Oct. 22 , 2004--Keep That Handline Handy!

	Heavy-duty handline: 300-pound test monofilament loaded on a sturdy wooden yo-yo, armed with a size 8/0 Mustad 7691S hook. In good hands, this rig can easily best large mahi mahi, tuna to 80 pounds or more, and other hefty predators.

Wendy and I intended to make The Cruiser's Handbook of Fishing a one-stop reference for cruising mariners aboard sailboats, power trawlers, and for just about anyone else with an interest in fishing. As such, we include a plethora of gear options and techniques. We emphasize, though, that for many situations, the most simple and inexpensive gear is in fact the best for the job. A case in point is the handline.

Handlines are exactly what the word says--a length of monofilament, preferably at least 20 yards, stowed on a spool called a "yo-yo". Yo-yo's come in plastic or wood. The strength of the line depends on the function of the handline, as little as 20-pound test for catching small midwater and bottom fish, up to 300 pounds for taking on big, strong reef fish and offshore predators like tuna and mahi mahi. Light trolling handlines might be 125 to 150 pound test. Obviously the heavier the line, the stronger, more direct connection you have with sometimes very powerful sea creatures, so never take a wrap of line around your hand, always simply bend the line across your palms, which should both be well protected by gloves. Pile the line neatly in front of you on deck as you bring the fish in, and do not shuffle your feet. If the fish runs hard, let line back out under tension, controlling the amount by how severely you are bending the line across your palms. When the fish slows or stops, gradually and steadily start pulling in and piling line again.

Wendy holds up a bohar snapper she caught in the anchorage at Majuro, Marshall Islands. She used 100-pound test line and a scrap of steak for bait when the school came up from the bottom to eat dumped leftovers. Bohar snappers (Lutjanus bohar) are frequently ciguatoxic throughout the Indo-Pacific and should generally not be consumed.

Wendy and I always keep at least one handline handy in the cockpit, while offshore and at anchor. Many situations arise when having this gear ready to go and close at hand makes the difference between having fresh fish for dinner versus something out of the freezer. For example, tuna and mahi mahi frequently swim with sailboats and other slow-moving vessels on offshore passages. Also, if you are hove-to offshore awaiting better light to make landfall, don't get moving until you look carefully around you or toss out a bait, because often such predators will have accumulated around the boat during the night. Perhaps your fridge is low on fish and you see a pallet, hawser, or log offshore--pulling up to the debris and chucking out a baited handline can result in a quick fish for dinner. And even if the flotsam holds nothing large, you might spot a delicious tripletail or any of several species of filefish and triggerfish, all of whom have lovely, firm white meat. The ticket here is a lighter handline, 20- or 30-pound test, light wire leader (#2 single strand stainless steel), and a small hook baited with a tiny piece of fish, squid, or anything you might have on hand.

Many times, desirable eating fish come swimming by boats in anchorages. Various members of the jack or trevally family attack baitfish hiding in the shadows of hulls. Groupers and snappers may lurk in the depths below. In cooler climes, species like rockfish and some varieties of cod inhabit harbor areas and may leap at the chance to engulf weighted handline baits fished near the bottom. This is simple fishing, anyone can do it. And let's say you've caught one or two, but not enough for the whole crew. Very frequently when you start processing those you've caught, the scraps and blood from the cleaning table attracts more fish to your transom--pitch out a scrap on that handy handline, and you're in business. That's how the yellowfin tuna made the cover of the new soft edition of The Cruiser's Handbook of Fishing, in addition to the fact that Wendy flopped down and free-gaffed the poor thing after the hook had dropped out. Wendy also landed some hefty bohar snappers in the Marshall Islands that came around feeding on boat scraps, but this is one of the most frequently ciguatoxic reef species in the Indo-Pacific, so we took a photo and let them go.