UPDATED: Caught me a Steelhead on the Centerpin (Vid/Pic)

[MuskieBait]

(10-31-2013 10:07 AM)shawarma Wrote:  

(10-30-2013 10:36 PM)MuskieBait Wrote:  You hear it from bass pros all the time...keep the fish deep...keep the head down...the more a fish jump, the more chances there are in losing the fish.

How is that accomplished though? What you're saying otherwise makes perfect sense but it's this part here that i just don't know technically what must happen from my end to ensure the fish stays deep and head down.

If you watch any bass tournament on TV, you'll see the the anglers dip the rod lower in the water to let the fish fight out deeper in the water. When you watch them do it, they don't drop the rod quickly all of a sudden, which cause you to lose tension. You have to gauge the bass reaction during a fight. If a bass wish to jump, you could try lessening the pressure a little to discourage a jump (when the bass doesn't feel a strong upward pressure anymore, it thinks it got away free and will dive back to the bottom again...thus preventing a jump). After a jump, the fish usually tries to dive deep. That's where you can start dipping the rod lower (while maintaining a bent rod) to keep the fish fighting deeper. If you pay attention, some guys actually dip their rod tips into the water close to the boat to keep the fish as deep as possible; since the fish is close to the boat, you have a very short amount of line where it is easier for a fish to shake a hook; or for you to put too much pressure and pull a hook. Don't bring a fish upward toward the net until the fish is sufficiently tired out.

You can do that with a 5' rod...or you can do that with a 13' rod. You can do it for small bass...and I've done it with salmon, tarpon and sturgeon. Jumps are cool to see...but if you want to land a fish, try to minimize the number of jumps you FORCE a fish to make. There are jumps you can do nothing about...but there are lots of jumps and thrashing you can personally eliminate.

As always, BE PATIENT and let the fish tire out. Rushing to land a fish will force you to pull the fish upwards too fast too quickly and cause a lot of heartbreak.