bringing larger trout to hand

[hagman]

This year I am starting to hook into some larger trout. But I have been having a heck of a time bringing them to the net. Either they shoot under logs, etc.. or they jump almost immidiately and the hook pops out. It is a catch 22, the more pressure I apply to keep them out of structure, the more they jump, and out pops the hook. Any suggestions?

 

[JackM]

Nothing less than 4X for large trout, 3X preferably. Use sideways pressure to tire them quickly and get them released safely.

 

[hagman]

Sorry, I was unclear. My leaders are not the problem and ethical releases are most definitely not the problem.

The problem is when I hook up to a fish, the fish immediately jumps out of the water, turns its head, and my fly comes out of fish's mouth. My fly is still connected to my line.

This happens particularly when fishing nymphs deep. The fish gets hooked and swims vertically upward, out of the water, into the air, turns its head, and the fly pops out. There is no break off.

Ethical releases are the problem, to the contrary, I would like to keep the fish on the line a little longer.

 

[mrwisker]

I'm not seeing the problem here.
I, like many are the catch and release type.
If I get to see it close up or in the air, I consider it caught.
If the LDR kicks in early, so much the better, I don't need to handle the fish at all.

That's just me though

 

[Maurice]

Big fish are notorious for running downstream and when turned to face upstream the "angle" is line directly to the hook, in the mouth. The rod is bent providing greater pressure on the hook set but then the line come out of the water its a dead test pressure and often the hook pulls out unless its hooked around a bony part of the mouth.

If the fish gets downstream and comes to the surface it is usually game over when it opens its mouth.

The key to fighting larger fish on a downstream run is to get back to their side or below them. This can be achieved by pointing your rod downstream, parallel to the water (side pressure) and to the bank side of the fish. This keeps more line in the water and keeps the hookset secure. It also give the fish the illusion of less pressure on its mouth and the ability to swim upstream with less pressure to get back above you. All the while you should be trying to get below or to the side of the fish.

Anytime your fish positions itself to straight line you he wins. Avoid this. The worst thing you can do is keep a high rod tip unless you are bringing the fish up off the bottom. Once it gets to the top or downstream, side pressure is the way to go. If it jumps, give it line by lowering the tip.

 

[pwk5017]

I believe they call it, "bowing to the fish" in tarpon fishing. Maurice, is there a guide to fighting fish out there? I dont lose many fish like the OP seems to have happen to him, but I would like my fights to be a bit more refined. I think we could draw similarities between a bar fight and me fighting a fish-- I am more of a brute than the fish. I would like to see a little more intelligence and strategy enter my fish playing.

hagman, what style and size of hook are you fishing? I am not saying that I havent landed 20"+ rainbows and big steelhead on size 18s, but I can assure you I am more successful with bigger hook gaps/larger hooks. I would look into finding a hook company that makes a slightly larger hook gap in the hook style you are fishing. It might make all the difference.

 

[pcray1231]

Well, #1, we all are more likely to lose big fish than small ones.

But that out of the way, I'm guessing it's the ANGLE of pressure you are putting on the fish.

Maurice covered the fight pretty well. But often it results from a poor hookset from the beginning. Almost always when nymphing, you want to strike to the downstream side. The reason is that fish are usually facing upstream, so you want to pull towards it's back. That lodges the hook in the corner of the mouth which is very hard to throw.

If you strike upstream, or straight up vertically, if you don't outright miss him you get a hookset in the roof of the mouth, which is much easier to throw. Plus you get that line abrading on the teeth, so you tend to break more off too.

 

[mike_richardson]

Barbless hooks? I find that when using these you get better pentration but if you loose tension on them you loose many fish. I agree with the side pressure method. I target these big boys and many times there is nothing you can do when they are in the air. If you keep the sideways pressure on it helps keep the trying to swim deep as well.

My biggest issue come when the trout cross right in front of me. IF i dont swing the rod quick enough i see the barbless hook alway lifts out of their mouth if they pick there head up.

 

[hagman]

I was clearly doing this all wrong. I was going straight up. I will try to point down stream, apply pressure sideways, and give line when they jump. Excellent advise. I think this should work!

I mostly use barbs so I really can not blame the hook.

"LDR "- I had to google this. Yes I am quite good at this.

"Larger trout" is probably relative. In all honesty, "larger trout" to me is around 14" and larger. Of course, all fish that get away increase dramatically in size!

 

[Chaz]

The first point is to set the hook weel though. Whenever I'm fighting a larger fish I try to keep the pressure from the side opposite the way the fish is running. So if the fish is down and to my right the rod tip is to the left and applying the pressure to the left. If the fish is down to the left it is opposite. If the fish is directly below me I try to get it to move toward the nearest bank with the rod low to the waterline. I'm always trying for the edge, never pointing the tip of the rod at the fish.
That said, we all lose big fish now and then, the fact that you are hooking them shows you are progressing.

 

[Swattie87]

Chaz wrote:
The first point is to set the hook weel though. Whenever I'm fighting a larger fish I try to keep the pressure from the side opposite the way the fish is running. So if the fish is down and to my right the rod tip is to the left and applying the pressure to the left. If the fish is down to the left it is opposite. If the fish is directly below me I try to get it to move toward the nearest bank with the rod low to the waterline. I'm always trying for the edge, never pointing the tip of the rod at the fish.
That said, we all lose big fish now and then, the fact that you are hooking them shows you are progressing.

+1...Great advice Chaz. And yeah, we all lose big fish...we (at least I) lose small ones too but they don't seem to burn in the back of your memory as much! I've had two 14+ inch Smallies shake loose my last two times WW fishing...they both were nearly directly downstream of me when they did too...try to get some angle and direct them off to the side if they're downstream of ya...easier said than done I know in the excitement of having a big fish on the line though.

 

[bigslackwater]

Lately, I seem to have an easier time landing bigger trout than smaller. The small trout in my case seem to go absolutely nuts and throw the hook, and when I net them they trash around so much that sometimes I have trouble handling them...usually I just let them swim out of the net. Big trout on the other hand, if they dont break off, can be easier to handle once netted. I've noticed that they seem to accept that fact that they've been caught...maybe it's that they've experienced it before and know the drill!