Straight Hooked

It has just become dark as you slowly troll across your unsuspecting prey and then is one quick motion you lunge your spear (aka) gig forward.  Did I get it?  You ask but you don’t have to wait long for your answer as the sweet feeling of the vibration of the gig pole in your hand as you raise your prize in the boat.  For those of you that have never tried this form of fishing I recommend that you do.  Be warned once you try it you will be hooked!  One may ask what does it take for me to be able to gig fish.  You need a boat that preferably can go in the shallows typically we fish in 1 to 6 feet of water.  Also you will need lots of lights so that you can see down in the water. A good trolling motor to push you around, a couple of gigging poles,a valid fishing license, and a generator to power your lights so that you don’t run down your battery.  You may want to stay out a little longer, so be sure to take some extra gas to keep that generator running.  We strap our lights down on the boat with bungy cords at the front, middle, and back of the boat. Find what works best for you and your boat.  We went out last night August 29 and didn’t do to bad considering the high tide.  We caught four Sheepshead which have to be 12 inches and eight Mullet.  The best time to go out is on an outgoing tide with as little wind as possible it doesn’t take much to mess up the clarity of the water.  Check the laws in your area to see what can be harvested in this manner.  ”Spearing is defined as the catching or taking of a fish by bowhunting, gigging, spearfishing, or any device used to capture a fish by piercing its body.  Spearing does not include the catching or taking of a fish by a hook with hook and line gear or by snagging(snatch hooking).  Spearfishing is defined as the catching or taking of a fish through the instrumentality of a hand or mechanically propelled, single or multi-pronged spear or lance, barbed or barbless,operated by a person swimming at or below the surface of water.  The use of powerheads, bangsticks,and rebreathers remains prohibited.”

The one requirement basic to all fishermen is the need for tying a line to the eye of a hook or swivel. Familiarize yourself with the simple procedure of using the Uni-knot here and then all other Uni-Knot applications become quite easy. 1 Turn the end back toward the eye to form a circle. With thumb and finger of the left hand, grasp both strands of line and the crossing strand in a single grip just forward of the hook. 2 Make six turns with the end around both strands of line and through the circle. (With light lines-say 2-to 12-pound test-you should make five or six turns. if using heavier line, four turns will be sufficient). 3 Maintaining the same grip with the left hand, pull on the end of the line until all the wraps are snugger tight and close together. Snugging down tightly at this stage is essential to maximum knot strength. 4 Finally, slide the finished knot tight against the eye of the hook by dropping the tag end and pulling solely on the standing part of the line. The excess end can be trimmed flush with the knot after final positioning. Information taken from Complete Book of Baits Rigs & Tackle.

This is one knot which really is difficult for the fellow who hasn’t tied it before. But, once learned, it can be tied in less than a minute-and take heart at the knowledge that hundreds of fishermen now tie it routinely and quickly, even in a rocking boat. You can too, if you practice and master it at home. 1 Double the end of your line, making the doubled portion about three feet long. Insert your hand in the loop and make 20 complete revolutions withe your hand to form the 20 wraps. Note that at this stage, the wraps are spread over a considerable portion of the line. The one most important thing to remember when tying the Bimini is to keep constant pressure on all three points. 2 Sitting erect, hold your knees tightly together and place the loop over them. Maintain pressure, as shown, with your hands on both the standing line and the short end. 3 Spread your knees slowly, maintaining very tight hand pressure in opposing directions, as before. This will draw the wraps tightly together. 4 Once the wraps are very snug, pull slightly downward with the short end while relaxing tension slightly at the same time. Be sure to keep up the tension, however, with the left hand and with the knees. The line should then roll easily over the wraps, all the way down to the end. 5 This shows the completed rollover before it is anchored with a half-hitch around one strand, and several half hitches around both strands. 6 This shows detail of first around of a single strand, and three others around both strands. Instead of making three separate finishing hitches, you can make just one- and go through it three times with the tag end instead of only once. Trim, leaving about an eighth-inch end. Information taken from Complete Book of Baits Rigs & Tackle.

It takes just one slight variation to transform the hook tie into a loop arrangement which provides more freedom of action for artificial lures. Instead of sliding the finished knot all the way to the eye, just slide it to the size loop desired. Then, gripping the loop just forward of the hook eye, take hold of the tag end with pliers and pull very hard. This locks the knot around the standing line (or leader) at that point. If it slides down at all it will only be under heavy pressure when fighting a fish. Meanwhile, the loop position is maintained while casting and retrieving. It was this particular application, by itself called the Duncan Loop, that originally planted the seed for development of the Uni_Knot system. Information taken from Complete Book of Baits Rigs & Tackle.

The spotted sea trout (aka) speckled trout has to be between 15″ to 20″ to harvest. You are allowed one over 20″ inches per person and a daily bag limit of 5 per person. Their season is closed for the month of February. Now that we have the formalities out of the way lets get down to business to find out where we need to be to catch them and what we need to use. You can find trout in grass flats around sand bars and while you are in these areas look for run offs or small drops in depth. The speckled trout is a stalker and will be hiding around a corner or beneath a ledge. If your tide is coming in the trout will be facing out because the water will be pushing the bait inward and the exact opposite if the tide is going out. Fishing tide changes are so important because of the water movement the fish know this and are a lot more active at this time. You can use many varieties of bait while fishing for trout here are a few of my favorites. Sometimes I just use live shrimp without weight because this looks more natural, but you can also use weights if you choose too. You can also use small pin fish with an cork trout love them also. Some people choose to use artificial lures such as shrimp, worms, and different types of fly lures. If I am using artificial bait I prefer to use an Cajun popper and a Saltwater Assassin lure. To use this you tie the top end of the Cajun popper to your line and connect the bottom to your leader which will be a heavier pound test than your main line. Once it is out there give it a jerk from time to time because your popper makes a sound that attracts the fish when you do this. You will want to know the depth of the water you are fishing because this will determine the length of your leader. I highly recommend you try these techniques and hope you have a great time doing this. Find out what works best for you practice it and master it and always happy fishing.

You’ve had a great day of fishing now it is time to clean your catch. You aren’t looking forward to this because it takes so long. I am going to instruct you how to fillet out your fish instead of having to use a fish scaler, removing the head, and then cutting in to remove the guts. There is nothing wrong with this method some people believe you get more fish that way. The benefits of knowing how to fillet the fish is it saves time,and mainly you don’t have to worry about bones. Some think also if you remove the skin it takes away from the meat tasting so fishy. The first thing you need is a fish cleaning station. Normally you can make your own or just have a table preferably hard plastic or steal.   Ok now this is very important you need a couple of very sharp fillet knifes different sizes to go along with the size of your fish.  You also need a knife sharpener because they will get dull and you need to keep them sharp this will make your job easier.   Now that we have everything lets get started take your fillet knife and from the back of the fishes head cut towards the fishes belly at a slant.  This will allow you to avoid the rib cage.  Once you have reach the bottom cut in a straight line back to the fishes tail.  Next do the same at the top of the fish make sure your fillet knife is running against the bones.  Now from the top of the fish run the fillet knife down against the back bones and the meat will be cut cleanly from the bones.  Their will be nothing left but the head backbone, and guts that will all be connected together you won’t even have to deal with them.  All you have to do now is separate the skin from the meat.  Start at the tail meat side up at a slight angle cut the meat away from the skin don’t worry if it gets to be to much meat you can cut it in sections.  Also if you have a bunch of smaller fish like grunts I recommend using a electric fillet knife its just as fast and easier on your hands.

Now that you have had a productive day in catching your scallops you now need to know how to clean them.  This is a job that takes a little bit of time and effort, but if you assign specific jobs to your helpers it will move right along.  First you need a glove and shucking knife.  With the glove on one of your hands if the scallop shell is not already open gently put your knife between the shell and gently pry it open just enough for you to get your finger in there.  Now you take your shucking knife and keep it against the inside of the shell and separate the matter from that side.  You can know pull the shell apart. While you are doing this your helper can now remove the guts from around the meat.  This process will get easier the more you do it and by the time you finish you should have mastered this technique.  Place the shell in the palm of your hand and take your thumb and push all of the matter around the shell in the middle towards your meat.  Then take your hand and just pull it out over the meat.  You are almost finished have someone with a spoon scoop the meat out of the shell.  Now all that is left is to clean the meat basically by rinsing off what ever excess that was left behind know your are ready to cook them up.

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Recently for state and federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico now require all commercial fishers and recreational anglers fishing from a vessel for and Gulf reef fish species to use circle hooks, dehooking devices and venting tools.  June 1, 2008 marks the date when these new rules took affect and apply to all reef fish species including groupers, snappers, amber jacks, trigger fish, porgies, sea bass, hog fish, and tile fish. The intent of these rules is to help conserve fishery resources by reducing the mortality associated with releasing fish not harvested due to regulations or personal reasons.  They are also asking you to use common sense when releasing an unwanted fish, if a hook is to deep to retrieve if is much better to cut the line by the hook rather than to try removing it with a dehooking device.  Also they would like you to use non-stainless steel hooks because they will disintegrate in a short period of time and should cause the fish less harm.  New rules also require you to use a De-hooking Device for reef fish species in the Gulf to remove hooks embedded with minimal damage.  It has to be of appropriate size and be blunt and all edges rounded. Lastly a venting devices also required for fish caught in 50 feet or more.  When fish are brought up from this depth the gases in their swim bladder expand.  Signs of this are protrusion of the stomach from the mouth, bulging eyes and a bloated belly.  The venting tool must be a sharpened,hollow instrument such as a hypodermic syringe with the plunger remover.  Don’t use a knife or ice pick.  Insert the venting tool into the fish at a 45 degree angle under a scale approximately 1 to 2 inches from the base of the pectoral fin and be inserted just deep enough to release the gases so that the fish may be released with minimum damage.  Information taken from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Your fishing equiptment changes very drastically when going offshore. The fish are usually bigger and a lot stronger. You have deeper water and different structures to deal with. One of my favorite combos is the shimano tld 25. This reel is very versitale it can be used for bottom fishing, or trolling. I have caught many different species of fish with this reel. It is strong enough to pull fish off the bottom away from structue, and a quick enough gear ratio to bring in those drag burners from trolling. I also recomend the diawa sealine, and penn reels also. You also need a good beef stick to go alone with those fishing reels. I recommend penn, shimano, and shakespeare.

Recipe for Hush Puppies with cream style corn, chopped onion, and cornmeal. These
hush puppies are deep fried. Ingredients:½ cup all-purpose flour, 1teaspoon baking
powder, 1 salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ cup onion, chopped, 1 cup yellow or white
cornmeal, 1 can cream style corn (16 oz), milk, if neededPreparation:
Mix dry ingredients. Add onion and corn. Mix well. If more liquid is needed to make
desired consistency, add a little milk. Drop heaping teaspoons into deep hot grease,
about 360°. Fry until golden brown. By Valarie Wells