how do i "fight, play" a fish

[rookiesmallmouther]

when you are using monofilament line (i use 8lb test) and you land a nice fish, how do you play the fish? what do you do when its swimming straight away, veering to the right or left, swimming into cover and structure. how to reel them in and have fun! mainly both SMB and LMB and pikes and whitebass

[basspro215]

its all about experience in fishing and learning to use the drag,a good pole help to

[Glenn]

And wouldn't you know it? Yep, we even have an article on that too:

http://www.bassresource.com/fish/fighting.html

[rookiesmallmouther]

And wouldn't you know it? Yep, we even have an article on that too:

http://www.bassresource.com/fish/fighting.html

those are basiks on how to set the hook and set the grag what im asking is how to fight the fish when the are on the line and swimming in various directions trying to break off of you. im asking how to fight and reel them in and tire them out to make it easyer for me and my tackle

[Under the Radar]

Well......

That broke easy.

If you've set the hook and set your drag correctly, if the line isn't going out then reel it in. Simple.

I'm not trying to be a smarta$$, just sounds like you're trying to complicate things.

Are you having some kind of a problem?

If you are tell us about it.

[senko_77]

And wouldn't you know it? Yep, we even have an article on that too:

http://www.bassresource.com/fish/fighting.html

those are basiks on how to set the hook and set the grag what im asking is how to fight the fish when the are on the line and swimming in various directions trying to break off of you. im asking how to fight and reel them in and tire them out to make it easyer for me and my tackle

First off, don't worry about making it "easier" on your tackle.  Your tackle is designed to fight and land the fish.  You shouldn't be concerned about freshwater fish overpowering your tackle. 

You use your rod to wear down the fish, and your reel to take up the line.  You can land a 20lb fish on 2lb line if you let the rod do the work.  Think of the rod as a shock absorber to your line.  It bends and gives so the line doesn't snap.  Play the fish with the rod, and it can't get away and will tire out quickly.  Whether the fish is running away, left, right, or at you, the rod should be held between the 10-12 aclock position. 

I'm not trying to sound mean, but from some of your posts, it seems your over complicating things.  You can read as much information as you want, but there is nothing better than going out and getting real, on the water experience. 

Good luck man

[Paul Roberts]

Being neutrally buoyant, fish are essentially weightless underwater. All they have to pull with are their fins, and body depth. Control where the head goes and you control the fish. Ideally, you want the head coming toward you ASAP. Judge the hook size and how well the fish is hooked as to how much pressure you should apply.

Do not let a fish stalemate you -that is just hold against your pressure. To alter his hold you can change rod angles to get them to lose their grip in the water. Hold the rod solid -get the appropriate bend in it and maintain it. Stay smooth: Pumping the rod can cause the fish to react, and gives them the opportunity to turn and get fins or body dug in. I also strongly advise back-reeling with spinning tackle. You should decide when to give line, not that mindless box of gears. With casting tackle you are stuck with the drag, although some old timers (with leather thumbs lol) tell me that is not so.

Do not attempt to land a "green" fish. Lead them with the rod until they give (stop turning, twisting, attempting to jump). You can then continue to lead the fish to hand. If you miss, repeat.

[Bass_Akwards]

First off, I'm assuming that you're talking about a large bass.  Almost anyone can land a small bass so i figure you must be talking about a fatty.

When landing a fatty you have to first be aware that the very sight of a monster when it jumps out of the water will make you, and most other anglers knees turn to jelly.  Maybe you've caught some nice fish before but when you see a complete monster, you might realize that you might never catch another bass like this in your life.  When that happens, you have to be prepared.

Thinking like this makes you play the bass differently than how you might otherwise play it when you catch a "normal" bass.  It can make you freeze up or do something else worng at the time.  If you tense up at the wrong time fighting a monster, you could very well lose it.  A HUGE bass is not that much more diffiult to land than a bass half it's size.  It's stronger and more fierce, and can rip your line in heavy cover easier, but the huge bass can be very predictable in their fighting habits.  You need to leanr to anticipate what they're going to do before they do it.

NEVER EVER try and turn a huge bass no matter where it's going unless it's your last ditch effort to keep it from an obviously dangerous object.  Most people start freaking out and apply more pressure when they see a big bass heading for cover and this is where you can really lose the bass of a lifetime. 

You need to adjust your drag once a big bass is on the line.  I do it all the time when I have a bigger bass on.  I have a hookset drag, and a fighting drag.  When I see a bigger bass on my line heading for cover, I lower my drag and let the fish go where it wants to go.  MOST times that big bass will move AWAY from cover and toward deeper water.  I only have a little boat but when I anchor I always give the fish some deep open water access to run to when I nail it.  If you're fishing heavier cover anchor so you're casting parallel to the spot and fish the deeper edges.

Don't freak out and try moving the bass towards you the entire time.  If you feel the bass heading for the surface to jump, get your rod tip in the water fast, and stop reeling while allowing the rod to do the work.

Always bring a net too.  If you really do have the bass of a lifetime on there, you want to make sure that once it gets near te boat, your chances of nabbing it are good.  The closer a monster bass gets to the boat, the better your chances of losing it are.  Just practice all this stuff on the medium sized fish when you catch them so you can be ready for the big Mama when she bites!

[Popeye]

The lake I normally fish from my float tube only allows barbless hooks and that really makes landing fish more of a challenge. I almost always shove the tip of my rod into the water to keep the fish from jumping if at all possible. I have lost several nice LMB when they jumped and threw the hook/senko I used. The lake also only allows artifical lures and no live bait at all.

[rookiesmallmouther]

First off, I'm assuming that you're talking about a large bass. Almost anyone can land a small bass so i figure you must be talking about a fatty.

When landing a fatty you have to first be aware that the very sight of a monster when it jumps out of the water will make you, and most other anglers knees turn to jelly. Maybe you've caught some nice fish before but when you see a complete monster, you might realize that you might never catch another bass like this in your life. When that happens, you have to be prepared.

Thinking like this makes you play the bass differently than how you might otherwise play it when you catch a "normal" bass. It can make you freeze up or do something else worng at the time. If you tense up at the wrong time fighting a monster, you could very well lose it. A HUGE bass is not that much more diffiult to land than a bass half it's size. It's stronger and more fierce, and can rip your line in heavy cover easier, but the huge bass can be very predictable in their fighting habits. You need to leanr to anticipate what they're going to do before they do it.

NEVER EVER try and turn a huge bass no matter where it's going unless it's your last ditch effort to keep it from an obviously dangerous object. Most people start freaking out and apply more pressure when they see a big bass heading for cover and this is where you can really lose the bass of a lifetime.

You need to adjust your drag once a big bass is on the line. I do it all the time when I have a bigger bass on. I have a hookset drag, and a fighting drag. When I see a bigger bass on my line heading for cover, I lower my drag and let the fish go where it wants to go. MOST times that big bass will move AWAY from cover and toward deeper water. I only have a little boat but when I anchor I always give the fish some deep open water access to run to when I nail it. If you're fishing heavier cover anchor so you're casting parallel to the spot and fish the deeper edges.

Don't freak out and try moving the bass towards you the entire time. If you feel the bass heading for the surface to jump, get your rod tip in the water fast, and stop reeling while allowing the rod to do the work.

Always bring a net too. If you really do have the bass of a lifetime on there, you want to make sure that once it gets near te boat, your chances of nabbing it are good. The closer a monster bass gets to the boat, the better your chances of losing it are. Just practice all this stuff on the medium sized fish when you catch them so you can be ready for the big Mama when she bites!

when the fish jumps i put the rod down into the water to try and stop it. when its running swimming to the right which way should i turn my rod to the left or right? and vise versa if the fish was swimming to the left

[senko_77]

Bro, it doesn't matter.  Your over complicating everything.  Just go out and fish and if you catch one, throw the rod back and reel him in.  It doesn't matter if you go left, right, up, down, backwards, between your legs, etc.  Just chill out and go fish

[Bass_Akwards]

Take Senko_77's advice. If you think to much that's just as bad as freaking out and trying to muscle the fish to much. Just chill and fish and give it time.

To kind of answer your question though, just use common sense. If the fish goes left of right, allow it to go where it wants. I mentioned that you should never try to turn a big bass unless you're in dire straights. That being the case just think for a second. If the fish breaks left don't just yank your rod to the right or left aimlessly.  Don't think to yourself "every time a bass breaks left, i have to do the same thing every time."  You have to get a feel for what works through experience.  If a bass breaks hard right you have to put the rod where it makes sense.  Where ever you can keep constant pressure on the fish and not give it slack line is going to be a good enough position to hopefully give you a good chance to get that bass in the boat.

When the bass breaks left or right, do what you have to do to NOT over play the fish. Let it run and get tired and when you FEEL like you can reel it in some, do it. If it wants to run again, then let it.  If you see the bass is taking you over to a bunch of brush where you really feel like you could lose it for sure, then try and muscle it away from there. 

Everything takes practice and time, so just take a deep breath and relax both before, during, and after you go fishing. Don't over complicate so much. Nothing is exact.

Practice, practice, practice and this stuff will become second nature. Soon youre not going to be "thinking" at all, and you'll just be "doing."

When you get super good, you'll be able to start catching them between your legs like Senko_77 is talkin' about.

[rookiesmallmouther]

Take Senko_77's advice. If you think to much that's just as bad as freaking out and trying to muscle the fish to much. Just chill and fish and give it time.

To kind of answer your question though, just use common sense. If the fish goes left of right, allow it to go where it wants. I mentioned that you should never try to turn a big bass. That being the case just think for a second. If the fish breaks left do you really want to yank your rod to the right? Of course not.

When the bass breaks left or right, do what you have to do to NOT over play the fish. Let it run and get tired and when you FEEL like you can reel it in some, do it. If it wants to run again, then let it.

Everything takes practice and time, so just take a deep breath and relax both before, during, and after you go fishing. Don't over think. Nothing is exact.

Practice, practice, practice and this stuff will become second nature. Soon youre not going to be "thinking" at all, and you'll just be "doing."

When you get super good, you'll be able to start catching them between your legs like Senko_77 is talkin' about.

i know that i must go and practice it myself but how would i practice if i dont know how to properly play a fish? thats the point im trying to get across senko_77 is having a hard time figuring out that im not asking how to reel them in im asking how to actually tire them out i did not know you can dip the rod to stop them from jumping and i thaught you turn the rod opposite of the direction they are turning... maybe everyone should take a deep breath themselves and think about what im really asking senko_77 is not helping the cause he is just making me mad by saying i shuld just go out... i shuld just go out right? i will learn right? how do i learn if i dont know what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

im asking this because were i fished i got this huge northern that broke off because i dont know how to play a large fish with light line

[Osprey39]

First off, I'm assuming that you're talking about a large bass. Almost anyone can land a small bass so i figure you must be talking about a fatty.

When landing a fatty you have to first be aware that the very sight of a monster when it jumps out of the water will make you, and most other anglers knees turn to jelly. Maybe you've caught some nice fish before but when you see a complete monster, you might realize that you might never catch another bass like this in your life. When that happens, you have to be prepared.

I grew up fishing for saltwater gamefish. To this day the size of a bass, no matter how big, does not get to me that much. I know what's a trophy and what isn't but to me, all bass look 'small'. Don't get me wrong, I love to catch them and the 9lb largemouth I caught is one of 4 fish I've ever had mounted in my lifetime but compared to a 50+ pound saltwater fish that would strip your average baitcast real clean of line in seconds, they are still 'small' )

If you want to learn to catch big fish on light line, I suggest you get yourself some hot lips bucktail jigs and go find a bait pod in central Florida. There's no better practice than that.

[rookiesmallmouther]

First off, I'm assuming that you're talking about a large bass. Almost anyone can land a small bass so i figure you must be talking about a fatty.

When landing a fatty you have to first be aware that the very sight of a monster when it jumps out of the water will make you, and most other anglers knees turn to jelly. Maybe you've caught some nice fish before but when you see a complete monster, you might realize that you might never catch another bass like this in your life. When that happens, you have to be prepared.

I grew up fishing for saltwater gamefish. To this day the size of a bass, no matter how big, does not get to me that much. I know what's a trophy and what isn't but to me, all bass look 'small'. Don't get me wrong, I love to catch them and the 9lb largemouth I caught is one of 4 fish I've ever had mounted in my lifetime but compared to a 50+ pound saltwater fish that would strip your average baitcast real clean of line in seconds, they are still 'small' )

If you want to learn to catch big fish on light line, I suggest you get yourself some hot lips bucktail jigs and go find a bait pod in central Florida. There's no better practice than that.

i shuld just go out right? i will learn right? how do i learn if i dont know what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Osprey39]

First off, I'm assuming that you're talking about a large bass. Almost anyone can land a small bass so i figure you must be talking about a fatty.

When landing a fatty you have to first be aware that the very sight of a monster when it jumps out of the water will make you, and most other anglers knees turn to jelly. Maybe you've caught some nice fish before but when you see a complete monster, you might realize that you might never catch another bass like this in your life. When that happens, you have to be prepared.

I grew up fishing for saltwater gamefish. To this day the size of a bass, no matter how big, does not get to me that much. I know what's a trophy and what isn't but to me, all bass look 'small'. Don't get me wrong, I love to catch them and the 9lb largemouth I caught is one of 4 fish I've ever had mounted in my lifetime but compared to a 50+ pound saltwater fish that would strip your average baitcast real clean of line in seconds, they are still 'small' )

If you want to learn to catch big fish on light line, I suggest you get yourself some hot lips bucktail jigs and go find a bait pod in central Florida. There's no better practice than that.

i shuld just go out right? i will learn right? how do i learn if i dont know what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know bud, it's not that tough really. When I was a kid, the only thing my dad told me was pump the rod towards you to pull the fish then reel down to take up the line you just pulled. Pump and reel. Pump and reel. The only other thing he ever told me was keep the line tight. With those two pieces of information plus a whole lot of time fishing, I figured out how to fight a fish. It's not rocket science.

Honestly, I am not trying to sound like a snob here but bass are easy. I've seldom had a bass on that I didn't have in the boat inside of a minute, two tops. The first fish I caught in New Mexico was an 18lb striper on 8lb line that swam around the boat about 6 times. That was challenging

edit:  One other thing he told me that is kind of self explanatory:  don't reel against the drag

[Bass_Akwards]

It's called trial by error brother.  If you don't know what you're doing, you have to at very least go screw it up 10 times in order to figure out what you're doing wrong.  It's that easy, and that's what Senko_77 is saying.  I've seen many pro's get broken off because they didn't play the fish right.  It happens to the best, and it happens to the rest.  Yes, generally if a bass breaks to the right, you want to take the rod tip the other way.  this is because if you don't, you get slack in your line.  You want to keep pressure on the fish, so try and always put the rod where it puts pressure on the bass without over playing it.  Again, it's called trial by error man.  If you don't know what you're doing, like you keep saying you don't you have to suck it up and be a man and tough it out and work at it for a while.  You have to at very least go out there and screw it up and 10 times, and lose some bass, and maybe catch some bass.  Practice on the smaller-medium bass and learn what's up.  Listen to what were telling you as well.  You just have to do the trial and error thing  in order to figure out what you're doing wrong, and learn from it so you can get better the next time.

[rookiesmallmouther]

thanks for all the advice i just wanted ideas of doing it right like countering there every move and i hate losing lures because im not made of money a few years ago when i was 13-14 rooster tails were 80 cents for a all around good bass size rooster tail now im 17 and a small panfish rooster tail is $2.50! plus i want to start using lighter line so i can play a fish out more and have fun catching them rather than just catching and reeling them in with 30lb braid on a baitcaster setup.

[Red Bear]

thanks for all the advice i just wanted ideas of doing it right like countering there every move and i hate losing lures because im not made of money a few years ago when i was 13-14 rooster tails were 80 cents for a all around good bass size rooster tail now im 17 and a small panfish rooster tail is $2.50! plus i want to start using lighter line so i can play a fish out more and have fun catching them rather than just catching and reeling them in with 30lb braid on a baitcaster setup.

basically you just need to learn to counter what the fish is doing without horsing the fish if you want to use lighter line. like everyone else said, just go out and do it, its the only way to learn. dont be afraid to lose a few fish in the process, everyone loses fish now and then. if youre worried about cost and losing lures, practice with something cheap like t-rigged plastics and when you feel confident in your abilities to fight a fish then start using more expensive lures...

[Gangley]

WAAAAY over thinking it, simply pull in the opposite direction of the fishes travel.   If he is going right hold your rod to the left.  If he is going left hold your rod to the right.  If he is swimming upwards and about to jump hold your rod down into the water.  If the fish dives down deep hold the rod up high.  Its very simple, hold your rod opposite the direction of his travel, and 95 percent of the time you are doing it right.  That last 5 percent can't be taught, it has to be felt, and you only get that with experiance.

As far as drag is concerned:

Set your drag to 1/3-1/2 of the lines breaking strength.   

Once you set the hook, start reeling in.  If the fish starts pulling line out, quit reeling and let it run.  They usually dont run long, and once it finishes running, start reeling in.  Often times, when they get close to shore, they will do a second run, so just let him run again without reeling.  This will tire him out.  Once the drag has done its job and the fish quits pealing off line, start your retrieve again.

[Mattlures]

I read some good and some bad advise in this thread.

I controll the situation when fighting big bass. Sometimes I loose the controll but I quickly get it back by making adgustments. I do not like playing out a big bass. Big bass are arguably the most skilled fighters of all fish. Not the strongest and they dont last that long but they know how to get away and they will if you give them the oportunity. If I feel I can turn them I do and I crank them in hard. If I have to let them run, I will but I dont like it.

For practice find the biggest fish species you can and go catch them on an ultralight. I have landed many 10+ lb carp on 4lb test. It teaches you how to play out a fish. Of course big bass are different and should be fought differently but it is still good practice for most fish species.

BTW I have never landed a 10+ bass on 4lb test. I have landed a 7 but there was nothing for the fish to break me off on.

[Matt Fly]

Practice, practice, practice.

Matt   +1, growing up, we had the cheapie zebco's, lite line and we caught any species willing to play, most of the time, carp was an easy boredom killer.

 

[Paul Roberts]

I read some good and some bad advise in this thread.

I controll the situation when fighting big bass. Sometimes I loose the controll but I quickly get it back by making adgustments. I do not like playing out a big bass. Big bass are arguably the most skilled fighters of all fish. Not the strongest and they dont last that long but they know how to get away and they will if you give them the oportunity. If I feel I can turn them I do and I crank them in hard. If I have to let them run, I will but I dont like it.

For practice find the biggest fish species you can and go catch them on an ultralight. I have landed many 10+ lb carp on 4lb test. It teaches you how to play out a fish. Of course big bass are different and should be fought differently but it is still good practice for most fish species.

BTW I have never landed a 10+ bass on 4lb test. I have landed a 7 but there was nothing for the fish to break me off on.

Ditto.

Catching big fish on light line will teach you how to fight fish, all the way down to the nuances. I've caught carp, striped bass (as many as 50 in a run), false albacore, three species of salmon, and 100s of steelhead. I once caught a 9lb rainbow on 1lb Trilene XT (2kg IGFA) in less than 10 minutes timed. This is not to brag, at all, but to say I do speak from experience. This is how I came to the understanding of fish being neutrally buoyant, and only having fins and body depth to pull with. It's also why tail-hooking a big fish sucks.

Although I've never caught bass much over 6lbs, they are different in one main respect from all the open water speedsters I've caught. They use cover to hide in. It's well known by fisheries personnel that LM cannot be seined -they dive and hide in any cover and the net misses them. Hooked bass, both LM and SM, but esp LM, head for cover if they have the option -they look for it: weeds, heavy wood, rocks -I even had one dive into a muskrat hole once! All I could see was the tip of its tail > .

By midsummer, when the weeds are up, I go to 15 to 20lb lines, even for the 2-5lb fish I have here. If you don't get immediate control of its head, a 4lb LM will bury you in 10lbs of junk. Get the head coming toward you and it's comin' your way. I call this torque reeling, and discovered it using single action fly-tackle for stripers. Not going to take the time to explain the details right now (fishin' day awaits ), but it works. Most of us do it, just don't think about it.

[Catt]

Compairing a bass to most saltwater species aint even close, most saltwater fish will pull a bass backwards but shear pulling strength aint what makes a big bass harder to land. As Matt eluded to big bass are more skilled fighters knowing where every log, stump, limb or grass clump is and how to wrap you up before you can think about it. For the most part saltwater fishing in do in fairly open water greatly lacking the abundant cover available to a bass.

Example during the 2008 Lonestar Shootout on Lake Falcon, Pro anglers were being broken off using 85# braid.

Below Toledo Bend during low water, ya think a bass doesn't know where each stump is

[Matt Fly]

In the middle of the timber, it looks like a boat lane marker on top of the timber sticking up about 4ft.

    next time my butt runs that lake, it will pucker a little bit more.    It does that with age I think.