned circle hooks for billfish in tournaments, etc. This led the way to fishermen finally discovering (being forced to discover, actually) what great catching hooks they actually are. Would that have happened without their "damned interference"? After having promoted circle hooks for over two decades with very little success, I seriously doubt it. I remind you, it wasn't the typical fisherman who finally embraced circle hooks - they were forced into it.

I wasn't aware of them mandating not putting billfish in boats, but if they have, I think it's a very good thing for the fish and the fishery and I hope that fishermen abide by the new rule and don't just pay lip service to it.

Yes, I am a marlin hugger. Proud of it, too. I have always been one and I've never said otherwise and I have spent many years walking that walk and talking that talk on docks, in magazine articles and in books and here on the Internet. No, I don't consider myself "cool" or "special" because of it. I just follow my heart and do what seems right and smart for the fish and fishery that I love, my crew, and my passengers.

And when it comes to longliners, nobody hates them more than I do - and I mean nobody. They are an entirely different, disgraceful factor that we have little-to-no control over, but I'll be damned if I'll let the fact that they beat the crap out of and outright kill a helluva lot of marlin cause me or give me the excuse to do the same shit. To me, that is utterly ridiculous, and I'm using the wrong word here. As sport fishermen, we are very different animals than the longliners. We do have control over our own actions and how they affect the fish that we love to catch.

Over.

[Mudflat]

Land of the free huh?

Well, if I can't get a pic and release legally, then I'll do it the legal way... Sorry Marlin!

[DropinBack]

An occasional picture is not the end of the world... espesially if your careful and smart about it...

And if this is a law... it is def. not enforced...

[Deep C]

Another law with no penalty or enforcement...

[rarhomes]

Circle hooks J hooks can be debated forever. I personally don't see any great advantage of circle hook. They still gut hook fish and they are impossible to remove, thus more problems for the fish for the next month or so.

Pictures ? Years ago everybody killed their first fish for a mount. My rule is this - first bill fish = you get your picture with the fish. It's fast, it's planed and at least the fish gets the chance to survive, takes less than 30 sec. Makes a lot of happy people.

Any other billfish is released unbilled and hook remains in to rust out.

Any fish regardless of species that is taken to the boat for hook removal or pictures survival rate will drop dramatically.

Capt. Rick

[clt_capt]

Right or wrong, here is how the regs are written;

Release Methods - Under new regulations, anglers are allowed to remove the hook from a billfish using a hook-removal device.

However, fish below the minimum size can NOT be removed from the water, consistent with previous regulations.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/REC_BROCHURE.pdf

Likely would be difficult to police this one, but if you are gonna pull a fish out of the water, make sure that it is legal size - or don't post the pics...

[rarhomes]

Originally Posted by clt_capt

Right or wrong, here is how the regs are written;

Release Methods - Under new regulations, anglers are allowed to remove the hook from a billfish using a hook-removal device.

However, fish below the minimum size can NOT be removed from the water, consistent with previous regulations.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/REC_BROCHURE.pdf


Likely would be difficult to police this one, but if you are gonna pull a fish out of the water, make sure that it is legal size - or don't post the pics...

Just another friggin rule that's gonna make an honest man a criminal.

DON'T WE HAVE ENOUGH RULES FOR CHRIST SAKE ??

Capt Rick

[Fast Forward]

I doubt that law will have any effect, it can't be enforced. People will do their best to preserve the fish and learn something from a post like this or they will do what they want and blame the problem on everyone else.

Circles will gut hook, but far less often than a J.

I can't say for certain, but IMO if i just spent most of my energy trying to get away from someone and they finally got me because i was worn out. Then they stick my head underwater for no more than 30 or 45 seconds while i spent what little energy I had left trying to get away, I may not make it.

I have seen some good videos that end with the mate trying to swim a fish next to the boat, but the fishes head is out of the water 75% of the time. You need to have the head in the water.

[Captain Fred Archer]

Like many other issues and regulations or laws, everyone is free to make their own decisions and follow their own conscienses and thinking regarding how they handle their billfish and to abide or not abide by rules created with the intention of protecting the resource. No one had to write a law for some of us to handle them with as little contact as possible. Some will ignore the law, no matter what, with "no enforcement (if there won't be any)" encouraging them. It's a personal thing, however you want to look at it, but like it or not, it is a legal one too.

One thing I do take issue with is the gut hooking of billfish on circle hooks. This is diminished by several steps that can be taken.

First is to use non-kirbed circle hooks.

Second is to dull the points of sharp ones to cut down on unintentional penetration.

The third is NOT to follow the prevailing wisdom of giving the fish a long drop back and/or freespool or very light initial drag pressure. That is not neccessary and sometimes allows them to get a bait down into their stomachs. Contrary to what some will tell you, that is absolutely not needed when it comes to getting good circle hook mouth hooksets on billfish. I repeat here that I have fished baits and lures with circle hooks for literally decades now and we have caught a huge number of marlin and sails on ballyhoo on circle hooks. I do not recall a single case of gut hooking any of those many fish. It might have happened, but it would have been so unusual an occurance, I'm sure that I would remember it.

Deeply hooking fish simply does not happen with lures with the occasional exception of a tuna, usually a big one, that engulfs the chasebait and several main line teasers and gets gill or gill arch hooked.

I remind you, I do not have a single thing to gain by telling you this.

Yes, much depends on how one rigs and in particular, how the hook is set, but when those things are done right, gut and gill hooking are very rare, if they happen at all when it comes to billfish.

Finally, I have nothing against someone taking a picture of their first, last, or any other billfish - as long as it is taken with the fish in the water. That is my rule on my boat, of course.