Big Game Fishing

About Big Game Fishing

Big-game fishing started as a sport after the invention of the motor boat. Charles Frederick Holder, a marine biologist and early conservationist, is credited with founding the sport in 1898. He went on to publish many articles and books on the subject, noted for their combination of accurate scientific detail with exciting narratives. Purpose built game fishing boats appeared early in the 20th century. An example is the Crete, in use at Catalina Island, California, in 1915, and shipped to Hawaii the following year. According to a newspaper report at that time, the Crete had "... a deep cockpit, a chair fitted for landing big fish and leather pockets for placing the pole."

Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practice catch and release to improve fish populations. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly salmon and blue fin tuna.

The billfish (broadbill swordfish, marlin and sailfish), larger tunas (bluefin, yellowfin, and bigeye) and sharks (mako, great white, tiger, hammerhead and other large species) are the main species recognized as big-game fish, with many anglers considering the Atlantic tarpon, giant trevally and blue shark also a big-game species.

Smaller game fish, such as dolphinfish, wahoo, smaller tuna species such as albacore and skipjack tuna, plus barracuda, are commonly caught as by-catch or taken deliberately for use as live or dead bait.

Today the Sport fishermen play an important role in conservation of this fish species by tag them with code strips or small GPS devices. So scientist's can follow the travel routes and get a better knowledge about populations and offspring.

This scientist work closely with the national & internatiol fishing assosiations which define catch limits & closed season's.

Historically most of the locations where the sport was developed, such as Avalon, California, Florida, Bimini in the Bahamas, Cairns- Australia, northern New Zealand, Panama, Wedgeport in Nova Scotia and Kona in Hawaii, Cape Town in South Africa benefited from the presence of large numbers of gamefish relatively close to shore, within range of the boats of that era.

As the vessels used for sportfishing became larger, faster, longer-ranged and more seaworthy, big-game species are now pursued on grounds ranging from 60 or 70 miles' distance from port, such as the submarine canyons of the United States continental shelf, to hundreds of miles as in the case of the San Diego long range fishery, where large live-aboard vessels range far out into the Pacific searching for tuna schools.

Today big-game fishing is carried out from ports in tropical and temperate coasts practically worldwide.

Insider talking about great fishing on the coast of Mozambique, the south coast of China and the Philippines.

Fishing methods

Electronics technology developed for commercial fishermen has become increasingly used by recreational anglers. Fishfinders, also known as bottom machines or echo sounders, are now commonplace. Other electronics used to narrow down the search for fish may include radar, forward or side-scanning sonar, water temperature sensors and sea surface temperature imagery obtained from satellites.

Trolling

Fish are enticed by trolling fishing lures (designed to resemble squid or other baitfish) or baits behind the boat. Multiple lines are often used. Outriggers were designed to spread the lines more widely. The outrigger holds the lines further away from the boat's wake, setting lures into clearer water thus making it easier for fish to target in on available lures.

Chumming/chunking

Chumming, or chunking, is the process of throwing pieces of bait fish overboard to attract larger game fish. This is called Berley in Australia.

Fighting the fish

Once a fish is properly hooked on a line, a somewhat tricky task as often initial nibbles only partly hook the fish, one of the fishermen attempts to reel it in. The captain assists by maneuvering the boat so that the fish remains astern (behind the boat), while other members of the crew race to reel in the other lines so as to avoid tangling with the angler reeling in the fish.

Most of the time, the fishing line used for sport fishing has a breaking strain less than the maximum force the fish can apply to the line. The fishing reels therefore have sophisticated drag mechanisms which allow the line to escape if the fish pulls on it, but keep the specified tension on the line. When hooked, most fish will circulate in different directions, and when they are not pulling away from the boat the fisherman can take the opportunity to reel in some of the line. Eventually, if the fish tires and has not broken the line, they will be reeled in; however, the challenge does not end there. Hauling a heavy, powerful, and still very much alive fish on board the boat represents a considerable challenge, unless the fish is tagged and released. Strategies include: gaffing, pulling it in with ones hands, and if it is a smallish game fish, a net.

The fish can be fought with or without a game-chair. With a game-chair, the angler sits in a specially designed chair at the stern of the boat, and places the butt of the rod into a gimbaled mount. Most rods used in this manner are quite long. The older and more classic models had straight rod butts. More contemporary models have bent rod butts, which give a more convenient angle for fighting the fish when the rod is placed in the mount. With large fish, this can still represent a considerable challenge, but "stand-up" game fishing, without the assistance of a chair and with the seat mount replaced by a harness, requires a good deal of strength and endurance, as well as body mass.

Kite Fishing

Big Game fishing has evolved from a heavy tackle to a light tackle sport in many regions. Using a fishing kite has opened the door to fishing for Billfish, especially Sailfish with tackle as light as 8 or 12 lb but normally 20 - 30 lb gear is used. The kite is also effective on Tuna, Dolphin fish (Mahi Mahi), Sharks, Marlin, Swordfish & all sorts of other Big Game fish. The idea behind the kite is that a smaller live bait can be fished on lighter tackle and positioned away from the boat and placed right on the surface. The Bait fish will try to run away or fight to get deeper in the water column, but the kite will hold the bait in place. The fighting action and stress of the bait will "turn on" big game fish and cause them to strike. This method of fishing not only presents a bait to the Big Game Fish but drives the fish to strike the bait.