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This is a big lesson I learned last season while fishing several places.
For a long time I always kept a very tight drag and tried to bring fish in as quickly as possible. My reasoning was the more time fish were in the water, more time for them to break off or come unbuttoned.
I have alot of faith in my connections, that they will hold up to strong pull and pressure.
But we were fishing a bunch of different spots that are real bony, and even though fish were coming in quickly, they were green. Good sized bass had the power to dig down into the rocks and either pop out the hooks or rub the line into rocks enough to break off.
It wasnt about the power to stop them, or connections. We could have used 100lb test, I think it still would have happened.
So after a strong hookset, I now loosen the drag some to let fish make a run or two. They move away instead of digging down. After those few short runs, its amazing how easily fish come after they are tired out.
Of course, this doesnt work for eveywhere. Someplaces you need to stop them in their tracks, others you can let them run all night. But for most of the terrain I fish, letting the bass make a run helps in my landing ratio.
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