How Long To Fight A Fish?

[laker67]

So, should I be using a 5wt or light rod with the 6-7x tippet as Randall suggested?

Lighter rods are a little more forgiving, but the single most important thing is adjusting your drag as Vanven stated. Don't be afraid to touch that dial even with a fish in mid air. Your reel is designed to accomodate the leader. I am sure you would not use spinning gear without adjusting the drag. Never try to outguess a big fish with the hand over hand method. You will be telling the same story that you just told.

[Indiana Trout]

Maybe somebody else will chime in here but, I've used 5X and 6X exclusively. The only time I've gone below that is at a trout park. I use Orvis Mirage floro 6X... A 5 weight seems to be the best compromise between having enough back bone and too much. I took a 4 weight and a 6 weight, but I wound up using the 5 because it would throw buggers and soft hackles equally well. Just my 2 cents.

[vanven]

I use 6x and 7x during the day. At night i use 4x on a much shorter leader. In both cases I use a 5wt and the rod is going to be my limiting factor in how hard I can really pull. I have fished many a night with 6x that I was too lazy (or to busy catching fish) to swap out before it got dark. I would probably not do that late fall when i knew a big fish was a higher possibility. When i break off at night it is generally because the fish drilled the fly on the take and in most cases the difference between 6x and 4x wouldn't have saved me. A really heavy leader probably would have resulted in the rod being yanked out of my hand.

-Jerod

[ohmz138]

Maybe somebody else will chime in here but, I've used 5X and 6X exclusively. The only time I've gone below that is at a trout park. I use Orvis Mirage floro 6X... A 5 weight seems to be the best compromise between having enough back bone and too much. I took a 4 weight and a 6 weight, but I wound up using the 5 because it would throw buggers and soft hackles equally well. Just my 2 cents.

Try Rio. Its worth the extra couple bucks especially when gunning for big fish.

[vanven]

One other thing to consider when choosing tippet size and whether to fish mono or flouro is the fly you will be using. If I am nymphing where the fish has a longer time to analyze the fly I will always go with the smallest possible line in a flouro. If I am ripping streamers it does not matter near as much because the fish is going to be focused on the moving fly and a lot less on the line attached to it. The weight of a streamer is also going to offset and float or sink in the tippet. I generally save the flouro for daytime when it seems to help.

-Jerod

[Greg]

So, should I be using a 5wt or light rod with the 6-7x tippet as Randall suggested?

I definitely agree with that. In fact I find a medium fast 5 wt perfect for 99% of MO fly fishing for trout. With the right rod you can cast a fairly big weighted streamer or a #20 dry fly. If you are going to fish with 6 or 7X I would use a 5 wt or smaller and you'll break off far fewer fish. IMHO anyway.

Like some of the other posters I use 5X or even 4X when I'm throwing streamers, fishing at night, or when the water is high and I'm using a lot of weight. BUT when the water is low and clear and I'm dead drifting small weighted or bead head nymphs or using small dries I find 6 and 7X to be beneficial.

Also regarding fluorocarbon - I'm a fan of the orvis mirage brand. It has seemed more consistent in quality to me and is somewhat cheaper than Rio.

Regarding retying - that would probably be a good thing. I do notice that after a number of fish I'll generally eventually break one off. But I've gone other days and caught 30 or 40 fish on the same fly without a single breakoff (using 6 or 7X). I'm too lazy to retie too though (LOL).

Greg

[streamcreeper]

Try Rio. Its worth the extra couple bucks especially when gunning for big fish.

Rio for sure i landed my first big fish on the current with 6x and i didnt fight him to long and my leader wasnt really stressed either..

[taxidermist]

I dont fly fish, I spin fish and even use a bait caster from time to time. I would think landing the fish asap is the best on the fish. I have lost a couple huge browns the last 60 days, net person was not fast enough. Caught a large bow 10lbs plus and landed it within a couple minutes and it never revived, water was low two weekneds ago, matter of fact I pulled my boat up stream over the shoals from Wildcat to White hole. I use heavoer line than you guys do tippet and still the bow died. Low O2 and the stress, so ow long to fight a fish, only GOd knows.

That day we saw lots of dead fish, lots of good browns and hundred of bows that never made it.

God knows, we can only guess.

[gary2400]

I may do it all wrong but I only fish Taney at night and tie 10# mono straight to my fly line as my leader, no tippet. I have caught several in the 5-7 lb class and even with 3 units running have never fought one over about 2 minutes. I use a #7 rod with water running and a #5 without. My 71 yr old dad uses an old #8 rod that is a Western Auto, owned by his dad and ties 14# mono straight to the fly line and does just as good or better than me. If fighting with heavy line is bad, I need to change. I use a Bass Pro rig that was $85 for the whole set-up. The fish don't care what kind rod you're holding, but I'd still like to have one of those nice TFOs or Sages or ....... you get the idea.

Pic of rainbow is my dad on Sat night, the brown was Monday night right after the lightning passed at midnight. Both were right down from outlet #1

gary

[DaddyO]

I think this podcast from Orvis is appropriate for this topic. Click Here