Handling The Hooked Fish

( Originally Published 1912 )

HOLDING the fish after it is hooked, and successfully tiring it out so that it can be landed, is the subject that is not given enough attention by writers on angling, for the novice will often get as many strikes as the veteran fisherman, sometimes more, but if he does not know how to "play" the fish under all conditions he will lose many, and it is a regrettable fact that it is invariably the big one that gets away.

The manner of hooking the fish is usually a quick twitch of the rod, being a movement of the wrist and forearm only, but this depends on the kind of fishing, for in still fishing the fish either hook themselves or the act of hooking and lifting from the water is all in one movement. When reeling in an artificial bait, using a short rod, the rod should be held at an angle of about twenty degrees. If held higher you may break the tip when you hook the fish. Even in still fishing there is no need of roughness and it is not necessary to yank the fish up into a tree-top or fling it back into the field above the bank. All that is needed is to keep a steady, taut line, and a quick twitch to set the hook, and a steady lift to draw the fish from his element is sure to yield a larger catch of fish. In still fishing the large ones are often lost by an unnecessarily hard yank on the rod, which breaks or springs the hook, or tears it out of the fish's mouth when it has not caught well.

But it is only the heavy, strong tackle used in still fishing that will allow of lifting the fish bodily from the water. The light tackle used for fly or bait casting could not be used this way, and this fishing would not be nearly so enjoyable if we pulled the fish out by main strength the pleasure of such fishing is mainly in endeavoring to tire the fish by the action of the rod and reel, so that it can be safely landed, and in circumventing in a sportsmanlike way the fish's efforts to escape. The lighter the tackle used the more enjoyable this is, and the more sport it affords, but there is always a limit to the lightness of the tackle when safety and practical use are considered. Fishing on lakes and other quiet, clear water, where the fish has plenty of room to run, you can use lighter tackle than in a place where you must hold the fish away from snags, weeds, etc., and here the strong current helps him out. The strike or act of setting the hook, is done with the right hand, but the rod must be changed to the left hand instantly when the fish moves nearer and gives a slack line so that the slack can be reeled up with the right hand and the left hand can spool the line evenly on the reel.

To put it in a few words, if you never let the fish get an inch of slack line and can hold him away from the snags, you will never lose a fish that is decently hooked. Usually the rod should be held pointing upward at an angle of about forty-five degrees or more and the spring of the rod, if the slack is kept out of the line by means of the reel, will tire the fish in time. When he rushes away you must let him take out line or something will give way, but the drag of the reel or your thumb pressure on the spool must check his rash and bring him to a standstill. When he comes closer you must reel in the line and handle the rod in such a way that he cannot get a pull on the slack or a chance to shake the hook from his month. If he runs towards weeds or snags you must check and stop him by pressure on the spool of the reel. If the snags are close by it may be necessary to raise the rod in such a way that the fish has to pull against all of its spring, but this should only be done when you are using a strong rod, or you may break the tip.

When using very light tackle in open water a long line and a large reel must be used, for, under the strain of a light rod a large fish may make a long run, or a deep sound be-fore the drag grows tiresome and he decides to go back. But no matter what kind of tackle you should give line grudgingly and take in line on every available occasion. You have more chance when the fish is near you and you know that he is in clear water, and more line with which to check a run. If the fish is a big one you may lose line and re-cover it again many times before you tire your catch out, and you should never try to use a landing net or gaff hook until your fish is tired out and gives up the fight, even then you must be careful. In rapid streams you should always lead the fish into open, clear water, where the current is not strong.

With an automatic reel, if adjusted to about the right tension for the fish sought, or rather to what the rod will stand, all that is needed to keep the fish from getting a slack line is to keep the tip of the rod up and the third or fourth finger pressed on the lever of the reel, and the fish can only take line against the tension of the reel spring and the action of the rod. When he lets up the reel automatically draws in the slack line, maintaining the same tension until the fish is tired out. When using an automatic reel on a fly rod, if desired, the line may be drawn in and paid out by the left hand, and the reel only used to take up the recovered line. Nearly all fly fishers retrieve the line by hand when a common click reel is used.

Some kinds of fish fight entirely beneath the surface — others break water frequently and sometimes leap a foot or more out of the water. The black bass is one of the latter kind. The rule governing the handling of the rod when a fish breaks water is more easily given than followed. It is to merely lower quickly the tip of the rod when the fish leaps if the line is long, so that he will not fall on a taut line, but the line must be recovered instantly after he strikes the water. On a short line the tip of the rod should be raised a little as the fish leaps and lowered as he falls. This requires such quick action of brain and muscles that few amateurs accomplish it and sometimes it is better to simply let the natural spring of the bent rod recover the slack. If the fish is deep you can feel the slack as he rises to the surface and should reel in the line rapidly, also prepare for a leap from the water. When he goes down, lower the rod.

When fishing from a boat, if it is anchored, don't forget the rope, and when the fish goes through under the boat swing the rod to the other side and the line around the end of the boat, the same end under which the fish has gone with your line.

If you can keep this up long enough you are sure to tire out the fish sooner or later. As a rule, the larger the fish the longer it will take to tire him this applying to fish of the same species, for some species fight harder and longer than others.

When the fish grows quiet and shows his side, he is tired and you can reel him in but must be careful in landing him. If you have no net or gaff, and the fish is not too large, you can get hold of the line with your hand, but make no quick moves, and slipping the hand down to within six inches of the fish, lift him into the boat or onto the bank by a steady, quick lift, swinging him sideways as you lift him. If you are using an artificial bait you should have the line doubled back at the end about six or eight inches, so that it will be stronger. If the fish is very large and you have neither net nor gaff you are likely to lose him, and you should never fish with light tackle unless you have a landing net or a gaff hook with you; both if you are fishing from a boat where large fish are caught sometimes. In using a landing net you should submerge the net and lead the fish over it, then raise the net. In gaffing a fish, if not very large, put the hook in his mouth. It is best to shoot a large pike or a muskellunge before you attempt to gaff him, using a revolver or .22 caliber rifle. Otherwise set the gaff into the underside of the body well back towards the tail.

Large sea fish are handled the same as fresh-water fish, except that being larger and stronger it is more difficult to cheek their rushes, and a large fish like the tarpon or tuna will sometimes take out several hundred yards of line before you can stop him, even though you may have a handle drag set at a heavy tension, and a leather brake pressed down with the thumb. If you have neither brake nor drag, which is unwise where big fish are found, you must have thumb-stalls so that the revolving, line-wound spool of the reel will not burn your thumbs, for you must sometimes press both thumbs on the reel as hard as possible. Then sometimes when you get the fish stopped, you cannot induce him to come nearer and he may even attempt another rush. In such cases the fisherman "pumps" the fish, and slowly recovers his line, foot by foot. For this a leather belt with a rod cup for the butt of the rod, is worn. The butt of the rod is set in the cup and with both hands the angler raises the rod by main strength, drawing the fish several feet nearer, then he suddenly lowers the tip of the rod and reels in the several feet of line that he has gained. The operation is repeated again and again as long as the fish will stand for it, but when he gets tired of it he makes another run and must be pumped again. Only stout tackle, the kind used for sea fishing, will stand such use.