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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | I find that free spooling on the figure 8 works well with certian baits for me. I am able to do it with certain cranks, jerks and top waters... But I really really struggle trying to free spool DC10s and DC13s. I always seem to loose control on the first turn. Is there something that I could be doing differently or better?
Thanks
Edited by FAT-SKI 2/28/2012 5:39 PM
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Posts: 540
Location: MN | Why are you freespooling on the 8? Why not use your drag? |
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Posts: 742
Location: Grand Rapids MN | It may just be a preference thing for most but I don't free spool on the eight either but will after the fish is on boat side; if needed. Plus these nice long, tippy rods help with fighting fish boat side.
This is only a guess but maybe the whole free spool in the eight may be due to most people 'back in the day' using reels like Abu that just won't free spool with any pressure on them plus it was difficult to bad off the drag because they had to crank them down to get any force out of them. Well at least I did with my Abu's other than the Revo. |
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Posts: 215
Location: Twin Cities | Try going "Lefty" for a while, maybe your thumb strength will improve.?..? |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | Unfortunately I am already a "lefty" LOL. I watched a musky video with my grandfather from back in the day (he was an avid Musky hunter). They talked a lot of free spooling and how it would be able to increase boat side lands. Most if not all of my buddies keep the drag pretty much as tight as it can go with the exception of a few situations, that is how I was taught and it works well for me (probably because that is all I know) My Grandfather taught me how to free spool before he passed. He was able to do it with any bait (he was a beast). I couldn't believe it.
Like I said I am able to do it with very specific baits, top waters are the easiest. There is maybe 7 baits in my arsenal that I am able to do it with, 7 out of.... god only knows how many I have. It works for me instead of having to use my drag all the time. As well as I always feel it is good to have more tricks then the next guy. I will try a little this year to mess with my drag a bit and see if it helps on the 8s with DC10s and DC13s.
You are all correct though, it is most defiantly an old school thing.... But if it ain't broke don't fix it |
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Posts: 540
Location: MN | If you can't handle a dbl10/dbl13 on the 8 how are you going to set the hook on a fish by the boat? IMHO freespooling isn't a "trick" to help you land more fish it's a "trick" to lose more boatside. |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | I don't do it anymore with the DC10s and 13s, I lost to many fish that way. Hey man I respect your opinion, but it works for me on certain baits... I suppose I should mention that I am only doing this when I am using my super short jerk bait rod. it is a 5'5". It's a chunky little rod.
Outside of the 10s and 13s I have lost only one fish on a free spooled 8. that was on the top raider. However I don't think it was a lack of 'hook set' because I almost took one of my eyes out I hit it so hard, I think I just didn't give it time to take it under enough. This is something I utilize maybe once a day or even once a week depending on situation, weather and how hot they are following me in. This is not something I am doing all of the time, especially since I throw DC10s and DC13s about 90 percent of the time anyway and don't use this practice for those baits...
Its not that I can't handle the 8 with DC10s and 13s because trust me I can with no issues, just not free spooling. There is too much water pressure hitting the blades when I take the corner and I lose action and F*** everything up when trying to use that bait for that purpose. But figure 8s with big blades is my all time favorite thing to I love to be able to watch action and the hit at the same time. Its like you feel the grind, then the fish... LOVE IT!!
Like I said I respect your opinion, and if you don't do it, cool.... whatever works for you man... but this system works for me in certain situations.
but I am going to try what Tim Schmitz said and mess with my drag a little more for the 10s and 13s. So thank you for that info. I will do some playing around this year and continue to expand my knowledge to do different things in different situations. The more I know how to do, and if I am able to execute those things correctly then IMO the better off I am.
Edited by FAT-SKI 2/29/2012 7:58 AM
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Posts: 64
Location: Crystal Lake, IL | I fished with a guide in Ketucky a couple years back that keeps his drag looser than any musky fisherman out there. When he goes to set the hook he trained himself to put his thumb down on the spool to prevent any slipping. If you can train yourself to do this, you will never have to worry about free spooling at boatside, you can just keep pressure on the spool until you bury the hooks home, then you can let the drag do the work.
I've been working on it since that day and have been pretty successful at it. The only problem is that it's musky fishing, so you don't get a ton of practice at setting the hook frequently.
Something to think about... |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | bigmckee23 Thanks Man, I have never thought of doing it that way. I am defiantly going to try that this year. That seems like it would take less stress on my arm to plus easier to set hooks as well... huh... Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to try that this year.
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Location: Grand Rapids MN | As I mentioned before it really comes down to what equipment is used and how you're able to use it. Just calling it old school really doesn't give the whole picture. Reels were different, line, and those short stout rods so they learned what works best for the equipment used. Now that FS mentions he uses a short rod it may be necessary. Long rods help a person steer a fish better and try and keep their heads down without a lot of line so it's not always needed.
I tighten my drags down good on my old Abus a just because they don't hold as well. My Revo though has great holding power without cranking it down. It really comes down to equipment and situations.
Also no matter what we do sometimes the fish will win and get off. It's tough to be armchair quarterback and say what happened. Heck, I'm toughest on myself after I miss or loose a fish and think what could I have done differently. It just happens. |
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| if you have #*#*ty reel maybe free spooling will help ya |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | Well lets see. I have a Calcutta 400b, three Revo's and one Abu 6600... the small cheap Abu is what I use to do it with... so yes compared to my other reals it is ****ty.
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Posts: 1141
Location: NorthCentral WI | After a few years I got myself in the habit of free spooling on the 8 most of the time. When I get lazy I still keep the reel engaged once in a while. IMO, free spooling is better for a couple of reasons. 1) You are able to give the fish some line after you get a hit on the eight. 2) You are already in free spool and ready for the next cast immediately after you lift your lure from the water.
The reason I got myself in the habit of trying to always freespool is because a few years back, I had a big fish hit on the first turn that I never saw following in very stained water. There was cabbage everywhere up to 12" of the surface so I thought I had knicked a piece on the turn because it didn't hit hard. I just felt a little resistance but nothing crazy. When I pulled up on the rod a 50" class fish floated up on it's side right next to the boat. As soon as the fish realized that it was hooked, it did one crazy headshake and snapped 80lb test like dental floss. I felt horrible knowing that fish had a Dbl 10 and leader stuck in it's face. Keep in mind, my drag was locked down and was reeled in up to the leader, maybe had 12" of line to work with. Didn't have time or react quick enough and the drag never gave any line, just snapped it. And that, is why I trained myself to freespool the 8. Granted there were probably mistakes made by myself in that scenario but those are behind me. I just want to prevent anything like that from happening in the future. |
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| I've started keeping the drag backed off from the "cranked down all the way" position. Freespooling in the 8 is great if you can do it, but that just seems to be asking for trouble as far as I am concerned. I will freespool AFTER I set the hook at boatside, just to have a little more control over the fish, but I don't see a real need to freespool during the figure 8. |
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Posts: 375
| i use to keep my drag locked down tight, and that worked just fine for me dealing with smaller class fish, but i learned my lesson 4 years ago. i saw a really big fish 5 feet behind my manta that was running a foot below the surface as it was around maybe 15 feet from the boat in about 3 feet of water. when the bait got to my feet i made a sharp "L" and the fish t-boned it. i set the hook and hung on as the rod doubled over absorbing all of the shock that it could. the fish bolted directly away from me with it's back out of the water..it still amazes me how incredibly fast these fish are! in those split seconds of madness i thought that i wouldn't be able to free spool being that i was so tightly locked up with that fish, so i backed off on the star drag maybe a half turn...HUGE mistake! that was enough to give that fish the edge as the rod back loaded as it went airborn with it's head madly shaking and gills flarred. the next head shake above the water brought the manta roaring back past my ear as my better half let out a scream and ducked. that fish was EASY well over 50" and to this day was THE biggest fish i had ever seen follow / hooked. it took a good half hour till my knees stopped shaking enough to make another cast as i replayed what just happened over and over in my head. since then i have gone to a tight but not locked down drag. as i stop reeling line just before i start the 8 i use my finger to lock things down tight on the spool for the initial hookset. once the fish is nailed my finger comes off the spool and i let the drag do what it is designed to do. i can always put my finger back on the spool when necessary to gradually slow the fish down or turn it towards the net, all the while keeping the rod loaded the way i want it loaded. it has become automatic for me to do that now and i am much more comfortable / relaxed / confident...aint muskie fishing great...
Edited by STUSHSKY 3/1/2012 7:28 AM
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| For my first 12 years of musky fishing I always freespooled on the 8.
I lost the 2 largest fish I had ever hooked on the 8 within 2 hours of each other because my thumb slipped on the spool when I put the screws to them.
It was a tough habit to break, but the last 2 years I have caught several fish on the 8 with my reel engaged.
Losing those 2 fish really sucked, but taught me a valuable lesson in that it's goign to be really tough getting a good hookset on BIG fish with your thumb on the spool only.
Midge |
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Posts: 663
| Ever have your thumb jammed into the top frame of the reel from free-spooling on the 8? Even a modest sized fish can do that to you. It will break that habit pretty quickly. If you don't believe me try holding your thumb on the reel in free-spool and have a buddy grab the line and give it a sharp yank. You'll either let go or start cussing your buddy. |
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Location: Minnetonka | FAT-SKI - 2/28/2012 5:38 PM
Is there something that I could be doing differently or better?
I would try not free-spooling on the figure 8... ever... with any lure.
Push your button after the hookset if the fish requires it. |
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| i agree with others that don't do it...i've never free spooled on the figure 8 in 19 yrs of musky fishing...imo it's not necessary or adds value when your drag is set right...my 2 cents. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | If anyone's 80lb line breaks on a fish it ain't cause you didn't freespool. More likely a nick or fray in the line or a bad knot. |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | Thanks Guys, I really do appreciate the input of every ones opinion!
Thanks Again |
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Posts: 2015
| Flambeauski - 3/2/2012 12:56 PM
If anyone's 80lb line breaks on a fish it ain't cause you didn't freespool. More likely a nick or fray in the line or a bad knot.
I had a large fish that was "sandbagging" all the way to the boat. When she got boatside I saw she was heading very rapidly for the surface....stupidly (and out of instinct) I bury the rod in the water AND firmly placed my thump on the spool to try and keep her from jumping.......her tail cleared the water by two feet and it sounded like a RIFLE going off as the 80Lb line snapped.... CRACK!. When a big fish is really pulling you have to let them go..line, hooks, etc can and do break if you dont.
Also this was at night so it made it hard to really see what the fish was doing - for short "runs" big muskies have crazy power.
If I would have just let the drag do its thing this fish would have been in the bag.
Edited by IAJustin 3/2/2012 4:20 PM
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Posts: 1287
Location: WI | I like to freespool on the 8, but with a reel like a Saltist it just doesn't happen. I keep my drags moderately tight. The biggest fish I've ever lost was because I didn't freespool or loosen my drag. Lesson learned.
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | Worry about getting the fish to bite first (proper figure-8's). Most of the time modern equipment will handle what ever the fish throw at us. Doug Johnson
Edited by dougj 3/2/2012 4:58 PM
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Posts: 175
Location: Tonka, MN | I had similar experiences as STUSHSKY & IAJustin. My reel just locked up and there she went with the lure. And because of that I use to do it. I got out of the habit and believe as long as you can keep it in mind you should be fine. |
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