CHECK OUT YOUR TACKLE.

Usually there is a few minutes silence as the forearms take the strain, then the eyeballs begin to bulge and the cry goes up for a butt pad before his wedding tackle takes a pounding.It’s awesome when it happens for the first time, the line tightens, confidently the slack is taken up, reeling quickly to get the fish away from the wreck or rocky bottom. The fish doesn’t realise what is happening and goes along like a dog on a lead for those first few moments. Then the fish decides it does not want to play this game and begins to head for home at a rate of knots!! At that moment, the angler realises that there ain’t a lot he/she can do to stop it, except to hang on tight, go along for the ride and pray that the knots will hold, hoping like hell that the clutch pressure will stop the fish before it can regain the sharp edged sanctuary of the rusting hulk or the deep green darkness of a rock strewn canyon.

This scenario is not enacted on every trip, but if you are of the modern breed of boat anglers who, along with your clubmates want to (some might say need to) put yourself in this power play situation, then there are some things you need. Some things you need to do, some other things you need to know and most certainly you need like minded people around who will give you space when you need it.

Playing a heavy weight fish in company of friends and clubmates is a different ballgame to fighting that same fish in the company of an ad hoc crew of anglers who have no conception of the unspoken rules and etiquette involved. You can tell who your friends are and who are experienced anglers when someone mutters that “this is a real good’un!” Because those who know that this is an exceptional fish for you, will move along the gunnel and quietly begin to reel in, trying as hard as possible to keep their lines from tangling yours. This is a prime courtesy and consideration which forms the basis of friends and clubmates fishing together. If in these circumstances you need a butt pad or harness, then you will find one being buckled about your middle carefully so that no one touches the rod or reel, because any such touch would invalidate any record claim that you might want to make at a later date.The friendship, companionship, shared experience and common sense often found in charter boat clubs and groups make them special. Unspoken common sense, such as letting the anglers fishing lighter gear or flowing traces, fish the back corners and across the stern. The heavier weights are fished further up the boat so that there is a natural progression toward the stern, common sense which will help prevent line and tackle tangling with one another.Playing a big fish is an experience not just for yourself, but it is something shared with those who have got their gear out of your way and everyone else on the boat. Over a celebratory “bevvy” the tale will be told, not once, but many times and if it really was an exceptional fish, the story could be one which joins the club “hall of fame”.So what do you do after that awesome surge of power which turns your legs to jelly and puts a bend in your rod which is enough to silence the micky takers.First check out your butt pad, is the rod firmly in the gimbal fitting? If you have a shoulder harness (or preferably a kidney harness) are the clips fitted securely into the lugs on top of the reel? Is the harness correctly adjusted allowing you to pump the fish? Did you set the clutch or is it hammered up tight to the makers nameplate? All questions which will be ultimately answered by the successful landing of the fish or by that sickening feeling of disappointment when you realise that your chance of a lifetime has escaped!!

CHECK OUT YOUR TACKLE.

Clean and check out your tackle before you step on the boat.Are the rod rings in good condition, give them a scrub with a toothbrush. Is the roller tip moving freely? a small drop of oil might help. Clean the fish scales off the handle with a plastic pot scourer. Spray the reel seat with WD40. Take the reel off and give it a wash under a gently flowing fresh water tap, clean the nooks and crannies with a toothbrush. Dry with an old towel and lube the moving parts with reel grease.Set the clutch to slip with a spring-balance. Between a quarter and one third of the lines breaking strain is a good general purpose clutch setting. If you are using 30 pound breaking strain line, set the clutch to slip at about 8lbs. You will be amazed how much pressure this will exert, it is a fact that some would argue that this is too much pressure.If like me, you put the rod and reel back together ready for the next trip, put it somewhere dark and dry. With the weather we get, dampness is boat fishing tackle’s worst enemy. Properly looked after, good tackle will last for many years.

BUTT PADS AND HARNESSES.

The old fashioned small butt pad, craftsman made from leather was always a status symbol, today the plastic butt pad with its nylon webbing belt is not so pretty but is a durable, rot proof and functional bit of kit. In recent years the advent of standup rods has introduced the full width butt pad, such as the American Braid or the home grown Eddystone, which although taking up more room in the tackle bag is far superior in terms of performance and comfort. The Kidney harness is made to go with the full width butt pads and is more comfortable than the harness worn around the shoulders, especially so when pumping a heavy fish up from deep water.

RODS AND PUMPING FISH.

Pumping a heavyweight fish up from forty fathoms can be a strenuous exercise when you are using the small butt pad and standard European type long rod. Try that same fish with a Standup Rod and a full width butt pad and kidney harness and you will never go back to the grunt and groan of the long rod.The advantages of the stumpy standup rods and harness is that playing of a heavyweight fish becomes a real contest of endurance and technique, rather than muscularity and brute strength.The trick is to keep the fish looking up the line, because this way the fish is always coming toward you, it doesn’t get the opportunity to turn and use the power of its tail to run away or to sheer sideways through the water to throw slack into the line so that it can build speed and momentum.The main principle is to use a constant, short stroke pumping action to keep the fish headed toward the surface. There is a rhythm which can only be learned with practice, drop the rod tip too fast and the fish gets slack line which it can use to turn, especially so with a long rod. If you find that the fish’s bulk is allowing it to take line against the drag on the up stroke of the pump, slow the action down so that the fish is not winning any line at all.

Short pumps, unrelenting pressure against a correctly set drag, a rod with plenty of backbone and a fast tip to keep that line coming on the down stroke is the way to victory.