Fishermancraig
06-27-2023, 10:28 AM
Wanted some peoples perspectives here:
Was fishing a 50 passenger 2 day offshore trip in Florida. I was the only individual in the stern jigging. I didn't need the help but the mates were helpful and frequently unhooked the fish i caught and bled them and put them into my cooler so that they became familiar with the specific jig i was using. I only used the SAME exact jig - never changed it. It was a prized jig for me and was costly and had traveled to many countries with me (but it wasnt irreplaceable).*
At one point, I hooked into something big and broke off. Probably from some line fatigue. The individual to my left noted he thought i hooked into something big because drag was ripping out. When it broke off, I lost the jig. So i commented to a couple guys to my left and to the mate to keep a look out*if someone lands a big fish with my jig.
Lo and behold some 20 min later some guy from the bow walks down to the stern with a large grouper (15 lbs?) and it has my jig hanging down the side of the mouth, to which i exclaim "hey thats my jig". He look dumbfounded but remains unconvinced and just continues his business in the stern. Then, a couple other guys in the stern also commented that it was my jig, to which the guy who landed the grouper commented (rightly so), but it was he that landed the fish (seemingly implying that the jig was now his?)
It was only when the mate returned and recognized my jig that i went to his fish and plucked the jig from his Grouper, without waiting for his acknowledgement.*
My question here is technically, he landed the fish, and so the jig is his. But I feel that if i didn't have the other fishermen and especially the mate to verify it was my jig, I would*not have been able to reclaim my lost jig without there being some confrontation. So what is the line between technicality and courtesy in the etiquette of reclaiming a lost jig?
(attached photo does not include the specific grouper)
Was fishing a 50 passenger 2 day offshore trip in Florida. I was the only individual in the stern jigging. I didn't need the help but the mates were helpful and frequently unhooked the fish i caught and bled them and put them into my cooler so that they became familiar with the specific jig i was using. I only used the SAME exact jig - never changed it. It was a prized jig for me and was costly and had traveled to many countries with me (but it wasnt irreplaceable).*
At one point, I hooked into something big and broke off. Probably from some line fatigue. The individual to my left noted he thought i hooked into something big because drag was ripping out. When it broke off, I lost the jig. So i commented to a couple guys to my left and to the mate to keep a look out*if someone lands a big fish with my jig.
Lo and behold some 20 min later some guy from the bow walks down to the stern with a large grouper (15 lbs?) and it has my jig hanging down the side of the mouth, to which i exclaim "hey thats my jig". He look dumbfounded but remains unconvinced and just continues his business in the stern. Then, a couple other guys in the stern also commented that it was my jig, to which the guy who landed the grouper commented (rightly so), but it was he that landed the fish (seemingly implying that the jig was now his?)
It was only when the mate returned and recognized my jig that i went to his fish and plucked the jig from his Grouper, without waiting for his acknowledgement.*
My question here is technically, he landed the fish, and so the jig is his. But I feel that if i didn't have the other fishermen and especially the mate to verify it was my jig, I would*not have been able to reclaim my lost jig without there being some confrontation. So what is the line between technicality and courtesy in the etiquette of reclaiming a lost jig?
(attached photo does not include the specific grouper)