Quote:
Originally Posted by Flaptail
Very light tackle may be exciting but the lengthy fight puts fish under tremendous physiological strain. Enzymes build up in thier blood from over exertion and enter the bloodstream that feeds the muscles. No matter how long you spend reviving the fish and its swims away half heartedly, chances are overwhelming that it will not recover and die within hours or days from the damage to the muscle mass.
I fish ten pound braid for bass from my skiff on the flats and have taken a quite a few large fish over the years with no problems and usually in short order without the aid of motor etc. Anything under ten pound is really irresponsible in terms of catch and release and resource protection. Cheap thrills at the fish's cost for record or notoriety only. If you have no qualms killling for the thrill of it than 2,4,6 and 8 pound tackle is the way to go.
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Agreed ... there are places and situations where light tackle will work okay for landing larger fish, but you also need the ability to land it as quickly as possible ... as the fish will fight themselves to death ... lighter gear in a lighter boat is okay as the drag of the skiff, kayak, canoe can help to tire the fish out ... but you also have to know how and when to put pressure on the fish to get it to the boat quickly ...
... but always favor heavier gear to subdue larger fish quickly, as they are far too valuable to waste on the fun of wearing them down on light gear.
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