the fight and lightening up

[jomatty]

just curious how many of you guys use ultra light equipment solely because you enjoy the fight more on it?  when i was younger i almost always used light weight equipment and used to have so much fun, even with fish under 2 lbs.  now days im so often using a baitcaster with a medium heavy action or even a flipping stick that even good sized bass offer little in the way of resistance.

to be honest im not actually thinking about changing my tactics.  i enjoy fishing with a baitcaster a lot, and i like the equipment but i do miss the fights and sometimes when im fishing a shaky head or something on spinning gear it is so much fun, compared with watersking em in on my baitcasting equipment.

it just seems that i rarely catch a fish that i have to be especially careful with.  a good fish where i fish is around 3 lbs and i can generally make fairly short work of them.  last year i caught 3 fish in the 5 lb range (my personal best being 5.4) and while those took some care they were not what i would call a huge challenge once they were hooked.  2 of them were caught frogging on 65 lb braid and a heavy action rod and one of them i even swung into the boat.

there is the ethical issue of fighting a fish too much, but i dont think that is too big of a deal as long as you dont go overboard.  this is just a long rambling way of asking how many of you guys lighten up specifically to make the fight more fun.  im not asking about dropshotting or finesse fishing because that may be the best technique for the time, im talking about specifically for a better fight and more excitement.

matt

[Bankbeater]

I tend to use ultra light gear only when the larger baits will not work for LM or if I'm going crappie fishing.

[roadwarrior]

The power rating and action of your rod is a function of the lures you choose to use and the the structure/ cover you fish. This has very little to do with the size of fish you expect to catch unless you are downsizing in anticipation of small fish (white bass, crappie, stocker trout and bluegill). Light or ultra-light gear will make catching smaller fish much more fun.

Big bass do NOT require heavy rods in and of themselves. For most single hook applications medium power/ fast action is what I recommend. For treble hook lures (topwater, jerkbaits and crankbaits) medium power/ moderate action is the ticket.

Largemouth fishing sometimes requires the fisherman to "move the fish" away from timber or out of lilly pads for example. Fishing in these environments may require heavier gear. Casting 3/4 oz lures or anything heavier requies a rod with a little more backbone, too. However, for the widest range of baits and conditions, medium power rod combinations, spinning or baitcasting, is all you need.

Medium power makes catching bass under 5 lbs more fun, but it can handle almost anything you are likely to encounter in freshwater. My fishing partner and I often catch striper, catfish, drum and buffalo well over 20 lbs on medium power spinning rods spooled up with #4 or #6 Yo-Zuri Hybrid when we are smallmouth fishing. My partner landed his 10 lb smallmouth on this gear as well as a 43 lb blue catfish.

You're probably not going to catch any bass bigger than that cat. :

Medium power is a good choice most of the time

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Good example would be us doing some striper fishing this weekend.

I was using a 6'6" med power quantum pro tour and a calcutta 201.  NOT the gear for larger stripers.  The bigger hits require using the boat as a tool to get the fish in but man is it fun!!  One stripped reel seat and a spooled calcutta were the cost though.  Sure, lots of fish were caught and sure, it was a blast but the big one is still out there, dragging my line around. (not an ethically responsible thing to do)

We were out there for fun, the fish aren't fat enough yet to bring in a good price so it was all about the angling this time.  

Downsizing for smaller fish works but downsizing for BIGGER fish is just plain old, good American FUN!  Just don't complain when the big one gets away, it's a risk you are accepting when fishing like this.  

[Guest avid]

Roadwarrier makes some excellent points.

I would disagree however with using any medium power rod for single hook lures.

It will work of course, but Medium heavy, fast action will make driving that single hook home easier.

there are other factors as well.  Longer rods give better leverage, and sharp, quality hooks make a bigger difference than you can imagine.

RW uses custom made hooks, made especially for him by oompaloompa's who escaped from the tyranny of wonkaville.  

they are called x points and all you have do is "think" about setting the hook.

Absolutely every word in this post is true.   :-/

[armesjr]

I pretty much always fish relatively light tackle: either 4lb, 6lb, or 10lb test.  With the 6lb and 10lb most fish you can reel right on it.  The 4lb test, now that requires a little skill and a lot of luck, to land a decent size fish on.  This weekend i had a nice 3 or 3.5 lb bass on 4lb test, that proceeded to make a beeline right for the dock, breaking my line in the process.

[RoLo]

just curious how many of you guys use ultra light equipment solely because you enjoy the fight more on it?

I used to do a LOT of ultralight fishing, and at one time (tell no one) I was a flyrod purist (that's a whole other jargon).

Using ultra-light tackle for fish that are worthy of much heavier tackle is fun for sure...but to a fault.

I can't tell you how many times I've felt under-tackled, overwhelmed and darn right foolish.

                        When living in NJ, mama and I used to enjoy catching harbor blues on light tackle.

Lois would hook-up, then about 4 or 5 minutes into the battle, a little fleet of boats would begin to form.

I'm standing ready at the gaff, and fishermen in other boats are hollering at me, "Gaff That Fish!".

They don't realize we're using freshwater spinning tackle, so they're expecting to see an 18-lb slammer dangling from the gaff.

Then after about 8 minutes has elapsed I finally stick a 6-lb harbor bluefish.

We could hear the grumblings of disgust, as the fleet disperses ;D

Roger

[ValleyBoy]

My little brother, who has always been a heck of a fisherman, used to catch 32 inch reds of 6# test. He always used very light tackle. In a lot of ways he swore that it made him a better fisherman. He really had to know his equipment and learn to play a fish. I always sort of admired that. I use 8# test almost exclusively.

[jomatty]

thank you rw, i realize those things and they are all excellent points.  what i was talking about was more what lbh was refering to, times when you know heavier equipment would be more effective but you go light for fun.

im probably not gonna be doing that any time soon but it is in my mind as when i was younger i had a lot of fun wade fishing with an ultralight rod for smallies.

and i dont know that i agree that a medium action rod is good for a lot of applications.  things like jigs or any sort of texas rig are just much easier to consistently do well with a heavier action rod imho.

avid you are right those x points are incredible.  i still use owners most of the time as i can pick them up at the local tackle store but i sure do like the x points.

matt

[brian_82]

last summer i took a challenge from my brother. to fish with a light weight spinning rod and 6 pound test. Even in pads fishing a 3/8 t rigged worm i was able to work most fish out. Catching a 2 or 3 pounder on that rod is amazingly fun. TRY IT I DARE YOU.  

[MarVaBC]

My partner landed his 10 lb smallmouth on this gear as well as a 43 lb blue catfish.

Please say you have a picture of this fish.....if not please the story!!!

[roadwarrior]

Nope.

This was the only 10 lb smallmouth I have ever seen and probably one of the top ten smallmouth EVER boated. This monster was caught the Saturday before Thanksgiving, November, 2004. I was fishing in the middle of a BayRanger 2180, my partner up front and a friend in back. The fish came up immediately and jumped. I thought it was a porpoise!  With #6 Yo-Zuri and a medium light G. Loomis Bronzeback rod, this fish put up a fight. Screaming drag and two runs later, we got her to the boat , but when I went down to net her, she surged and I backed away. At this point my buddy was in the middle of the Ranger with me. The brown fish went UNDER the boat, out 30-40 yards towards the middle of the river and jumped for the third time. The battle raged as my man manuvered around the trolling motor and to the other side of the boat. It was time to get'r done!

I netted and weighed the fish with the help of another friend. The big bronze momma was frisky and initially came in at a whopping 13 lbs, but after calming down quite a bit, we got her to just a smiggin over 10 lbs. I held the fish and pleaded with my partner to keep it, but he refused. I would not release it for him. I handed her off to my buddy who gave the fish a smooch and put her back into the Tennessee River.

If that fish is still alive and is ever caught again, there is a VERY good chance she would be the next World Record Smallmouth Bass.

[Bud]

I am with you RW.  I don't generally use anything over a medium power/ moderate action  G loomis rods.

Generally with #6 or #8 Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra soft for spinning gear and Sunline Defier on BC.   Their is one exception when stroking a jig I will go with a G Loomis heavy with 15 Sunline Defier

[jomatty]

man rw what a day to not have the camera along with you...

[brian_82]

here are two fish i caught on my lightweight and 4pd mono over the weekend. one on a floating stick and the other a 3 inch green senko. hardest part was setting the hook on the senkos with no back bone  haha. Definately fun to catch the little guys on.

[basspro48]

I really like catching smallmouth in clear water on UL gear, this friday I went up to Graves mt, VA and caught a pile of nice smallmouth and little trout on an UL rod with 4lb line. I also like using really light flyrods (4wt or less) to catch bream, crappie, smallmouth, and catfish. But when I fish a big lake or river I use my normal casting gear.

[Jeff H]

I do this all the time.  The shoreline my family owns is on a very clear lake and it just happens that the shoreline adjacent to ours for 150 yds in either direction holds some good numbers of generally smaller bass, especially early in the season.  This is where I teach my boys bass fishing to start out with.  I have a few light spinning setups I run 6 lb line on that I use to "finesse" as I fish this area.  In fact, just had my youngest son (5 yrs) up there last Thursday and Friday and between us we caught 40-50 bass with most in the 12-13" range, some smaller ones, and maybe a 8-10 from 14"-16 1/2".  My son actually caught the biggest fish of the trip on Friday with his 16 1/2".  He fished with a Manns baby 1- to start with and took a few fish on that, I was nailing them on tubes but later switched to a Fin S Fish.  When I caught a bass on the first cast with that, he decided he wanted to try one so I rigged one for him weightless and he started nailing fish left and right.  I never tire of catching small fish on light equipment, especially when I am fishing with my boys.  I tell ya, it's a sight to behold to see a 5 yr old kid in water up to his waist pulling in 15-20 bass over 2 days of fishing and a big one to boot.  Some have expressed concern that I spoil him on catching so many fish but all I can say is it's a d**n good way to spoil a kid.  he was so adrenaline pumped after the first day that he was wide awake at midnight that night.  Going light is just way too much fun and something you should never grow out of.  I grew up wade fishing this shoreline and I still love to do it 40 yrs later.

We are going again this Friday and he's still bouncing off the walls.

[Fendercaster]

Back in Maryland, I loved to float the upper Potomac and fish for smallies on ultralight tackle. A 10 or 12" fish can give you a great fight. Occasionally, I'd go catfishing on an ultralight, you might lose a few on 4 lb. test line, but it was loads of fun. I'm looking forward to flyfishing for lagemouths here in Georgia, that should be a challenge!

[Crabcakes]

I love to fish with ultralight tackle. In fact last spring was the first time I caught a bass on line over 10lb test. I now use a more well rounded mix of equipment but I really enjoy ultralight fishing.

When we go surf fishing we use 14lb test and 17lb test on a few of our larger striper rods. Just enough so you don't snap the lure off while casting. We fish open sand beaches so its really not a problem till you get the fish in the wash at which point it can get a little hairy but its usually manageable. We certainly lose a few more fish this way but we have alot more fun doing it. Catching a 14-15lb bluefish on 14lb test with your feet in the sand is alot of fun.