More often than not the majority of gaffs that are
available on the market today are relatively cheap
(in terms of price) compared to other tackle equipment
such as rods and reels. Despite gaffs being one
of the most frequently used items on a boat it is
the most neglected and overlooked piece of equipment
in a fisho's repertoire. Despite this fact just
about every boat carries at least one or more somewhere.
"…The first thing you need to handle the
fish of the day or even the fish of a life time
is the gaff; but it is the last thing you think
about when your getting ready to go fishing….."
The origins of the gaff reach back as far as fishing
itself; man soon realised that fish do not come
ready made with handles on them and they are also
quite slippery! To overcome this problem man first
bound a "C" or "J" Type shaped
meat hook to a pole as a means to an end i.e. to
be able to control a fish that were too big or were
too dangerous to handle. Unlike other equipment
such as rods, reels etc the gaff was never a purposely
designed item.
Lip Gaffs - This type of gaff is a relatively
new member to the gaff family. The lip gaff generally
consists of an extra strong, small gaped hook that
is affixed permanently to a personalized handle.
This handle and shaft would only be between 12 and
18 inches in length. It's development has been largely
due to the overhelming world push towards catch
and release. As its name states it is generally
utilized one handed to hook a fish in the mouth
when handling or restraining fish that are too big
to lift or have unfriendly sharp objects such as
teeth, spines and bladed gill rakes. The lip gaff
is easily stored and carried when travelling. It
has become a tool used extensively by guides and
charter operators when C&R'ing for clients.
Hand Gaff - This type of gaff has been
around a lot longer than the lip gaff. With its
length being over 18 inches and less than 4 foot
and with a smaller sized hook range this gaff is
known as a hand gaff. It is too short to be termed
as fixed gaff and too long to be a lipping gaff.
It is predominately used for in shore or estuary
fishing from a small boat.
Fixed Gaffs (also
known as stick gaffs) - Consist of a hooks made from
various materials such as everything from bent wire,
hybrid stainless steel and even titanium. These
hooks are permanently attached to a shaft. These
shafts are made from a variety of materials such
as wood, Rangoon cane, aluminium, fiberglass and
in some cases stainless steel tubing. The make up
of these gaffs vary dramatically according to price,
quality and application.
Fixed gaffs are categorized by the length of their
shaft and the hook attached e.g. a 6 foot 4 inch
would denote a shaft length of six feet and a hook
with a gape of 4inches (with the gape being the
distanced measure between the point and the main
saft.) The accepted length size of fixed gaffs varies
from 4 foot in length and anything in between and
upto 12 foot. They also come with a wider range
hook size range - gape size can vary from anywhere
between 2 and 8 inches.
The fixed gaff is the most commonly known and used
gaff worldwide. From freshwater land based to commercial
and heavy game fishing the fixed gaff will always
play an important role when landing or restraining
fish.
Flying Gaffs As the name indicates these
gaffs are not attached to poles permanently. They
are designed to fly/release from the pole when the
gaff is set in a fish. Fly gaffs are normally referred
to as gaff heads (rather than gaff hook). The accepted
fly gaff head size range is from 4 - 14 inches.
The gape measurement is obtained using the same
method as fixed gaffs. These heads are attached
to one end of a rope through the use of a D shackle
while the other end is secured to a bollard or to
a game chair post. Once the gaff head has been set
in the fish (i.e gaffed) the head is released from
the pole. Through the use of the rope the controlling
and restraining of the fish is achieved. For both
the crew and the fish itself this system is a safer
method of handling large fish.
Fly gaff heads come in three variations: 1)
Standard Flyer ice pick point: the conventional
C or J shaped hook 2)
Standard Re-inforced flyer ice pick point: a C or
J shaped hook with a reinforcing bar along the outside
curve of the hook 3)
Standard Flyer with barb: conventional C or J shaped
hook with a sharpened barbed point similar in shape
to an arrow head. 4)
Standard re-inforced flyer with barb: a combined
configuration of versions 2 and 3. 5)
Heavy duty Hybrid with barb: These are the latest
version to hit the market. These heads have been
exteinsivley researched and field tested. Thay have
been developed using the efficient attributes of
previous versions combined with the use of technical
results, modern materials and shaping. These heads
are now safer for the angler and fish, have increased
strength, are lighter and more efficient in their
holding capability causing less damage to the fish.
These hybrid versions are the ultimate addition
to today's gaffing systems.
Specialised Gaffs
These versions are known
as rock, rope or drop gaffs. They are mechanical
in design and are not truly gaffs as defined by
the Collins dictionary….."a large hook
on a pole for landing fish…" Their only
similarity to the gaff family are the C or J shaped
hooks used in their construction. These versions
look more like a giant squid jag or large lure retrieving
device. Although we view this design to be the black
sheep of the gaff family we thought we better mention
them to complete the overall gaff family tree.
