Gaffing fish

[taggermike]

That Kage gaff looks interesting but The fact that you are hitting the fish fairly hard away from you might be a disadvantage. I can't say as I have never used one though. Just a thought. I noticed the original question was about deck hands. Those guys are usually very good with a gaff. That said those 15' gaffs a not super easy to use. Lots of anglers lift the fishes head out of the water making the gaff shot extreamly difficult. Also gaffing a fish while 5 other people are calling for the gaff sort of makes placement a secondary issue. It's not a great attitude but the deck hands are out every day gaffing fish. It might be your first or biggest fish but to them it's just one of hundred of fish they will gaff. The first party boat trip I ever worked was a day and a half tuna trip. We put 140 albis on the boat before noon. There were only 10 anglers on the trip and most of the time they were all hooked at once. My morning was help a guy, tie a knot, hook and hand, tie another knot, throw some chum, get 4 guys untangled in the corner, throw chum, sprint for the gaff, nail 3 albis in about 20 seconds, bleed fish, put fish in ice hold, repeat. I tried my best for head shots but after 50 or so fish I just didn't give an F. Sorry to ramble. If you're on a party but just ask the deck hand to aim for the head, they will usually comply. Mike