First time out for wahoo season

"Physically its much more challenging" thats my point. Even when things go right, the chances of it not going your way are also increased. Thats also not taking into account the one time out of hundreds when the line tangles, a hot fish will take the gun in a split second. It can be mitigated somewhat by diving with a backup belt reel. Dont get me wrong reels have their place, they are just not for me, 95 percent of the time

The more I hear stories of swivels opening up it makes me want to switch to pig tails. I have lost a nice fish or 2 due to cheap swivels and reelguns.

Just saw the video:) epic! Theres always those time where you tell yourself, if I had ole faithfull(in my case ethier a ra 90 or 120) that you are certain a fish would have rolled over dead, like magic. For me at least I find myself taking longer to get shoots off due to having less trigger time on my bw gun, but its purely a matter of practice. I think your situation is a perfect example of when a belt reel can come in handy. Either way, one day you win, onether the fish win. Its how it goes. My string of hoo mishaps is so long its emberassing.

George, I like that you posted those videos. That's fantastic diving and there are heaps of learning points in these videos. I went through that video and focussed on the frame by frame around the shot. The 24th and 25th seconds are great. The fish is so close. Right at the beginning of the 26th second you shoot through the top 1/2" of the front loin of the fish. In the frame by frame it shows the line passing through only a tiny sliver of the fish. I see in the video that you are using 1.8mm Dyneema? Very strong stuff, but very thin too, and it can cut. The shot strings the fish and he takes off. It looked like the Reel line was stringing the fish? Honestly I think a buoy would have ripped off immediately. The good news is that fish survived.
That view though is awesome.. Staring down a line into the Blue. In the second shot I noticed you freespooled the reel to the surface only using the drag? I think of the Reel as Line storage. I like to use thicker line so I can grab the line with my gloves and give some drag. I saw the Reel with the second fish almost spooled. My suggestion would be that by using a larger diameter line like 2.2-2.5mm you will be able to grip the line and fight the fish more effectively.

At the same time. There are conditions when using a buoy is a Good Idea. Out in the middle of nowhere in heavy seas in a sailboat. Having a buoy would have been a Good idea. You could still use the Reel, but clip on a buoy. And get a buddy. I started making Bluewater reels for a certain kind of diving. Half the time I jump in, it's at the mercy of a bunch of commercial fishermen. They don't like me bringing a lot of gear. I can jump in on a buoy or a floating debris and have a look. I keep a buoy and bungee onboard easy to throw out. I also keep a Big Polyball with a clip on it. If I do shoot a big fish with my Reel, I will ask for that Polyball and clip it onto my gun. And they'll be there in a few seconds.

This fish below was a Battle on the Reel. It was a non lethal shot with a slip tip. The fish had a Lot of fight in him. As soon as I reached the surface I let my brother know I had shot a big Fish and he threw me the Polyball. I clipped it onto the back of the gun. I saw the shot and knew I could pressure the fish. I put a lot of drag on him a real battle of the wills. Physically very tiring. Pulling the fish up from 200ft by the reel line was tough, and that is using 2.3mm/2.5mm line I can get a grip of. There were many times I was wishing I had been using the Bungee I had in the boat, but at the same time. My buddies stopped the boat and were getting their fishing gear ready and I was able to jump in to see some whales and grabbed my gun. I wasn't planning to be in the Water more than 5 minutes. That is one advantage of a Reel.

Great thread guys. Very informative. Thanks you very much. :thumbsup2: