If the reel has an exposed rim and enough of a drag system to keep it from over-running, you will ALWAYS have more control over a fish when playing it from the reel. Hands down.
Try this as an example: vary the pressure applied to a fly line between your cork grip and your finger, hand, or whatever. Use a scale if you can. Vary the pressure in one pound increments if you can -- if you dare. I promise you cannot. Now do the same with an exposed rim on a reel, you'll find you have more precise control. If you have a decent disk drag on the reel, set it a little higher, so it does more than just provide over-run protection. Now a mere finger gracing the rim will add any amount of additional drag you want, except with maybe 8 lb. leaders attached to real big boys.
My point. If you have control over the drag you apply and release, you will break off less fish, and more effectively play out the same. Control the amount of line that is superficially stripped off the reel, and this will facilitate taking up the slack when the time comes. Most importantly, do not break off the fish of a lifetime for lack of practice!
Cheers!
Brian
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I've got a question to ask the list. Since I normally fish water which
holds a decent abundance of fish but very few large ones, I've gotten into
the habit of retrieving line by hand when bringing in a fish. Having spent
so many years fishing with spinning and baitcasting reels prior to picking
up on fly fishing, I don't really see any sort of mechanical advantage in
the use of a fly reel (at least not the lower-quality reel I've got on my
rod) since the drag is all but non-existant. Therefore, my reel is more or
less just a place to store my line when I'm not using it.
I'd like to get an idea of what the generally used method is. If I've got
15 or 20 feet of line laying in the water in front of me, do I really have
the time to take up all that slack on a reel with no mechanical advantage
(i.e. no improved gear ratios to speed the uptake)? Generally speaking, I
also fish the lightest tippet I have available - normally 7x or 8x. I've
never had a fish break off (although once or twice the fly has come untied,
but that problem is on me).
Anyhow, whats the verdict? When a fish can be landed just as easily by
retrieving line by hand, do you all pull it in or reel it in?
Thanks for any comments!
John
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