To meet the increasing demand from various fishing fields for training of fishing equipment operators, a fishing winch simulator was designed to train maritime students in the correct and safe operation of hydraulic winches under various load conditions related to fishing operations. The aim of this study is to describe the basic dynamic characteristics of the newly developed hydraulic fishing winch simulator and particularly to analyze the mechanical responses produced on the winch operation controls. The winch simulator consists of two winch units, a computer control and data acquisition system, a control consol and other associated mechanisms. When one winch is in hauling mode, the other one will always be in loading mode. The revolution speed of the hauling winch was controlled by a proportional directional control valve, and the braking torque of the loading winch was controlled by a proportional pressure control valve. The simulation experiments indicated that the dynamic characteristics of the hauling winch followed the braking response characteristics of the loading winch. The tests also showed that the warp speed and tension linearly depend on the pressure differential across the motor of the loading winch controlled by operating the proportional pressure control valve during the hauling operation. The experience gained from various training courses showed that the fishing winch simulator was very realistic and it was valuable for training novice winch operators. The results of the winch simulation exercise were recorded and used to evaluate the training on the operation and handling of the winch system. From these test results, we concluded that the tension acting on the warp during hauling operations can successfully be simulated by controlling the pressure differential across the motor with step changes of the control input signal to the proportional pressure control valve of the loading winch.