Hours of preparation, waking up before dawn, traveling miles, fishing all day, getting the bite and fighting the fish, everything comes down to this moment. My best friend is hooked up to a trophy fish, rod bent double. I’m poised with the net, feet planted, knees pressed against the gunwale, death grip on the handle, hoop in the water, totally focused on my objective. The fish surfaces. The pressure is on!
Say what you want about the experience, fishing comes down to catching, and catching depends on the end game. Losing a fish is bad, but fumbling your buddy’s personal best is unforgivable. The right fish-landing gear is the difference between zero and hero.
Catch and Release
“Respect the fish,” says Capt. Eric Newman, of Journey South Outfitters. Nets, grippers and dehookers give fish the best chance of surviving release. A good gaff facilitates a quick and efficient trip to the icebox.
Newman recently worked with AFTCO to develop the new Fixed-Head Dehooker: an S-shaped metal hook mounted on an AFTCO gold anodized gaff handle. “I can use the hook to push or pull a hook out of a fish’s mouth,” Newman explains. He uses the 17-inch model to dehook sabiki rigs or push the hook out of a fish’s gills or throat. “A dehooker is essential for dealing with treble hooks,” he adds.
A dehooker isn’t only safer for the fish, it’s better for the fisherman. When Newman has an angry shark on the end of his line, he uses the Long-Handle Dehooker to keep his fingers out of the danger zone. “Without taking the fish out of the water, one person holds the fishing line and another person uses the dehooker to pop out the hook,” he says.
Scoop ’Em Up
With changes to cobia regulations, Newman traded a gaff for a landing net when targeting brown bombers. “A 36-inch cobia is hard to eyeball,” he says. To improve post-release survival, Newman uses AFTCO’s new Titan landing net with a deep net and knotless, latex-infused mesh. “The smooth mesh protects the fish’s slime coat and prevents my hooks from getting snagged in the net,” he says.
The weakest point on any net is the yoke, where the hoop connects to the handle. “Using the handle like a lever to lift a fish out of the water will break the yoke,” Newman says. Once he has the fish in the net, he holds the handle vertically to close the mouth of the net and lift the fish from the water.
Big fish require a large net, and small boats don’t have space to spare. A net with a collapsible handle solves the problem, but EGO’s S2 Slider system takes it to the next level. In addition to more than 30 net options, the S2 Slider handle is compatible with a scrub brush, boat hook, mop head and lure retriever.
Sean Lawless of The Lawless Tide YouTube channel values the versatility of a net he can use on his boat, kayak or from shore. “By changing the handles and hoops, I use the same net components for different jobs,” he says.
Lawless uses the 18-inch telescoping handle in his kayak and the 48-inch handle on his boat. “To store the net on my boat, I separate the hoop and handle to fit them in the console,” he says. At the end of the day, Lawless switches out the net for a scrub brush to clean the boat.
When he’s fishing on his kayak, Lawless keeps the net in a rod holder. “When I’m ready to land a fish, I push a button on the handle and use my foot to extend the net,” he explains.
Hook or Grab ’Em
When the catch is coming to dinner, a gaff is the quickest and deadliest way to deck a fish. Capt. Newman is excited about AFTCO’s new Whip Gaff. “It’s great for gaffing fish from the bow of a big center console,” he says. The 8-foot-long carbon fiber handle only weighs 1 pound, allowing Newman to reach out and strike a king mackerel or dolphin with the 4-inch, stainless-steel hook.
To land a fish in a kayak or handle a fish on deck, Lawless uses EGO’s Vice Grip fish gripper, part of EGO’s new FireSteel fishing tool kit. “If the fish isn’t big enough to require my net, I position the fish next to my kayak and reach down and clamp the gripper on its jaw,” Lawless says. The plastic gripper jaws don’t injure fish. Squeezing the handle locks the jaws, so Lawless can resuscitate his catch before release.
Read Next: Fish-Friendly Landing Nets
When it comes to bragging rights, a photo is worth a thousand words, but Bubba’s new Pro Series Smart Scale provides irrefutable evidence of a trophy catch. The rechargeable, water-resistant digital scale records fish weights and total bag weight in three modes. Connect the scale to a smartphone app to log catch data and compete against friends. To hang the fish from the scale, the Pro Series uses a plastic clip that is kinder to the fish’s jaw and gills.
Capt. Newman says his favorite new fish landing tools are his fishing gloves. “My dermatologist took one look at my hands and recommended I wear gloves on the water,” he says. Newman experimented with thin sun gloves and heavier fishing gloves and settled on AFTCO Release gloves for all-day fishing. “Not only do they protect my hands from the sun, but they help me handle fish,” he says. The gloves offer grip on a slimy fish and protect his hands from spines and teeth. “I don’t get line cuts on my hands anymore,” Newman says.
