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The fish takes out line, the angler restores some, and the fight continues. With species like wahoo and yellowtail tuna– captured using lures– the line had to be farther from the boat to avoid startling fish.
“The strike of these fish is so effective, it exposed every weak point in the fishing equipment,” he states.
The rope used in a hand line helps bring a fish to boat quite quickly.” I knew we might tag a lot more fish if we might target them outside the reef,” Pollock says.
Im on Palmyra Atoll, a remote island 1,000 miles south of Hawaii, taking part in a Fishing for Science journey. (For more information on this program, see my previous feature). Were tagging bluefin and giant trevally, and by conditions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit, only hook-and-line methods are permitted.
On Palmyras lagoons, we utilize rod-and-reel setups familiar to any sport fisher. We troll, cast lures and fly fish. However the reef surrounding Palmyra provides an unique set of challenges. Its here where the hand line can be found in. Hand lines bypass the rod and reel: they typically include the line and a hook. This technique is used by subsistence fishers all over the world. Visit any fishing pier along the coast and youll see someone with fishing line connected around a stick or a Coke bottle.
On Palmyra, we use hand lines on steroids. Its a method developed by Kydd Pollock. And it has its origin not in fishing for science, but in fishing for dinner.
Author with giant trevally caught by hand lining. The fish was tagged and launched. © Kydd Pollock/ TNC
The Shark Challenge
Palmyra Atoll has no irreversible occupants, however it is house to a reputable research station. This is the base for going to scientists in addition to seasonal personnel from The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This means enough food should be carried to the island from Hawaii, and often only arrives when a month.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the company that administers Palmyra, enables a stringent quota of three fish (wahoo or yellowfin tuna) to be gathered weekly as food for the research station staff and visitors. This is a welcome source of protein and delicious, well balanced meals.
Wahoo and tuna are found offshore in the pelagic environment and near the reef drop-off. They are understood for being hard-fighting fish. Pollock, who grew up on a sport charter boat, is a specialist in catching these species. But not long after he started the nourishment fishing, he dealt with an obstacle.
Sharks. Great deals of sharks.
Sharks are abundant at Palmyra Atoll, the sign of a healthy community. © Kydd Pollock/ TNC
” The ecosystem is so healthy at Palmyra that there is an abundance of predators, consisting of gray reef sharks,” says Pollock. “Thats what makes it such a special location. I knew how to catch tuna and wahoo, but I rapidly discovered it was almost impossible with numerous sharks.”
With a rod-and-reel, the fishs battle can last a while. The fish takes out line, the angler gains back some, and the battle continues. The abundant sharks quickly keyed in on the struggling fish.
” You just could not get them in quick enough,” states Pollock. “There was no other way. I quit the rod-and-reel tries very quickly.”
He had considerable experience with a form of hand line: He tagged more than 2,500 sharks at Palmyra using the technique. With types like wahoo and yellowtail tuna– caught using lures– the line had to be farther from the boat to avoid spooking fish.
Pollock got to work on developing a better hand line. And quickly found that this method needed lots of refinement. “The strike of these fish is so powerful, it revealed every weak point in the fishing equipment,” he states.
A FFS angler drawing in a GT on a handline, gloves on and in fight mode. © Kydd Pollock/ TNC
Constructing a Better Line
The rope utilized in a hand line assists bring a fish to boat quite rapidly. Because a rope doesnt have the offer of a fishing rod and light line, thats. The lack of versatility is likewise a liability, as any recreational angler will acknowledge.
If it didnt bend, the strike and battle of a fish would break it. Or break the line. That flexibility, however, is what provides a fish a “sporting possibility” at getting away.
The hand line was developed to lower battle time. Pollock saw take on stop working. Swivels broke.
” I was utilizing 600-pound mono for the leader, and it was breaking at the swivel,” he states.
Handlines secured to the research study vessel cleat all set to fish. © Kydd Pollock/ TNC
To resolve this, he set up a bungee cable between the rope and leader. This absorbed the shock of a smashing fish bite, without compromising the ability to draw in a fish quickly. He upgraded to the greatest ball bearing swivels and big-game trolling hooks available.
Now he just needed lures that stand up to the punishment. And one night in the Palmyra upkeep shed he struck upon an idea: screwdrivers.
” I required something that would capture a fish and that was available to me,” he states. One of these improvised lures captured 40 or 50 wahoo.”
Old screw drivers are customized into reliable hand-line fishing lures. © Kydd Pollock/ TNC
Hand Lining For Science
The hand lines worked well for sustenance fishing. There was a big fish population on the outer reefs.
” I understood we could tag a lot more fish if we could target them outside the reef,” Pollock says. And you need to get it away from sharks.”
Another shot of the yellowfin tuna, screwdriver lure and handline system. © Kydd Pollock/ TNC
The hand lines proved similarly effective for trevally, as did the lures. “Trevally actually arent particular about what they bite,” Pollock states. “There are a great deal of hungry mouths around Palmyra. When there is victim readily available, the fish cant dilly dally. They strike quickly.”
This was proven throughout our time on Palmyra. We typically fit hand lining in when we had other responsibilities, like recovering drifting industrial fishing equipment (see previous story) or releasing undersea cams. While hand lining with a rope is not the like angling, it is nonetheless filled with excitement and very effective.
On the bigger offshore research vessel, Palmyra personnel and interns might join us for a day of hand lining, a great opportunity to vary the routine, have some experience on the seas and contribute to the scientific program.
Palmyra preserve manager Kay Lynn Hernandez with a bluefin trevally caught hand lining. Protect staff occasionally signed up with research teams to help in tagging and catching fish. © Kydd Pollock/ TNC
In the beginning, many take a look at the rope gizmo and all of it looks extremely made complex. That was my first reaction. And to be sure, pulling in the rope, while the boat rocks with waves, takes a bit of coordination that triggered my clumsy self to fumble and stumble.
After a couple of tries, the telltale eruption from a fish on the lure brought calls of enjoyment from the team, and the fish was rapidly aboard, securely tagged and released.
” These hand lines came about due to creation borne of necessity,” says Pollock. “Working in the remote environment of Palmyra often needs you innovate on the area. This started as a method to get fresh food for dinner. Today it allows us to tag hundreds more fish for research study.”
Imagine yank of war. With fish. On a boat in rocking waves.
To the inexperienced, it doesnt look like it will work. A minimum of, not at initially.
You begin by letting coils of rope present the back of the boat. Its a great deal of rope, quickly unwinding into the blue. At the end of the rope is a bungee cable, to which is attached basic (if super-sized) fishing equipment: swivel, monofilament leader, lure.
By the time the entire contraption is out there, you can make out the lure occasionally skittering throughout the surface area.
How will you understand when a fish is on?
” Youll understand,” says Kydd Pollock, fisheries science supervisor for The Nature Conservancy and research study leader for the Fishing for Science program at Palmyra Atoll.
Within minutes, theres the rope and a boil goes tight. You raise up on the rope and feel the heavy, pulling weight of a fish.
You begin to pull, fully taken part in the tug of war. What once seemed hard now appears much less so. The fish tires against the rope. You pull it up alongside the boat, and your colleagues are by the side, all set to tag the fish for science.
Handlines protected to the research vessel cleat ready to fish. © Kydd Pollock/ TNC
How Scientists Fish
In streams and rivers, electrofishing– sending out electric currents through the water to temporarily stun fish– is typical. In some cases, the “hook and line” preferred by leisure anglers likewise works well for research purposes.