To Fight Or Not To Fight.

[swagkid300]

When you guys catch a fish, do you try to reel in as fast as you can or try to have fun with the fish and fight it for a minute or so?

[flyfisher]

depends on the situation.  Generally i don't fight the fish any longer than i have to and don't use gear to light for the job.....how's that for a vague answer lol

[lanzbass]

Depends on the fish for me...

 

A Paddle fish may take hours to reel in...

 

Now with a Brown trout and Rainbow I take my time reeling it in and enjoy the fight...

 

Bass I try to get n ASAP...

 

On a whole I just like to fish and enjoy

[The Rooster]

I like to fish and enjoy but it isn't as enjoyable for me if I know I can land the fish faster and am purposefully not doing so for the sake of the fight. Seems fake that way. However I don't consider it the same thing to go easy on one instead of just horsing it to the boat if I think it's unnecessarily hard on the fish to do so. Like when I hook a dink, I don't just ski it into the boat like I've seen done before just because I can. I'd say I just do what's necessary to land the fish safely but efficiently.

[RipSomeLips]

First of all nothing I hate more than the scenario I had a couple of days ago. Was fishing for 3 hours and then my first fish hit my spinner bait about 3 feet from the bank, I got to fight him for about 1 second before lifting him out. Usually its a blast to see the strike right in front of you, but when you work so hard for it and don't get to enjoy it you just feel robbed!

 

But to give you a straight answer I am probably on the shorter end of fighting the bass, I basically go as fast as I can but still try to keep it from coming up and jumping. I hate to see a bass ripped to shore, and I hate to see a nice fish played to exhaustion. So medium fast I guess you could say.

[Toeshots]

I feel like I don't consciously try to get a fish in faster or slower. I will try to keep a fish from diving into cover or will lean into them if I have to get them up and out of the heavy stuff, but I never try to muscle a fish into the boat or prolong the fight unnecessarily.

[AK-Jax86]

Depends on the size of the fish for me and how good I got it hooked. If it's a BIGGEN I want to get it in ASAP so I don't lose her, but if she's hooked good then I will let her fight a bit. If the fish is not "picture worthy" (i like to call em) then I let it fight and have fun with it.

[SirSnookalot]

I can't recall ever having a bass go belly up, they come in easy and pretty fast.  I did see a snook go belly up the other day not because the rod was too light but because the rod wasn't heavy enough to lift it on to the jetty. It was small fish maybe 7# I urged the guy to break it off and he didn't, fish dead as he was trying to save a 15 cent crappie jig.  I caught one a few minutes about the same size, had a med rod so I just lifted it right up.  

 

I do catch species that I know I can't land but I can fight them, and I will until the time is right to break them off.  Much of it has to do with species as well as where I'm fishing.  If I hook a 25 lb jack on a med rod I'm fighting that fish all the way, once released they just swim off like nothing happened.  A muskie, wouldn't fish for them ever again as they tire too fast, they can go belly up, they have no stamina.  For the most part I'm fighting them, playing them is how a bigger fish is landed.

[Bankbeater]

It depends on the size of the fish.  If it's a dink, then I want to get it in, and get it off of the hook as soon as possible.  If it's a good size bass, then I play it.

[aharris]

I feel like I'm probably the opposite of what I should be. If it's a big one, I'll try to get her in quick as I can. If it's small I'll play with them. Weird huh.

[WIGuide]

Generally I fight most of mine unless they're dinks.

[Christian M]

 I guess If you've been fishing for a while, you know when a fish is ready to be boated. You dont want to bring a good fish in while its still green because you dont wanna risk losing it, getting stuck with a hook, or dropping the fish when it shakes.

 

At the same time you dont wanna risk playing the fish until its exhausted because even if the fish swims away, it may not have the energy to feed or get away from a predator for a while.

 

I think a lot of it depends on the size of the fish as well. If I have a good size fish at the end of my line, I really don't wanna lose it. I'll be very careful to keep the fish under control, maintaining pressure, keeping it from jumping, letting it take line when it runs, and reeling fast if it runs at me. When its a big fish I prefer to grab it by the lip and boat it (feels more pure).

 

When its a dink I just give it a nice steady retrieve and get it off my hook so I can get a bigger fish on

[Jar11591]

I'm definitely not skimming a 2 pound fish across the top of the water with 65 lb braid. With the gear I use, I have it so the fish is able to fight. I don't just stop reeling for the sake if the fight. I have a balance between my gear and the size of the fish I'm planning on catching, so that I can try to get the fish in quickly but still have a fight.

[Deleted account]

I feel like I don't consciously try to get a fish in faster or slower. I will try to keep a fish from diving into cover or will lean into them if I have to get them up and out of the heavy stuff, but I never try to muscle a fish into the boat or prolong the fight unnecessarily.

 

What he said  ^.

[roadwarrior]

In theory the fish should be coming your way or pulling out drag.

However. sometimes a big fish will stage and you just can't move

her, usually when fishing spinning tackle.

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/68635-huge-disappointment/

[tbone1993]

I tend to enjoy catching fish that I dont have the option but to fight them in. Sure a big bass isnt that hard to  bring in but it does get dicey when you catch a 6lb+ on one treble hook. 

[FrogFreak]

I suppose I fight the fish just enough to get them to the boat. I don't play them longer than I need to. Since I don't keep em and I'm not tourney fishing, I want to put them back as soon as possible with as much energy left as possible. 

[Fish Murderer 71]

i dont like sticking my hand in the mouth of a lively thrashing bass with multiple treble hooks , so I'll do what I can to wear the fish down, but not out.  Big bass dont last that long in a good fight and I really dont want to hurt the fish, and I dont want to loose the fish.  If the fight is more than a minute or two I may be starting to do damage to the health of the fish ( and the hook or hook set have done enough damage already).  so thats my goal to a big fish.  dinks just come on in the boat and then thrown back all less than 30 seconds.

[big poppa]

i dont like sticking my hand in the mouth of a lively thrashing bass with multiple treble hooks , so I'll do what I can to wear the fish down, but not out.  Big bass dont last that long in a good fight and I really dont want to hurt the fish, and I dont want to loose the fish.  If the fight is more than a minute or two I may be starting to do damage to the health of the fish ( and the hook or hook set have done enough damage already).  so thats my goal to a big fish.  dinks just come on in the boat and then thrown back all less than 30 seconds.

Its ironic that your name is fish murderer   

[Bassfishing375]

If I am using light tackle or a treble hook I will play the fish a little more depending on their size.

[WRB]

I let the fish determine how long it going fight and keep it under control at all times knowing the longer it's in the water the more likely it will get away. No bass can fight longer than 2 minutes, usually less than 1 minute. Control the fish and you determine the fight time regardless of the tackle being used. If you can't control the fish, the tackle is too light!

Tom

[long island basser]

I let the bass determine how long its going to fight, like wrb said. 

[Grizzn N Bassin]

I like to fight then but sometimes they come ib quicker.

[ChicagoEd]

Interesting topic, I guess I never really thought about it that way. I just focus on fishing strategy. What depth and structure am I fishing, what's the best line, reel, rod, and lure presentation to get the bite. Do I chuck, skip, flip, pitch the lure. And when I finally do get the bite my focus is landing the fish. It's not until after the fish is boated that i allow myself a fist pump and reflect on the epic fight or easy landing. I get more satisfaction successfully boating a fish (of any size and species) than I do planning for the fight. A successful landing, measurement, and release is what really gets my motor going.

[bigbill]

Yup a big fish may swim in while we reel being coy saving the battle and energy till it gets closer. I've played the bigger ones not to lose them. I don't want to wear out too. The final and one pounders I hold the rod up and land them quick.