Landing GTs

[Jay Burgess]

As we all know most GTs are too big to fit in a conventional landing net. I've noticed two of the most common ways of bring GTs aboard is via lifting it from the water by the tail or a gaff through the bottom jaw. Which one is considered to do the least amount of damage to the fish and are there any other better methods?

[Tom Grubb]

i hate seein a gaff in a GT even if its not doing any damage, i sure wouldnt like one in my lower lip.. once the fish is at the boat get someone with gloves on to grab the leaded then grab the tail of the fish, if the fish is around 20kg+ youll have to use some good timing with letting go of the leader and using two hands to grab the fish to pull it in. have seen alot of japs use big landing nets on you tube.

[Warwick Joyce]

I have thought about this before and i'm probly giving away a great idea Barra fishing has accommodated for this problem a few ways and one of them is a matt, sort of a piece of canvass or other tough material with a rod down each side and a couple of handles. You simply swim the fish onto it and lift, the matt supports the whole weight along the whole fish. Works well for monster impoundment Barra.
The only thing that conserns me is the anal fins on the gt, do they fold flat? If they dont a matt for lifting would cause serious damage. Swimming a 40kg plus GT onto a matt that would be big enough might be a challenge but what about GT fishing isnt a challenge?