How long to fight a fish?

[Wmass]

How long should you honestly fight a fish? A fish you are intending to release and that you want to survive.

I know the answer depends on the fish size, the stream type and water temp/time of year; but I ask this because nothing pisses me off more than seeing a grown many fight an 8" trout for five minutes. I can almost guarantee that at certain times of the year a 2-5 min fight of a fish that size means a death sentence. I just dont get it.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

You get them in and off your hook as fast as you can without breaking your tippet.

 

[LetortAngler]

+1 Squatch
This has been talked about on here quite a few times. Witnessing anglers play their fish to exhaustion, followed by fish selfies, and a 5 minute "revive" session does seem very sportsmanlike if your intent is C&R, especially on a wild trout stream. Educating new anglers and making them aware of the ill effects, seems to be the appropriate action.

 

[duckfoot]

^ Yup. The less time that little %&^^$#@* has to wrap my line around snags and rocks, the better chance I have of grabbing it.

Most people who play with fish on a line are afraid of them, so they wait until they're so exhausted they can't wiggle in their hand.

...there's an (in)appropriate joke in there somewhere.

 

[pete41]

One of those point of view things..
back in the 60's I spent a lot of time at the paradise.
Found at times the only way to get any action during bright summer days was to go with 28 letort ants and 8x tippet[that was 3/8lb wet strength then].Needless to say it took a while to play, land and release them..more then a few regulars lectured me about that .I pretty much ignored them as I was getting action and they weren't...I mean why bother fishing at all...
Suspect even just a few years later I would have been ready to go to fist city with any one who treated MY fish that way...[SI]...

 

[krayfish2]

Use the same technique as a guy tuna fishing with a level wind reel. Tear their face off.

 

[PatrickC]

pete41 wrote:
One of those point of view things..

I like this and what Squatch said. There is no reason to ever over play a fish.

And, I think it is ok to chase large fish on small gear, you just have to pick your times. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see if you can land a large fish on small gear, just try to coincide that with a time that is least difficult on the fish. We're never doing the fish a favor by catching them...

And even with the proper gear, the fish can dictate how long it takes. I hit a huge steelhead hen last week that I would have thought was a king salmon if it were Fall. She drug me down the creek 100 yards and kicked my droopy old but. I think I was more tired after landing her than she was. I wanted to get her landed sooner. She was a tank and wouldn't have it.

It's a complex question. Understand that there is never anything in fishing for the fish and try to show them as much respect as possible knowing that. If you are that worried about it...well, stop fishing. And last but not least, as long as it's not illegal, don't be so disappointed when everyone else on the stream doesn't do things your way. We all have different backgrounds.

 

[pcray1231]

I'd say 99% of my trout it's under a minute, and 90% under 30 seconds.

Heck, on brookies, it's under 10 seconds, and it'd be even quicker but I usually let em stay in the water while I go to them, and it takes a few seconds to do that.

Steelhead is a different game, and it's true of bigger fish in general. They take longer. Anytime where you can't just overpower a run, it's tougher.

As was said, it's as fast as you can without breaking tippet. And that's part judgement call, and I will say in colder water I'm a little more conservative (lean towards not breaking tippet, and a sure landing). In warmish water, I get aggressive, and if I break em off so be it, it's better than a long fight.

 

[attackone]

until the bells rings....i think dont think there is a exact time table, alot of things can play a part in it. I mainly fish 2-3wt rods and 6-7x size tippet and i can get a fish in pretty quick. A big strong health fish in fast water is going to take alittle bit longer then a fish thats in a slower pool just because of the speed of the water.

 

[Chaz]

As quickly as possible, just make sure you're using a good tippet, and tie good knots.
Some of the fishing videos I see in the Net are simply irresponsible, the way they drag fish around unnecessarily and then have to revive them. If fought right a fish wouldn't need revival. And really use a net. One of the worst things guy do is drag fish up on a beach.

 

[geebee]

1. carry a net. i hate to see fish swimming round in circles as some guy trys to hold the rod in one hand and grab the fish in the other...

2. big fish ? play em down and dirty - keep the rod tip up but low. the fish goes right, sidestrain left, then when it turns left, sidestrain right. confuse the hell out of them, get their mouth out of the water as soon as you can and keep it there. if a fish takes off down the bank/shore go after it - always use a tippet size bigger than you think - 10lb fish ? use 13/15lb, 15lb ? use 20lb etc..

 

[PatrickC]

geebee wrote:
2. big fish ? play em down and dirty - keep the rod tip up but low. the fish goes right, sidestrain left, then when it turns left, sidestrain right. confuse the hell out of them, get their mouth out of the water as soon as you can and keep it there. if a fish takes off down the bank/shore go after it - always use a tippet size bigger than you think - 10lb fish ? use 13/15lb, 15lb ? use 20lb etc..

Excellent! I will tell you that this is one of the more difficult things for clients to get ahold of when landing big fish. I think some of it has to do with the fact that most of the experience they have landing big fish is on spinning gear. And then, because everything is happening so fast, they struggle to even hear what you are trying to coach them through. Once they lose a nice fish, they are usually better able to allow you to talk them through the process the next time around.

Anyway, GOOD STUFF RIGHT THERE!

 

[pabrookie94]

Takes me less than a minute to land most trout but sometimes they just don't give up. I landed a 19" rainbow the other day on a size 18 zebra midge and 6x tippet and needless to say she was healthy...It took a bit longer. Just about as fast as you can get the fish in is how long it should take.

 

[MKern]

I think most guys overestimate the under a minute thing.

I would bet that most fish are, or atleast could be, unhooked in under 30 seconds.

Most trout under 14" can pretty much be pulled right in against their will. Maybe with a couple pauses for head shakes and attempted runs.