Bill Mathias: Roosterfish King

Bill Mathias, may well be one of the best roosterfish anglers that ever lived, even though you would have to sit on him and pound for an hour to make him admit it.

All of the really great anglers, keep copious notes, they are very focused on their quarry, they go about their business completely without fanfare or hocus-pocus.

Bill Mathias fits this profile perfectly. He's a world-traveled geologist with the soul of a scientist. He keeps meticulous notes, right in the panga, and he's always thinking about his quest with a completely open-minded and objective point-of-view. For Mathias, myth and traditional "fishing knowledge" are nothing more than starting points for his roosterfish experiments.

In six days Bill Mathias caught seven roosterfish estimated at 80 pounds or better, including four fish estimated at over 100 pounds, and at least one fish--estimated at 124 pounds--which would have easily broken the current IGFA all-tackle record of 114 pounds (Abe Sackheim, La Paz, 1960).

Bill goes to extreme lengths to release all roosterfish, even to the extent of giving up world records. In fact, he releases his fish so quickly, he's the worst photographic subject. Even with a trophy in his hands, he really, truly cares more about the health of the fish than getting a possible photo of a lifetime. Frustrating, but you gotta respect it. So, amigos, release all roosterfish to fight another day. They are a pure game fish anyway, lousy eating, but magnificent catching.

Bill uses a lever-drag reel loaded with 20-pound mono that ends in a 2-foot Bimini Twist knot that he glues for extra security. Next comes a 10-foot leader of 40-pound clear mono (Fluorocarbon? Nah.), tied with a palomar knot to a very special hook setup.

The set-up that Mathias uses for an 85 to 90 percent hookup ratio

For the complete article: http://www.mexfish.com/lapz/lapz/af021015/af021015.htm