Light duty fighing rod ?

[fisherman85]

I have a ? a week ago i bought 13 great lake diawa rods 8 ft and 8 ft 6 real nice light rods because i have been told they are funner to catch fish with i spoole them up with 30 lb and 20 lb leader and seem to be loosing alot of fish after they release..... Any reason the shorter lighter rods would do that or am i just losing fish...Also i started using snubbers on my dipsys and am noticing im losing more fish on them as well i might have to go back to the old set up i used which i hardly lost fish with if u have any suggestions let me know??

[Don Supon]

I don't like light rods for big trout or salmon out on the lake. My preference is heavy action.

With either action, never,never let the rod straighten out completely during the fight, not even for a heartbeat. But if it does for some reason, wind as fas as you can until you are fighting the fish again or actually see your lure fishless.

I've watched too many fish lost because the fisherman wants to enjoy and prolong the fight. I'n not advocating a hurried, pressured retreval of the fish, But someone can "play" the fish too much. A steady, unhurried retreval is best, IMO.

[LongLine]

The 8'6 rods are very limber. I switched mine over to co-poly lines & threw my mono out a few years back. Much less stretch.

Be careful if you "pump" the rod while reeling the fish in. Many guys let the rod go straight which is a big no-no. As said above - ALWAYS keep the rod bent.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[fisherman85]

Thanks for the tips

[ Post made via Android ]

[Chas0218]

I only pump the rod if I need to turn the fish otherwise I try to fight the fish just by reeling or pump really slow. I have seen a lot of nice fish lost from horsing the fish too hard.

[K Gonefishin]

8'0 ft medium rigger rods and co-polymer line (Maxima) my landing ratio on rigger fish is probably 98-% after hookup.

[Blue Heron]

I run 7' uglystiks in light action for my rigger rods and dont believe I loose any more fish that I did fishing with the 8.5' telephone poles I used to use - I also use a set of 7' full roller dipsey rods made be MissEm and they handle thefish as well as my 9.5 & 10 foot dipseys. The shorter rods are much easier to handle in a smaller boat , handle the fish fine, and are a lot more fun

[Big Dave]

Blue Heron says "I also use a set of 7' full roller dipsey rods made be MissEm and they handle thefish as well as my 9.5 & 10 foot dipseys. The shorter rods are much easier to handle in a smaller boat , handle the fish fine, and are a lot more fun"

Thats for sure