The reason so many fish are lost.

[David Johnson]

Why is it that on some days 50% of the steelhead that are hooked never make it to the boat?

Some days when you're only going to get a couple chances you don't want to blow them.

One of the biggest reasons for loosing fish is excitement or simple inexperience.

Every time there is a fish lost in my boat I almost always can tell the person exactly what they did or didn't do that caused that fish to be lost. I do this becuase I don't want them to make the same mistake twice.

Pulling plugs, Kwikfish, diver and bait or trolling for example. Fishing with these methods requires long periods of inactivity followed by minutes of adreneline. There are three reasons fish are lost with these techniques.

The first is getting too excited and grabbing the rod just as the fish is starting to take it down and yanking it away from them. Some people just don't have the patience to wait that second longer until the rod is folded over and the fish has taken the plug. I don't care how hard that initial take down is you must wait until the rod is no longer throbbing and it's just bent over flat. My most common thing to say is, "Wait, wait, wait, OK, now, get him!" Some times a client will grab that rod before I can even get out the first word, then it's "Fish Off!"

Second is forgetting to clamp down the thumb on the reel. I set my drags about a medium setting so that when a fish is hooked it can take line and clear the rest of the lines before they can be retrieved. But if you set the hook without thumbing, it will slip, resulting in not getting the hook in past the barb. This happens a lot. The fish is there for a head shake or two and then it's gone.

Lastly fish are sometimes lost getting the rod out of the holder. In my boat I prefer to have the rods in the holder with the reel out near the end. Then when it's time to set the hook I insturct them to just place your thumb on the spool and grab the rod cork above the holder and give a firm yank. I have seen that fish are sometimes lost when a person takes the rod out of the holder and then sets the hook becuase in the proccess of taking out the rod slack is dropped into the line as the rod is pushed forward to remove it.

DRIFT FISHING:

This is the hardest of all for beginners as many times they dismiss the bite as a snag or something and not set the hook or if they do set the hook it's not hard enough to get all the slack out and put the hook in past the barb. The result is a head shake or maybe a jump and the fish is gone. Set that hook. I really like Jennies saying at the end of her posts for this, "expect a fish on every cast."

Bobber Fishing:

This is a pretty simple one. Just keep that line tight and don't set the hook until the line is tight. Lots of times when the bobber goes under someone will set the hook and only take up all the slack and never hook up or hook up poorly.

Once the fish is hooked it's important to keep a tight line at all times. Let the fish run when it wants to and smooth and steadily pump and reel when you can. Don't let the fish get under the boat, if he does put your tip in the water while still keeping presure (bent rod). It's also up to the boat captian to manuvour the boat around the fish.

Sure, there are other reasons to loose fish. Lately we've lost a few that have gotten into brush, anchor lines, just a hot fish that was a jumper or spit the hook or sawed through the 10# leader. Some fish just aren't meant to be.

I see other mistakes by fisherman (and I've done these in the past too).

Knocked off with the net, this is very common. Don't get too excited, once it's hooked the hard part is over. Just let the fish get tired and only net it after it is exhausted and only net it head first.

Knots. I can tell you I haven't lost a fish to a broken know for at least two or three years, can't remember the last time. I know knot falure is a big factor for some. Learn to tie good knots and practice them. If it doesn't look good re-tie it. Don't take a chance.

Dull hooks. There are so many times i've seen someone snag up and then get it back only to cast it right back out without checking the hook point and then miss a fish on that next cast. Check points often.

Bad line. It's all you have between you and your fish. If it's streached out or nicked up cut that part of. Replace often. On my spinning reels I replace every three to five trips to cut down on it getting too "springy" Lots of use and especially exposure to the sun will weaken your line.

Too light a leader. I preach on using the heaviest leader you can get away with. For steelhead plug fishing I wouldn't go less then 20#. If they are going to bite that big plug they're not going to bother to look at your line.


I hope all these tips will help out, they work for me. Look at it this way, you spend all that time, money and exposure to the ellements to catch fish, do every thing you can to make sure you land it.