Part 3

Back to the Chase
I think of the act of getting a fish to my net as a two-stage process. Stage one is ?getting the fish on my reel? -- eliminating all slack line between my reel and the hooked fish. Stage two is fighting the fish and bringing it to my net.

Fly fishers have different favorite techniques for both stages. Some never raise their rods at more than a 45-degree angle from the water, while others prefer to work the fish with the rod pointed at a 60 to 90-degree angle. Some like to move their rods vertically, while others keep the rod tip fairly low and use a sideways motion of the rod tip to fight the fish. I?ll describe my favorite approach, but also give you some alternatives you may want to try.

I was surprised when I learned that some fly fishers never get small fish on their reel; they just strip them in by hand. I?d like to get you in the habit of getting all fish on your reel. You have the most control and the least chance of having a fish break off after you have it on your reel. I believe that it is better to have one standard general approach to practice and make instinctive than to have different approaches for small fish and big fish.

Getting the fish on the reel
As soon as the fish realizes it has been hooked and is feeling the pull of your line it will react to a sensation that it definitely does not enjoy. The initial reaction is to get away from that pull, so it will usually run away from the direction of the pull.

The fish is at its strongest at this point. If it is a big guy, it has the ability to put a strong enough yank on your lines to snap the tippet or untie any knots that are not strong enough to hold. Tippet material is surprisingly capable of withstanding a steady pull. But, the thinner it is, the more likely it is to break when given a strong yank.

The way I look at it, immediately after I have hooked a fish I am not trying to fight it. I?m simply trying to stay connected to it by keeping the hook embedded. If I give it to much slack, it might be able to shake the fly loose. If I pressure it too much, it might break off.

Since a hook-up leads me to ?stay connected? mode, not immediate fighting mode, I prefer a vertical rod approach at the start. Here?s how you do that.

As soon as you have the fish hooked, release most of the pressure you are using to clamp the fly line with your index finger. You want enough pressure to keep some tension in the line between you and the fish, but also for the fish to be able to pull out line if it wishes to do so. This also allows you to move your rod tip away from the fish without moving the fish. Trying to pull the fish back towards you while it is trying to swim away from you puts too much pressure on your tippet and risks a break.

Quickly point your rod tip straight up at an 80 to 90-degree angle to the fish. By having your rod tip pointing straight up, all of the pressure is on the end of your rod, where it is most flexible. The rod tip takes the strain at the point where it puts the least amount of tension on the tippet. It is putting enough tension on the line to keep the hook embedded, but it also is acting as a shock absorber if the fish gives your tippet a yank.

Some people extend their arms at this point, holding the rod above their head as they point the rod vertically. This lifts all or most of the fly line from the water. It eliminates any additional pressure being put on the tippet by the fly line?s resistance to being dragged through the water and may reduce the ability of a big fish to break your tippet. Other people find this ?rod over the head? technique awkward and think it unnecessary.

At this early stage, while the fish is still feeling strong and feisty, you should be willing to let the fish pull line out and swim away from you if it wants to. A notable exception is that you should not be willing to allow the fish to take out much line if it is heading towards tree branches or some other location where it can snag your line. Also, if it about to go downstream into some very fast water where the force of the current might help the fish to snap your tippet. In situations like these, clamp your line down and try to steer the fish away from the danger spot.

Now eliminate any slack in the fly line between your rod hand index finger and your reel. The best way to do this is to slip the line under your rod hand?s little finger, or between your little finger and its neighboring finger, so that you can put a little tension on this part of the line as you reel in any slack. The tension you apply with your little finger helps the line to wind tightly onto the reel.

I?ll admit that I fell into starting out with a vertical rod because I was having too many trout break off in my early days. The knots I was tying were not as inherently strong as the ones shown in this book and I probably was not tying them well. So I needed a technique that would keep the hook embedded, but not put too much pressure on the fish when it was freshly hooked and feeling strong.

There are others who are more confident in the strength of their tippets and knots than I am and use more aggressive techniques. Many begin with their rods pointed at about a 45-degree angle to the fish, and get the fish on the reel from this angle. If the fish does a strong run at the start, they will point the rod tip directly at the fish, loosen their rod hand?s clamp on the fly line, and let the fish simply pull out as much line as it wants

Over time, practice with hooked fish in the water will show you which technique is best for you. And, hot darn, is this practice fun!

Either of these techniques leads you to the same point. You now have the fish on the reel and you are ready to begin fighting it.