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大 M
小 Post at 2007-1-18 06:00 AM
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Hand lining Techniques
Casting
Casting of hand lines varies greatly from one scenario to another. Many surfcasting hand liners will begin to cast by twirling their heavy rigs around their head, feeding line until they release the setup into the ocean. This method is the primary means to cast a hand line any distance.
The other techniques to casting hand lines all depend upon the angler and can range from a simple under-handed pitch to an over-handed toss, or “baseball throws.”
Retrieval
When bringing in a hand line, the same techniques can be used as in a rod and reel retrieval. A jig can be hopped, or “jigged,” through the water by quickly lifting one’s arm or jerking with one’s wrist. Bait on the bottom can be quickly brought in just the same as pulling in a rope.
When fighting a fish, many anglers use some means to prevent a fish from taking out too much line. It might be a coffee can that merely has the line wrapped around it or the angler might take in a certain amount of line and then step on it to keep the line secured.
When bringing in a large game fish, hand line anglers will commonly pull the line in palm down. While this may seem to be an awkward way to pull in the line, it prevents the line from cutting into the angler’s hand or fingers and allows the line to fall to the boat or ground if the fish makes a sudden run. This technique may be the exact opposite, however, when a hand line reel is used. In this case, the fish can freely pull at the line with the angler allowing it to move over their hands freely, applying only enough pressure to monitor the drag of the line against the fish.
When a large fish is nearly landed, hand line fisherman will often use an extended gaff or net to capture the fish, preventing damage to their hands from too much line pressure.
Storage
Hand line fishermen use a variety of methods to store their equipment. Some simply wrap the line around a cylindrical household object such as a coffee can. Others use some of the products manufactured for just that purpose. Companies are now making handheld rigs that both store the line and effectively retrieve the free line from a cast. Reels provide one of the easiest means of storage, but are used primarily on boats.
Monitoring Lines and Setting Hooks
Trolled lines can be easily monitored by either pinching the line between the thumb and forefinger or by just placing a finger on the line. A mounted setline, such as one on a stake or hanging from a suspended clamp of some type, is also effective, as the angler does not have to be in constant contact with the line, but can still witness the strike.
While fishing with rod and reel, the rod provides the leverage and force needed to set the hook. When hand line fishing this process is more or less the same. One effective technique is:
· The angler draws in the slack line from the biting fish.
· Then bends down and with one-hand places the excess line on the ground or floor of the boat.
· The angler then stands on the line and with the line in the other hand, relaxed and palm up, the angler stands up quickly and raises the hand with the line it.
This motion gives the line a pull upward and inward toward the angler, much the same as a rod and reel would and may set a hook, in many cases, just as firmly.
