Part of the allure of fly fishing is the reduction of apparatus separating angler and fish. The ancient art of handline fishing brings angler and fish even closer.
Adam Nelson, an East Liberty outdoorsman who said he’s drawn to that “minimalist” approach, makes and markets a handline fishing tool he calls Daggerfish. A handcrafted wooden spool wrapped with fishing line, it is sort of the opposite of tenkara, the Japanese fly fishing system in which a short length of line is attached to the end of a rod.
“In the same way tenkara is a rod with no reel, this is a reel with no rod,” said Mr. Nelson.
Anglers have been catching fish with handlines for centuries. Modern adaptations are used for saltwater subsistence fishing — remember “The Old Man and the Sea”? — and are sometimes used in the Deep South for brim and catfish. Mr. Nelson, who said he is not a fisherman, developed the Daggerfish for hiking and camping.
“I describe myself as an outdoorsman,” he said, rigging his line on the shore of North Park Lake last week. “My dad was a national park ranger, so I grew up outdoors. He and my brother are big fishermen. I went out with them, but I really preferred just walking around in the woods and seeing things.”
He developed Daggerfish to be a small, light, portable addition to his hiking and camping gear. Turns out it’s also a survival tool and a fun way for experienced anglers to get back to the basics of fishing.
Any line with a hook on it can catch fish. Some handlines have a spindle, a simple spool to hold and dispense line. Daggerfish is a type of hobo hand reel with the line wrapped around a stick about the size of a highway flare.
“A couple ways to cast,” said Mr. Nelson.
The right-hander held the Daggerfish in his right hand and dangled the line from his left. Swinging both hands forward, he pointed the stick in the direction of the cast and released the line. The weight of a small bobber carried the line forward and it neatly unwound from the stick and splashed into North Park Lake about 20 yards from shore. To retrieve he rewound the line around the stick.
“Then there’s the bolo method,” he said, swinging the bobber-weighted line in a circle and releasing, again pointing the stick forward. Centrifugal force pulled the line off the stick and propelled it to the same spot as the previous cast.
Instead of using live bait, Mr. Nelson had tied on a small beaded nymph weighted with a split shot. In the few minutes that we spoke, he made five or six casts and brought in two small bluegills, which were released.
“As I said, I don’t consider myself a fisherman, but this is fun,” he said. “I bring the Daggerfish when I’m hiking. It stows into my pocket or pack and when I cross a small stream, sometimes I take a break and make a few casts to see if I can catch anything. Some trails go to a mountain lake, and fishing for trout is a good, relaxing break when you get there.”
My first attempt at casting the Daggerfish landed in the weeds. Figuring out how to control direction wasn’t hard, however, and on my fourth cast I landed a small bluegill.
Each Daggerfish is hand-lathed and packaged by Mr. Nelson at two Pittsburgh-area workshops. He starts with branches, not boards. In addition to being functional, they fit ergonomically into the hand with smooth lines and a palpable level of craftsmanship.
“I started out using oak, but it splinters too much,” he said. “These that we’re using now are made from sugar maple. It’s so pretty with these natural grain patterns in it. I also use cherry, walnut and osage orange (also known as hedge apple), all American woods responsibly sourced from local sawmills.”
Mr. Nelson hollows the end of a 9- to 10-inch dowel rod, making a compartment that will contain a packet of bare hooks, swivels, aluminum split shot, a bobber and a few flies and soft plastic lures. The compartment is plugged with a cork. About 30 yards of 6-pound monofilament line is tied to and wound tightly around the business end of the stick. Each Daggerfish weighs about 5 ounces and comes packaged in a sawdust-filled box. The product has evolved since the microbusiness began about a year ago. A slightly larger delux model has been added.
“I have friends who are fishermen who use this as their second rod,” he said. “There are some limitations. You can’t cast across the lake because you don’t have that leverage, and with 6-pound test you’re kind of limited in size of the fish.”
Anglers targeting larger fish could easily upgrade the line and tackle. The spring action of a standard fishing rod helps to keep tension on the line while landing a fish. Daggerfish anglers have to master the skill of wrapping line while maintaining tension against a hooked fish.
Fishing tactics wouldn’t change much. Bait under a bobber works best when the float, a depth regulator, holds the bait about a foot off the bottom. Retrieving a lure is usually most effective when the line is jerked or stripped to make it appear to be alive. In moving water, cast upstream after applying the amount of weight necessary to drop the bait or lure just ahead of the point where you believe the most active fish are holding. Daggerfish is perfect for trolling or jigging straight down from a boat, bridge or pier. If you’re targeting larger fish, protect your wrapping hand with a glove.
Handlining is legal in Pennsylvania in all situations but ice fishing, and of course license and harvest regulations apply.
Daggerfish hand reels sell for $60 and are available at 3 Rivers Outdoors in Regent Square, PG&H Downtown, Love, Pittsburgh on Mount Washington and online at Daggerfishgear.com and Amazon.com.
First Published: August 27, 2020, 11:00 a.m.
Updated: August 27, 2020, 3:09 p.m.
