new rod selection

[MuskieBait]

(01-30-2015 01:37 PM)manitoubass2 Wrote:  And if any of us have experience huge hooksets are rarely necessary. If your rippen lips your doing something wrong

Tell that to the bass anglers. They think that anything less than swinging for the fence isn't going to hook a fish...

(01-30-2015 01:37 PM)manitoubass2 Wrote:  Howah you took that to heart lol

I'm not taking any of it to heart because I've fished long enough, fished in various areas around the world, fished for enough species, experienced all kinds of techniques and learned from many people from novice to old salts that I know what's possible...and I've done what's possible. But some forum members here are novice and they may take advice for face value without realizing that sometimes advices may not be exactly true...that a second opinion is useful and possibly helpful. I'm just providing that second opinion (and using real examples to illustrate my point).

(01-30-2015 01:37 PM)manitoubass2 Wrote:  But ultralite has no business in waters with big fish IMO.

I completely disagree. Your statement implies there are only big fish in big fish waters and if you fish in big fish water you will only catch big fish, thus, it is harmful to fish to use anything less than heavy gear..which we know is absolutely false. Your statement also assumes that an angler fishing in big fish waters are only interested in catching nothing else but big fish...which is also false.

Hey, people fish in the ocean. There are 1000lb Bluefin Tuna, Marlin, Great White Shark, 250lb Tarpon...etc. If we go by your statement, no one should EVER fish in the ocean with anything less than 130lb class gear. No one should EVER fish in the ocean without a wire leader. Which we know is completely false. It all depends on what you wish to catch as your target. Not everyone is after that 1000lb Bluefin Tuna...and even if you are after that fish, you know that these trophies are rare. Most of the time, you may only catch 200-500lb Bluefin Tuna...and you may not even need all that heavy gear.

Honestly, at any GTA locations, how often do people catch 40" class Northern Pike from shore? How many people catch 8lb bass from shore? Your gear should reflect the most common catches...not the rare trophies that come by once every few years to the one lucky angler out of hundreds that fished the same water.

(01-30-2015 01:37 PM)manitoubass2 Wrote:  And landing a pike from shore in one minute means one or two things. You hooked the fish next to shore and shallow, or your reeling in very fast. Or both.

Again, you are assuming too much. That pike was caught from the middle of a fairly fast flowing river, at the back of current where it was just starting to tail out. It hit almost two cranks into the retrieve from a very long cast (70 feet or so). With a 33" pike in a good current fishing 8lb test and a 20lb steel leader, I could not reel fast. It is about how to get the fish out of the current first, and then lead the fish to shore, tiring it out at the end in the calmer water closer to shore, and be ready with the net to get the fish on the first scoop. If you are fishing on a boat, it makes the landing process even easier because you can actually follow the fish a bit. This is why people can achieve IFGA line class records such as a 50+lb snapper on 2lb line...because they have the ability to follow the fish on a boat, cushion the line with the rod and get a leader touch on the first opportunity. Trying to get the same 2lb line record from shore with a 50lb snapper is next to impossible. So the argument that shore fishing facilitates landing bigger fish in shorter time is not true at all. The fact that an angler is limited in mobility and obstructed by dense weed or snags close to shore actually makes landing a big fish much more difficult from shore.

One minute is actually a long time. Most people often say they fought a fish for so and so minutes...but the perception on the passage of time is often longer than actual passage of time, especially when you are excited playing a fish.