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| Being that this year I am actually contacting fish worthy of the net....I have to ask this question: I'm noticing that I fight every fish SIDEWAYS, keeping the rod tip down, and leveraging the rod sideways against the fish. This runs contrary to the fighting techniques of many who fight fish with the rod up in the air, leveraging against a fish straight back from their bodies. I do it in an attempt to keep a fish's head DOWN,to keep them from jumping or thrashing on the surface. Your feelings, thoughts, opions?
Slamr | |
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| As long as you have good consistant preasure you should be fine. As long as you keep a good eye on the fish and go low if you think he is going to jump. A longer rod will help you keep a tighter line and work the fish out of trouble spots..Like the motor.
Stick some good ones this year Slamr... I think it your year!!![:bigsmile:] | |
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| I also like using long rods to keep constant pressure on the fish. I also don't like to place too much pressure on big fish, I think it makes the fish more active. Think about it, if you were hooked in the mouth with a large treble would you resist more when someone added more pressure or if you were allowed to simply swim with only a slight amount of pressure. I have watched several salt water video's and TV shows where anglers use the method of keeping the rod sideways against the fish. This method makes sense to me to keep the fish from going airborn.
Good luck, Murph | |
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| Hey Slamr,
Good to hear that you're having a good year so far. I hope you have many more chances at some slobs this year!!
I've changed my fighting habits also while bringing in the skies. I use to keep my rod tip up and I'd bury myself into the fish all the while retrieving it to the boat. Well I lost my share of fish fighting this way, and have changed the way in which I fight them. Like what has been touched on already, I found out that the longer rods would definitely keep the hooks buried in the musky's mouth. With the new superbraids there's no question that there's alot less stretch than traditional dacron or monofilament. I use to have a six foot, heavy action rod that I had used with my jerkbaits and crankbaits. But the pool stick spine on these poles just didn't have the "give when a fished bolted, or did the whirling dirvish at boatside. I had lost my share of fish when they "skied" on me with the stiff tip that the 6 footer had, but have completely turned that around with a much longer rod tip. Those longer poles no doubt allow an angler to manuever the fish around easier, and the shock absorbing tip is great when the fish unexpectadely come sailing out of the water.
You can usually tell when the buggers want to race to the surface, so by burying the rod tip towards the water you're forcing their heads down. It takes much more effort for them to shake their melons(ya their heads...I know what your thinking.he,he,he) in the water than on the surface, thus tiring them out quicker. Plus, by pulling in the opposite direction like you stated is always a good tactic. A fish doesn't always swim directly away from us nor directly toward us so it only makes sense to pull in the opposite direction that they're running.
There are always going to be times when a fish will end up tossing us no matter how well we "play them out". But the old bass/walleye fighting technique with the rod at 12 o clock position isn't always feasible.
catch ya later,
Krappie | |
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| Dude, Murph brought up a good point! Keeping the rod somewhat to the side helps prevent major jumpage + as well as less slack; when the rod is at 12:00 + a fish comes up, it's too hard to retrieve line fast enough to keep pressure on...another plus is that if the fish changes direction it is easier to take the rod from side to side + the fish is more easily led from this position...[:sun:] | |
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| Dude, Murph brought up a good point! Keeping the rod somewhat to the side helps prevent major jumpage + as well as less slack; when the rod is at 12:00 + a fish comes up, it's too hard to retrieve line fast enough to keep pressure on...another plus is that if the fish changes direction it is easier to take the rod from side to side + the fish is more easily led from this position...[:sun:]
* also by watching your line you can "visually feel" the fish...if a fish is sounding I'll use a more straight up rod position allowing me to go sideways quickly if need be. | |
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| Heck, when you're a little guy like me you just hope you don't get pulled in after the hookset hey Krappie![:0] To tell you the truth I don't know how I'm fighting a fish most of the time. My bro's tell me I look like a willow branch in a wind storm, so I must be using my whole body. I do know I try to keep my rod tip up. I don't know what it is, but I have very few fish sky on me. Maybe it's my whispy body jerking around that scares the muskie away from the surface. [:p]
I do have a question for everyone though. How do you keep the darn things on when they make that first few headshakes in the beginning of the battle? I lose more fish in the first few seconds than anytime.
"Let em go, Let em grow" | |
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Muskie FIGHTING Technique?