I think a lot of the above advice is spot and technique specific. Letting a large (and that term is relative to the tackle you are using) fish take a lot of line may work well over sand or with a single hook, but with plugs in strong current or in a shallow boulder fields fighting a fish on a long line stacks the odds against you.

It may help to think of the fight as four stages. There is the take, roll, thrashing bit....where it is easy to get too rough and pull free. The run.......where how much pressure you can or need to risk depends on the strength of your attachment to the fish (i.e., hook/line strength) and what/where the obstructions you will need to deal with lie. The work back.........where keeping the fish coming with its head up while avoiding slack or prolonged pumping that opens hook holes is key. And the landing....... where the angle of pull and degree of tension on the fish changes quickly and some lightening of forces is usually necessary.

When I think about it, however, once you are past the ego stage of fishing where the size of what you catch and kill makes you feel good about yourself there are two main reasons to seek big fish,.......because they are a challenge to find and hook, and because once you hook them they can and often do beat you. So you smile, give them their due, and try again. Not a bad thing.

Good points Geo,I might add to the landing stage there is th last ditch effort.I have seen many fish lost when the fish makes his last run.Usually as they near the waters edge they realize this is not good and will try with all they have left.On a short line this can be bad.I sometimes will loosen the drag a click at this point and cup the spool lightly to keep just enough pressure on em.
I still think about the one over fifty I lost at my feet..As time goes on I think that it is not that important anymore.I don't NEED a 50 lb fish to justify the sport..I have gotten so much from it already...
Releasing one would be the ultimate in Poetic Justice.IMO
When I think about the evolution of my fishing life.I am a long ways away from the kid who threw his rod down in the sand to tackle his first keeper..:eek5:

Don't kid yourself....

Thanks I think..
My grey beard and creaky body might suggest otherwise.
I'll always be a child at heart..:hihi:

BD, at this point I've finally realized that your most important piece of equipment in landing large fish is between your ears.

Tackle failure happens, even to the most diligent. I've always believed that luck is for the ill-prepared but while it doesn't hurt, eventually luck alone will desert you at the worst time. While I say I'd rather be lucky than good, the guys I've fished with who are the most successful - beyond what they've acquired over years of time in the surf - are fully focused and relaxed - in other words, they put themselves in the zone.

How you get there is up to you. Like Cool Hand Luke, you gotta get your mind right after you've got the mechanical nuances down.

Besides, if you were banging big fish without fail every time you went out I think some of the magic would go out of it for me. It's the uncertainty that makes it what it is - if it was a guarantee every time, it would just end up being like having another job for me, personally.

Nothing truly worth having comes easy.

Amen

Tie your knots at home. Use good hooks, F sharpening a 40 cent hook,throw it away. I have listened too long to the referance of the quest for big fish as an ego trip. NOTHING in the hunt for Striped Bass compares to the adrenaline rush you get when fighting a fish you KNOW is a corker. Once you have done it, it will consume you. There is a certain amount of ego involved in all fishing, even the satisfaction the twins get from fooling fish with artificials has an allure. There is a time and place for everything, it's just that nobody knows where and when all the time. Some folks who have made the commitment to learning their waters may make advances one season only to have the following year serve you humble pie. This may be referred to as some as an ego check. Call it what you wish,anything that makes you happy can qualify as stroking your ego.

Fair enough. I should have said "...once you get past the reputation/fame need to catch and kill big fish.....". Personal satisfaction and ego gratification are always part of fishing and why we fish the way we do, whether we stalk fish with a flyrod on foot, or in a boat with electronics, bait, and lead......and whether we do it anonymously or publicly.

And, Chris, before you get too animated, I do not feel that catching and killing big fish for reputation purposes is anything other than a normal stage most fishermen go through.

George, we all have egos that need carressing at some point. I have many acquaintances that range from roofers to lawyers,even some doctors like yourself. Some of these doctors don't feel the need to announce their accomplishments or proffession by preceding their surname with Dr., as others choose to for no reason other than ego gratification. So please enjoy your cake today. Happy Holidays, Chris

Very true.....the fisherman's evolution in my mind is as follows....

1. Wide eyed newcomer.

2. Enthusiast/know it all.

3. Accomplished enthusiast.

4. Acclaimed/celebrated enthusiast.

5. Show off/egomaniac.

6. Accomplished pro who realizes he really doesn't know %$%$%$%$ and there really is a lot of luck/chance involved.

7. Humble veteran who would rather not be known at all and does it for fun.

So if you tell everyone you are a #7 what # does that make you?

Actually I think in some cases #7 is a humble guy who knows a lot and realizes it's more fun to share it and watch other people enjoy, than take it to the grave with him.

Good point. If you tell anyone, then by default you become a #5...:laugha:

Quite the twisted flow chart I put together here, isn't it?

More to the point of this thread is if you value yourself or another angler simply by what is caught then you're not seeing the full picture.

Chris, I'm not sure what my profession has to do with this discussion, but since it seems to bother you, please be informed the editors at OTW (who reside in the same town as I) made that decision on their own, not at my request nor with my fore knowledge. I'm not sure why you think how someone earns a living carries any weight in the fishing community, aren't all men equal in the eyes of a fish? Anyways, thanks for your good wishes, now where do I get some cake? :rolleyes:

Pie in the Sky???

Dr. George, since you seem convinced that my fishing is ego driven due to the fact I catch and kill or target large I made an effort to show you what it feels like to be accused of the same. I am sorry if you missed my point. I would also like to apologize if in fact the title was provided by OTW. No disrespect intended but it did come across as pompous as well as hypocritical based on your ego accusations. Again, my bad.

There's actually a well defined piscatorial pecking order.....eelers on top and, of course, everyone else on the bottom.

Exactly.....It's not a monster until it's at your feet on dry land or in your hands when you're in the water.. Heavy tackle, quick reaction, smart decision making, patience, appropriate pressure, and a good hook set all play a role.

you can bend the trebles.

bass dawg,
careful with the gami octopus hooks. those will snap.

Scuse me.Physics says they have to start straightning before they break.

Like I said I've Straightened 6X's.I ain't a %$%$%$%$ing liar.

Must be %$%$%$%$ing Winter.

I'm not sure I want to move up the totem pole in this tribe..
That is unless I am already at number seven.In which case you all are beneath me.
Wait, that wouldn't make me very humble then would it.
I guess I fall into the NIBulas realm of purgatory between six and seven..:tm:
This reminds me of a chapter from Dante's Book..:conf:
I just wanna go to PITS..:humpty:

Chris, please let's stop this. It distracts from the good things about this board. Other people probably find our behavior venial as well.

Let me try to clarify where I stand. I consider you an excellent fisherman, one of the best on the site, and certainly better than myself. I respect your knowledge, hard work, and well deserved success. How you fish doesn't matter to me. Really. Sauerkraut, one of the guys I fish the most, uses eels whenever conditions allow. That you keep fish doesn't matter to me. Earlybird (a lurker), the other guy I fish with most often, always keeps a fish to eat (and so do I to give to someone on occasion). What you do with your fish doesn't matter to me (I kill plenty practicing C&R). I don't even think you are the kind of guy who keeps fish to parade them around. Absolutely I don't blame you for keeping one to win a VS. I don't blame you for selling them legally, (I don't know that you even do). ProfM is a friend and a commercial fisherman.

I think you have excellent reason to be proud of your success as a fisherman, and no reason to be defensive about that pride. We all need things to support our self esteem, and being good at catching large fish is a healthy (and enviable) thing to excel at. That's probably the goal of most of us here on the site. You are also clearly intelligent, literate, and insightful. I agree, for instance, that both the article title (which was mine...though not the DR bit) and (even worse) at times the tone of the OTW article I wrote came across as pompous, but its intent was to help and encourage people to become better fisherman.....not to build my reputation.

For my part, I love to plug and I like to preach its joys to the uninitiated, who I fear get inundated with the mentality that if you are not soaking bait you are not going to catch anything good, and I love to tease the non-believers (even if they've got a point). I also worry about the pressure on big bass and want to encourage people to release them (primarily so I'll have a better chance to catch one, admittedly). I do not think I am smarter or better than you or anyone else. I've been humbled and ashamed too many times to go there anymore.

So let's try over again and keep it friendly. I'd rather learn from you than fight with you. Merry Christmas, Chris.

George

MERRY CHRISTMAS MIKE. AFTER 40 YEARS OF FISHING . . . I LIKE BEING A GHOST. ITS ALL A BLUR ANYWAY.

:kewl:

Serenity eternally.

"and so do I on occasion to give to someone"

HMMM..... Wasn't I who caught that bass to give to your sister?:bshake:

yup

gami live baits for me

thanks VERRRRY Much,

luds and jimmySly for the advice
about the Gammi Octo's,,,,,,,,,,,

nothing but Gammi Lives from here awn in.
or would you suggest mustad, VMC, others??

also to Crafty for letting me know it's all in me noggin!!

glad to sea that you and the Good doctor ironed
things out, Chris. thanks to the both of you for yer
wisdom and reflections. also, thanks to flap and BB!!

NIB, much thanks for your contributions as well!
missed you at RISAA last year,,,,,,,,,,,prolly by design
on your part. i hear ya though, the more i hook them the more i
am loving the fight and the Zen of it, and am only one or two more big gurls
away from being a frequent flyer in the over fiddy Club.
i know, i know, "doan tell me, SHOW me the weigh slips!!"

i am not saying so for recognition, nor does my ego need internet caressing, i would just like to reach THAT particular benchmark on me way to the World Record,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and yes that is my Ultimate Striperin' Goal~~ a legitimate 80#er, from tha surf!!!

if i garner sum high dollar schwag along the way, help me teammates to reclaim The Cup, win a shot at a Tundra, and get to surfcast with sum of NE's finest,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,then so BE it!!
*that is if the Striperin' Gods will allow.*

and i DO tip me hat when the beasts best me and they swim to fight on another Moon, this THREAD in and of itself is a tribute to the MONSTAHS "that get away". a year bigger and hopefully a year closer to my idiocy becoming consistency and my own drives and challenges being met. i release waaaaay more than i weigh, and feel good about my respect for our beloved prey,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

this was more about how long does it take and how many do EVEN the Best lose yearly,,,,,,,,,,,because it seems to me that it IS a progression, and that no matter HOW MANY it TAKES to land lahhhhge ~~with sum sense of regularity,

it is the journey that feeds OUR hunger, the hunt that fuels THE take,
and it is the striper dawn battles that beget OUR Striper Dreams.
of course, then there is the retelling of the tales!! :bl: :bl: :bl:

some of the best conversations i've ever had with ANYONE and the most intently i will ever listen to ANYONE has always been connected to God and fishing. NOW, even more so within this suprarecreation, surfcasting the Striper Coast, that takes surfcasting to its loftiest of heights
and causes many a man, woman, and child to seek a species' elusive splendor on serene and distant shores; surrounded by noone or alongside one's fishmate(s) latched onto a screaming drag and the trophy of a thousand haunts.
:jump: :jump:

BG, how are you typically losing them? are they breaking you off in the rocks, pulling the hook on you or getting slack and throwing the hook? I think knowing this will help us give advise. also, what rod are you using?

thanks Clogston,

i use an 11' glass mh rod, with a PENN750ssm for eels, riggies, sluggos, and chunks.
i use a 10' tsunami dolphin mh action with a 704Z for plugs, tins, and jiggggs.

last year i lost 2; 1 due to not re-spooling after sum decent feesh the night before~~rubbed the line on the rocks,,,,,,,and then SNAP (eeeeels set-up)!! the other because i hooked my eel the wrong way ~~she sucked it in and shook/ripped the eeeeel off the hook.

the year before that 2; 1 jumped and came right at me and jumped into a trough right at my feet green as she could be and she snapped the line(40#BGame uni to uni 25#PLine on the spool), the other one ona spook, wrapped my braid under a rock and started rolling herself up in the leader as i gave her more line(kayakker told me, as he was right on top of her)

the year before that 1; this beast hit a bug imitator that was not hooked properly, she hunkered down, and then spit my offering out like it was a waste of her time since i never got the hook set.

each event was a teacher, and each fight has made me more fit
for the next ones that WILL COME with next summer's migration.

that is, the Good Lord providing that me Honey Cove staaaaaaaays HOTTT
and me bones and my health be blessed to hop the Cape of Ann!!!
:bl: :bl: :bl:

How about #8

8. Who cares. It's just fishing. No one is gonna die. No one goes to jail (hopefully) Enjoy it for what it is.

Happy Holidays!!!