Thursday, February 9, 2023

Why Very Light Tackle Makes Sense

 There is a major misconception that light weight tackle kills fish. This misconception is based on a lack of understanding of the correct way to fight a fish. At this point you might be thinking, who says there is a "correct" way to fight a fish? We are all just having fun so why shouldn't we be able to fight a fish any way we want? You certainly "can" fight fish anyway you want but "should" you fight fish anyway you want? It's an ethical question. Should we fight a fish in such a way that it increases the chance that we will kill it when we intend to release it? In some jurisdictions you must release the fish you catch. In those places fighting a fish for too long a time period will wear it out to the point that it will not recover. And even though it is dying or even dead you must release the fish according to the law. 

If your intention is to preserve the resource then releasing fish in a very strong and healthy state will increase the chances of them surviving. I am not going to address the "catch and release" verses the "catch and kill" philosophies in this post but I will address it in another. 

Let's start with the assumption that your goal is to have fun, catch a lot of fish, and release them so they can be caught again. With that assumption, how in the world does using very light tackle make sense? It is assumed by most fishermen that you can fight a big fish harder with heavy equipment than you can with light equipment. That is only true at the extreme ends of the spectrum -- like trying to land a giant tuna with a small trout rod and reel. But for trout fishing and even Atlantic salmon fishing you can fight these species just as hard with a 4 weight as you can with a 9 weight fly rod. It is more about technique than rod strength. I have watched a lot of people fight Atlantic salmon. Most do not know how to fight a big fish. By big I mean 10 lbs and up. On a big river most people will use 10 lb test or higher leader/tippet strength. You can pull as hard as you want on 10lb test as long as you have some bend in the rod and the fish isn't really fresh. 

Most people hold the rod tip up high. That is a good idea when you first hook a fish and it is very strong and fast. You just let them burn off some steam and enjoy the show. Then you need to gradually start applying more and more pressure. There is a limit to how much pressure you can pull with the rod tip high. You just don't have enough leverage to pull beyond a certain level.* And if you are using very light gear you will break the rod before breaking the tippet. A fly rod is designed to have a strong butt section which then tapers down to a fine tip. The butt is where the strength is. So you need to play big fish from the butt of the rod and the only way to get the butt section to work for you is to point the rod more horizontally towards the fish. The rod is weakest when vertical and strongest when aimed directly at the fish so you can change the strength and thus its flexibility by simply changing the angle. A 9 foot 9 weight and a 6 foot 4 weight have exactly the same strength when pointed directly towards the fish. Of course when you point the fly rod directly at the fish you are actually fighting the fish directly off the reel. If you have read Lee Wulff's many books on Atlantic salmon fishing you will know that he proved that you can land big Atlantic salmon with only a fly reel (no rod). 

Based on the above logic you can see that very light fly rods can be used to pull just as hard as big heavy ones. The difference is that small light rods usually have small lightweight reels which hold much less backing. It doesn't make sense to use a very light rod (under 2 oz) with a big heavy reel--you'd be defeating the purpose. Since you might hook a really big fish that could spool you, you shouldn't use any stronger about an 8lb test tippet. That way, when and if the fish does spool you it won't pull the rod and reel out of your hands. Instead it will break off. Which brings us to another assumption that you must adopt if you decide to go to very light weight fishing equipment: you can't "need" to land every fish. And why should you need to? You can't kill large Atlantic salmon anymore anyway (at least in most places in North America), so enjoy fishing for them and if you hook one, watch it jump a few times be grateful! 

In conclusion the reason that using very light tackle makes sense, is because it's not that important to actually land the fish you hook. But it's very important that you enjoy and preserve the resource. So use the equipment that brings you the most enjoyment and is within your skill limitations. New flyfishers should use long rods because they are easier to cast but if you are a good fly caster and enjoy a challenge then using a short, lightweight fly rod and reel -- it will make every fish you hook a much more intense experience. 

Enjoy!


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This is a potential book or long article -- work in progress

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