Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: Increasing landing ratio  (Read 1748 times)

alindsey

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 14
Increasing landing ratio
« on: May 11, 2021, 08:14:35 PM »

So lately I was using spoons and spinners to catch trout. I think I hooked into 11 fish and only landed one. I have the same ratio when using spoons/spinners/twitching jigs for salmon in the fall.

Any tips for how I can keep them on from the moment I feel a strike?

My drag is moderately tight. It takes a decent amount of force to pull line off, usually a fish won't do it. Do I need to really loosen my drag?
Logged

MetalAndFeathers

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 492
Re: Increasing landing ratio
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2021, 09:45:02 AM »

If you are using a stiff rod with braided line consider trying a softer rod with mono instead
Logged

Knnn

  • Old Timer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 582
Re: Increasing landing ratio
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2021, 11:49:59 AM »

With spoons, try a Dacron trailing hook, with a barb-less no escape hook by owner.

If you are experiencing the same issue with salmon on a variety of gear, it may be your technique. 

Do you always keep the rod tip up and maintain even pressure and a bend in your rod tip at all times?  I often see people lower and raise their rods while winding in, which can briefly take the pressure off the hook and increase the chance of it backing out.  Watch your rod tip an make sure you maintain and even and steady pressure (sorry if you are an experienced angler and already know this).
Logged

RalphH

  • Old Timer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4856
    • Initating Salmon Fry
Re: Increasing landing ratio
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2021, 01:09:25 PM »

make sure your hooks are as sharp as possible - they should scratch your thumbnail easily.

Lighten your drag. It should allow a good fish to take line off the reel if it wants to run. Also while keeping pressure on the fish is important too much can pull out a hook that is lightly set in the skin of the fishes gum or mouth.
Logged
"Two things are infinite, the Universe and human stupidity... though I am not completely sure about the Universe" ...Einstein as related to F.S. Perls.

Wiseguy

  • Old Timer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 741
Re: Increasing landing ratio
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2021, 06:54:31 PM »

Losing fish is part of the game. It happens a lot when casting spoons. Keep your hooks extra sharp.
Logged

Snagly

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 67
Re: Increasing landing ratio
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2021, 08:10:14 AM »

I land 2/3-to-3/4 of steelhead hooked when fishing spoons with single, barbless hooks using Everyday's Dacron loop method and 1/0 Gami or Owner octopus hooks. Fishing a 1/0 or 2/0 Siwash on a split ring, my percentages drop about 10%. Every angler goes on streaks . . . 9-for-9 or 0-for-7 that have you higher than a kite or lower than whale dung, but if you're consistently landing less than 50% of what you hook, you have one or more problems.

The possibilities are many and others have mentioned several possibilities: dully hooks, too tight a drag, rod/line issues. Rather than add to the laundry list, let me describe what works for me:

1. Fairly stiff graphite rod described as "spoon rods" (e.g. Loomis, Rainshadow)

2. Braided mainline knotted to a 7' (2m) length of 15lb-20lb mono to introduce some stretch into the system. (Braid stretches 2% while mono stretches 20%, so that longer leader is an important buffer.)

3. Unlike many others, I strike the fish as follows (a) tight drag; (b) thumb off the spool; (c) once the fish is hooked, back off the drag by 50% so a hard-pulling fish will take line at will.

4. Put maximum side pressure on the fish: if it's not taking line, you are pumping-and-winding. Lay the rod parallel to the water at the angle that maximizes the bend in the rod. Don't baby your fish: the longer it's on the line, the higher the probability it will fall off.

5. Pay PARTICULAR attention to never, ever allow slack in the line. Many anglers pump-and-wind in a manner where they either drop the tip too fast, introducing 1-2 seconds of slack, or pumping the rod straight overhead (less pressure on the fish, easier to introduce slack and easier to break your rod).

6. If possible, net your fish (knotless mesh, please) or have your buddy leader it in 12" or more of water. "A leadered fish is a caught fish." Despite what I wrote about horsing the fish/applying maximum torque, that doesn't extend to dragging the fish into water so shallow that it's body is in contact with the riverbed. You'll lose a lot of fish in super shallow water: they freak when their bellies touch bottom, and they injure themselves on those rocks (plus gain leverage to throw your hook or break the line).

Logged
"One and done" to limit our impact on wild steelhead