big fish
big fish
There are some reasons you may need to be prepared to catch big fish on a light weight line even if you are fishing for small fish only. Fish comes in all sizes shapes and forms, and because of that, you had better be prepared to catch what ever gets on your line.
Just because you are out there fishing for crappie on a five pound ultra light weight line, so that you can make a good presentation, doesn't mean a giant thirty pound bull head cat fish won't take the bait first. So as not to lose such a nice piece of table fan fare, you had better know the tricks and tips to landing your unexpected guess.
Let's dispel one myth right off the bat. Do fish weigh less in water? No, if a fish weighs thirty pounds out the water, then you can rest assured that you will be fighting a thirty pound fish when it is in the water. What makes things feel lighter is the buoyancy of the fish while it is in the water. Also bear in mind that a thirty pound fish will exert more weigh on the line as he use force to swim away from you.
Be sure you have a flexible rod that will bent under the rated line you are using.
Set your drag, a properly set drag is most important. Adjust your drag at one third to one halve the breaking strength of your main line.
Don't horse the fish. The fish is not a stage coach and the fishing tackle is not a team of horses. So don't try to pull a big fish in like the horses pull a stage coach to where they want it to go. If you try that, just say good bye fish.
Fighting the fish and wearing it down is the trick to landing the big boys on the tiny line weighs.
Fight the fish with the rod not the reel. Let the back bone of the rod wear the fish out by him pulling the line out and the resistance of him pulling back. Do not use the reel to fight the fish, use the reel to bring the line in in order to catch the fish. If you are cranking on the reel while the fish is hot and taking line out making a run you are doing nothing but kinking up your line, have patience. If you kink up the line enough the line will weaken and snap accounting for a lost fish.
The line (which must be an excellent quality line) is only keeping you in contact with the fish. When the rod is bent and the fish is pumping its tail trying to swim away from you the rod bend and the tip will go down and pretty much stay down until the fish tires, then the tip will come up caused by the lack of resistance (fight) in the fish this is when you start reeling him in. If the tip comes up fast, reel like crazy two things he's coming right at you or he's become unbuttoned.
You can catch 100 pounders on five pound line but this is strictly based on your skill level.
There was a person who caught a world record Marlin and used only 8 pound monofilament test line. Some one caught a 20 lb. cat on 4 lb. test line with an ultra light one time.
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
big fish
