Just picking up on the thread.
I have been fortunate enough to spend some time chasing big fish in NZ.
The first season I lost far too many fish, because of lack of experience, but more so because of poor attention to knots and leader material. A good friend of mine over there quickly pointed out my problems:
1) Weak or poor quality leader material - I threw it out
2) He convinced me the value of regularly checking my leader for weak knots, knicks in the nylon etc during a fishing day, especially if it has been a quiet day. Nothing worse than hooking and losing the one and only fish for the day because of one bad knot... I check mine every 1/2 hour or so. Especially before fishing the next pool or run.
3) Not applying enough pressure to the fish. With good knots and leader material you would be amazed at how much pressure 4 and 5 lb tippet can bear when applied with a 5 or 6 weight rod. Seeing the speed and skill with he landed 5, 6, 7, 8 lb fish amazed me.
I still remember a couple of seasons ago, pumping and winding a big 8lb+ rainbow off the bottom of a deep log ridden pool at the base of some falls. My 6 weight rod and 5lb tippet landed and released that fish in less thant 10 mins. Keeping the play to a minimum reduces fish mortality rate, so I tend to make sure my rod and leader are up to the task. I am not a fan of long play with light rods..
IM
Homepage:- http://www.angelfire.com/on/theriverbank SwapPage http://www.angelfire.com/on/theriverbank/ftswaps.html
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--- Begin Message ---Hi Rick and Tom,
I just read the article too and from a physics point of view it makes sense. The part I liked was that the author seemed to be implying that practicing before you have that big fish on is important. Going through the exercise of playing a scale from the tip or butt of the rod will help to build reflexes and add another tactic to my arsenal. Almost more so than the fish playing tactic described by the author, I liked his parting shot of casting, knot tying skills and the importance of checking the leader being probably the biggest areas I could concentrate on if I really want to improve my flyfishing skills. I'm guilty of not paying a lot of attention to knots in my leader when I out (especially those wind-induced-really-bad-casting type!)
Good article, it made me think of things I could do to conscientiously improve.
Tim
Moscow, Idaho
At 01:37 PM 9/3/03 -0400, you wrote:
In a message dated 8/12/03 4:33:23 PM Mountain Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
How many have read the "American Angler" article "Put on the Pressure" by Art Scheck in the Sept Oct issue?
Also what did you think about it?
Greetings Rick!
I read the above article. Made a lot of sense to me, and some of the things I do as part of my fish playing strategies.
I still think folks that think they can handle 2 to 5 pound fish with a rod like an Orvis One weight better than they can with a 5 or 6 weight are damn fools! Period!
I will continue to believe that flyrods are like golf clubs, you use different ones in different situations, gotta have one for, each type of shot, otherwise the PGA tour would be played entirely with a 7 iron...
Tom Tully, PA-C
--- End Message ---
