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In fishing, a gaff is a handheld pole with a sharp hook or sideway spike on the distal end, which is used to swing and stab into the body of a large fish like a pickaxe (ideally, the tip of the hook/spike is placed under the fish's backbone) and then pull the fish out of the water like using a pike pole. Fishing activities that are solely done with gaffs are known as gaffing.

Gaffs are used when the weight of the target fish exceeds the breaking strength of the fishing line or the fishing rod and thus typical angling retrieval would be problematic. Like spearfishing, gaffs cannot be used if it is intended to release the fish unharmed after capture, unless the fish is skillfully gaffed right in a non-vital part such as the lip, jaw or lower gill using a thin hook (though very difficult to perform and thus unlikely).

A flying gaff is a specialized type of gaff used for securing and controlling very large, feisty fish. The hook part of the gaff (the head) detaches when excessive force is used, somewhat like a harpoon's dart. The head is secured to the boat with a length of heavy rope or cable, allowing the fish to remain tethered and get fatigued out before eventually retrieved.

See also

• Spearfishing
• Snagging

References

v t e Fishing equipment and methods
Fishing tackle Fish hook Circle hook Gaff Hookset Sniggle Fishing line Braided Knots Monofilament Multifilament Power pro Swivel Fishing sinker Arlesey Bomb Bombarda Downrigger Sandsinker Fishing rod Bamboo fly rod Fishing reel Fishing rod tapers Fly rod building Fishing bait Bait fish Boilies Chum Clonk Groundbait Vermicompost Worm charming Plastic bait Deadsticking Plastic worm Fishing lures Artificial fly Heddon Little Cleo Mormyshka Original Floater Plug Sabiki Spinnerbait Spoon lure Spoonplug Surface lure Swimbait Topwater lure Zara Spook Bite indicators Fishing float Pellet waggler Shortfloating Quiver tip Fishing rig Carolina rig Chod rig Drop shot rig Hair rig Texas rig Apparel Creel Diving mask Hip boot Personal flotation device Snorkel Waders Wetsuit Other Fish stringer Tackle box
Fishing techniques Gathering Abalone Ama divers Clam digging Flounder tramping Gathering seafood by hand Noodling Pearl hunting Scallop aquaculture Trout binning Trout tickling Spears Bowfishing Gigging Harpoon Hawaiian sling Polespear Spearfishing Speargun Trident Fishing lines Angling Dropline Drum lines Handline fishing Jiggerpole Jigging Jug fishing Longline fishing Spin fishing Tip-up Trolling Trotline Fishing nets Cast net Cheena vala Drift net Ghost nets Gill net Glass floats Haaf net Hand net Ice jigger Lampara net Lampuki net Lave net Lift net Salambaw Seine net Surrounding net Tangle net Trawl net Turtle excluder device Fish traps Almadraba Barrier net Corf Crab trap Double-Heart of Stacked Stones Eel buck Fish corral Fish nest Fish wheel Fishing basket Fishing weir Lobster trap Putcher fishing Trabucco Other Basnig Blast fishing Cormorant fishing Cyanide fishing Dredging Electrofishing Electric pulse fishing Fish aggregating device Fish toxins Fishfinder Fishing light attractor Flossing Ice fishing Kite fishing Muro-ami Otter fishing Pa-aling Payaos Shrimp baiting Snagging

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Techniques	Destructive fishing practices Fish trap Fishfinder Fishing net Gathering seafood by hand Handline fishing Spearfishing Trawling Trolling
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Locations	Fish ponds Fishing banks Fishing villages Marine habitats
Crime	Bering Sea Anti-Poaching Operations Coral poaching Freshwater eel poaching and smuggling Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing Arctic
Glossary Index Outline Category

• Recreational fishing
• Fishing equipment
• Nautical terminology