Fighting larger fish

[JHABS]

Keep the Pressure on and most Important give the Fish no Slack Line

[Nebe]

While i did just land a big bass, i really dont get alot of them, but when I am out I will always keep my drag almost locked down. This will help me really set the hook. Then after setting i will reach down right away and loosen the star drag a bit- Because of this style that i fish, i am considering switching to the avet lever drag, but i digress. I keep the drag tight, set the hook, loosen a tad and let the bass run. when its running I am standing still waiting for the bass to slow. As soon as it stops i start winching after i feel that i have turned its head. I try to get them in quick so I can release them..

oh, an if your drag is too tight after you set the hook, the bass will start head shaking. before i started loosening my drag after setting the hook, i lost a lot of bass... my guess is that with the braid, the bass simply rips out the hook. keep it loose and let them think they can get away...

I think you can get away with a locked drag the whole time with mono.. but with braid you have to have a loose enough so you dont rip lips.

my 10 ¢

[Backbeach Jake]

I've lost more fish with Braid and locked drag than any other way. The ones than did come in sported enlarged holes where the hooks were. Loose drag for me on the beach now.

[basswipe]

I lost several large fish this year on Mambos.In the end it was the hooks.I changed them to VMCs and started landing fish.I caught quite a few fish between 10-20lbs in the spring on one of Salty's bottle poppers and of course it had decent hooks.

I never overlook the hooks anymore.

[rizzo]

Water temp, current, fish size and the fishes mood determine how hard it will fight. I've had big fish come in like nothing, and had small fish 20-25#s fight like hell. This spring for example when the water was cold, the fish were tired from a long migration they came in like dead weight. One or two small runs and it was over (fish to mid 30#s). A couple weeks ago I had 12-15 pound fish that just wouldnt quit. This could be due to water temp, and that they were well fed and rested.

When I fight fish from the rock (exclude b-ways or inlets) I set on the fish with a fairly hard drag. From there I will loosen it quite a bit. If you keep a tight drag in this condition the hook could rip or tackle will break. Everyone always talks about "you gotta turn the fish, thats your only chance" or "I had to keep him outta the rocks. The problem is that when you fish braid it cuts like nothing under tight tension. So the fish goes in an area where the line touches a rock or barnacle and snap... fish off. With a loose drag the fish will have a hard time breaking you off.

The second issue is that if the drag is tight the fish cant pull line so it goes straight to the bottom where the odds of breaking off are even better. If it can take line they will run parallel to the bottom and you have good chances of landing it.

[Nebe]

Rizzo, we think alike read my post above

[rizzo]

i did read it nice fish once again!

[steelhead]

I'm going to loosen my drag and change out my Bomber hooks to VMC and see what happens :-) I'm going to land one of these guys yet!!! I've done it on a fly rod like you all described. Two long runs and it came in like a little puppy. Got to remember that!!!!

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by steelhead

and change out my Bomber hooks to VMC and see what happens :-)

That was the differance for me!

[NIB]

I don't hook any big ones.They just see me on the rocks an give up an beach themselves.

[BrianS]

The one night this year that I caught my biggest ever, I knew INSTANTLY this wasnt the same class fish I was catching

After I saw one hook bent (uncles cheap normal eelhook)
One hook snapped ( #7 gammy)

Then we adjusted and got some in... The fish we caught werent all that much bigger than what weve been catching (4-5" and 4-5lbs) but man did they fight bigger.

[Clogston29]

One thing that I have found helps alot when using plugs with small hooks, like bombers, is letting larger fish fight the rod as much as possible. What I do is after the first run, let them pull against the rod as much as possible and not try to turn them or reel them in until I feel that I have to in order to keep enough tension in the line. Doing this, in my opinion, often wears on the fish more that simply pulling it in and with less force since you are not moving the fish. It makes the fish work just to hold its ground and tires it out with minimal tension. It also lets you use less force when you do start gaining line on the fish making the small hooks less likely to pull or bend. Obviously not all fish will fight in a way that allows this but most seem to.

Also, it is important not to bring a larger fish into the surf zone until it is spent because they will panic and can use the undertow against you. Hopefully this helps. I know it has worked for me on the larger fish that I've caught, not that thats alot or anything.

[t.orlando]

Relax, let the drag do its job, dont panic. It takes losing a few good ones to know how to land good ones. IMHO the 36in to 41in fish fight the hardest and longest. The big ones, sometimes a few long steady runs, sometimes think its a schoolie.

[RIROCKHOUND]

E:
Braid;
Locked Drag
Single Hook Bucktail worked well at you know where for me last year...
That spot is due for a look SOON

With plugs I'm a moderate drag kinda guy, unless you REALLY need to turn a fish...

[Rob Rockcrawler]

I go with the mental aspect, if i hook up large i just tell myself that i got this fish beat. Usually works. When i need to move it around a rock or something i usually just thumb the spool on my Abu. Also when using topwaters some times i will thumb the spool real quick on the set just to get a good set then let the drag do the trick. One thing ive noticed that throws off the fight on a large fish. If its gut hooked the fish seems to fight like dead weight, not too lively of a fight. It happened a few weeks ago in the canal, a 38" fish felt like a schoolie, i was sure it was under 24 inches and when i finally saw her i was shocked. Good knots, hooks and undamaged line is the biggest key.

[Pete F.]

Thanks for this thread and to all who contributed. Last night I loosened my drag and decided I'd take my time if it felt like a good fish. Landed a 40" =/- fish in Maine, pretty sure it was 40 or over but it has to be over up there. Measured it quick in the dark by myself with a led light and it was almost high tide and a steep beach with large waves so I did'nt have time to mess around if the fish was going to make it back in.
I've lost a number of fish that felt like that one with my drag tight, trying to horse them.
Only minus was it was'nt on my own wood but a sure strike bottle plug.
Thanks again
Pete

[kippy]

Originally Posted by Eben

While i did just land a big bass, i really dont get alot of them, but when I am out I will always keep my drag almost locked down. This will help me really set the hook. Then after setting i will reach down right away and loosen the star drag a bit- Because of this style that i fish, i am considering switching to the avet lever drag, but i digress. I keep the drag tight, set the hook, loosen a tad and let the bass run. when its running I am standing still waiting for the bass to slow. As soon as it stops i start winching after i feel that i have turned its head. I try to get them in quick so I can release them..

oh, an if your drag is too tight after you set the hook, the bass will start head shaking. before i started loosening my drag after setting the hook, i lost a lot of bass... my guess is that with the braid, the bass simply rips out the hook. keep it loose and let them think they can get away...

I think you can get away with a locked drag the whole time with mono.. but with braid you have to have a loose enough so you dont rip lips.

my 10 ¢

I like this technique Eben. I fish braid so I'm going to try it out. I usually keep my drag loose but will try tightening it for the hookset and then loosening it up.