AS A PISHING GILLIE 353 



is played out. Some gaff the fish under, others over 

 the back, while others again gaff the fish in whatever 

 way opportunity presents. When gaffing over the back, 

 the gaff should be reached out, laid quietly over the 

 back fin, and pulled. The moment the fish is gaffed 

 the handle should be held perpendicular and the fish 

 lifted into the boat. Before removing the gaff the fish 

 should get three or four sharp knocks on the head with 

 the baton. The gaff can then be removed, the hook 

 extracted, the fish weighed, and a note taken of the 

 weight, then washed and laid in the bow of the boat. 

 Any blood in the latter should be carefully wiped up. 

 All this should not take more than three minutes. A 

 fish should never be gaffed near the head, as there is the 

 risk of gaffing the line instead of the fish. 



In gaffing, the gillie should try to get within reach 

 of a fish as quickly as possible, but should never be in 

 a hurry in striking. When the right moment arrives 

 he must do it quietly and deliberately, not by raking 

 at the fish three or four times in quick succession. If 

 he does so he will be sure to make a mistake. The 

 number of fish which are lost at the gaffing is enormous. 

 I usually tell a man who has never used a gaff before 

 to put it over the fish's back and pull, and he usually 

 does it all right. The great thing is to keep perfectly 

 cool. 



Fish which are caught with minnow or prawn should 

 always be gaffed. If landing-nets are used, the hooks 

 usually stick in the meshes and the weight of the fish 

 23 



