[Makoman16]

TOURNAMENT GAFF SHOT

Ok guys ~ this one almost created a controversy during a tournament last summer. We had a nice 6-foot mako at the boat by 8:30 am during a tournament. I begged the gaff-man to hit him "in the meat" by the dorsal fin so that we would not lose any "blood weight" since we would not be weighing the fish in until 5 pm.

WELL ~ after several "love taps" to piss the fish off ~ he stuck him in the GILLS!! It bled worse that a slaughtered pig!

The fish weighed in at 132.5. I guestimated it should have gone 150-155.

Does anyony else agree with me that significant blood loss occurred or am I being too picky with my theories?

(This post edited by Makoman16 on 03/01/2003)

 

[maestro]

the blood loss may have been a gallon if your lucky because it has low surface tension,when you fill a cup of water you can fill it above the rim but not with blood so spreads out further and looks worse than it actually is

 

[MakoMatt]

Makoman16, I believe your "guesstimate" was incorrect if the fish weighed in at 132, he would not loose that much weight from blood loss.

MakoMatt

 

[Fishing Friend]

Most weight was lost because of dehydration. As sportsman, the right thing to do is to kill the fish as quickly as possible. Even with the bloodthirsty mako. Gill shot will take the wind out of him. Just my opinion as I'm not an "absolute moralist". I bleed my tuna which is not the quickest way to kill them. But I do so because it's a must.

(This post edited by Fishing Friend on 03/01/2003)

 

[Makoman16]

Understandable.....

A good gill shot ~ or bleding a tuna ~ is understandable.

But during a tournament ~ I make changes to improve my chances of winning. M first change is a gaff shot into the "meat" and to "plug that hole" as soon as the fish is secured.

 

[captainlarry84]

Keep it simple

I good gaff shot is the one that holds. I think that a the moment of kill the gaff man has the final say. To answer your question you did not lost because of blood lose, and the gaff man did a great job, you got the fish. This chat will develop it a great one because this is the moment of truth.

 

[621146]

Nice photo

How big was that fish Larry?

 

[Ballyhoooo]

try plugging gaff holes with foam ear plugs,they expand to fit... every ounce counts in tourneys..

 

[Makoman16]

Pluggin' holes....

I agree every ounce counts in tourny fishing. We came in at 132.5 ~ and hung on to 3rd place. There were 10 fish between 124.5 & 131.0

My concern was with the gaff shot being in the gills ~ we lost some blood weight. It looked like a slaughterhouse!

But ~ it seems from the comments here ~ we didn't lose as much as we thought.

Thank god the 2nd place fish was 175.5 ~ so we had no chance of catching him. But what if the second place fish was 140, with a clean gaff shot in the meat behind the dorsal?

I suspect we would have beaten him......

(This post edited by Makoman16 on 03/02/2003)

 

[Capthookem]

Tournament or not.....

IMHO, you should stick a mako behind the dorsal anyway. That is, if you get that shot. If you don't, sometimes you have to take what is presented. They are much easier to handle if you hit them behind the dorsal. Threshers, well that's another story....

Capt. H

 

[captainlarry84]

Combat Shooting

IMHO, gaffing big makos is like combat shooting. You aim for center mass and if your a little off you still have a shot that holds. This is a gaff shot on Captainhookems 530 fish. I stept off the wheel and gaffed the fish. The first gaff in was right on target, Center Mass. Based on the size of the fish, the second gaff went in just for insurance. If you notice we like to tow them a little by the gaff lines. It really slows them down.