Fishing Question - Hatteras Related

[JLR]

I have a fishing question related to my 43 Hat. When I fish, mainly for bluefish and stripers, I use wire leader. When I take the hook out of the fish and release it back, I like to grab the leader in my left hand and use a de-hooker in my right hand. The fish range in weight from 10-40 pounds. Frankly, a 40 pound fish being held by a wire leader in my hand gets darn near close to slicing me wide open. Is there a cam cleat or something else small and simple that I can use to hold the leader while I use the de-hooker. I do not bring the fish aboard so that is not an option nor do I like to wear a glove while fishing. Thanks

 

[wpc691]

You only need about 12 inches of wire (IMHO, of course). Join to mono with a nice, neat Albright knot; if you use a swivel close to the bait, blues and mackerel will hit the swivel and bite off the mono side. You can handle the fish with the mono, saving your hands. I've gotten away from wire altogether, using 50# or 80# fluorocarbon instead; works fine, even on sharks.

 

[rustybucket]

I started wearing fishing gloves a couple years ago due to the 'line slice', which is far worse if you use braid. A few slices on your hand and it was aggravating the rest of the trip. I try my best not to fish without them now. Call me a wus, but it helps tremendously!!

Same goes for working on the engines, I have two sets of mechanics gloves right inside the engine room, it's literally the first thing I see when I go down there as a reminder to put them on.

On a side note, some of the mechanics gloves make fantastic fishing gloves!

 

[JLR]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been using about 36" of wire which seems to work just fine for me. I guess a glove could be the answer but putting on a glove with bunker slime all over my hands seems kind of foul to me. Yet, a better alternative than a home made meat slicer into my hand. I was also thinking of adding some sort of very small cleat on the aft area to tie off the wire while I de-hook the fish but that would look unsightly. Is there any cam that is tight enough to hold wire? That would be my best solution.