That fish was 9 foot inches and yes we decided that is was best to let him live!
Ballyhoo with birds
retarded. Simply pointless
Williams Brice crushes dreams
-GO GAMECOCKS!!!
Nice catch. Good on ya, ignore the rest of the boys running their mouths. They fish with a key board… Billfish will never hit a key board
quote:
Originally posted by RWLI don’t know. The many years that ChasFish.com has been on the web showing these ridiculous pics haven’t seem to hurt them here in SC. I seem to hear more stories of billfish being caught now than ever before here. The sailfish have been decemated because of the pics!! Wait a minute, people are catching multiple sails in a day now for some reason. I never saw that years ago. We are even catching them king fishing at the Shady and closer! It looks like it was legal length, he could have kept it and killed it, but he didn’t! These discussions are getting as old and worn out as the ever sacred Redfish in the inshore forum!
I believe the issue here is that the fish wasn’t kept and killed, because according to HMS rules section 635.21, it is illegal to boat a billfish that is not being harvested. In addition, all harvests must be reported. I am not saying the law is right or wrong, it is simply the law…
Personally, I don’t care what folks do on their own boats for the most part, but when they break laws and post it on the internet, it gives all fishermen a bad name. And if you don’t think it is an enforcable violation, look at what happened down in Florida with Jewfish and Tarpon.
They are watching.
.
In a small effort to turn this positive… Could some of you more experienced guys give some tips on how a billfish should be handled.
I remember my first sail; was just me and one other inexperienced partner on the boat and didn’t even know we had the chance of catching one. Up to that point I had only seen a gaff stuck in offshore fish. I’m sure it seems silly to many of you, but I can remember being worried about if it was okay to grab the bill, should I just cut the line and leave the hook, how can I get this thing to stop thrashing… and so on.
I am certainly no expert in billfish and have only handled small sails… but it sounds like many of you have handled a few and could offer a lot of knowledge to those of us that might get lucky enough to hook up on a big bill someday.
If there is another post on this, I apologize in advance for not noticing.
I don’t see the harm in taking a quick pic of one in the boat, as long as its done in a timely fashion. And that’s to any fish regardless of size or breed IMO
Bunch of you folks have been more than pulled in through the transom door yourselves here…
www.scmarine.org
www.joinrfa.com
Luke 8:22-25
30+ is my bet. Either way, there is always someone who is gonna pull the fish out of the water, there is a special place in the world for those that don’t protect or follow the rules.
quote:
Originally posted by Bluewaterbeauxquote:
Originally posted by RWLI don’t know. The many years that ChasFish.com has been on the web showing these ridiculous pics haven’t seem to hurt them here in SC. I seem to hear more stories of billfish being caught now than ever before here. The sailfish have been decemated because of the pics!! Wait a minute, people are catching multiple sails in a day now for some reason. I never saw that years ago. We are even catching them king fishing at the Shady and closer! It looks like it was legal length, he could have kept it and killed it, but he didn’t! These discussions are getting as old and worn out as the ever sacred Redfish in the inshore forum!
I believe the issue here is that the fish wasn’t kept and killed, because according to HMS rules section 635.21, it is illegal to boat a billfish that is not being harvested. In addition, all harvests must be reported. I am not saying the law is right or wrong, it is simply the law…
Personally, I don’t care what folks do on their own boats for the most part, but when they break laws and post it on the internet, it gives all fishermen a bad name. And if you don’t think it is an enforcable violation, look at what happened down in Florida with Jewfish and Tarpon.
They are watching.
.
I was being sarcastic and what you said in bold is exactly how I feel. The jumping on people like “you are holier than thou” act is geetting old. By now, most know all of teh laws regarding taking
I don’t really care Phin. If all someone has to do in life is troll on a forum and stir trouble then the joke will be on him in life!
In Hawaii, you ask the Captain nicely if you may release the billfish…it goes for 1.25-1.75 a pound at the auction and provides a few families food for a month. Must be a socio-economic thing…
Thanks Big Tuna that would be helpful
Thanks Big Tuna that would be helpful !!!
See the link below for the catch and release information from NOAA
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/Compliance_Guide/Careful_release_brochure.pdf
Thanks for the info Bunky. I have never heard of a “snooter” but it looks like it could be a useful tool to have. Anyone ever used one?
I would still love to hear to some tips from you other pros if you get time. For instance, in my limited experience with sails… bringing them to the boat quickly with heavier tackle (as this brochure suggests) usually results in the fish still being quite lively. When they are in this state, they thrash around crazily with apparent disregard to their surroundings. This seems harmful to the fish as I have had them hit the boat pretty hard and even heard of broken bills in this manner. So is this best practice or should we let the fish tire out a bit so that it can be safely unhooked and revived?
I caught my first sail on a TLd 15 took forever almost an hour . Luckly it was worn out after about 20 runs of 200 yards or better each time . I was sh!%ing and thought what the Hell do I do with this thing but my father in law who has done this several times took over in the release .just saying everyone has to learn some how . Nice fish bro you’ll never forget it
grab the gaff and another cold beer
Bluewaterbeaux is right. Right or wrong, go to SCDNR or Fed NMFS website for regs. They say “Federal Highly Migratory Species Permit required to fish for these species. All billfish to be released may not be removed from the water. All recreationally caught Atlantic billfish landed must be reported to NMFS within 24 hours of landing at the dock. Anglers can report by calling 1-800-894-5528 or by visiting https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/. Recreationally caught billfish may not be sold.” FYI: You caught a Legal size to keep fish but you relesed. Glad you did that.
2180 Ranger Bay, 225 OptiMax
Congrats on the Blue Marlin! Catching a fish like that is what some of us dream about. I’m sure you have now realized your mistake and I hope many of us have learned from it. Some pretty harsh language being used on this forum. Would remind you guys that some of our children may read these post. Using the “GD” word or it’s initials is way worse than breaking mans laws!