Rod length and landing fish .

[David Lee]

Hopefully , this doesn't make anyone irate/offend anyone .

For the past several years I have seen debate after debate about long rods (9 1/2 to over 12 feet) being the 'wrong' tool for landing fish out of boats/tubes/whatever ...

I'm pretty confused .

Obviously the best , most efficient way to land a fish is with the line in your hand so that the lever (rod) you're using doesn't come into play . The thought that an 8 foot rod makes landing more easy than a 9 footer is a bit strange to me .

I learned most of what I know about flyrodding by trial and error (yep , LOTS of error !!) - back when I spent a lot of time Shad fishing while wading the A. , I watched more than a few people high-stick rods trying to land Shad . Most would wade-out and beach their fish , a few carried long-handled nets . Standing nipple-deep in a river and holding the rod as far away as your arms can spread while keeping pressure on the fish isn't the way to do it safely .

What I learned to do is this - when you're ready to land your fish (wading , out of a boat , whatever ...) , leave at least 10-15 feet of line OFF the reel ..... you want to pinch the line against the rod handle . Open your non-rod hand into a 'C' shape pointed to where your fish is at . Now .... release the line you have pinched against the handle WHILE SWINGING THE ROD AWAY FROM THE FISH - as the rod swings behind you , it should sweep the line into your open , non-rod hand . Grab the line , sort your catch out .

Fishing barbless ? Afraid you will drop your fish off the hook ? I almost NEVER have that happen , likely due to water friction on the line/leader . Well-set barbless hooks don't fall out so easy most of the time .

Being pretty ignorant , I thought I invented this until I saw an old-timer mention it on another board a few years back . This method of landing fish totally takes the rod out of the fish-landing process .... so the length of the rod isn't a factor . Before you poo-poo it , or argue .... give it a try .

D.~

[Bob Laskodi]

That's the way I do it also. And it makes no difference how long the rod is either. But then again, I rarely break rods unless I fall down (which happens often!).

[David Lee]

That's the way I do it also. And it makes no difference how long the rod is either. But then again, I rarely break rods unless I fall down (which happens often!).

Gravity , the undisputed ruler of Man , the most un-bending Law of the Universe , the great attention getter ...... LMAO ! A close second as my personal favorite is kenitic vs. potential energy .

David

[Jeff C.]

David,

I always land shad using that method. I've only broken one rod (a BIIX switch) but I think it was a defect in the rod. It folded around the top ferrule just as I was swinging away from the fish while releasing the pinched line.

Jeff

[mikel]

Boy David, I cannot picture what you're suggesting. Looked at You Tube for a video, but my search was unsuccessful.

I do fish shorter rods in my tube simply because with a moderate length net fish can be landed quickly without undue risk of getting the rod in a precarious position. I'd try your method in a heartbeat if I could visualize it...

Thanks for sharing this. -Mike

[David Lee]

Boy David, I cannot picture what you're suggesting. Looked at You Tube for a video, but my search was unsuccessful.

I do fish shorter rods in my tube simply because with a moderate length net fish can be landed quickly without undue risk of getting the rod in a precarious position. I'd try your method in a heartbeat if I could visualize it...

Thanks for sharing this. -Mike

Mike -

Hold a pencil in your casting hand w/ the pencil leaning forwards at around 45 degrees (pretend you are fighting a big one ...) .

Using your wrist , point the pencil over your the shoulder of your casting arm like you are suggesting to your Dog it's time to come in the house (same motion you would lift a Beer bottle to your lips with , just over the shoulder instead of your mouth) .

Now - do the same motion again while lifting the index/pointing finger of your casting hand (that will be the pinched-line release) .

As your wrist swings the rod back behind you , the 10-15 feet of slack line you have piled up goes out through the rod guides . As the rod tip goes through an arc to get behind you .... it draws the line closer to your body , thus allowing you to grab the line with your non-rod hand .

I really hope this helps ! The only other way I ever land fish is by beaching them , usualy those would be surf fishes (no .... sand doesn't bother them a bit) .

If you still need help , PM me your # , I'll call and walk you thru it -

D.~

[mikel]

Duh....ok, got it....thanks. I was too dumb to get that the 10 feet of line was being stored inside the rod.

So, you make the rod swing, capture the line in your non-rod hand and hand line em in from there, right?

I'm not sure those 4 lb Alpers and big (unnamed lake) brookies will be manageable handlining, but I'll give her a shot. Thanks again....-Mike

[David Lee]

You're not 'too dumb' - sometimes .... the obvious escapes people (most of the time , in my case) .

Fish size shouldn't matter - remember , your fish <SHOULD> be played-down pretty well when it comes time to land them .

Good luck , and make sure to practice it a few times at home to get the feel and timing down (use the butt section of the rod , tye the leader to the doorknob) .

D.~

[Woodman]

With heavy tippets, 10# for shad for example, I can agree.

I'm not sure I'd go with your method on a big trout on 6x. A struggling fish at the surface on a handline sounds risky. Especially since my goal is to land a fish as fresh as possible, not "played out" as you suggest.

[David Lee]

Hmmmm .....

"Played-down pretty well"= tired

"Played out"=belly up (nope , I didn't suggest that)

"Green"=likely to get a good , hard squeezin'/flop out of a deathgrip/fall on rocks , gunnel , bottom of the boat , etc. .

Like yourself , I want them to get back in in as good of shape as I possibly can . Obviously you can control the amount of grip on your 'handline' - many times , I have let line slip because of a fishes unexpected second wind . Big Trout on 6X ?? you be the judge .... I wouldn't try this with anything large and dangerous (Marlin , Sharks, toothy critters) either .

Forgot to add , it doesn't work well in heavy brush/telephone-booth Creeks .

D.~

[Hairstacker]

Thanks for posting that again David, I'm going to have to give that a try.

Must admit I am concerned about that split second when you're lowering the tension on a good bass . . . I have enough trouble already trying to keep them from dropping. :lol:

[briansII]

I use basically the same method, and I don't think I've ever lost a fish during the slip method. After grabbing the tippet is when the fish will usually come unbuttoned. I consider that a good thing, since handling the fish is probably my least favorite part.

briansII

[BillB]

David, I completely agree with the kinetic/potential/gravity issues. I wonder if Newton ever figured out that as we increase in age the force of gravitation increases, potential energy is not as concerning as kinetic and the third law, the ending or changing direction of motion is an increasingly concerning problem.

As for landing fish I suppose we could include a little vector analysis to quantify our thoughts. Personally I need to be able to get the fly in the fishes mouth before I begin to apply any consideration of physics, a task I don't perform all that well!

[gene goss]

Hmmmm .....

"Played-down pretty well"= tired

"Played out"=belly up (nope , I didn't suggest that)

"Green"=likely to get a good , hard squeezin'/flop out of a deathgrip/fall on rocks , gunnel , bottom of the boat , etc. .

Like yourself , I want them to get back in in as good of shape as I possibly can . Obviously you can control the amount of grip on your 'handline' - many times , I have let line slip because of a fishes unexpected second wind . Big Trout on 6X ?? you be the judge .... I wouldn't try this with anything large and dangerous (Marlin , Sharks, toothy critters) either .

Forgot to add , it doesn't work well in heavy brush/telephone-booth Creeks .

D.~
Hey David....I know you fish the port for stripers from your float tube, and i was wondering if you would land a striper the same way....Dave E. from a different post said that he would line the outside of his float tube bladder with a inner tube to help protect the bladder from the stripers fins.

[David Lee]

Gene -

I've taken a lot of Stripes while tubing (no 'big' ones yet , all under 8 or 9 lbs.) , and had no problems w/ the way I land them (the way described in this thread) . Dave E. is a VERY smart dude to 'armor' his tube like that ! I haven't had a Striper poke my tube yet , but I sure can see how one could do that .

D.~

[Rick J]

Ed Ward in Sakgit Master does a very similar manuever with a spey rod to land a steelhead - the one he demonstrated with actually broke him off during the manuever but Ed blamed himself for being over-eager - Good stuff David!!!!

[Rick J]

PS in Ed's demonstration he just loosened the reel drag and when he manuevered the rod tip back he just let line peel off the reel - maybe a good idea with the long rods but like David's idea of just having the slack line

[David Lee]

PS in Ed's demonstration he just loosened the reel drag and when he manuevered the rod tip back he just let line peel off the reel - maybe a good idea with the long rods but like David's idea of just having the slack line

Hi Rick , great to see you jumping on this one !

The major problem w/ a (too) loose drag is the hairy overrun you're going to get if that spool keeps spinning . I ALWAYS back-off the drag setting at the end of a fight (for serious fish , anyways ....) , but am careful to not remove all of the drag . Having a head-sized snarl on the reel just once will teach you the correct drag setting .

Again , if you haven't tried this method of landing .... practice it at home , or in the backyard . You will be suprised at how well it works .

D.~

[Anne Vitale]

Here is Ed Ward using a variation of what looks like the same technique using a spey rod.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Skagitmaster#p/u/1/0EFU_ivIvjo

I have tried it and found that it works on Steelhead and shad.......Anne