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Big Game Sport Fishing
from: Kyle BesserMost of the features of classic sport fishing were gradually developed in the 1920s and 1930s. Existing motor cruisers and commercial fishing vessels were adapted for fishing with outriggers, fighting chairs and other ancillaries such as bait boxes and flybridge helm stations. These boats were crude by modern standards.
The need for greater range and speed as anglers sought gamefish further and further offshore resulted in the development of bigger boats powered by larger engines, but the basic layout of a dedicated big game sport fishing boat has remained largely the same since the late 1940s. Through the 1930s and 1940s sportfishermen in Florida continued to innovate and refine big game sport fishing boats.
In 1946 the Rybovich yard launched the Miss Chevy II. This 34-footer crystallized all the innovations that had gone before into a design with features including a raised foredeck, flybridge controls and roomy cockpit that are still closely followed by today's leading big game sport fishing boats builders.
Electronics Technology
Electronics technology developed for commercial fishermen has become increasingly used by recreational anglers. Fishfinders, also known as bottom machines or echo sounders, are now commonly used for big game sport fishing. Other electronics used to narrow the search for big game sport fishing may include radar, forward or side scanning sonar, water temperature sensors and sea surface temperature imagery obtained from satellites.
Big Game Sport Fishing Techniques
Trolling - Fish are enticed by trolling fishing lures designed to resemble squid or other baitfish or baits behind the big game sport fishing boats. Multiple lines are often used. Outriggers were designed to spread the lines more widely.
Chumming/chunking - Chumming, or chunking, is the process of throwing pieces of bait fish overboard to attract larger game fish.
Fighting The Fish
Hooking a fish properly on a line is a somewhat tricky task as often initial nibbles only partly hook the fish. Once a fish is hooked, one of the fishermen attempts to reel it in. The captain assists by maneuvering the big game sport fishing boats so that the fish remains astern (behind the boat), while other members of the crew race to reel in the other lines to avoid tangling with the angler reeling in the fish.
Most of the time, the fishing line used for big game sport fishing has a breaking strain less than the maximum force the fish can apply to the line. The fishing reels therefore have sophisticated drag mechanisms which allow the line to escape if the fish pulls on it, but keep the specified tension on the line.
When hooked, most fish will circulate in different directions. When they are not pulling away from the big game sport fishing boats, the fisherman can take the opportunity to reel in some of the line. Eventually, if the fish tires and has not broken the line, they will be reeled in. The challenge does not end there.
Hauling a heavy, powerful, and still very much alive fish on board the big game sport fishing boats is also a considerable challenge. Strategies include gaffing, pulling it in with your hands, and if it is a smallish game fish, a net.
The fish can be fought with or without a big game sport fishing game chair. With a big game sport fishing game chair, the angler sits in a specially designed chair at the stern of the big game sport fishing boats and places the butt of the rod into a gimbaled mount. Most rods used in this manner are quite long.
The older and more classic models had straight rod butts. More contemporary models have bent rod butts which give a more convenient angle for fighting the fish when the rod is placed in the mount. "Stand up" big game fishing, without the assistance of a big game sport fishing chair and with the seat mount replaced by a harness, requires a good deal of strength and endurance, as well as body mass.
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