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Fish for Life a lot of great tips above, some not so great. Probably more to come. My .02 like I used to tell the kids in LL

( after they had heard about fulcrums, bat weight, weight distribution,) just keep your eye on the ball and hit it.

Likewise, you can do it, calm down no buck fever, stay focused and get that fish to the net or to the hand.

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Just one other idea. IF you can, try to move into shallow water. If the water is only a foot deep, the fish can only dive one foot. However, if you are standing in three feet of water, the fish can dive three feet. Getting a fish to surface through three feet of water is much harder on your tippet than trying to move it through one foot. Of course, this assumes that you can move to shallow water.

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Take me with you and I'll net them for you. biggrin.png The others have given good advice. Analyze what you are doing and compare with the replies to the thread.

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I don't net the fish. I use a Ketchum Release tool and release the fish without handling it. There are several DIY versions of a disorger tool, so you don't have to buy one. Sometimes I don't even take a net with me on the water.

 

steve

 

 

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In thinking this over, and reading others replies and reactions, there's one thing that hasn't been said. That is, you are probably fishing with too light a rod for the size of the fish you are catching. A 9'4wt, any 9'4wt, is going to bend double if you are trying to land a 20" brown, whereas a 6wt would probably handle it OK. Of course, on the other side, the 6wt is overkill if most of the fish your are catching are 10" to 12" stockers.

 

It's simply a matter of matching your equipment to your expectations. Just as you don't hunt deer with a .22, (nor do you shoot squirrels with a 30-06,) you shouldn't chase trophy fish with light weight rod. It can be done, of course, but the result with be many more lost fish, and much higher stress levels on the fish you do manage to bring to net.

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What stops you from reeling more line in? Is it the line-leader connection getting stuck in the guides?

 

If it's the line-leader connection, try a smoother setup. There are many increments from clunky but convenient loop-to-loop, to totally smooth glue connections.

 

A nail knot directly to the fly line is pretty smooth. Covering the knot with Knot Sense or other glue will smooth it even more. The next step is the needle nail knot that routes the leader out of the center of the fly line. For the slickest setup, a knotless glue connection is super smooth. Both Dave Whitlock and Davy Wotten endorse the Zap-a-Gap knotless connection.

 

I use the loop to loop and try to keep the loops as smooth as possible. Welded fly line loops work well enough for me to reel the leader into the guides while playing a fish, but I know that a sudden run could be a problem.

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"break away" indicators are basically litter, right? It's a mortal sin to beach a trout but it's ok to throw litter in the stream?

Phil Rowley has a break away that doesn't become litter.

 

They work great!

post-51934-0-14080800-1456184982_thumb.jpeg

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