Manhandling marlin

It’s marlin mayhem again. I keep the socials fairly marlin free, as I don’t want an armada of boats getting in the way.

Even if others are posting, I find that the fire doesn’t need any more fuel.

My job is to boat fish for my boat, not encourage more competition.

And by the time this is published, it might well be all over for another year.

I am also going to again plead for the health of the fish. I am not going to go and jack someone’s social media post.

But I will comment here, as I have been given the privilege to scribe without any boundaries. And hopefully some will take note.

 

If you read my articles often, this may ring some bells, and yes, I am surprised some actually do read the articles!

While this is marlin specific, many concepts will be common for all fish that we might release.

Protocols such as fight the fish on the appropriate tackle, support their weight, keep them wet and off hot surfaces, and be 100 percent prepared with cameras and other miscellaneous tools.

I won’t go into too much depth as there is plenty of information out there.

But I hope to get others conscious of the correct practises and working towards being more proficient.

 

With marlin, I think the most important thing when recording the event is you must support their weight.

Fish spend their life in water and, the larger they are, the less resilient they are to being handled roughly.

If you want to take the fish out, lift it by supporting its whole body.

Do not drag a fish by its head or tail over the side of a vessel.

If you are not able to do so safely with the labour on hand, do not lift it out. I guarantee you the fish will suffer a spinal injury – they are not built to handle that type of load.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE!!!