Gaffs

[fish assassin]

There are three basic types of gaff used in Oregon (as
far as I can tell). The first is the "hook" gaff that
most of us are familiar with. With this type of gaff
you are required to slip the gaff under the fish and
lift tp set the hook into the fish. An acceptable way
to gaff a fish, but does present a few problems (IMHO).
The first problem I see with a hook style gaff is that
you need to slide the gaff into the water and this
can leave you open to a case where the fish will bump
the gaff before you get the gaff set into the fish.
If the fish feels the gaff rub on it's side, it's all
over but the crying as the fish will usually go nuts
and you often will lose it. The second problem with
a hook style gaff is that you get more "body gaffs"
with this style. It's just not as easy to pull up and
into the head of a fish as with other styles.

On the positive side, once you get this type of gaff
into your fish you are pulling UP on the fish which
tends to make the gaff sink deeper into the flesh so
you are not as likely to lose the fish as you pull it
into the boat.

The second type of gaff is the "pick" gaff. This type
of gaff has a point that goes out at roughly a 45 degree
angle to the handle. This style gaff is also refered
to as a "striker" gaff. The way it is used is to strike
down on the fish and with a twist of the wrist you then
flip the fish on board. The negative aspects to this
type of gaff are that you tend to lose quite a few fish
until you get a feel for it. You will also knock off
a few fish if your depth perception sucks (as mine does).
They also don't work well on a boat with high
free-board (as on most charters) as they are ment to
be an extension to your arm, rather than a tool that
you can streach out with to get the fish.

On the positive side, with a striker gaff you usually
have a better chance of hitting the fish in the head,
thus avoiding the unforgivable "body gaff".

A little advice about both types of gaffs ... keep 'em
SHARP! If it ain't sharp, you're not going to get enough
penetration to get the critter in the boat!

Another little tid-bit ... when using a gaff, DO NOT
let the fish rub up against the boat as you pull the
fish in over the gunwales. If a fishes' lateral line
rubs against the boat as you pull it in, it'll go *crazy*!
It'll start flipping and flopping and rip right off'n
the gaff! :depressed:

The third type of gaff is a "flying gaff" and is used
for the *really* big fish, like large halibut. This
type of gaff is more of a harpoon then a gaff, but is
still considered a gaff. I'm not going to say anything
more about the flying gaff because I don't have any
experience with 'em. Being the worst fisherman in port
I've never had need to use something like that for a
really *big* fish. I'll let the better fishermen
here talk about them!! Any takers?

-assAssin-

Landing nets??? We don't need no Landing Nets!!!

[fish assassin]

I use striker gaffs. I also swing my gaff over-hand.
The biggest problem with swinging over-hand is that
if you miss the fish and you are not swinging the gaff
parrallel with the boat you take the chance of hitting
the boat with the pointy end of the gaff!! I HATE
when that happens!

-assAssin-

Albacore, the *other* white meat!

[Pilar]

Kurt, you can make a harpoon with minimal effort. Jon ('Puffin') knows a machinist guy who can make harpoon heads and he has made us a few. The only problem is that this guy likes to pull a cork so it is hard to catch him on a good (sober) day.

The rest of the harpoon is a 3/8" stainless rod 2' long and a post hole digger replacement handle. Some 170# coated stainless wire (like used on the halibut rigs), 30' of tuna cord, epoxy, barrel swivels and crimps, and a small anchor float and you've got a harpoon rig.

Drill a 3/8" hole in the fat end of the handle, then epoxy the rod in the hole.

The tip slides on the end of the stainless rod and is wired to the tuna cord. You jam the harpoon head through the fish and the wire is attached to the middle of the harpoon head. the tip comes off the handle and turns sideways in the fish and you've got him on the wire and tuna cord. If he dives the anchor float slows him down.

The trick I just discovered is how to keep the head stuck on the harpoon shaft until you pull it off on a fish. This is done by using 2 crimp sleeves on the doubled wire leader where it attaches to the harpoon head. Space the crimps apart just enough so that the wire in between just barely fits over the 3/8" harpoon shaft. Once you have the wires on the shaft push the head on last. The tight fit holds the head in place until you pull the handle free after stabbing a fish.

The spike gaff I got late in the summer is fast becoming a favorite. The hook style I have always used is easy to miss a fish with. All you have to do is bump the fish instead of gaff it and back to the bottom he goes. With the spike you are 'chopping' down and it is hard to miss.

[Miss B Haven]

I've got both the spike and the hook. Minimal use of both, but I think I like the spike for Tuna. I'm not sure I would use a spike on any fish of size though. Not much leverage with one hand. My hook is a double hander and is rated for small Bills. I still had a 70lb Halibut rip me up against the boat with it and lost some knuckles in the process. The guy with the bat decided he was going to tickle the but instead of killing it with the bat! :shocked:
I'm with Assassin, missed a TUNA this year with the spike and whumped the boat pretty good with it. The angle is critical with the spike. The hook will go into the fish to some degree no matter what the angle (just like a fishhook), but if you don't have the spike angled right you mght as well be wacking them with a stick. It took a little practice to get the wrist action in tune with the arm swing so that spike was pointed straight into the fish.

I have a drawing of a harpoon that I can't get to upload. If anyone is interested I can e mail it to you.

[Threemuch]

I have both styles of gaffs on my boat, although the hook is what I use primarily. The pick I use to move fish around on deck and as a second for a really big fish. The third style you mentioned is really just like the first, but with a detatchable head.

Do you gaff overhand or underhand with a hook? I gaff under (hook away), but most literature will tell you to gaff over (hook towards). I have lost very few fish by gaffing, and much prefer it to the net. Number one rule, is the gaff should be sticky sharp.

What about harpoons? I need to make me one. Right now I would use my speargun if I had a really big halibut to land.

[Orca]

Previous harpoon information:

http://www.ifish.net/ubb/ultimatebb....=000493#000000

[Myles]

I did a search on ebay for gaff the other day from the first page.
:shocked:
Did you know that "gaff" is a pair of underwear for cross dressers that will uhh, nevermind. [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

huh?? Ya know I try to keep an open mind about things but some things just exceed the limits.

[pkg40]

For Albacore under 20 lbs, grabbing the leader and flipping em over the side is easier than gaffing if you use heavy leaders.

[fish assassin]

pkg40,

I absolutly agree!! Same for salmon under about 15 lbs.
Just flip 'em over the side of the boat. However, for
fish bigger than noted above, I still like my striker
gaff. However, if I ever get a chance to get one of
the *big* tuna (100+ lbs.), I think I might get into
a little bit of trouble with the old strike and scoop
technique!

-assAssin-

[Miss B Haven]

Miles - LMAO, did you make a bid? :shocked: :shocked: :grin:

[Myles]

aaah, no. Really! NO! I just thought I'd share my discovery. Now I'm really confused though, I thought the point was to wear womens clothes. :whazzup:
If being a tunaholic is a diesease, what is that?
Nevermind I really don't care to know.

remember, it's gaff hook

:smile:

[Miss B Haven]

Originally posted by Myles:
I just thought I'd share my discovery. Now I'm really confused though, I thought the point was to wear womens clothes. :whazzup:
:smile:

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Myles - You better quit while your behind (behind - get it hehe).First -sharing your discovery? Ummm... Maybe your on the wrong board! Second - you can get help if your confused I'm pretty sure. Third, sounds like you know WAY to much about this stuff already.
Man - I just love it when folks leave themselves wide open! :grin:

[Myles]

Wide open?? Is that a pun? :shocked:

[Miss B Haven]

EOT (End of Thread)! [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]