Trouble Landing Fish

[kyle1248]

Lately I have been having all kinds of trouble landing fish. Was hoping for everyone's pointers or recommendatins for a newbie. I have been having the fish on for 5-10 sec. and then they pop off. Should I be setting the hook or is just lifting my rod tip sufficient? Any suggestions for a newbie would be greatly appreciated. Most of the times I lose the fish I already have them on my reel as well.

 

[gfen]

Trouts? A lift should set the hook, and then keeping pressure on should keep them on.

When you start giving them slack is when they'll throw the hook.

 

[TLoomis]

Check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s69pD70yGhA

What type of fishing are you doing? I find that I lose ALOT more fish when I fish wooly buggers, streamers, and emergers in the faster water, just letting it sit.

 

[kyle1248]

Yes trout- All my fishing is done typically with nymphs under an indicator.

 

[pcray1231]

I have several thoughts, some or none of them may actually apply. On the limited info given, its tough to tell.

1. Are you sure you're not just lining fish (trout or suckers). What you describe is extremely common in slower areas with a lot of suckers. Of course, one in every 10 or so you do truly hook one and then pull it in by a fin, so that makes it a little easier to figure out whats going on the rest of the time.

2. Gotta be on the hookset. A split second too late, a bad angle, I'm not sure. Personally, I believe starting off indi fishing is the wrong way, it teaches you to use the indi as a crutch, and thus you can have slack in the line between rod tip and indi. I think its better to start fishing close by high sticking without an indicator, and learning to keep the line tight and "feel" bites. Once you get reasonably proficient at this, you can start moving further away, and adding indicators to give you extra distance. But that very same tight line concept without an indicator, is also the proper way to fish with an indicator.

3. If your hookset was fine, then you're letting slack in the line during the fight. Especially if your using barbless, they will throw the hook often if given slack to do so.

4. Could just be the flies. Perhaps dull hooks. Perhaps your fly is crowding the hook? I often have problems like this with glo bugs, for instance. I try to tie them on "top", but if much material is on the bottom the puffiness crowds the hook and leads to misses or poor hooksets.

5. I also have this trouble with big flies on small trout. They hit em just fine, but don't get it in the mouth right or something and I end up losing a lot. The answer is to go to a smaller fly.

6. This happens a lot to me if I'm fishing downstream of my position. Most of the time the fish take upstream or straight out. But if I fish down, let it hang out in the current (dries, streamers, or nymphs), on the hookset, you're pulling it towards the lips, when you want to be pulling it towards the corner of the mouth. If you can fish more out and up, thats better, but sometimes you can't and you just live with it.

7. I have this happen sometimes on last-minute refusals or "light" takes. The fish doesn't fully commit to it. Fly selection, drag, etc. the same factors that your using to get more strikes are the fix, though sometimes fish are just like that and its hard to figure em out.

 

[goodfortune]

Like you, I went through a period (and its not qute over yet!) of losing fish right as I was getting ready to land them. I have found that leading fish to shallower water helps, whether you land them by net or by hand. Hope that helps.

 

[AKguy]

Are you breaking off or having fish spit the fly? If it is the first you may be not letting the fish run when it wants to.

 

[kyle1248]

The problem is I am having the fish spit the fly. Doesn't matter if it is on the top fly or bottom fly as I have been fishing a lot of two nymph setups recently. I am probably averaging more fish missed than landed.

 

[MKern]

Luck can be a huge factor.

Don't be affraid to "re"set the hook. Sting him again.

If a fish gets hooked to the bend of the fly it should stay on.

Again, it all depends on where you hook it.

 

[whheff]

MKern wrote:
Luck can be a huge factor.

Don't be affraid to "re"set the hook. Sting him again.

If a fish gets hooked to the bend of the fly it should stay on.

Again, it all depends on where you hook it.

This is great advise!!

I know that when I fish nymphs with a lot of weight, I think I am stuck on the bottom and then I find a fish on the hook. Because I lift the fly slowly when I think I am stuck on the bottom, I miss a few fisn too.

I aggree with everyone else, that once you have the fish hooked, don't give the fish any slack. I have had fish come of the hook after I net them.

 

[buckbarrett]

I've had that problem, landed a monster brown once and wanted to take a picure and it just hopped off the rock I was on. I think trout have a harder mouth than bluegills, bass, etc so I set the hook twice now.

 

[3wt7X]

I think confidence plays a little part in losing or landing a fish. If you are overly excited or doubt your ability to bring the fish to hand, then you will inevitably make mistakes while fighting a fish. A good tip is not to change the angle of your rod while fighting a trout unless it is absolutely necessary. An instance when it is necessary is when a nice brown tries to take you under a rock and you adjust the angle of your rod to prevent the line from catching the edge of the rock. I love to apply side pressure on fish and if possible I try to stay below the fish while fighting it. This has two benefits, it makes the fish fight the current and you, and it allows you to slip your net under the fish without spooking it so much. I hope this helps.

 

[pcray1231]

I make a point to change the angle of my rod constantly. Always found I could get em in quicker. Just sayin...

 

[osprey]

pcray......you make two great points IMO , set the hook multiple times , easy though , And changing the rod angle will tire them out and get them to hand quicker , one more thing , when you get them within hemo range , grab the leader/tippet and hold thier heads and gills out of the water a few seconds , it takes the wind out of em long enough to get the hemos on and release them. Without having to touch them by the way.

 

[goodfortune]

Something else came to mind...

While one should always aim to play and land fish as quickly as possible, one should also resist the temptation to "horse in" a fish.

Do what you can to tire out your fish as quickly as possible, but don't rush to pull it in close to you while it is still full of fight. It seems a bit easier for me to maintain line tension, and to adjust to any sudden movements a fish might make, with a bit more line out.

However, the instant the fish you are fighting starts to fade, then look to land it. Hope this helps too.

 

[surveyor06]

Im with 3wt7x. I lose most my fish when I change the angle. Nothing wrong with side pressure, but if I make a 180 degree change in angle of fight thats typically when I lose fish.

 

[troutslammer]

probably already said cause i didn't want to read all post , set the hook to the downstream side , trout usually lay facing the current , setting it downstream gives a better hook set in my opionion and sometimes in fast deep water really rip it to em , down uder water with the current it will be lesss forcefull than what u think u are giving em above the water (if that makes sense )

 

[Padraic]

surveyor06 wrote:
Im with 3wt7x. I lose most my fish when I change the angle. Nothing wrong with side pressure, but if I make a 180 degree change in angle of fight thats typically when I lose fish.

You might be throwing some slack in the line when you change the angle.

I used to follow a rule of "leading the fish" where I wanted it to go. That's to say, I would exert side pressure but in the direction of slower water or upstream to tire it out.

 

[JF_]

I do what Pad is saying; it always seems to get the fish more controlled when you're guiding it upstream against the current.

 

[surveyor06]

That could be the case, it doesnt bother me too much really. As long as I get to play it for a while, I figure I did my job. I fooled the trout, felt him dance a bit and then its gets off without it being touched, everyone wins.