Proper Rod Technique

[amateurfishing]

I was out on my backyard pond yesterday and haver 5 hours of very slow (small perch & 15 inch northern)am, finally hit on a school of suspended crappies (i think cause caught 2 10 inchers & troller showdown was lit up big time), after i catch these 2 crappies i get 3 major hits, all 3 same way with slow reeling my lure up and all 3 hits completely slammed my entire rod(jason mitchell panfish) upside down in an instant. i was losing ground all 3 times and did not want to damage rod so i got on my knees and tried to keep rod straight by lifting it up, each time i would take hand off reel to move ducer, the line would take off, each time i would just start getting it in hole, they got off, i used slug bug with minnow, very small hook but that also broke on first 2 sets. Did i use improper rod technique here? ....and does anyone know what the bite may have been

[McGurk]

Let me know what lake, and I'll come down and show you sometime! Could be more northern or even LM bass, possibly.

I'd guess from flat to a 45 deg angle would be about right, and make sure your drag is set accordingly to your line weight. Don't "horse" it; you want to wear it out and not break a line in the process, and letting big fish on small lines make runs is the way to do it. Otherwise, up size your line to a higher strength and try again!

[TruthWalleyes]

Sometimes with too small of gear you got to let the big ones break your line or break your rod... Playing the fish for a while will often allow you to tire the fish and get it to the shore/boat.

Next time bring a rod with a little more backbone and some power pro and you should be good to go!

[SFC]

[amateurfishing]

yeah, with hindsight last nite thinkin @ home i should have been smart and gone to a medium rod after losing the first one, but who woulda thunk twice, let alone 3 times like that!! anywhoo, my jason mitchel spring bobber rod tip looks like it went thru a tornado now, this is one of the best problems i have ever had to deal with!!!

[CJH]

I'd guess from flat to a 45 deg angle would be about right, and make sure your drag is set accordingly to your line weight. Don't "horse" it; you want to wear it out and not break a line in the process, and letting big fish on small lines make runs is the way to do it. Otherwise, up size your line to a higher strength and try again!

Bingo!! I have landed some very large pike on an unltralight doing this method.

I don't think that rod is too weak for crappies, just got to play them right. As mentioned, I use an ultralight or a JM meatstick for all my panfishing and haven't had a problem.

[amateurfishing]

no, its perfect for crappies, just curious what was mixed in with crappies after i caught the first 2 cause after my 3 monster hits the fish dispersed slowly and the bite stopped quickly. i assume a pike, that would also explain broken hooks.

[slipperybob]

Maybe eelpout...had something like that happened to me. Saw the fish creeped in just as I was reeling up my bait to check it. Then Bammmm! fought it hard for a period but my hooks unbuckled. One time I pulled really hard and my hook bent back.

[robert aldrich]

techniques changes from person to person like one of my technique for horizontal jigs is to: drop down to the level of fish you see on a flasher and then to raise it slowly, drop slowly,raise slowly,drop slowly,raise slowly, and drop slowly until they bite. spoons i do a quick jig to minic a wouned fish. what kind of jig your useing or hook size?

[amateurfishing]

jig was slug bug with live minnow on it, very small hooks, also had red hook with buggy eyes & live minnow, both were doing well, but back to the topic, should i be fighting these fish with my rod shaped like a u, partially straighten it out in this situation, or just let them go with a light rod combo?

[amateurfishing]

jig was slug bug with live minnow on it, very small hooks, also had red hook with buggy eyes & live minnow, both were doing well, but back to the topic, should i be fighting these fish with my rod shaped like a u, partially straighten it out in this situation, or just let them go with a light rod combo?

[that_guy]

jig was slug bug with live minnow on it, very small hooks, also had red hook with buggy eyes & live minnow, both were doing well, but back to the topic, should i be fighting these fish with my rod shaped like a u, partially straighten it out in this situation, or just let them go with a light rod combo?

Reel in slow (just not too slow), if the fish starts taking line let it, don't reel against the drag. When the fish stops taking line, reel in some more, if it makes another run follow the previous steps.

If you have fish that are cutting your line or straightening hooks, it sounds like you need to upgrade your line and lures to accomodate what you are catching.

[soldoncass]

You can land very large fish on panfish rods.....just have to keep pressure on the fish all the time, have your drag set properly for the line you are using, and be patient (don't try to horse it in). Sounds to me like you could upsize your hooks a size or 2, if you had some break on you. Crappies have good size mouths, Bass have bucket size mouths, Pike can eat something nearly their size, decent size perch have decent size mouths, so they all can be hooked on medium sizes.(not as likely to break either) If you are into average sunfish or small perch, you may have to downsize to hook them....but sometimes it isn't bad to hook the larger ones, while missing the little ones. If you are using bait on your hook, the hook has to be large enough to "bite into" the fish....not stay in the bait. Good luck next time.

[Hoey]

It is hard to believe that a backyard pond could support the suggested northerns, eel pout, etc...

I have a backyard pond and have caught non-native fish. In this cases it turned out to be a Pacu. Like described, they take off like a rocket, straighten out hooks, and they are super strong, stronger than a pike or eel pout. See photo

.

[amateurfishing]

yeah, i am thoroughy sure i handled the situation wrong, in hindsight, they way the smaller perch and walleye were inhaling my jig i probably should have upgraded the lure, but its kinda hard when everything is hitting a specific lure, i have had real good luck with this slug bug & minnow combo. oh well, its my first year ice fishing and these experiences are awesome to me, just happy i caught any fish at all, will live & learn for next year, thx all for the info.

[NCLaker]

Ya .. that is a good problem to have, your taking the right steps to learn from it.

Hoey, What is the story on how that non-native species of fish ended up in that pond? Not familir with yours, but I hope someone looks into purging that species from that pond before we have yet another invasive species to deal with.

[amateurfishing]

oh, & backyard pond is bout 44 acres, 5 years ago when i moved up here 3-4 dozen shacks on it, last 2 years a ghost town & i love it

[slipperybob]

jig was slug bug with live minnow on it, very small hooks, also had red hook with buggy eyes & live minnow, both were doing well, but back to the topic, should i be fighting these fish with my rod shaped like a u, partially straighten it out in this situation, or just let them go with a light rod combo?

My rods never U shape when loaded. My butt section is always parallel to the ground so my rod will mostly only bend to a 90 degree. Never broke a rod ever. I lift the entire rod when I'm pulling against a large fish. I've fought a 5+ feet sturgeon for nearly two hours and even went down to dipping the rod tip down below the ice to keep my 3# line from getting hung up on the ice when the big fish ran.