Fishing for your dinner
from your sailboat

• Hand line with shock cord.
  Simple, cheap, easy to store, but line and hook must be heavy and thus visible to fish, and can catch only smaller fish.
• Rail-mounted reel.
  Penn Senator 12/0 with 200-pound monofilament.
• Stand-up harness and rod (50-pound).
• Wire line, short rod with swivel tip, reel.
  Penn Senator 9/0 with 100-pound Monel wire.

... look for short stout rods with black carbon guides, on the rod it will state the pound class it is, go for 50 to 80 class about $60 to $100 then get a Penn 6/0 only the red body for about $100. This setup will last for years with abuse ...

Regardless of where you are located, there are several ways to fish. If you have absolutely no interest in giving the fish an even chance and want food on the table, it's hard to beat a trolling line with an artificial lure. Use a heavy cord or high-test line (greater than 50# test), attached to the boat with a heavy rubber bungee cord, to absorb the shock of a heavy hit. A trip to a fishing tackle store will provide you with lures for local fish. Another route is to purchase a bag of large double-hooks (make a fist, curl the index and middle finger, to understand what I am describing). Ask the tackle shop to sell you some feathers, then ask them to show you how to make a serviceable jig. Try different colors for different times of the day. When the fish hits, refrain from hauling it in immediately. Let it drown while being towed behind the boat. It's not sporting, but it eliminates a lot of equipment (that follows in the next description).

The next kind of fishing uses rods and reels. If you want to catch fish that swim offshore (tuna, dorado, yellowtail, white seabass, etc), purchase a medium duty rod and reel. West Marine's catalog can be used as a guide. Or buy used gear. Talk to the tackleshop folks about the correct test line for your gear. Add to this a greater variety of lures (plastic jigs, more feathers, Rapala lures, etc). Install a rod holder to your stern pulpit. Let the lure into the water, let it stream aft until it's about two boat lengths astern, set the drag (the friendly tackleshop guy will show you how), and place the rod in the holder. WHAM!!! BZZZZZZZZZZ! Something hits the lure. Immediately turn the boat onto the other tack WITHOUT LETTING THE SHEET GO. The boat is now hove-to, the motion is calm, and you can focus on bringing in the fish. The tackleshop folks will show you how to "pump" the fish in, maximizing your mechanical advantage. Let the fish pull against the drag to tire it out. You DON'T want to bring an untired fish aboard the boat. When alongside, DON'T lift it out directly, you might lose the fish after all that work. Use a gaff hook (another opportunity to buy additional gear) to bring the fish to the boat. Before boating it, use a sharp knife to cut beneath the gills to allow the fish to bleed overboard. When it is drained of blood and no longer convulsing, immediately place it on ice to preserve the fresh quality of the fish. NEVER let it sit out in the sun.

Another form of popular fishing uses different equipment. Bottom fishing seeks rock cod and other deep-dwelling bottom fish. Here, you locate a deep (200' or so) reef on the charts, rig up a bottom-fishing rod and reel (BIG storage of heavy line, large cranking handle) with multiple hooks and a heavy weight (1-2#). Bait it with squid or fish pieces. Drop all sails and drift over the area. Drop the hooks and sinker to the bottom (you'll feel it hit), then raise it up a couple feet. When you feel something hit, tug upwards quickly and enthusiastically. Let the hooks remain there to allow more fish to take the additional bait. After you get bored or saturated with fish hits, begin cranking up the catch. At some point, you will feel the weight disappear. This means that the swim bladders of the fish have expanded and the fish are on their way to the surface like balloons.

A fourth form of fishing is with very light tackle, using bait or lures. You can use this for catching bass near shallow rocks, around floating weed, or over sand flats. You might even hook up to something big. Ask the tackleshop guru what to do in this case.

I keep a large salt water conventional reel mounted to the cockpit pulpit. You must get the type of reel that has a base that wraps around the pole and is mounted on the pole with two bolts. Instead of a rod you mount the reel directly to the ss tubing. I always troll with a weighted jig because it does not tend to spin and twist the line. When not in use I keep a winch cover snugged over the reel to keep damaging sunlight off the line. I troll with the drag loose and tighten it up when a fish is on. Reel the fish in and swing it over by hand when it's close. ...

I troll in the Gulf Stream using a short heavy pole, called a 'kite' rod (because they're used to fly kites to get the bait up and out) and an old garcia mitchell salt water reel with a couple hundred yards of 40 lb line. Lure is nearly always just a plastic squid or a feather, but a fishing/sailing buddy sometimes uses a large stainless spoon. You can use live bait but then I think you become more of a 'fisherman' than a 'sailor'.

You can use a short length of pvc pipe clamped to the stern rail to hold the butt end of the rod in place. Use a steel leader between the line and the lure. Let it out a couple of boat lengths and troll at any speed over about four knots.

So far I've caught dolphin, barracuda, tuna, and african pompano. All that without really trying.

[Re: catching grouper:]

We trolled at 5-6 knots over the reef in 30 feet of water with two lines out 300'. The reels had wire on them with a strong monofilament leader. The lure was a 6" feather with a 10" strip of bait on double hooks. The weight of the wire and a weight on the end of the wire put the lure about 10 feet below the surface. The rods were very stiff and never left the rod holders.

When we'd get a hit, we didn't slow the boat, just reeled in the fish. This made it more work, but was necessary to keep the groupers from diving down in to the reef.

In two hours we caught two 15-20 lb groupers and about four barracudas. One of the smaller barracudas was used to make more bait. ...

I've been experimenting lately with deeper-running lures, and they seem to be a lot more productive than surface lures. Instead of using wire line for weight, which requires special care and handling, I rigged one rod with nylon braid line with a lead core. It's color coded every few feet, so you can tell exactly how much you have out. The line comes with specs for how far down it will go for each foot of line that you have out. It goes pretty deep with a short bit of line out. And I was able to put it on a regular rod and reel that used to have mono on it. It's available at a lot of serious fishing shops and also through the fishing equipment catalog companies.

• 100-pound-test line to a winch.
• Several large hooks.
• Brightly colored plastic for a lure.
• Large washers for sinkers.
  (Adjust to keep hooks below surface, to avoid hooking seabirds.)
• A bell on the line to signal a strike.

A Cuban reel is nothing more than a plastic reel about 4" round with no other parts. A beer can will work just as well. Wrap it with 100 lb test and stick a lure out as you troll. Wrap the line backwards around a winch a few times so it clicks when you get a hit. Rods just get in the way, unless you're running a charter fishing boat.

First, and important to how cooperative the catch is to coming aboard, is tiring him out. Avoid getting too excited and reeling a large fish in too fast. If there are sharks around you may have to decide against that, but under normal circumstances, using as light a rod/reel combination as possible and letting him wear himself out will help immensely in the gaffing process. A good hook set is also important and that is a function of your bait preparation, trolling speed, and drag set. I keep my drags set as lightly as possible when trolling so that a fish will try to swallow the bait before he feels any resistance. If he jumps a lot after hook-up, it is very important to keep tension on the line and rod up. He will throw the hook if he gets any slack. Adjust your drags so that when he decides to make a run, he can take some line off without breaking it. Then after he slows a bit, start turning him around and work him toward the boat. If he is really big and doesn't seem to want to stop, you may have to follow him with the boat for a bit. Just make sure the driver can keep the line in sight. That's when you are having the most fun anyway and a good fight is more memorable than a quick heavy tackle catch. I prefer lever drag reels for this technique because you can quickly change the drag resistance.

Once he is alongside, try not to bump him into the hull. That will spook him and that is where most are lost due to line breaks. Here, a low freeboard boat is preferable for larger fish. You have surely noticed that the big sportfishers don't have high freeboard in the stern area around the fishing cockpit. That is so you can lean over and with one clean jerk, gaff him and pull him over the side and directly to the box. A transom door is nice, but I rarely use mine because it just takes additional effort to steer a fish to it. If a fish is large enough to need the transom door, chances are he is a tag and release variety that you don't want to handle anyway. I don't think you are going to encounter any large bluefin tuna in the Gulf, so the rest you can handle over the side. I try to avoid bringing fish up to the stern to lessen the chance of a running gear foul.

I carry two gaffs: a long handle one and a short handle one. Most everything including dolphin, wahoo, and tuna I pull in with the short handle gaff. It takes practice and you are going to lose a few in the process. Try to slip the gaff under him in the head area and quickly jerk up and with a single effort drive the point in and pull him inside the boat. Once that point touches him, he's going to take off, so being quick and smooth is important. If you can nail him in the head area, just behind the gills, you will have the most leverage for pulling him aboard. The farther back you get him, the more the advantage goes to him and he can thrash right off. If you hit him with the gaff and miss and he takes off, let out line quickly and start over. If you don't lose him right away, chances are you can still get him because he will be tired. If you have a dolphin on and there are others around, it is common practice to leave one that is hooked up in the water. The others will usually stay around and bite anything that you can cast at them.

I have seen people loop a line from the handle of a gaff around their wrist. I don't advocate that because you never know when you are going to lose your balance and fall over trying to gaff a fish, particularly if the seas are rough. Then you don't want to be attached to him if that happens. It's better to lose a gaff.

Sharks are another matter. I don't know why you would want to gaff one. I don't bring them aboard. I cut the line and hope they go away. Folks who used to target sharks usually have a rope on their gaffs tied to a fixture on the boat.

It's good practice to spool your reels with fresh line every couple of years if you fish frequently. The pros say change it every season. Large fish will stress mono and reduce its elasticity, which is important for hard hitting and energetic fish. Sharp hooks are necessary also because you want the fish to hook himself and a sharp hook will set and reduce the possibility of him throwing it.

This is all pretty basic stuff and success just comes with experience. The best approach is not to get too excited by a big fish and go through the process too quickly.

Hand line, drag them till they're dead, never bring a live fish onboard. It is the coward's way, but it beats cleaning fish guts and blood out of the cushions, your hair, deck, ears, bimini top, etc. Also it is amazing how much damage can be done to the fiberglass when someone tries to beat a fish to death with a boat hook, weight belt, winch handle or some other implement of destruction.

Did the circumnavigate the Atlantic in 1998 -1999. ... in the Azores I managed to catch a lot of sardines for dinner from the rocky shores and breakwaters. If you've never had them their great fresh. Didn't catch anything on the northern crossing but when I came back west caught a lot of Dorado, King fish and a couple of tuna.

Found out that I used the smallest lures I had, and managed to catch fish about 18 - 28 inches long. Anything bigger and I would have been in trouble. Forgot to buy a gaff, next time I will have one. Also found the best time for me to fish was between 3 and 5 in the afternoon. Used a hand line attached to winch and a bungee cord. When the fish took the lure, winch started turning and caught my attention. Great if you're napping. After the first week I always had fish in my refrig.

We plan on (and do) eating fish fairly often when we are on passages. We troll one or two lines, about 1/4" nylon cord with 10-15 feet of metal or monofilament leader (depends on the type of fish in the area). We use relatively large surface plugs with plastic skirts. Each nylon cord has a large shock cord built in to the boat-side to take up the initial strike. We also tie a beer can with a couple of washers onto the shock cord so we are alerted when we get strikes. We keep a pair of leather gloves near the stern. Fish are simply dragged up the wake (usually skimming the surface) and then either hoisted onto the stern or gaffed. We only use our rods and reels when fishing from the dinghy. Fishing is highly variable, sometimes we stop due to oversupply, other times we go for weeks without a strike. We mostly catch large fish, have sashimi, cooked fish and freeze or can the rest.

Re: Fishing Gear for Sailboat Trolling:

Depends on how much gear you want to haul around and what kind/size fish you want to catch. Since we must fly to our boat at the present time, we don't want to pack a lot of fishing gear. So we bought a little fishing kit that was advertised in Latitudes and Attitudes for about $50. It fits into a FedEx envelope so takes no room in packing.

It is a shock cord that we attach to the stern rail. Use about 100 yards of line and a tandem 2-lure arrangement. First lure is a large brownish glob that skips along the water surface, and the second lure hangs down about 3 feet and chases the brown one. The ad said "throw the line in the water and light the grill." We thought that was a little arrogant, but the first time we used it we were clipping along at 8+ kts and caught a 10-12 lb tuna within 15 minutes. That is small for tuna, but perfect size for the two of us without too much waste.

Would obviously not work for larger fish.

A couple of 100-foot hanks of nylon clothesline, 25 feet of steel leader, a 10-pound downrigger, and some surgical tubing along with a couple of large trolling lures.

Trail the above behind boat.

When fish hits, continue to sail for about an hour while you drown fish, then haul in.

Bring on board with gaff.

Keep baseball bat handy to finish job in case fish is not dead.

This is not about sport, it is about food.

We are in Australia ... The fishing has been GREAT ever since we went to multiple lures with some surface action. Six might be a lot for some people but we run at least three (one teaser) even in our laziest mode! The best trolling rig has been 200-250 lb mono of at least 10 feet for a leader if the tuna are being picky (they have the best eyesight and will often pass up heavy leaders). Otherwise I run 400 lb leader on hand lines. I use a stainless thimble located right behind the skirted lures head (with a simple triangle rigging bead in front). Then I run single stainless hooks on stainless leader attached with a small stainless shackle to the thimble. It makes it easier to keep a small number of hooksets sharp and ready to go with the various lures. Once the single hooks are used up I cut them off and replace the single hooks with doubles which slide onto the existing stainless leader loop if it is still in good shape!

What I gleaned from the many, many helpful responses was 1) after getting some sort of strong rod and a basic decent reel with strong no-nonsense land that fish line (40 lbs and PINK, one guy said for Key West sorts of fish -- yes, I think he WAS serious); 2) get the right LURE rather than live bait; and 3) find out from successful locals at what depth the fish you want like to hang out, and rig an appropriate sized weight an appropriate distance from your lure, accordingly. Local tackle shops know about 2) and 3).

Each kind of fish likes a certain temperature, salinity, etc. So, neglecting a current shift the fishy you want is at some depth this week +/- 10 feet. Ask the locals to learn the right depth.

I've never officially been deep sea fishing, that is the paid for, commercially done type, so maybe this is exactly how it is done. But I helped pull aboard about 75 Lbs of fish in barely over 15 minutes one morning.

Here is what this guy had. First there was a 2' long extra heavy fishing rod bolted to the transom. Has maybe about 150 feet of fine steel cable, maybe 100 Lb test. Marked every 10 feet. On the end of the cable is a big lead ball the size of a softball which he called the cannon ball. There is also a snap clip on about 1 foot of cable where the ball attaches to the cable.

You use a lure, not live bait which gets pulled off by current. The lure we used he called a "spoon". Fluorescent pink cup of metal with fur and 3-triple barb NASTY hooks on it. You take your regular rod and loosen the tension. You toss the lure over the side with maybe 10 feet of line. At this point the line is clipped to the snap clip next to the cannon ball.

The cannon ball is lowered to the depth the locals tell you, and it pulls the lure down with it in trail. When the fish takes the lure and pulls it frees your fishing line from the snap clip and thus the cannon ball. Your reel spins like crazy. Now you bring baby home.

I have to be honest with y'all. The first day I did this, we were late in the morning getting started. The females didn't want to get up. Then they had to eat. Then we had to have coffee and chat. The whole time this guy is sweating and fretting and saying the fish are hungry NOW! Finally the men are released from our social duties and we set up the rig as described. After a couple hours nothing has happened and we packed it all up. The women make comments about us wild hunters not bringing anything home. This was my first time ever fishing and I sure didn't understand the supposed thrill.

The next morning the guy wakes me up at O-dark-thirty and we go on deck and ever so quietly we set this rig up again for 65 feet deep and moving dead slow. I sit down, bang! One on hook, reel it in, spear it and pull it on board -- 22 Lb fish. Reset the rig, sit down, bang! reel it in -- 25 Lb fishy. Reset the rig, sit down, anticipation, anticipation, bang! Reel in a 18 Lb fishy. At this point the sun is just lifting off the horizon.

I used to use a handline and it was too hard to know when a fish was on the hook. I tried several methods to detect the load but they were all too unreliable. I got a Penn 6/0 rod and reel and caught tons of fish. The clicker on the drag tells me when I have something. Even if you don't get a rod, which I recommend, get a reel and clamp it to your stern rail.

I've done great with a Penn 6/0 rod and reel with 80 lb test line. Using 7/0 or 8/0 SS hooks (if I remember right) and silicone lures or homemade lures I have caught so much fish that I had to stop fishing to avoid wasting them. Sailing along at seven or eight knots I've caught Dorado (Mahi Mahi, Dolphin fish), many varieties of Tuna, and a seven foot sailfish that took three people nine days to eat!

The 6/0 rod is about 6 feet. You also need a gaff to bring the larger fish aboard. A saltwater washdown pump really helps with cleanup after butchering the fish. If you have one setup forward have a hose long enough to reach your cockpit.

... Without a freezer (unless you like dried fish) you will never make fish a regular weekly meal. When it comes to fishing off the back of a sailboat, it never rains it pours! You may go weeks without a fish and then WHAM! Fish City! Even the best guys I know couldn't live on what they catch. ...

My wife does all the fishing and she seems to be able to catch Mahi Mahi, Yellowfin, and Albacore almost at will. We only fish when we don't have any left in the freezer.

She uses various colors of Hoochies (fake squid) with an egg sinker in the head and two 3/0 or 4/0 (?) hooks hidden the skirt on downrigger wire about 8-10 feet long. This is attached by snap swivel to 120 lb test nylon braided twine at least 60' in length. At the boat end is a shock absorber of either surgical tubing or bungee cord. A bell and a downrigger cable release combine for a "fish-on" alarm.

We rarely catch fish below 5 knots. Most have been caught when doing between 6-8 knots. Lure should run on or immediately beneath the surface. Most fish are caught during either morning or evening twilight. Most are fileted and on the way to the freezer by the time I relieve the morning watch. All I have to do is eat them! Nothing beats fresh tuna or Mahi.

Lure selection is very important. Try and find a lure designed for low trolling speeds, ie under 6 knots. Most of the big-game lures are designed for higher troll speeds. That's why most cruisers have more success with homemade lures like stainless pipe, feathers and hooks, etc. I like to catch flying fish, dry them with a heavy dose of sea salt and plant a hook in that, its works well. Squid lures work well and don't forget to carry some YoZuri squid lures: these work anywhere in the world, even commercial boats use them for catching squid.

... Most fish species I catch are pelagic and predatory in nature, so they will strike at anything. One thing I will say: when deep offshore most cruisers use a lure that is way too small. I have used lures that are 18 inches or longer designed to catch Moby Dick the whale. I am constantly surprised what tiddlers I pull in, i.e. 4 to 10 lb fish. My current favourite lure looks like something made in a chinese sweat shop, bright orange, in the shape of a fish with a hook so big you could almost use it as a a Gaff, it's about as big as a shoebox. I get taunts about this lure all the time, but boy deep offshore I would say god blessed this lure.

The techniques of using attractors like most game fishing boats work well, however few yachtsman are willing to put up with the drag. Sailing across the Southern Ocean these big attractors work well for attracting fish. I like fishing and living on fish so I don't take the casual approach like most yachtsmen.

In-harbour fishing: I don't recommend you use a rod; use a long 6 meter telescopic pole with a float. Do not use line bigger than 6 pounds. Fresh bait like prawn or squid work in just about every harbour in the world. A size 10 hook is all you need, any hook bigger than this in a harbour and you are just dreaming! I suggest you fish about 12 inches off the bottom with the float. This method you will see used in the Med because it's very successful for pan-size fish typically found in harbours. Species like Mullet, Whiting, Hada soul, Bream etc. Forget fishing with lead in harbours. It requires finesse rather than heavy-handed techniques. You can chum or burley up the water with broken up bread. You can fill buckets in the morning or late afternoon. Study your fish guide and avoid eating fish in harbours that scavenge on the ocean floor. Especially where there are yachts and commercial fishing boats around. Heavy metals are not good for your system. That's why I suggest float fishing, because fish that take a suspended bait don't eat off the floor. They are hunting smaller prey that moves in the water.

• Use large, stainless-steel hooks.
  
  
• Keep the tips of the hooks extremely sharp.
  
  
• Use about 10 feet of leader, to keep the big knot to the line (which causes turbulence the fish might see) far from the hook. Also lets you use very thick line (3/16" or 1/4" rope instead of monofilament).
  
  
• Hide the hook inside the lure.
  
  
• Good lures: green/yellow feather; double-hook Kona Head green/yellow; maybe red/blue.
  
  
• Use large clip to hold 10 feet of line in a loop, to be pulled out after fish strikes the lure. Fish will swallow hook as the 10 feet slides out, then the hook will get set.
  
  
• Troll the lure 30 to 50 feet behind sailing sailboat.
  
  
• When trolling, pass close by any driftwood or floating grass or circling birds.

• Most consistent fish catcher was a plastic squid lure, blue on top, white or silver underneath, with large white eyes. Fitted with a round sinker in the head and a double hook.
  
  
• To work, a lure had to have eyes painted on it. Even our favorite blue and silver squid wouldn't attract a fish if the eyes were scraped off.
  
  
• We never brought any fish on board before positively identifying it. Particularly important when fishing from the dinghy at night.

Florida Keys fishing areas:

• Flats (continental shelf) - fish feed during low, incoming tide.
• Backcountry (SW coast, and Florida Bay).
• Bluewater (Gulf Stream / Florida Current) - best at the humps (underwater hills).
• Bridges - outgoing tide funnels prey-fish through.

Best eating fish are found at the bluewater/reef boundary.

• Predator fish like to hover just out of the current, waiting to catch prey fish that get swept along by the current. They expect prey to be coming down with the current, so don't move your bait against the current.
  
  
• Current diminishes near the bottom, so many fish hover in depressions on the bottom. If there's no visible cover above the surface, always fish near the bottom.
  
  
• Rocks, wrecks, pilings and other obstructions create calm places where predator fish hover to catch prey coming down with the current. There is a big calm area behind the obstruction, but also a bit of a calm area in front of it too.
  
  
• Many predators wait where there is a "funnel" or narrow spot with strong current.
  
  
• Canal banks and seawalls with even a slight current along them tend to attract prey and predators.
  
  
• Offshore or coastal currents may have boundaries to the sides or beneath them, where there is calmer water where predators may wait, watching for prey swept along in the current.

• Trolling:
  • Don't troll in less than 30 feet of water, or you'll catch nothing but barracuda.
    [Others say not strictly true, and my limited experience agrees with them.]
  • Use a big lure and keep speed up, to catch only big fish.
  • Speed should be 5.5 knots; 4 knots is too slow, 6 knots is too fast.
  • Lure should have eyes. Good lure for lots of fish is a pink squid.
  • When you hook a fish, stop the boat, pull him alongside, lift him gently aboard with a gaff (don't pierce him), and spray rum into his mouth (or gills ?).
  
  
  
• Spearfishing: use a pole spear, and 7 feet is a good length.

Fishing for dolphin (AKA dorado or mahi-mahi):

• Look for combination of baitfish (look for birds), floating debris, and warm water (72-80 degrees).
  
  
• Approach the area gently so you don't spook the fish.
  
  
• Troll with small to medium lures, with green/yellow or orange/yellow or chartre-use colors.
  
  
• If you locate a school, leave the first hooked fish on the line and in the water, so the school stays around and you can catch more.

• Length of trolling line isn't critical; has caught fish with lure 10 feet behind boat. Usually has 100 feet or so out.
• Attach trolling line low on the transom of the boat, to get lure well under surface of water.
• Tuna feed in the dark.
• Dolphin feed during the day.
• Others feed at sunrise/sunset.
• Troll with a dark lure in the morning, then an orange lure later.
• Dolphin like a lure with sparkles, and green, blue and purple streamers.

[Bahamas, 1996] Our luck with fishing is mixed. With our heavy-duty trolling gear we have only caught one cero mackerel to eat and five barracudas. Using hand lines we have caught quite a few smaller fish, but most were reef fish and not edible. But snorkeling with a Hawaiian sling hand spear, I can fish up dinner three out of four times. I think most of it has been sheer luck.

Using a Hawaiian sling is actually pretty easy. The toughest part was finding one. I knew from the guidebook that spearguns are prohibited in the Bahamas and a few other Caribbean countries. ... a Hawaiian sling is very simple, like a slingshot that shoots a spear. The spear slides through a hole in a wooden handle and pushes into a holder that is connected with surgical tubing to the handle. The best are available at commercial fishing supply stores. The range of a sling is about five feet, which is just enough.

The only weapons legal for spearfishing in the Bahamas are the Hawaiian sling and the pole spear. Spearguns are not legal. Britt uses a pole spear and I have used a borrowed Hawaiian sling and plan to make one for my own.

A pole spear is a 6' spear with a changeable tip which adds another foot. It has a loop of surgical tubing at the end; you put your thumb through it and draw back the spear so it is cocked, and then release the spear (which stays attached to your thumb). It has a short range but has the advantage that it can be used with one hand and quickly recocked if you miss.

A Hawaiian sling is like a slingshot which shoots a spear. It has a long range but you must use both hands, plus it is possible to lose the spear.

The cost of a fishing license is included in the fixed $100 charge for checking into the Bahamas. You need to declare all your fishing gear (poles, lines, spears). This information is in most updated cruising guides to the Bahamas. It used to be an optional additional charge, which some older guides still quote. So far we have not been asked to show our license, which makes sense since all foreign yachts get them more or less automatically.

The only other country we know the regulations on is the Turks and Caicos, which disallows all spearfishing by foreigners but (according to my reading of the info in our cruising guide) allows fishing (rod and reel) with a permit required (presumably at a charge). Oh, our friends on Odyssey spearfished a lot in Mexico with a speargun, so presumably they are legal there. They reported that lobsters are illegal for yachties to take there, but most people ignore this regulation.

I use a Hawaiian sling. Spearguns are very illegal to possess in the Bahamas and other places. Pole spears don't generally have enough range. I couldn't recall the number of times I missed a fish because the spear was a foot too short. The locals all use slings. Want to get fish? Use what the people use whose livelihood depends on success. I get fish every so often, but it would be unwise to count on it. The fish in some of the more heavily cruised areas are getting pretty wary. Take extra spears.

...

I prefer a pole spear to a Hawaiian sling, as you never really lose your grip on the shaft. Makes for a good probe, too. Actually, I prefer my Esclapez 120 single-band gun. My favorite trick is to chase a fish around a rock, then wait on the other side of the rock for him to come around. Requires more range than a hand-held. I hear tell that some places (Bahamas) don't allow guns. An old kitchen rubber glove, with the fingers cut out, makes for a good shooting glove. Lots of traction, so you don't have to grab as hard. A day of holding a cocked pole spear can leave a nasty sore spot on the lower part of the thumb without a glove. Don't use that shooting hand to apply sunscreen!

If you have an old sleeping-bag stuff sack (preferably red or orange), you can use that as a goodie bag. Easy to keep in your weight belt or shorts - when you find dinner, put the end of the spear with fish into the bag. Draw tight the drawstring, and extract the spear. No lost fish, or painful punctures from the fins. If there's some air in the bag, it'll float while you go down to look for more goodies. Much less drag, and no bloody fish attached to you!