Fishing under sail

[kenjamin]

Just wondered if anyone around here is doing any fishing from a sailboat. I've finished building my Caledonia Yawl, a 20' open sailboat, and plan to use it for fishing the flats and maybe someday venturing to some nearby artificial reefs after it cools down some more. My boat only moves at about 6 mph so what I can reach with it is somewhat limited but it is a very seaworthy double-ender design of Iain Oughtred's. It has a 4 HP Yamaha four-stroke that can run all day on a few gallons (the motor mounts in a centrally located live well / motor well), it can be sailed with only a little bit of wind, and in a pinch, it has two rowing stations although no real pleasure to row because it's kind of big for that. It can carry four people easily sailing but I plan to fish with my fishing buddy of twenty years and maybe one other person. This is my first post on BigBendFishing but I grew up fishing in St. Augustine and have been fishing the flats around here in a small motor (2HP) skiff for over twenty years. We usually take about $5 worth of shrimp and catch live pin fish and then catch our trout or reds with the live bait. Or we'll top water plug for specs with mirror lures under glassy conditions. My goal this winter is to reach one of the close artificial reefs outside of Dog Island and come back (under sail) with a couple of nice grouper. I'll try to post a picture of my boat but I'm not too sure of how to do it here.

[tin can]

Welcome aboard.

Do you have a bottom machine on the boat. If you're in persuit of grouper, the bottom machine would be very helpful for finding structure. I'm assuming you have a GPS. If so, you should do well. A slow boat leads to fishing a spot thoroughly before moving on.

[kenjamin]

Cute kids, tin can. We always sight fished or let them happen by so don't have squat when it comes to electronics. Used the lighthouse at St. Marks to get bearings so don't even have a compass. I realise I need about a $1000 worth of GPS, good compass, radio and fish finder to go after the grouper but I think I can get that done. The funny thing is I can't figure out what I like best – the fishing, the sailing, or the boat building. I do know I really like the taste of grouper and for just a thousand dollars I can catch 'em with my boat. (maybe) It will be fun tryin'. A thousand bucks can buy a lot of fresh grouper but that's not fishin', that's shoppin'!!! I'll try to keep you tuned in to my fishing with sail. I'd like to see how cost effective I can harvest some grouper. The thing I like about my boat is that she carries enough flotation to where she can't sink and she has three different ways to get us home – sail, motor and oars.

[What a mess]

combo gps depth finders go for less than a grand.

[kikstand454]

welcome!!
nice ride. come winter llike you said, you should be able to catch grouper within sight of the lighthouse. or a tiny ways out. for that matter, i seem to remember a recent post on here that somone caught a keeper in 8ft. of water out of the lighthouse. we got one aboout 13 inches about 400 yards out a few weekends back.
sounds like cheap fun in the canvas! keep us posted....

[Charles]

Welcome aboard, Kenjamin.

Love the boat. I do almost all my fishing non-motorized, from a canoe or kayak. Building a sailboat is on my one-of-these-days, to-do list.

When I was a kid my Gran'pa Pulley used to fish from a sailboat out of Live Oak Island. He mostly trolled for mackerel from a boat he built, including making the sails, using homemade dusters. For grouper, one thing I would try is trolling a Mann's Stretch while underway.

We're getting to the time of year when I make it a habit to carry navigational aids because of the chance of fog. For this I normally carry a handheld GPS and, not having a lot of faith solely in electronics when the chips are down, also a compass. Sometimes aerial photographs of the area I'm going to be in.

[whitebc]

Welcome Nice rig How long have you been working on it?

[kenjamin]

Thanks guys for the comments about the boat. Charles, would WalMart have a Mann's Stretch? whitebc, I started Xena, my boat, in 2006, and took her to Mystic Seaport WoodenBoat Show, CT, in 2007. I'm still working on her fine-tuning the rig. My wife and I sewed our own sails and we still have a big genoa head sail to build. The mizzen mast (the little one near the stern) has to be redone and her rudder is too small and I have to redo that. A good compass is first on the list, but I'll be getting the other stuff before I venture out very far – GPS, radio, marine battery, and fishfinder. Thanks again for your comments guys. I just noticed I should be talking about the boat in the boat forum but I do need plenty of advice about trolling because I haven't done much of that. Some sailors might say trolling under sail is free but don't believe them. The sails ain't cheap (even if you sew them yourself) and they do wear out along with a bunch of other stuff a boat needs to sail. I will say this, though. It sure is nice and quiet with just the sound of the wind and water.

[Tom Keels]

You will want a good handheld GPS before winter starts. When the fog rolls in off the gulf, you won't be able to see your mast. Walmart carries Stretches, as does Advantage Marine.

[Charles]

I would expect Wal-Mart to have them. The one in Crawfordville did last time I looked. Tom or some of the other folks that grouper fish would know better than I. The Stretches I have I find in the marsh when I do my walk-in fishing trips.