Horsing/Skiing fish to the boat

[ryanerb]

This is purely just a discussion thread where I expect there to be a million opinions, so no one needs to get bent out of shape...

 

Perhaps it was the way that I grew up, or just my personality, but I really enjoy the 'fight' part of fishing.

 

Starting with the bite, the game is on and now it comes to playing/fighting the fish to the boat. Once the fish is to the boat and in the net, the game is 'over'. 

 

I see so many guys horse their fish to the boat and the fight lasts a whole 3 seconds? There definitely doesn't seem to be much fun in that. NOW, I suppose this behavior is required for tournament fishing, where time is of the essence and it is crucial the fish makes it to the boat if thousands or millions of dollars are on the line. The more you 'play' the fish, the greater chances of the hook popping out, the fish getting tangled in cover, etc. 

 

The worst is topwater fishing, when the fish is already on the surface and then the hookset happens, and the pull is so hard by the angler the fish is practically SKIING across the surface of the water and then gets whipped into the boat. 

 

Anyways, would love to hear from everyone how they like to fight their fish and if the fight is not the best part of bass fishing for them, what is the part they enjoy the most!

 

 

 

 

[Choporoz]

I like to get my fish in the boat. 

 

If I was purely in this for the fight, I'd be targeting something other than LMB.

[ryanerb]

5 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

I like to get my fish in the boat. 

 

If I was purely in this for the fight, I'd be targeting something other than LMB.

Such as what species?

 

Additionally, what part of fishing brings you the most enjoyment?

 

I guess there is some kind of limit regarding the 'fight'. I know some guys that fight 300lb tuna, it takes 3 hours, and your body is bent out of shape at the end of it...  So there is some happy medium in between  

[Choporoz]

30 minutes ago, Ryan E said:

Such as what species?

Snakehead

Rock bass

Bluegill

Crappie

Pike

Pickerel

Catfish - fought a flathead for over 20 min on bass gear once

American and Hickory Shad

Chinook

Brown Trout

Musky

Striper

SMB

Carp

 

that's off the top of my head in freshwater that I fish....above those, you can list nearly any saltwater fish

 

IMO, LMB are, perhaps, the second 'worst' fighting fish that I target.  I love to fish for walleyes, but you don't fish for those for the fight, either...unless your idea of a good fight is hauling in a bag of wet socks

[Gundog]

The goal for me is to get the fish to the boat. I've lost a lot of fish letting them fight. They jump and the hook comes flying back at me. I ski them to the boat when ever possible. Of course, I'm talking about largemouths. You can't do that with a river smallmouth. They are too strong for that. 

[Choporoz]

Now...there was a day last year on a lake that I was fishing...there were a couple boats of guys fishing for LMB on fly rods...I will admit that they were having fun with the fight...might be something I'd like to try down the road

[Steveo-1969]

I definitely enjoy the fight and don't horse fish in. For me, the enjoyment of catching a fish is 1) sensing the bite, 2) setting the hook, and 3) fighting the fish.

 

On the other side, I've read that if you fight a fish too long it will build up lactic acid in it's muscles and it may kill the fish.  Or that you can exhaust or stress a fish out too much which could also be fatal. I'm NOT a fisheries biologist, this is just what I've read.

 

I want the catching to be enjoyable but I also want to give the fish a high chance of survival after I release it.  So I enjoy the fight, but also try to land and release the fish in a timely manner. Whatever that means...

[Steveo-1969]

6 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Rock bass

 

I love to fish for walleyes, but you don't fish for those for the fight, either...unless your idea of a good fight is hauling in a bag of wet socks

It's funny how people have different experiences with how much fight a fish has.  For me in the river I fish, the Rock Bass has the least fight of any species I catch. I set the hook, get one little tug back and they come right to the surface and don't move. Those I ski in across the top because they don't fight back at all.

 

Walleyes on the other hand give me a great fight provided they are 16+", often pulling drag. I love the heavy headshakes and steady pull their broad tails provide and how they dig for the bottom.  Now if the walleye is a little 12-incher I can just reel 'em right in. Like a Rock Bass. 

[BareHook]

I enjoy the fight but will ski a bass if it gets it past heavy cover or if in a tourney.

[Choporoz]

37 minutes ago, Steveo-1969 said:

It's funny how people have different experiences with how much fight a fish has.  For me in the river I fish, the Rock Bass has the least fight of any species I catch. I set the hook, get one little tug back and they come right to the surface and don't move. Those I ski in across the top because they don't fight back at all.

 

Walleyes on the other hand give me a great fight provided they are 16+", often pulling drag. I love the heavy headshakes and steady pull their broad tails provide and how they dig for the bottom.  Now if the walleye is a little 12-incher I can just reel 'em right in. Like a Rock Bass. 

I hadn't thought about it before, but I wouldn't be surprised if (like smallmouth) the fighting spirit of river 'eyes is different than in lakes.  I do all my walleye fishing in cold lakes in northern Ontario (and years ago in northern WI/UP.)  I'd bet warmer climate, moving water walleyes are much, much stronger.

[Turtle135]

I strive to get them in the kayak as soon as possible. The one pound bass never knew what hit them. When I hook one about 4 pounds and up I get all the fight I can handle (love it when they power back down on me). For me most of the enjoyment comes from fooling a larger than average bass.

[long island basser]

I like to fight the fish. The more the bass jumps the more I like it.

 

To me unless your fishing for food or to weigh in a tourney I see no reason to ski a bass to the boat at all.

What to take a picture to show grandma, or say ohhh he swam away fast he’s going to live another 10 years.

 

I can go into my yard, tie on a three pound weight and cast over and over again reeling in as fast as I can. Not that enjoyable to me.

[geo g]

I get them up and out of vegetation as soon as possible.  Once in deep water I may slow down and let it swim around a little.  Don't play with them with weeds around.

[Scott F]

When the fish are pretty small, even with light tackle, it's hard not to ski them back in. My favorite fishing is for river smallies with ML or M spinning rods. You just can't ski in even a medium sized river smallmouth on gear like that. Getting them in the boat is not a priority. My fun comes when I set the hook and fight them back. Once the fight is over, if they get off next to the boat, so much the better. 

[DINK WHISPERER]

Get em in, get em out, on to the next one!

[Dirtyeggroll]

1 hour ago, Steveo-1969 said:

On the other side, I've read that if you fight a fish too long it will build up lactic acid in it's muscles and it may kill the fish.  Or that you can exhaust or stress a fish out too much which could also be fatal. I'm NOT a fisheries biologist, this is just what I've read.

 

I want the catching to be enjoyable but I also want to give the fish a high chance of survival after I release it.  So I enjoy the fight, but also try to land and release the fish in a timely manner. Whatever that means...

I am not sure about lactic acid, however, there are data to suggest that the fight of angling causes a large release of cortisol (an avoidant stress hormone; https://www.researchgate.net/.../Hormonal-responsiveness...) and that based on how large this dose is (related to how long the fight lasts), it can indeed carryover and create an aversion to something that would drive a cortisol increase in the following season (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20932160). So these bass would indeed be less likely to strike a lure if it became associated with a stress response.

 

I agree, however, that the fight is a significant portion of the fun.

[Steveo-1969]

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

I hadn't thought about it before, but I wouldn't be surprised if (like smallmouth) the fighting spirit of river 'eyes is different than in lakes.  I do all my walleye fishing in cold lakes in northern Ontario (and years ago in northern WI/UP.)  I'd bet warmer climate, moving water walleyes are much, much stronger.

I think you might be onto something there Mr. Choporoz.  Go Badgers!!!!

[scaleface]

I lost a lot of large bass trying to horse them in like I see the pros do . If its a big bass I take it easy with them and  land a lot higher percentage . 

[Lendiesel22]

Same approach for tournament and fun. Get them in the boat. Most times the pace of the fight is based on what bait they hit. Longer casting baits are much different then flipping style hookups. Once they are on I try and match that fishes pace and anger. 

I ski them in over thick vegetation. 

[ohboyitsrobby]

I try to get them in the boat asap. Especially if I'm fishing weeds or brushpiles. No sense letting them stay in their enviroment where they have an advantage any longer than neccesary. There is a delicate balance to me though on getting jumpy ones to the boat still hooked and trying to keep them from jumping. 

[A-Jay]

 It seems that there may be as many different versions or perhaps ‘definitions” to the term ‘fighting a bass’, as there are anglers.  

 While I do not fish competitively, for me ‘the fight’ is part of the process.     How I go about it, is often dictated by a few different factors.  Some I have a bit of control over and some I have none.  Things I can control include my tackle size, where & how I’m fishing.  The more open & clearer the water, usually means I’m fishing lighter gear deeper.  The heavier the cover, the more colored the water, usually means I’m fishing heavier gear.  In either case, ‘the fight’ will usually be shorter with heavier gear and a little longer with the lighter stuff.  But in each situation, my goal is to land the bass, so I’ll do whatever I need to, to get that done.  

 

  Factors that I obviously cannot control that can directly affect the duration of ‘the fight’ can be but are not limited to, the individual spirit of a bass, (some fish just seem to have a hyper high level of survivability and will do all types of crazy stuff to earn their freedom – I like that in a bass), the size of course, the water temps (cold bass sometimes don’t do a whole lot) and then there’s the occasional hooking of a huge non-target species – good times right there.  

 

Now where as I do enjoy it immensely when they bite my cricket and then pull my string, I rarely intentionally prolong the process nor do I make a concerted effort to overly speed it up – I just take it as it comes and hope they end up in my net.

A-Jay

 

[Angry John]

I change the way i fight the fish all the time.  If its really hot outside then i get them in and let go because the environment is already stressing them to the max "dog days of summer".  I also hurry them in on big swim baits because they get off so easy with that huge bait to leverage against.  Minus those two times i take my time.  The fight is were all the excitement is for me...

[Scarborough817]

depends really it's on more of a fish by fish basis if it's a frog or a t rig fish then yes but if its on something with trebles i try to play the fish

[ryanerb]

Wow! Great response guys! Lots of good info and great opinions. Thanks for participating! 

[Jar11591]

If the fish is small enough to be skied, I’ll ski him. If it’s a larger fish, I want it in the boat as quick as possible so I can admire it, photo it and release it. Most of my fish are caught around heavy cover, so I’ll try not to let them turn their head and bury in the weeds. 

 

When fishing smallmouth, I don’t have to try to take my time fighting them, they usually do that themselves. Most of them that are decent sized put up a good fight on standard bass tackle and big ones can make really test an angler with some strong runs and acrobatics.