I’ve been fishing all my life, I’m 56 and I’ve been fly fishing in earnest about 2 years. I’m hooked. These days I almost never get skunked. At first I lost a lot of fish getting to the reel instead of staying with the line in my hand. I was taught by a guide to stay on the line unless a big enough fish takes all the line then you’re on the reel. My buddy says get to the reel asap. What’s your take on this?
Posted by HikerGary
4 Comments
Fight them all by hand unless they take you to the reel. Only time I’m intentionally getting on the reel are big snook and tarpon in very tight quarters.
i have yet to catch a fish with my fly rod… so in my experience, *not quick at all*
I usually hold pressure for a second at first and decide from there, if it’s small then I just rip it on, you can usually tell if it’s big pretty quick. If it’s bigger I get it on the reel quick and let the drag do the work
The guide is exactly right. If the fish is big you need to tire it out before netting it. If the fish is 12 inches or less, you can just bring it in without using the reel and fast, because if it starts jumping the hook will flail out. If the fish is big, that’s when you use the reel so that the fish is able to take line if it needs.