OTW picture sequence
 

I looked at the cover and saw the guy gaffing a 70+" fish with a home made gaff of wood and an electrical taped on hook. I said..."look at that googan gaff!" That should not even be on the boat.
He has got a stella and shimano terez spinnner so he can afford a real gaff so what was the problem? I opened the mag and saw the photos and :biglaugh: my adult beverage came out my nose!. Great shots though, rarely do you catch a sequence like that from an adjacent boat.

Weakest link breakdown theory is again supported. Stuff happens though in the heat of the moment

I noticed that too. Do you think its difficult to build a gaff that could handle a 70" BFT? I built a couple of bass gaffs that a lot of thought went into building,, and I question whether they could handle a heavy thrashing fish.

The tape is probably covering a wrap of wire or cord.

You really dont need the latest and greatest hydro-dynamic, lite weight, anodized, rust proof, top shelf brand name gear to gaff a fish. I have seen some of the big $$ gaffs fail alot quicker than home made gaffs.

Thats probably true. But with a good quality long straight gaff I'm pretty confident. I'd be a bit worried sinking a hockey stick gaff into a tuna....

I noticed that and also the tuna looks to be about a foot from the tip of the rod.

Yeah, why would anyone want to build their own gaff when a store bought one is much better?

Why bother to build a custom rod or reel when store bought is so much better?

Just trying to follow the logic, that's all.

I don't think comparing a custom built rod to a factory rod is the same as comparing a factor gaff to one made with zipties and duct tape.

Those fancy new $250 composite hockey sticks are pretty strong. ;-)
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I found it surprising that they state the captain threw it overboard. Isn't that illegal dumping?

Man those comms using ash handled wooded gaffs, they're such googans! Right sandman?