"Bob" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

New at this, and would like to see a discussion on
the subject of "playing a fish" when flyfishing for trout.

For "typical" sized New England trout, e.g. rainbows and brookies,
do you folks literally just haul them in (certainly no problem in
overpowering them even with very thin tippet sizes), or do you
like to "play" them some, and tire them a bit, before landing them.

Which is better for the fish' chance of surviving ?

Do you wait until you have a real large sized trout on before "playing
him"
off the reel, some ? How large ?

Very interested in the techniques for this used by others.

The bottom line is whether or not you are going to catch and release or not.
If you're planning to release them, the rule of thumb is to get them in and
off as quickly as possible, but this is often tempered by how bored you are
from a long, dry spell of no fish. If I get a New England sized fish (10-14
inches) on, and I've been catching them regularly, I'll have that little guy
off the hook in under a minute...drag him in, grab the hook (without
touching the fish), and twist it loose while holding him at the surface of
the water, if possible. No net, no hands, bye bye fish.

If, on the other hand, I haven't caught anything for several hours, I might
let him tug the line for 5 seconds or so, reel him in closer, let him tug a
bit, then reel him in and release him. But he inevitably has the strength to
take off immediately.

OTOH, I've seen 4-5 pound trout fight like banshees for several minutes,
making several (4, 5 or more) runs almost to the backing, finally getting
dragged in on their sides when they were too tired to fart, and then be held
out of the water for 1-2 minutes while we tried to get the hook out of their
mouth from them swallowing it beyond the knot. Then have them be held in the
air for another 15-30 seconds while we untangled them from the net, fiddled
with the camera, posed and took the shot, then finally (FINALLY) placed them
back in the water, looking pretty well stunned. They would sit at our ankles
wondering what the hell hit them for about 5 minutes, then disappear with a
snap of their tail.

Current wisdom says that large fish are a LOT more resiliant than we give
them credit for, although I don't think this is true for smaller ones or
stockies. And there is also evidence that tortured fish like the
aforementioned often end up dying later in the day from the lactic acid
buildup from their workout. So if you intend to release them, play with them
like you'd play with an egg...gently and with caution, and get them released
as quickly as is reasonable.

--riverman