To successfully play and land a good fish, particularly on light tackle, require
To successfully play and land a good fish, particularly on light tackle, requires that a certain set of conditions are met otherwise that fish will become another of those legendary fish which smashed you up and got away.Good tackle, good line, well tied knots and a well practised hand will all contribute to seeing the skippers landing net slide under that specimen fish.Assuming then that the fish will weigh more than the breaking strain of the line you are using, say a 20 pound Pollack on 15-18 pounds breaking strain line, which is pretty standard line strength for even Winter Pollack fishing. Then one factor will have a truly significant bearing on whether or not that fish is landed, that is how you have set your drag and how smooth it is. Even if you have set your drag to one third of the lines breaking strain which is about right for wreck pollacking, if your drag is jerky and jumpy it is likely that the fish will manage to “bounce” itself free of the hook or even break the line.Check out your drag, if you feel a tight spot get the reel serviced by an expert (Ian Rose, 01 803 529 953) telling him that you want the drag as smooth as silk.
After your fishing trip and you have cleaned the reel and sprayed it with WD40 – ?? – Back the clutch right off, so that the clutch washers are not stored in a compressed state, that way your clutch will remain smooth for a lot longer and when your fish of a lifetime comes along you will be ready for it.