Don't expect to keep a really big fish on if it grabs the bait at the
side of the boat and dives. No thumb in the world is quick enough to
pop the thumbar before the pressure is too great to do so. That's where
hooks rip out or tackle breaks.

Carlos

I guess you're right, at least part of the time, but I've had some really nice
pike hit crank baits right at the boat and I don't think there's a black bass
in the world that can hit with the intensity of a northern pike. I lost a few
fish until I learned a trick or two. I don't try to hit the thumb bar, even
though I'm one of the few anglers here old enough to have first learned how to
catch fish on reels that had NO DRAG AT ALL other than your thumb.

Here's what I do with fish that hit right at boatside. (1) I keep the drag set
fairly loose (I can always add thumb pressure when more drag is called for.)
(2) When a fish hits right at the boat, I sort of set the hook sideways and
keep moving the rod tip to the left or right as seems appropriate. This
sideways movement of the rod keeps the line tight while (3) I poke the rod tip
down under the water as fast as I possibly can. The idea is to get the tip of
the rod well below the bottom of the boat so the fish can't break the line by
sawing it on the keel.

Sure you'll lose a fish or two -- which you do anyway, no matter where the fish
hits your lure -- but if you get in the habit of making a "rod dive" you'll
soon be winning a few of those "close encounters."

The "rod dive" combined with a loose drag (and an educated thumb) has served me
well on hard hitting stripers as well as for pike and bass.



Family, Friends, Fishing,
Rob Storm
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