Landing fish in the Surf

[JFigliuolo]

1. NEVER cast anywhere where you cannot land a fish.
2. ALWAYS have a plan in place for how to get the fish in and WHERE th best place to land it is.
3. A tired fish is MUCH easier to land than a green one.
4. As said above, use the surf to get one last push to put the fish in an area where
A. It has almost no escape route (On the sand or, in a trough between rocks)
B. You can get to it safely. You know where Jay and I like to fish. We almost NEVER lose a fish trying to land it using the above tips.

[piemma]

As JF said: the most important part of fishing in the surf is having a plan on how and where you will land the fish. I never fished where you do, (decksweeper), without having a plan to land the fish. I know exactly where you and Jim are fishing most nights and you should scope out a couple of different landing spots around you guys so landing the cow is not a ordeal.

[baldwin]

Heavy leader material is easier to grab and haul a fish out with than thin braid. Boga grips are also helpful. Don't grab the plug to haul the fish out with, that can hurt you BAD.

[NIB]

Originally Posted by JFigliuolo

1. NEVER cast anywhere where you cannot land a fish.
2. ALWAYS have a plan in place for how to get the fish in and WHERE th best place to land it is.
.

On Number One where's the fun in that.My philosophy is hook em an figure it out later.
I had a good fish go around the jetty an get me hung on the mussles on a rock it took me a half hr to land her.I basically had to let her die to pull her back.
Sometimes the fish has it's own plan.
Big fish will sometimes just put thier head into the current an there is no turning em.Like holding a sheet of plywood in the wind.Thats when I let em go.Now u have to realize this before it gets u in trouble.Like everything else it does not always get u out of jail.Loose line, hope the hook don't fall out.Loose line is the trick when ur rapped up not so loose so's that it gets in other rocks.But loose enough so's that there is not a great amount of tension on the line.The line will not break on rocks if it is not tight.take ur time.
Another good tip is u not only have to play the fish U have to play the water.I see so many guys try to make a fish come thru the pull of a wave.U ever stand in the water an feel it almost pull u down??The water is ur friend.Use it to ur advantage don't fight it.Move with the fish if u can when it's sliding.If u can't wait till the wave recedes an try to turn it on the outflo.
Tagger had some good tips..
Like they will always make a last ditch effort to escape when they get near ya.Hold rod softly,loose drag.I basically fish a loose drag an cup the spool when I need to.
Get fish to ur side.Watch dorsal.I have seen some bad infections from guys getting spiked.ALWAYS FACE THE WATER.
The long rod is good for everything till u get the fish next to ya.There can be some awkward momnets when u have the rod over ur head.I usually try to grab the line.Not tight.just enough to steer it to me..
I then take a qick inventory like he mentioned.
I will usually try to grab the plug if I can,tight.U don't want it to slide in ur hands.Then Either lip grab like he said good firm grip.Or if it's maw is full of hooks I will slide my hand in her gill plate.Till I can get some hooks out to make a lip grab.
I also agree with one hook at a time.Get the easy ones out first.I never use pliers.

[baldwin]

I strongly disagree with grabbing the plug. Had a large bass give a good shake while I was doing that, drove the hook through the nail on my middle finger. A friend of mine had a bluefish drive a hook into his hand a few years ago, still has damage. Do yourself a big favor and find another way, like grabbing the leader.

[jim sylvester]

let your buddy come over and land it for you.....then when you get off your rock...let him cast to the school

[Terence]

Originally Posted by jim sylvester

let your buddy come over and land it for you.....then when you get off your rock...let him cast to the school

Team work, we do it all the time. Puts the pressure on when its a 40 lb fish and you know its up to you to land it for your buddy.Dont Drop the FISH!!!!

[Terence]

This one was a two man effort.

[shadow]

like NIB said use the water and surf to get it into the suds or in close to the jetty never hit them in the face with a bright white light they will freak out what do you need to see anyways?you will know when the fish is in reach.grab the leader lightly and as NIB said stear the fish into you where you can safely lip it at that time the fish has given up enough that the light won't freak it out much.

[Steve K]

Back up the beach if you can because this decreases the angle of your rod to the fish. The greater the angle the more likely it is to pop the hook. I always loosen my drag when the fish is in close incase it decides to run or roll.