Smart ways to catch fish

This unique Swedish family team have an intimate knowledge of line fishing in many parts of the world, enabling the BJ5000 to undergo continuous development. New customers know that the latest version of the BJ5000 incorporates features specifically requested by other Belitronic users to make their particular method of fishing even easier. This is why the BJ5000 is such a smart machine.

With the ever increasing price of fuel, the fuel efficiency of fishing with the BJ5000 becomes even more obvious compared to high fuel consumption fishing methods such as trawl fishing, fly-dragging and purse seining.

One BJ5000 fish jigging machine can take the place of several crewmen, thus increasing the efficiency of the fishing vessel. In addition the BJ5000 doesn’t need to be fed, doesn’t need to be provided with a bunk and does not get seasick!

The BJ5000 is suitable for vessels as large as 20m or down to small outboard powered open boats. BJ5000s operate on either 12 or 24 volts, directly connected to suitable 12v batteries. The 12v batteries may be connected in series or in parallel to produce 24 or 12 volts. On small boats a single 12v battery is all that is needed. Average power consumption when fishing with 24 volts is about 3-4 amps with a maximum consumption of about 30 amps.

Mounting the machines is very simple, each machine can be clamped to a vertical alloy or stainless steel tube. This tube can be mounted to a bulkhead or deckhead by T-brackets and flanges. One or more machines may be secured to the same vertical tube. The fishing lines from each machine can then be run via Belitronic pulleys to outriggers mounted along one side or both side of the fishing vessel.

The fisherman then selects from one of four major automatic programs in which the bottom depth can be selected or found automatically by the machine. Alternatively if the fisherman wants to troll for small or large pelagic fish in which the fish are hauled in automatically, he can choose from two programs.

Bottom fishing

For bottom fishing it is more efficient to mount one or more BJ5000 close to the conning position of the fishing vessel. This means that the fisherman has easy access to the vessel controls as well as the controls on the BJ5000.

The outrigger poles are usually designed to be topped or slewed when not in the fishing position and can be made to any length to suit the boat. The fishing vessel can be either anchored or the vessels engine can be used to stem the wind and/or tide instead of anchoring. The use of GPS is valuable in maintaining station at a selected fishing spot, particularly when the water is too deep for anchoring or where anchoring is prohibited.

The fishing lines are usually in two sections, the mainline is either Dyneema or Nylon Monofilament and the hookline is usually Nylon Monofilament or twisted stainless steel wire if there are sharks about. The advantage of Dyneema is that it is much finer than monofilament nylon of the same strength.

Fishing depth can be down to 800m or more. At these depths Dyneema should definitely be the preferred fishing line because of its strength, low drag and very low elasticity.

In response to requests from fishermen engaged in selling live fish to luxury outlets, Belitronic developed a special live fishing program for high valued tropical species such as Coral Trout. These fish must be kept alive, as they are kept in tanks in the restaurants until purchased for immediate eating.

For this fishery it was necessary to develop a very low hauling speed which was still powerful enough to haul the fish to the surface without distending its swim bladder. The fishermen can instantly control the hauling speed shown on the screen to overcome any attempt of the fish to escape, but at the same time not causing it undue stress.

Traditionally these fish have been caught from dories using hand lines. Now it is possible to use BJ5000s installed in dories and also on the mother ship.

The BJ5000 has a program which enables it to detect the bottom, even if the bottom depth is changing during drift fishing. The machine jigs up and down and if it doesn’t make contact with the bottom then it will increase the amount of line paid out until it finds bottom again. It will then begin fishing at the new depth. If the water shallows and the hook strikes bottom before all the line is paid out, the machine can also detect this change and shorten the line until it obtains the new depth.

When bottom fishing during drifting, it is quite easy to pay out more line than is necessary. If this happens then the hooks and the sinker are in danger of fouling and becoming lost. The BJ5000 can be set to automatically haul up any excess line paid out during fishing beyond a certain length. As soon as the excess has been hauled up the machine will automatically start fishing at the original depth.

Trolling for larger fish

Trolling for larger fish such as Spanish mackerel, tuna, billfish and kingfish are common in tropical and sub tropical waters. The fishing program commonly used is the bottom fishing program, ‘Normal Jig Fishing’. In this program the line can be paid out 25m or more depending upon local fishing practice and allowed to jig, hauling in the line 10m or less and paying out again. If a fish is caught it is automatically hauled in. By adding the ‘Catch Down’ function the catch will be detected if the line is paying out as well as hauling in.

Spanish mackerel are seriously large fish and in response to fishermen’s requests in Australia, Belitronic has developed a special variation of normal jig fishing in which the line is simply paid out and stopped at a distance behind the boat. If a Spanish mackerel should take the hook and peel of some line then the BJ5000 can detect this as a catch and will automatically haul in.

Alternatively, if the fishermen chooses, the BJ5000 can be used simply as an electric winch to set the line in the water and haul it in when a fish is seen to be caught.

Trolling for mackerel

The credit for developing mackerel trolling with BJ5000 fish jigging machines belongs to Norwegian coastal fishermen who now use multiple mountings of BJ5000s in a highly efficient, low cost, fully automatic method. Norwegian fishermen can catch up to 36 tonnes a day using four or more BJ5000s.

Each fishing line is fitted with about 40 hooks, 30cm apart with a 4-8kg cannon ball sinker at the end of the line. The machine is operated on the ‘Squid Fishing’ program and the fishing lines are paid out and hauled in continuously with the fishing hooks pulled through a stripper. All hooked fish are removed by the stripper and are directed by flumes to the fish tanks holding ice slurry or refrigerated sea water. The prime Norwegian Atlantic mackerel caught by this method range from 350 grams upwards and are packed and frozen whole for human consumption. A significant amount of this catch goes to Japan.

The advantage of these fish compared to those caught by mid water trawling or purse seining is that they are in prime condition and fetch much higher prices than fish caught in bulk.

At the time of writing no significant fishery using this method has developed in the Southern Hemisphere, despite the large resources of pacific mackerel found in these waters.