indescriminate killing by surface dwellers

[fernandezh]

This past weekend I was watching on the Tampa Bay Channel 9 news, and they had a story on grouper fishing out on the middle grounds. These guys were using deep sea fishing poles with electric reels attached. They brought in at least 12 groupers weighing in a 20 lbs a peace. At the end of this news story, one of the fishermen brought up a 150 lb jewfish (ok I know it isn't the Politically Correct name, bite me). This guy's electric reel brought up this fish so fast from 130+ ft. of water that the jewfish's bladder was engorged and sticking out of its mouth. The fish's eyes looked ready to explode as they were sticking out of it's head. They dragged the fish onto the deck of the boat. Unhooked it and tossed it back into the water declaring a successful, "Catch and Release". Obviously when the fish comes out of the water looking like that, it is proboly already dead or on its way to become that way. The advantage of spearfishing is that we pick and choose our prey by seeking out only the larger and eligible fish. The next time you hear of a traditional hook-line fisher complain about spearfishermen. Use this example. It is because of these type of fishermen that Jewfish are still banned from harvesting. my 2 cents worth

[Grande]

there is a thread on this over at FS. the capt says he brought it on board to deflate it.

[f94gator]

"ok I know it isn't the Politically Correct name, bite me"


I love it! Couldn't have said it better!

[kitefisherman]

My feelings are that if at anytime you want to name the biggest and baddest grouper in the world after me, please feel free. I will not be offended.

[inletsurf]

Those reels are the shit. I use them for deep dropping in 250+ feet of water all the time. Of course, I'm not politically correct either.

[Charlestondivin]

Can't be all that bad if they are thinning out the hebrew mullet population. You know its bad when im seeing them on ledges off South Carolina. Theres a fat one in a overhang eating the hell out of grouper on a ledge we frequent.

[richhermes]

Anyone on this board that IS politically correct will be forced to go shrimpboat spearfishing with webers. This trip will be on junior's boat and will occur at least eighty miles offshore.

[Steel Shootin']

What is the best brand of electric reel? The Gag Reflex comes with connections for reels, and we're thinking about it. Cranking up a Gag from 200 ft would get old after a little while.

[inletsurf]

electramate is the most common brand, with the XP or PRO series being the heaviest-duty. Whisenhunt or dolphin is another more expensive brand.

see some specs:
http://www.seamar.com/elm/specs.html

However, there are commercial sized reels out there that are even stronger. Some examples:
http://www.blueoceantackle.com/custom_sea_gear_bottom_fishing_reels.htm
You don't fight the fish with a rod on these, though.

I like the Electramate 620-XP, gives you plenty of torque with a 6/0 senator. Line all of it but the bottom 15-20 feet with 100 lb power pro, you'll feel your bait at 300 ft deep. The setup really works well to get the initial 15 feet or so on the grouper before they put you in the rocks. We mostly use them for deep stuff though.

For the shallow stuff we use 68" of spring steel and some rubber.

[johnhermes]

Well, what Scott is thinking of is the night fishing in the MG's. After a long day of diving, it sure would be nice to be able to "hit the switch" when you get the big one on.

[Steel Shootin']

I had heard that those electramates were pretty good. I'll have to keep my eye on eBay.

[201proguide]

i too saw that show on bay news 9. i didnt think that fish's blatters could inflate that much. from what it looked like, the fishes blatter was deflated alright, and it was floppin around on the deck like it was ok. from what was portrayed on the news special, it seems that the fish got back in the water ok, but who really cares if a 100+ pound jewfish got back in the water. eventually he will grow up to be a grouper vaccum, and lead to the downfall of offshore fishing/spearfishing. my $.02

[MarkD]

First of all I agree that hook and line fisherman do cause a much higher mortality rate for fish that shouldn't be kept. I know that when I fish in water over 60' I try to get a feel for the size of the fish early in the fight and only rush it to the top if it feels real big. That way it the fish have a chance to balance their air bladders on the way up and that makes it easier to release them without much damage.

Now the guy you referred to in that video was Tommy Butler, a.k.a. bad ass offshore fisherman. I feel confident that Tommy and his guys did the best they could do to give that big fish a fighting chance. Not every fisherman does the same and therein lies the problem.

[inletsurf]

Beware of the ebay stuff, Scott. Most electramates they sell there are way out-of-date. In fact, I sold an old 620-HS model for around 65% of its original retail price!!!! How, I don't know. I was wanting less than a 1/3 of the original price and the competetive bidding did the rest. The problem is that the older models are not supported by electramate anymore....they use newer and different parts. (I talked to the company engineer about this one, trying to "feel" out the worth of a drive unit on ebay...he shit when he heard how much they go for.) Furthermore, the older models use a different type of plastic casing which is very prone to cracking.

New ones are about $400 for a 6/0 XP model. The link from seamar I attached above has the best prices I've found yet for electramate, and they also supply commercial grade tackle as well. A new model gets you a pretty good warranty I hear, too.

[Steel Shootin']

Thanks, Inlet. That's good to know.

It's amazing how dumb some bidders on eBay are. A few years ago when I was golfing quite a bit, I listed some King Cobra clubs that I had used for a year. The high bid was what I had paid retail when they were new. They weren't even the current year's model of clubs. I've heard the same thing about spinning and conventional reels, so electric reels wouldn't surprise me.

[fizisition]

dont leave out precisions

[johnhermes]

Dive gear too, Ebay is a great place to dump old dive gear.

[f94gator]

Listen to John; he knows. Ebay has been berry, berry good to him...

[Ed Walker]

I landed a 350 pound jewfish off Big Pine Key this summer in 250 feet of water. Took an hour and a half on spinning tackle (65 lb super braid line). It was embolized pretty bad but after a couple pokes in the belly and about 15 minutes of squeezing the air out of the holes, it took off for the bottom. Bringing it aboard was not an option as I was by myself. This thing looked like it didnt have a chance when it finally popped up but it ended up looking remarkably healthy. I dont see Butler killing a fish like that for no reason and he knows what hes doing. My 2 cents. E

[fernandezh]

Ed,
You have far more experience in this than anybody I know. Somebody recently told me that poking holes into the bladder or into the belly of the fish and squeezing the air out helps. I am sure this procedure will alleviate the built up air inside the fish but can the fish continue to swim properly and survive in the long run with holes poked through its skin and internal organs?
If you say yes, then I will take your word for it as you are the Tampa Bay area subject matter expert when it comes to fishing (everybody I know says you are the best).


P.S. Pete Lavoie, Jeremy Logar, and John Nash are talking about painting your house pink unless you take them out fishing. Just to let you know.