dragging your catch behind boat: any incidents?

The only time I drag my catch behind my boat is when it's too big to fit in the kayak  .


But seriously: I've had too many sea lions come waaay too close for me to be comfortable letting dead fish dangle in the water.  I even had one trailing behind me for a while when I was towing the thresher shark in the photo back to shore.  Keep the fish in the kayak if you can.

Had a ling on my stringer while spearfishing off Steamers Lane.  Was poking my head under a ledge when I got yanked out backwards by the line to the stringer. First thought was shark then I saw that furbag with my ling and stringer. Slammed the butt of my AMF Swimaster as hard as I could right between his eyes. He coughed up my fish right quick.  Link went into the boat immediately afterwards.

yeah, IF i do have fish on stringer and moving locations i get the fish in the boat.  now that i'm looking at kayaking with limited space on the yak, it would be convenient to just let the fish in the water, but wouldnt want to risk it.

even in my boat now i have a collapsible bait net which is fairly large or at least large enough to put rockfish in it.  that's how i protect the fish a bit better without using an aerator.  just gets annoying after a while.

good info here guys, thanks!

I witnessed a  large sea lion that had swam up the Sacramento River have a very fun time stealing stringers of shad from boat fisherman. The Vietnamese fisherman who was in a canoe didnt look like he was having much fun when the big sea lion  grabbed his stringer that was attached to his seat and rolled his canoe in the middle of the River at Freeport . That pretty much cured me of using stringers.

Two years back when I was just starting a member of this group told me not to hang fish, we were over by MBK on a nice day and I had a few hanging over the side in 60 f.o.w ,he said a sea lion spun him over in stillwater cove ,the year before, by grabbing a ling cod he was dragging along side...He sounded pretty sincere and said it was a big hassle ,and not a good scene at all.
that was enough for me to not like even having them in my net near the water very long if I can help it...

It is FOOLISH to drag/leave your fish in the water. Kinda like dangling a steak in a lion cage.
Once you catch them just keep 'em onboard under burlap or even kelp works fine.Dip them every once in a while if your out longer in the hot sun and then put them back in the boat.Just a tip...

Okay, time to review my strategy , BTW, trying to move any distance with a large stringer of fish is like dragging a couple of buckets behind.

It is FOOLISH to drag/leave your fish in the water. Kinda like dangling a steak in a lion cage.
Once you catch them just keep 'em onboard under burlap or even kelp works fine.Dip them every once in a while if your out longer in the hot sun and then put them back in the boat.Just a tip...

"Kinda like dangling a steak in a lion cage."

Exactly.  Pretty ironic.  You don't get upset when a fish takes your bait; that's want you want; but you do get upset when a sea lion takes your fish (sea lion bait).  Leaving your catch in the water is like trolling for sea lions.

If I'm keeping a fish, I put it on the gameclip and cut the gills. Then hang it over the side because blood is more viscous in the water (drains faster). But I don't just toss it overboard and let it dangle under my yak with 6ft of rope attached. I run the rope under the bungee paddle-holder, and only let out enough slack so the fish is just barely dangling on the surface. Now it's harder for a sealion to casually grab my fish; he's gotta be dedicated and come close enough to practically touch my kayak. But...if a sealion does grab my fish, there is some give before it yanks me over: first via the bungee clip (which is set to easily pop off if tugged) and then the 6ft of rope which is usually attached to the bungee cord near the rear of my yak (Hobie Revo) in the center...again, to prevent a sudden quick tug that could flip me over. 
I'll usually hang & bleed the fish for about 5 minutes before tossing the gameclip into my tankwell and covering it w/burlap.
Of course, if I am being hounded by a furbag then I don't bother hanging/bleeding in the water and just keep em in my tankwell the entire time.

so while boating i sometimes string my catch to the back of the boat and let the fish hang out.  i've never had any real issues, but i've had some birds try to come in and peck the fish.

i would assume that if i bleed the fish (cut gills) it would attract other fish and potentially seal lions (sharks).

not so bad on a boat, but what about kayaks.  i see quite a few videos of yakers with their catch on stringers or spearfishing clips.

i'm questioning because i would assume that a hungry sea lion could potentially cause you to dump should it be that aggressive

has anyone seen, had that or any issues like that happen?

fnf

I saw a fur-bag come up and take a nice salmon off a nylon rope stringer while fishing the sac river. It was from a power boat, when the rope broke it was under so much tension it sounded like a gun shot, i instantly realized that it would have ended badly if the fish had been attached to a kayak rather than a 20 ft. boat. Personal preference = No fish behind the boat or yak while in the river or the ocean.

Outta the rcg complex really all theyll eat is lings. Its rare to see then grab rockfish. Ive only seen em grab a red once they flung it around on the surface like a beach ball and left it floating. Id never dangle a wsb salmon or yellowtail...