Posted 9/2/2008 2:54 PM (#334425) Subject: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Posts: 87
So a few friends of mine have been talking about what each of us do in the figure 8. Below is a poll of how people use drag, no drag, or free spool in the figure 8. Please select which you do, if there is no option like yours please add it.
Posted 9/2/2008 11:56 PM (#334502 - in reply to #334425) Subject: Re: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Posts: 1296
Location: WI
I use the drag until hooked, then freespool. This year I'm 3 for 4 with that method.
Donnie
Posted 9/3/2008 6:41 AM (#334506 - in reply to #334425) Subject: RE: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
This has been an age old debate for years. I have caught many muskies in a figure 8...and many big muskies too.
I have seen many a thumbnail pulled right off of a thumb when a huge muskie takes off at mach III from the boat, and buries the thumb under the thumbar...muskie gone, thumbnail gone, and a trip to the hospital to get it removed.
Drags were made for a reason...there are many, MANY great fisherman who can and will use their thumb to freespool. BUT, keep in mind, they have done it hundreds of times. I feel much more comfortable locking the drag down, ball peen (sp?) hammer tight, and let the drag do the work. If I lose a small one because it is too tight, oh well. The majority of fisherman have not had the opportunity to catch lots of fish in a figure 8...so buy a good reel with a good drag and let the reel do the work.
As Worrall said, for all intents and purposes he uses "freespool." Bob Mehsikomer uses freespool...these guys have been there, done that.
I had a friend who got a bird's nest and lost a big one because he wasn't expecting the fish to take off and run so much line of so quickly? Muskies are fast, explosive creatures, who are unpredictable...this is why we fish them!!
Just my 2 cents worth....
Donnie
Phil
Posted 9/3/2008 10:43 AM (#334540 - in reply to #334425) Subject: RE: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
A lot of this debate is a result of how our tackle has changed over the years. When I first started muskie fishing most guys were using 6' rods. The rods were very stiff and unforgiving. On a short line w/ a green fish you just couldn't count on your drag and it was too hard to keep a bend in the rod. So I learned how to freespool. Now rods are much longer and more forgiving, easier to keep a good bend even w/ a fish going nuts at boatside. Drags have improved as well. I'm getting more in the habit of not freespooling. Either method executed properly will work just fine.
Posted 9/3/2008 10:51 AM (#334541 - in reply to #334425) Subject: Re: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain
"Drag locked down and puts reel into free spool as they enter the figure 8"
And this is super easy to do if you are right handed and use a left side crank reel. No fumbling from one hand to the other and if you F8 with the left hand, and are right handed, then you lose out on a good quick powerful hookset.
Posted 9/3/2008 12:18 PM (#334563 - in reply to #334541) Subject: Re: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Posts: 32935
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin
As an added comment, I never have my thumb in position where it's possible to slip up under the spool; I rest it against the top of the reel frame by 'palming' the reel. I use the free spool a couple times in this video boating an -average for this lake- 43.5" 'splasher', watch where my thumb is on the Okuma 250.
Donnie
Posted 9/3/2008 1:20 PM (#334571 - in reply to #334425) Subject: RE: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Worrall,
As I'd mentioned, you are one who has done battle face to face with the big girls...you know what is expected. I think the muskie general public hasn't had the opportunity to be in the situation where a BIG fish can tear reels apart and break lines, if the correct motions aren't done.
Equipment has come a LONG way!! It does make it easier for certain to keep your drag engaged.
Posted 9/3/2008 1:49 PM (#334575 - in reply to #334425) Subject: Re: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Posts: 8842
I don't freespool until after I've set the hook, for two reasons:
1. I hold the front grip of the rod, and my other hand is on the butt end during the figure 8.
2. I don't trust myself to palm the reel, thumb the spool, set the hook, and not totally screw up in the process.
My drag is never completely locked down, either. Just... well, enough. Once I set the hook, then I'll freespool in case the fish decides to run so I can give it some line if I have to. So far that has worked well for me. Granted, my biggest fish on a figure 8 has been a 49.5", so a really big one might just change my mind about the whole thing...
Posted 9/3/2008 7:10 PM (#334626 - in reply to #334425) Subject: Re: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Posts: 1887
Location: syracuse indiana
i have done both for years. but i can say usually i like the set hook then free spool them.. and i always use reels with thumbars. they make it so easy anymore. just my 2 cents....bill
Posted 9/3/2008 7:34 PM (#334631 - in reply to #334626) Subject: Re: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Posts: 32
Location: Brainerd, Minnesota
My drag is always locked down as tight as it will go (the only exception is if I am trolling). I don't want any slippage when I am setting the hook.
When I come into the figure 8 and a fish bites, I release the spool AFTER the fish is hooked. I have seen too many fish lost from people monkeying with the drag at this point. Slack line = lost fish. But you also need to act quickly with a fish hooked beside the boat with a tight drag. I've also seen a few that ripped free from folks who panicked and just held on for dear life. In this case, one needs to be awfully fast with the net, and believe it or not, we've netted a few fish over fifty inches in less than 30 seconds.
A super tight drag and a feisty boat side fish puts an awful lot of pressure on your gears, and they often mesh so hard that simply pushing the button is not enough to release the spool. If you've ever had this happen, you know what I"m talking about. What helps me is to do a combination of two things. First, to take the pressure off the spool by following the fish. If it's moving toward the back of the boat, follow it that way while at the same time pulling back on the spool with your thumb and pushing the thumb bar too. Second is to use long rods to your advantage in that critical time. They too will take the pressure off by simply leaning forward and reaching out, and usually give you that brief moment that you need to disengage the spool. The rods I use gradually keep getting longer and longer. My primary rod this year is 9 feet long.
All of my musky fights are done this way, boatside or other. I use a game of engaging and disengaging the spool throughout the fight without ever using the drag. Everything is done manually. This has worked well for me, and I have not once ever hurt my thumb (although I know of some who have). Maybe I shouldn't have said that!
Don't know about the rest of you, but this has been my best ever year for catching fish on the 8, day or night!
Posted 9/3/2008 9:42 PM (#334644 - in reply to #334425) Subject: RE: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Posts: 221
Location: Detroint Lakes, MN
I've never been one to free-spool fish.
I don't lock my drag down all the way, I don't think it's neccesary to do that with sharp hooks and no stretch line.
When I get a fish to bite, whether it's boatside of further out, I put tension on the fish, and after I feel it's on the hooks, back off my drag. I don't set real hard, I just keep constant pressure on the fish.
Always worked well for me.
I think many fish are lost with a hard hook-set and no-stretch line when the drag is locked down.
Works for me.
JS
Donnie
Posted 9/4/2008 6:45 AM (#334667 - in reply to #334425) Subject: RE: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Worrall,
I have an old timer I know, whose been fishing for muskies for 50+ years, who buys a new reel and takes the drag system out. He became so conditioned to using freespool, that he was never able to change. He is extremely well versed with dealing at the boat with these fish...I just don't trust myself. I'm still learning...I only have 22 years under my belt...
Posted 9/25/2008 9:59 PM (#337872 - in reply to #334425) Subject: RE: Figure 8 in free spool or not.
Posts: 240
I have to agree with some of you who said that with Long rods and better drag, you don't need to free spool. I use Curado reels that have ultra smooth drags. I tighten them enough where if the fish wants to run, he can take some line. When figure eighting, I thumb the spool hard to set the hook, then let the drag do its job. I have not lost a fish yet on this method.
Cory
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