MAKING YOUR CAPTAIN “SMARTER”
Originally Published the Week of Nov. 5, 2019 in Western Outdoor Publications
I’ve been in the fishing biz now for several decades full-time and another few decades part-time. I’ve been a guide, deckhand, galley cook, tackle store manager, fishing-school instructor and fleet owner.
At the end of the day, I’ve heard a lot of goofy stuff come out’ve people’s mouths. The majority is great good stuff about what a great time folks had.
However,I can tell when I’m gonna get an earful. And it usually co-incides with a slow fishing day.
It usually starts with…
“I had a great day…BUT… “ (Here it comes.)
“I have a comment to make …” (Get ready to duck.)
“Here’s what YOU need to do better…” (I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before you mentioned it.)
“Just a little bit of friendly constructive criticism…” (Of course!)
Or…
“My captain was so stupid…”
I can usually take personal criticism on the chin. It’s part of doing business and honestly, most folks mean well.
And, like I said, this goes hand-in-hand with a slow fishing day. If the fish are biting, it solves all ills just like magic!
So, when someone opens up about one of our captains…a guy who has pretty much spent his whole life in one spot fishing for a living and feeding his family and spent years catering to sportsmen…I like to hear just how “stupid” he was.
It usually boils down to the stupidity of the captain either “lost a fish” or “produced less fish” than expected.
Well, here’s some tips I’ve come up with to improve the fishing I.Q. of any captain.
Watch your lines.
Keep your lines in front of you and straight out. And keep the slack out.
There’s the old adage about “no angles no tangles.” Keeping your line in front of you instead of “under the boat” or “criss-crossing” another line or off at an angle, prevents tangling other lines.
Lost time extricating you and re-rigging costs everyone time you could be fishing.
Follow your fish.
In other words, as the fish moves around, YOU move around too. You’re not glued to the chair. Your feet are not nailed to the deck.
If the fish moves right, YOU move right. If it goes left and around the bow, YOU follow it around the bow too!
Fish can move fast. Anticipate where it’s swimming and going to swim. You go there too!
No, the dumb captain did NOT lose your fish in the prop of the motor. No, the stupid captain did not tangle you in your buddy’s line. It’s usually because YOU didn’t follow your fish.
Novices, especially think the fishing reel is a winch. If you turn the handle it will winch the fish to you no matter where your line is.
No matter where the fish is swimming. No matter how strong or how big the fish. Turning the handle will “bend the fish to your will.”
Not so. All the reel does is recover fishing line and store it.
And, if a fish is running, it helps slow the fish down with brakes (drag) that evenly puts pressure on the line to make it harder for the fish to swim away and helps tire the fish.
But simply turning the handle as much as you can with all of your strength in-and-of-itself will not make the fish come to you.
Lifting your rod or following your fish IN CONJUNCTION with turning the handle picks up slack line which ergo brings the fish closer to you.
Additionally, don’t let up. It’s tempting to want to be a spectator. Fishing is indeed fascinating to watch. If you’re the one in the middle of it, you want to see that fish. It’s new. It’s exciting.
And that’s also how you lose fish.
Most fish are lost at the very beginning. When all the adrenaline and neurons are blowing up in your brain with the excitement of getting bit, anglers forget what to do. They freeze up. They want to watch!
I get it.
And they lose fish at the very end. It’s been a long battle. The angler is tired. You can see color on the fish. Almost there…
…and that’s when the angler takes a look. That’s when they’re fumbling with their GoPro camera or their fishing buddy is wiggling in to take an “action shot.”
That’s when the angler drops the rod tip or momentarily diminishes the pressure on the fish.
The fish gets a 2nd wind and bolts again. Or throws the hook. Or the line snaps. Not the captain’s fault. The battle isn’t over until the fish is in the boat.
And when the fish finally is close, there’s a right and a wrong way to bring a fish to the gaff.
Bring it as close as possible.
Time after time, I see anglers get the fish close. Rather than turning the handle, they step back…and back…and back. Hey! Come back up here to the rail. Now is the time to actually watch the fish.
They can’t even see their line and the fish anymore. If that fish gets hot again, it takes off and POWIE! Line breaks; hook pulls or, at best, the fish is back on.
Get the fish tired and gently lay it as close to the boat as possible. Do NOT lift it out’ve the water!!! Keep it just below the surface.
Pull it out’ve the water and the fish thrashes. Gravity jumps in too. The road loads up like a spring and the tension on the line jacks up. The fish gives a thrash and again..line breaks or the hook pulls out.
And secretly inside you’re blaming the captain for not “gaffing your fish fast enough.”
This is especially true with streamlined acrobatic fish like dorado which are such common catches here in Baja.
Bring the fish to the boat. Keep an eye on it as you stand at the rail. Keep it in the water and try to lay the fish on it’s side for an easy gaff shot.
Swing! And easy-schmeazy, your fish is gaffed and in the boat.
Keep these in mind. Use a few of them as you gain more experience and you’ll be amazed at how much “smarter” your captains will get!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter.com.
They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. It’s right on the La Paz waterfront!
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Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website:
www.tailhunter-international.com
Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter International, 8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178, La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.
Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: http://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/
Tailhunter YouTube Video Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBLvdHL_p4-OAu3HfiVzW0g
“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”
That's My Story 
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