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Posts: 134
| For those of you familiar with Tarpon fishing the general practice is to 'bow to the king' when the fish comes up and jumps.
On a recent outing I lost nice fish on a jump. Probably nothing I could have done but it got me thinking about those aerial fish and if a guy should bow for the jump or not?
Admittedly, i ask this because after the 10,000th mental replay I find myself thinking I could have done something differently. Every musky hunter cover with a fish half out of the water takes me back to that moment...
So lets here it.... am i crazy or partially heart broken looking for a new way to shake fish? |
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Posts: 20277
Location: oswego, il | I fight them with the rod tip down and in the water. Very few jump.
Steelhead are a different story. They are coming 6ft out 9f the water with a giant dipsey diver that didn't trip.
Edited by ToddM 8/17/2016 1:02 PM
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Posts: 638
Location: S.W. WI | I guarantee if you would have bowed- it wouldn't have turned out any worse. However if you bow every time-I'm sure some will get off and you will probably wish you kept a tight line.
.....I also have questioned the same idea... |
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Posts: 559
| never really got that tarpon fishing the few tarpon I have caught when they jump they are still ripping out line I give them the nod and they still ripp drag.muskies are different I can feel when they are going to jump and , yes give them the bow |
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Posts: 114
| Do you think size/weight of the lures come into play? Giving a bow to a musky with a bull dawg in its mouth can't be a good idea. One strong head shake and say good by. Lots of fly fishing for tarpon. Don't believe tarpon flies weigh more then a Mepps. Just guessing out loud. |
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Posts: 3163
| Excuse my passion about this,,,but just enjoy them!!!!!!I raise my rod tip I WANT them to jump!!! I want a fighter not a prisoner. All I want out of a musky is a thrill not a picture I don't need to possess them,best case scenario is strike away from the boat 3-4 jumps couple heartattack can't stop runs and at the side of the boat after a look at them they throw the hooks so I don't have to mess with them. The jumps and thrills are worth the risk of losing,,your gonna release em anyways.
Edited by happy hooker 8/17/2016 7:42 PM
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Posts: 46
| JMacD - 8/17/2016 7:18 PM
Do you think size/weight of the lures come into play? Giving a bow to a musky with a bull dawg in its mouth can't be a good idea. One strong head shake and say good by. Lots of fly fishing for tarpon. Don't believe tarpon flies weigh more then a Mepps. Just guessing out loud.
I agree with ya. A fly or a big circle hook... I would definitely give them slack. Now a 9 inch bait, with the fish hooked by the back hook? In my opinion that fish is creating leverage on that hook that wouldn't happen with a fly. So what do you do when a fish hits at boatside? Give it a little slack or pull as hard as you can tearing a huge hole in its mouth making it easier for the hook to fall out. I think about this alot. I've lost more fish jumping at boatside green keeping my rod tip low and putting pressure on them. If you watch slow motion videos of muskies shaking the lure goes everywhere no matter how much pressure you put on em. Maybe the best thing to do is hold on and pray?
Edited by #1netman 8/17/2016 8:09 PM
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Posts: 299
| I Tarpon fish a lot! Fly, Plug, live bait and sight cast. We bow to them for several reasons. 1) We use at the most 50# braid and 80# Flouro Leaders and if you don't give slack when they jump it's very common they'll snap the leader when your tight to them on a jump. Their headshakes and shear size/weight is enough to break the line or leader. 2) A fishes weight is reduced in the water but out of water your dealing with a giant strong fish. 3) A lot of times Tarpon do back and front flips or land on their side and it's very easy for them to land on the leader. If you don't give slack they can easily snap it. As others mentioned the weight of the lure comes into play big time and that's why Fly Fishing for Tarpon is usually very successful. A weightless fly is really hard for a fish to throw out of the water. We can hook a ton of Tarpon on Muskie baits but notice I said "hook" not "land". They almost always have no issues throwing a 1oz or heavier bait out of the water. For Muskie using normal heavy Muskie baits I don't think bowing to them is going to help. It's best to anticipate the jumps and bury that rod in the water as fast as you can to prevent them coming out of the water. The heavy baits we use I think work better with a tight line when a fish is jumping because you might be able to slow down or limit the force of the headshakes. On a loose line the weight of the lure will do the job and a fish can easily throw it. We also use really heavy leaders and line so it's very unlikely they'll snap the leader or line. After all my Tarpon experience years ago I messed around with bowing to a Muskie when jumping and lost a lot of fish (on normal Muskie baits). It just doesn't work as well as it does with Tarpon. Best to bury the rod! |
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Posts: 400
Location: Metro | happy hooker - 8/17/2016 7:34 PM
Excuse my passion about this,,,but just enjoy them!!!!!!I raise my rod tip I WANT them to jump!!! I want a fighter not a prisoner. All I want out of a musky is a thrill not a picture I don't need to possess them,best case scenario is strike away from the boat 3-4 jumps couple heartattack can't stop runs and at the side of the boat after a look at them they throw the hooks so I don't have to mess with them. The jumps and thrills are worth the risk of losing,,your gonna release em anyways.
Not dissing but I don't know if I can share your passion. When I get hooked into a musky I want it in my boat. Taking that picture and being able to put it in my collection is probably one of the best feelings to me. I cant wait to go back in 20 years and see all the different fish I caught in my lifetime. I am happy I started musky fishing young so I have plenty of years to build that picture collection.
Hopefully the 50" is on its way this year. |
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Posts: 1150
Location: Minnesota. | happy hooker - 8/17/2016 7:34 PM
Excuse my passion about this,,,but just enjoy them!!!!!!I raise my rod tip I WANT them to jump!!! I want a fighter not a prisoner. All I want out of a musky is a thrill not a picture I don't need to possess them,best case scenario is strike away from the boat 3-4 jumps couple heartattack can't stop runs and at the side of the boat after a look at them they throw the hooks so I don't have to mess with them. The jumps and thrills are worth the risk of losing,,your gonna release em anyways.
HH,
I'm right there too! I live for the take, the few runs and dogged drag/fight they'll give me, as long as it's within reason for the fish. I live for that fight! Then into the bag and I mostly don't even bother to measure them unless she's a biggie! No need to get another 46" er measured...I really don't mind.
And don't get me wrong, I haven't taken all that many in my 35 yrs trying! Just enough to make me happy!!
Mike, I envy you. Takes that meaning of "sharp hooks" to a whole 'nuther level! I've never fished tarpon and don't need to b/c with my personality type I don't need still another lust in this hobby. It would cost me!
Congrats on the thrill. I envy you and that scenario would haunt my thoughts too...really! |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | happy hooker - 8/17/2016 7:34 PM
Excuse my passion about this,,,but just enjoy them!!!!!!I raise my rod tip I WANT them to jump!!! I want a fighter not a prisoner. All I want out of a musky is a thrill not a picture I don't need to possess them,best case scenario is strike away from the boat 3-4 jumps couple heartattack can't stop runs and at the side of the boat after a look at them they throw the hooks so I don't have to mess with them. The jumps and thrills are worth the risk of losing,,your gonna release em anyways.
complete agreement!! ... also, i'll take a king salmon over a musky brawl any day. |
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Bow to the King???