Can I get some info on how to make a gaff? I have an X tools one and can't stand it. I end up beating the fish to death before I can hook him. What materials do you use to make one and how do you sharpen it?
Gaffs
scoutlover
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Can I get some info on how to make a gaff? I have an X tools one and can't stand it. I end up beating the fish to death before I can hook him. What materials do you use to make one and how do you sharpen it?
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Old golf clubs with a stainless steel rod welded on, bend and sharpen....:tu:
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That sounds pretty slick! Where can u get stainless from and do you need any special equipment to weld it?
As for sharpening, my X tools gaff has a chisel point on it. Do y'all use that or use a rounded point?
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X2!!:tu:
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Didn't make these, a friend gave them to us. Looks like he found some SS rod that would fit inside the shaft, and welded it with a SS welding rod. The points are rounded. Because of the small diameter rod, they penetrate well, and seem to be plenty strong.
I'd look for the SS rod at a metal supply or salvage yard.
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I made one years ago out of carbon steel, bent, sharpened with grinder & painted. Stainless wouldn't rust but the carbon worked just fine. Biggest thing I found was the shape of the hook. Started as a typical "U" shape but ended up opening it up some.
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10,939 Posts
sharpened snake sticks work good also
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On the old site someone posted a place to get the xtools gaff and it was cheap. Does anyone remember that website? I told the wife I wanted one for Christmas but Santa must have dropped it off at a different house.
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i just use a hay hook very cheap and very strong<a href="http://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k153/richardhenson2/?action=view¤t=31H55vEiPL__SL500_AA300_.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k153/richardhenson2/31H55vEiPL__SL500_AA300_.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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Thats what I use as well just sharpen it up a little and your good to go!
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BUY A NYLON LONG AX HANDLE, GET A PIECE OF STAINLESS ABOT 3/8THS. DON'T MAKE IT ROUND LIKE STORE BOUGHT GAFFS. MAKE IT SO IT LOOKS ALMOST LIKE A v . the bend shold be about 7 oclock if you figure the top is 12 oclock. when you gaff a fish, you strike down like you were driving a nail, in the middle of the body. the point after you bend it should be about 8 inches long, so when you stike the fish, it goes completely thru the body, don't ever gaff a big fish in the gills it's body wt when lifted will tear thru. make the point beveled like the end of a fish hook for less resistance,and very sharp . This kind of gaff is unbeatable for buff carp, but worthless on gar. drill a hole and stick the rod down inside the handle and epoxy, then when it drys, drill a small hole thru the handle and 3/8 rod, pot a bolt thru it, and you have a cheap, but great gaff. when the fish gets up to the boat, yopu don't mess with trying to find the mouth, you just strike it in the solid meat in the body, it usually stops them fro wiggling to
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contrary to dwo up there i only gaff in the gullet granted it may pull through i gaff em' there
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contray to the above post, you will pull thu and lose the guts which you need for wt if your in a shoot by gaffing in the gullet. When you drive the gaff i described above thru the shoulders, the meaty part of the fish, it's all over he's in the boat. If it wasn't true then why do so many guys on here say shots in the soft belly pull off a high percentage of the time. Gaff em wher you want to, but if you want em in the barrel, drive it thru the meaty part of the body, not the soft part of the body ??? or is the gullet the gills? if it is, saame thing will happen when you lift up a good size fish, anyone who has torn thru the gill mouth area knows that.
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So you are drilling the hole through the rod and handle to kind of anchor it in, right? Kinda like pinning a fish hook on an arrow? How long of a piece of the 3/8" ss rod do you need? I think that is the major problem I have with the X tools (the hook angle). It's more like a circle hook shape which is great I'm sure for getting a big tuna from the water to the boat when you can go below the fish and jerk up, but not so great for getting a dink gar outta the bottom of a tall trash can!!
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Would this be the proper piece of rod to use?
http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Ste...Alloy-304/dp/B001XQA4Y2/ref=sr_1_13?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1298435833&sr=1-13
http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Ste...Alloy-304/dp/B001XQA4Y2/ref=sr_1_13?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1298435833&sr=1-13
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