Can fishing co-exist with sailing? Do you fish from your sailboat? Does so much as the question make the hair on the back of your neck stand up? Is the very thought of it heresy? Or is fishing something you enjoy on any kind of vessel? Do you troll while under way? Perhaps hit a favorite bass hole in the early morning before the wind kicks up? Or is your idea of fishing setting a crab trap or two? Tell us how you feel about fishing from your sailboat, and show us a catch or two, then vote in this week's Quick Quiz at the bottom of the home page.
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Trolling Only
I sometimes put out a line while crossing the gulf stream or am in deep water. It sometimes yeilds a nice dolphin (maui-maui). I have caught red snapper and grouper while trolling and a lot of baracudas. I stopped fishing when I left home. My dad had me out all the time when I was a kid. Bill
I sometimes put out a line while crossing the gulf stream or am in deep water. It sometimes yeilds a nice dolphin (maui-maui). I have caught red snapper and grouper while trolling and a lot of baracudas. I stopped fishing when I left home. My dad had me out all the time when I was a kid. Bill
Niot only fish, but catch !
I troll for Salmon in the Pacific at the mouth of the Columbia and in the Portland area. Have cought my share while "wind trolling". Am preparing for my yearly one week sail / troll around Sauvies Island at this moment. Tight lines, Jeff
I troll for Salmon in the Pacific at the mouth of the Columbia and in the Portland area. Have cought my share while "wind trolling". Am preparing for my yearly one week sail / troll around Sauvies Island at this moment. Tight lines, Jeff
blue fish
Every time I go out I try to catch a fish or two for supper. So far it is a good thing I bring food with me, but it is an enjoyable past time when there is little wind. The crew are always kidding me about the number of lures I lose to lobster bouys. So far it has been only blue fish but I am going to try a drifferent type lure and mybe I will catch a striper this year.
Every time I go out I try to catch a fish or two for supper. So far it is a good thing I bring food with me, but it is an enjoyable past time when there is little wind. The crew are always kidding me about the number of lures I lose to lobster bouys. So far it has been only blue fish but I am going to try a drifferent type lure and mybe I will catch a striper this year.
Yeah, I trail some kind of lure a lot, always
catch a couple Mackeral, sometimes Bonita and Baracuda. And if I pass a baitball or good looking kelp paddy there's a rod handy to make a few casts to it, looking for that Dorado (Mahi Mahi). Taught my wife to heave to when we get a strike but in the winter I have to do it myself. Lobster season it's nice to anchor out by the breakwater and hoop net a few. I've always felt that fishing was a valid excuse to be out messing around in a boat.
catch a couple Mackeral, sometimes Bonita and Baracuda. And if I pass a baitball or good looking kelp paddy there's a rod handy to make a few casts to it, looking for that Dorado (Mahi Mahi). Taught my wife to heave to when we get a strike but in the winter I have to do it myself. Lobster season it's nice to anchor out by the breakwater and hoop net a few. I've always felt that fishing was a valid excuse to be out messing around in a boat.
A time and place for everything...
I lake sail and am used to fickle winds. I own a Hunter 216. My dinghy club gives me a razzing about having a motor...BUT...they are not above a tow if the wind goes bye-bye. They also chuckle when I throw a line overboard but I detect a smidgen of jealousy. Like this really bothers me...NOT! If I arrive at a lake and there is no wind or if the wind dies while sailing, I simply throw a line overboard and troll with my trolling motor...or with the wind if there is enough to move the boat. I admit I'm kind of a Type A and have trouble simply kicking back and waiting a few hours when the wind dies. Now I have an excuse to do nothing and the trolling holds just enough interest to keep my Type A in check! Maybe one day I'll actually catch something! I lost my favorite lure (apparently it was not the fish's favorite lure!) when trolling a couple weeks ago and the wind suddenly slammed in. Zero to 15 in 12 nanoseconds. I kept tightening the drag trying to get the lure in until the line snapped! Sigh... Bottom line: I love sailing AND fishing.
I lake sail and am used to fickle winds. I own a Hunter 216. My dinghy club gives me a razzing about having a motor...BUT...they are not above a tow if the wind goes bye-bye. They also chuckle when I throw a line overboard but I detect a smidgen of jealousy. Like this really bothers me...NOT! If I arrive at a lake and there is no wind or if the wind dies while sailing, I simply throw a line overboard and troll with my trolling motor...or with the wind if there is enough to move the boat. I admit I'm kind of a Type A and have trouble simply kicking back and waiting a few hours when the wind dies. Now I have an excuse to do nothing and the trolling holds just enough interest to keep my Type A in check! Maybe one day I'll actually catch something! I lost my favorite lure (apparently it was not the fish's favorite lure!) when trolling a couple weeks ago and the wind suddenly slammed in. Zero to 15 in 12 nanoseconds. I kept tightening the drag trying to get the lure in until the line snapped! Sigh... Bottom line: I love sailing AND fishing.
no way
no way, no how, aint gonna happen. if you want to fish, get on a fishen boat or a pontoon, not on my sailboat. End of discussion!!!!
no way, no how, aint gonna happen. if you want to fish, get on a fishen boat or a pontoon, not on my sailboat. End of discussion!!!!
Fresh fish
Share dock space with the stink pots. Toss in a line if you have time, fresh fish is hard to beat.
Share dock space with the stink pots. Toss in a line if you have time, fresh fish is hard to beat.
Of course
Up here in the Salem area blues and stripers are always a lot of fun. I always keep a couple of rods semi-ready to go. Down in the BVI I've even landed a black fin tuna off of a fly rod one evening while at anchor. That was a lot of fun. To be frank I cannot understand why there would be an aversion to a little fishing at the appropriate time...
Up here in the Salem area blues and stripers are always a lot of fun. I always keep a couple of rods semi-ready to go. Down in the BVI I've even landed a black fin tuna off of a fly rod one evening while at anchor. That was a lot of fun. To be frank I cannot understand why there would be an aversion to a little fishing at the appropriate time...
Fish On!
If the timing allows it, I'll troll in Lake Michigan for salmon, especially when the wind is light. They'll hit just when you don't expect it but the whirring of the reel is an unmistakable sound that always stirs up some excitement.
If the timing allows it, I'll troll in Lake Michigan for salmon, especially when the wind is light. They'll hit just when you don't expect it but the whirring of the reel is an unmistakable sound that always stirs up some excitement.
Fish
Almost always, provides some great free meals, always welcomed. And I enjoy watching the smaller kids reel them in also.
Almost always, provides some great free meals, always welcomed. And I enjoy watching the smaller kids reel them in also.
Yummmmm ....
The thought of a nice freshwater Coho salmon from Lake Michigan or mahi mahi and tuna from the gulf stream has got my mouth watering and wishing summer was here! Sailing and fishing go together like shrimp and beer, like the beach and a clam bake, like girls and bikinis ... What better reason to have a barbeque on the stern rail!*5
The thought of a nice freshwater Coho salmon from Lake Michigan or mahi mahi and tuna from the gulf stream has got my mouth watering and wishing summer was here! Sailing and fishing go together like shrimp and beer, like the beach and a clam bake, like girls and bikinis ... What better reason to have a barbeque on the stern rail!*5
Light winds can make for good trolling
We have fished at anchor and have trolled when the winds were light. Trolling along a shore under sail is interesting!!!! Keeping the mast out of the tress while getting the lures into the right spot makes otherwise boring light wind sailing fun. I have never trolled from the sailboat under power. When the wind is up I would rather focus on sailing. The only problem with fishing from a sailboat is getting fish smell all over the cockpit!!!
We have fished at anchor and have trolled when the winds were light. Trolling along a shore under sail is interesting!!!! Keeping the mast out of the tress while getting the lures into the right spot makes otherwise boring light wind sailing fun. I have never trolled from the sailboat under power. When the wind is up I would rather focus on sailing. The only problem with fishing from a sailboat is getting fish smell all over the cockpit!!!
Fish?...Well, sometimes.
Fishing under sail has been a "sometime" thing for us. While crossing oceans we usually trail a "meat" line. About once a week we would bring in something that would feed us for a week; fresh meat is nice. We "raced" once from Musket Cove, Fiji to Port Vila, Vanuatu where the race rules required that we fish enroute. At home, crab pots get a lot of use. In our opinion, the Dungeness crab ranks well with the Maine lobster, and most people cruising here go for both crab and shrimp. (This is the Pacific Northwest we're talking about.)
Fishing under sail has been a "sometime" thing for us. While crossing oceans we usually trail a "meat" line. About once a week we would bring in something that would feed us for a week; fresh meat is nice. We "raced" once from Musket Cove, Fiji to Port Vila, Vanuatu where the race rules required that we fish enroute. At home, crab pots get a lot of use. In our opinion, the Dungeness crab ranks well with the Maine lobster, and most people cruising here go for both crab and shrimp. (This is the Pacific Northwest we're talking about.)
Squirrel Fish
Does catching a squirrel fish count as fishing? I was trying to catch dinner in the Bahamas and all that took hold of my line was a squirrel fish. It was about 5" long and had big buggy eyes. I threw it back after taking a trophy photo. Dinner that night was ashore enjoying local favorites of fresh caught Bahamian fish. Most of my trolling efforts caught nothing but seaweed, a shoe, and I lost a few good lures.
Does catching a squirrel fish count as fishing? I was trying to catch dinner in the Bahamas and all that took hold of my line was a squirrel fish. It was about 5" long and had big buggy eyes. I threw it back after taking a trophy photo. Dinner that night was ashore enjoying local favorites of fresh caught Bahamian fish. Most of my trolling efforts caught nothing but seaweed, a shoe, and I lost a few good lures.
Fishing and Sailing
Nothing beats fresh bass, perch or lake trout for an evening dinner or morning breakfast ... The difficulty is catching the ruddy things in sufficient number to feed us a meal ... My fly-fishing son tells me that the problem is that I don't have down-riggers hanging out from each side ... and says he'll sail with me if I mount the appropriate equipment on the Catalina ... Of course if I do that, and the U.S. Customs folks spy me on Lake Champlain, they will just about know I must be up to something wrong - what with the ham radio antennae and outriggers we'd have sticking up, our and down aloft as well as aft, port and starboard... SamC
Nothing beats fresh bass, perch or lake trout for an evening dinner or morning breakfast ... The difficulty is catching the ruddy things in sufficient number to feed us a meal ... My fly-fishing son tells me that the problem is that I don't have down-riggers hanging out from each side ... and says he'll sail with me if I mount the appropriate equipment on the Catalina ... Of course if I do that, and the U.S. Customs folks spy me on Lake Champlain, they will just about know I must be up to something wrong - what with the ham radio antennae and outriggers we'd have sticking up, our and down aloft as well as aft, port and starboard... SamC
You bet!
We always troll when passaging, less often when daysailing. Have found that the best strike always occurs at the most inconvenient moment, though! If you want to catch that dorado, start your tack or begin to reef the main...
We always troll when passaging, less often when daysailing. Have found that the best strike always occurs at the most inconvenient moment, though! If you want to catch that dorado, start your tack or begin to reef the main...
Not what my boat is for
If I had wanted to fish from my boat, I would have bought a fishing boat. I choose to sail because it is a clean, comfortable, enjoyable environment to spend time on the water. My guest's appreciate being able to sit or lay anywhere without having to avoid smells and stains.
If I had wanted to fish from my boat, I would have bought a fishing boat. I choose to sail because it is a clean, comfortable, enjoyable environment to spend time on the water. My guest's appreciate being able to sit or lay anywhere without having to avoid smells and stains.
Fish On
Here in the Pacific Northwest it would be foolish not to drag a line while sailing. I have always put a line over while on the water, and have always brought something in. Nothing like free food for dinner.
Here in the Pacific Northwest it would be foolish not to drag a line while sailing. I have always put a line over while on the water, and have always brought something in. Nothing like free food for dinner.
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