Ski-Boat — May-June 2017

SKI-BOAT May/June 2017 • 33

By Daryl Bartho

N

OTHING frustrates me more than seeing

anglers not looking after their catch. Our

grandfather always taught us that it wasn’t

only a privilege, but also an obligation to

look after whatever we harvested from the ocean.

GAFFING

The first step in looking after your catch is gaffing it

properly. When it comes to gaffing your tuna don’t

rush it — unless of course there is a 400kg Zambie

on its tail.

Generally tuna are quite predictable once they

have pin-wheeled and are within gaffing range.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule — see-

ing your Mustad 1/0 hanging on by a thread being

one of them.

We always try gaffing the fish just behind the

eyes and from above. This area of the fish seems to

have the best purchase for the gaff hook and leaves

you with no meat damage. Ensure that the person

on the gaff puts the gaff behind the leader, as a

miss-gaff can result in the leader tangling with the

gaff and leave you on the boat watching your prize

fish sinking off into the depths.

The other positive about gaffing the fish just

behind the eye is that you now have better control

of the fish; the thrashing tail normally helps the

tuna propel itself up and over the gunnel.

We quickly pacify the fish once it’s on the deck

by giving it a couple of sharp blows above the

eyes with the shillelagh. Once you have done

this it is easy and safe to remove the popper or

hook from its mouth or throat.

ICE, ICE, BABY

The sooner you get your fish on ice the bet-

ter it’s going to taste. In summer the tem-

perature can reach more than 40°C and

fish lying in hatches with no ice for even

an hour can start to turn.

After doing a few trips to

north-west Australia with

our mates we soon

realised how much

more effort the

guys over there put into preserving

their catch. Each trip to fish in Oz

saw us buying a couple hundred

kilos of solid and flake ice for the

trip. Granted, this ice was also

used to chill the beers, but the

culture of caring for your catch

was hugely evident. We never

launch without ample ice in

which to store our fresh fish.

We are passionate about

preparing good quality fish

for the table and this starts

with how you look after

BACK TO BASICS

IN DA BAG

Getting the best out of your catch

A correctly gaffed yellowfin tuna.