"If he prove a large fish, pull not, but hold your rod still, the butt end outward toward the fish, till you can turn him as one would turn an unruly horse. But if he will run out an stretch, and you cannot follow him, then if the place clear, throw your rod in after him, and comment all to Fortune, rather than loose hook, line and fish."

Robert Howlett "The Wit & Wisdom of Fishing"

Rick