Gaffing fish

[dorado50]

Place your gaff wherever you want to get your fish aboard. I do not gaff fish wherever there is any edible meat. Any place two inches behind the gills is out for me.Not a good idea to aim for gill plate cause the gaff will probably bounce off.Go for the soft meat around the gills. I used to aim for the eye (on advise from a mentor)and had pretty good results then. After awhile you will be able to familiarize yourself with where the soft places to gaff a fish are. A good gaff shot is the same as making a birdy putt to finish off the round. You go away happy....

[old_rookie]

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...highlight=gaff

Be sure to watch the video. Not sure if that video has only one technique shown, but he has a video with three techniques.

[Jimmyz123]

I have to sharpen my gaff a little before I go out, I'll do that this weekend, but I'm doing that with the feeling that I'll be gaffing something big here soon.

[mtnbykr2]

gaffing the feesh is a very important part, in the grand scheme of things,
the pressure is on at that point, a swing and a miss could result in your
din din swimming away, I feel it is 2x the pressure when gaffing someone elses fish...like a PB halibut, on a yak...hopefully those gaffs are sharp and ready to dig when the time comes.
I hope everyone here has to use it this weekend...or the next time out on the water...

[deepdvr]

One suggestion Jimmy, when you get your chance, hold the gaff between you and the fish with the hook pointed away from you. I see guys all the time try to gaff the fish from the far side with the hook pointed back at the yak and its pretty comical....until the fish breaks off.

[jdemoss]

Depending on what I'm fishing for I use one of two different gaffs. I have a traditional hook gaff. But I find that more and more I am growing fond of using my spear gaff when I'm fishing for pelagic fish. Its a take off on the Hawaiian "Kage" spear gaff that the island kayak fishermen use. It allows me to pinpoint the head for spike placement and does two things..it stuns the fish and allows me more leverage as I throw them into the boat. I made mine from a cut down hickory hoe or shovel handle and a 7/8" SS threaded rod. I drilled a hole into the handle and epoxied the rod into the hole about 8-10". I then cut off the spike to about 8-10" and ground it sharp on my grinder. Attach a lanyard/leash or a float and you're set. The threads hold the fish after you spear it and like I said above, it allows you to strike the head, stunning the fish. I find they fight less and I have an easier time hauling them into the boat.

[lbsurf2ca]

I don't even know why I own a gaff anymore. I suck

[bus kid]

Originally Posted by jdemoss

Depending on what I'm fishing for I use one of two different gaffs. I have a traditional hook gaff. But I find that more and more I am growing fond of using my spear gaff when I'm fishing for pelagic fish. Its a take off on the Hawaiian "Kage" spear gaff that the island kayak fishermen use. It allows me to pinpoint the head for spike placement and does two things..it stuns the fish and allows me more leverage as I throw them into the boat. I made mine from a cut down hickory hoe or shovel handle and a 7/8" SS threaded rod. I drilled a hole into the handle and epoxied the rod into the hole about 8-10". I then cut off the spike to about 8-10" and ground it sharp on my grinder. Attach a lanyard/leash or a float and you're set. The threads hold the fish after you spear it and like I said above, it allows you to strike the head, stunning the fish. I find they fight less and I have an easier time hauling them into the boat.

First welcome, second there is a thread called "share your innovations"
take the time to photograph your spear gaff and do a short write up, (or copy and paste this post) and post it there, as I'm sure a few others would like to see it. I have a short gaff and have been considering making a spear gaff like you have described.

[Jimmyz123]

Originally Posted by deepdvr

One suggestion Jimmy, when you get your chance, hold the gaff between you and the fish with the hook pointed away from you. I see guys all the time try to gaff the fish from the far side with the hook pointed back at the yak and its pretty comical....until the fish breaks off.

So if I read your post correctly are you saying that you kind swing up and away from yourself?

[Lets_Fish]

Here is a link on what the Hawaiian "Kage" spear gaff looks like (at least from this link I found).

http://www.kayakfishingmagazine.net/...it=15&start=15

[deepdvr]

Originally Posted by Jimmyz123

So if I read your post correctly are you saying that you kind swing up and away from yourself?

Pretty much....but its more or less just straight up.