Playing A Fish Quest. ?

"Bob" wrote

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



I find "the fight" boring and just want to get it over with smaller fish.
I often give them some slack and hope they shake off. If they don't I hand
strip them in quickly and try to get the hook twisted out while they are
still in the water, usually the slack water in my lee as I wade.

Big fish can be "fun" to fight, i.e. it can be a real challenge without a
certain outcome. In those cases I still try to get the fish in and
released ASAP but it will require getting the fish on the reel, trying to
keep him off balance with pressure from varying angles, and moving with him
to keep a short, move controllable line. All the pressure my tackle can
handle is used, I'd rather lose one to a broken tippet than stress him too
much, but 5X will stand one hell of a pull these days. And I try to use
any advantage of terrain I can spot, certainly avoid letting the fish go
where he thinks is a good battleground. For example, I like the last part
of the fight to be in slack water so that the fish can't use current to her
advantage.

In no case, big, little, or in between, do I "play them longer" for "the
fun of it" Get 'em in and released as fast as you can, the fish will let
you know if you need the reel as line goes zinging through your hand, and
you dance with the excess you lazily let dangle at your feet. g The
definition of big fish is one where "landing ASAP" is still after a long,
uncertain, fight, often a 16" fish will have more spunk than a 20" Another
definition? I am often happy to see a small fish get off, I can't remember
having that emotion when a big one beat me G

One last note. I often fail to do this, but never fail to gain when I do.
Fish for ALL fish like they were trophy fish. It develops good habits, like
planning the approach and scouting likely escape routes your fish will try,
before the cast, and NOT having excess line tangled round your feet. :-)

Bob wrote:
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.

Thanks,
B.
A typical new England trout, you pretty much winch onto the bank. An 8
to ten inch trout can be dangled from a 5X tippet without breaking it.
that is the average trout i got when i lived there.

Pete Collin