Posted by Rhino on October 30, 2002 at 11:30:14:
In Reply to: FIGHTING AND LANDING HUGE FISH posted by DESPERATE! on October 28, 2002 at 14:32:54:
: Hello all, i find this messageboard to be really helpful so i will ask another question. When fishing kelp beds this past weekend i hooked more then 5 HUGE fish. I don't know what they were but they showed NO signs of tiring even after 30mins!!! But after about 30 mins i get tired of fighting so i try to power reel them in. But everytime either the hook rips outta their mouth or the hook breaks off the line or for some other reason the fish gets OFF the hook. Is this normal? What am i doing wrong? How do i land these huge fish? Its my first time dealing with fish i actually had to fight with, usually i just reel em in. I'm using 18lb line. Maybe i'm not "fighting" the fish properly. What i do is i keep tension on the line at all times, usually keeping the rod bent but not TOO bent or arched. Then when i feel the fish PULL to get into deeper water, i let the drag release some line, then i wait some more. Please teach me how to land these huge fish. I can only imagine how big these fish are if they don't show ANY signs of tiring after 30 mins. I'm a newbie in desperate need of help. Thanks guys.
You might have located a school of large rays. I have seen them free diving in the shallows, the larger models pushing 300lbs, no stopping the big ones. Even small ones can kick you ars. Watch out for the stinging ones too. We have hooked and landed rays about 80lbs, after an hour of serious battling, on the light lines it is tough. Bigger set up with 30 lb + can help you land em, or other shark species. TL Rhino