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FIGHT UM, WIN OR LOSE
Fighting tactics often vary from fish to fish, often times catching the unwary fisherman off guard
by Terry Lacoss

Reeling in a 175-pound yellowfin tuna often takes good planning, well ahead of time. Particularly when fishing the deep-water humps off Venice, Louisiana. Here in the rich Gulf of Mexico waters, tuna can often weigh upwards of two hundred pounds.
Angling tactics include drifting barbed, cut menhaden in a chum slick over a hump where tuna feed on baitfish. Cut baits are rigged with circle hooks and the reel’s drag backed all the way off. The fishing reel’s drag clicker is set in the on position. Once a broad shouldered yellowfin tuna takes the bait, the angler steadily increases the drag pressure, resulting in the circle hook finding a good set in the corner of the yellowfin’s mouth.
Once the sting of the circle hook is detected, long, powerful runs are sure to come, followed by deep runs that normally turn into a tug-of-war battle. Finally the hooked yellowfin tuna comes exhausted to the side of the boat where the massive tuna is gaffed and boated.
 Most Venice tuna fishermen target these huge, 100- to 200-pound yellowfin tuna with 30-pound fishing tackle. Believe me, this is light tackle compared to the shear strength of a 200-pound fish.
“The secret to catching these big yellowfin tuna is allowing the fish to make long runs and actually wear themselves out,” Ryan Rodeffer said. “We have had a lot of king fishing experience on the SKA tournament trail while targeting big mackerel and have found that by allowing these massive Venice tuna to make long runs, they soon wear themselves out. It then becomes a tug of war battle and we often win!”
Obviously a major mistake made by many fishermen is trying to reel in a hooked fish too soon. The drag is tightened during the first run and the angler rears back on the fishing rod trying to stop the run of the fish. After all, the hooked fish is trying to get away!
I can’t tell you how many times my charter clients have told me that their hooked fish is getting away during a powerful run and requested help in stopping the fish’s escape.
 I normally insure them that their fish is not getting away and to simply enjoy the fight!
It’s also good to have a good working knowledge of how different species of game fish fight. Once a fish is hooked, skilled fishermen can often tell what kind of fish has taken his bait or lure and proceed to fight the fish accordingly.
Atlanta, Georgia’s Gary Carter first started saltwater fishing by competing on the highly competitive Southern Kingfish Association tournament trail. He soon learned the importance of allowing a large king mackerel to have it’s way when making long and powerful runs.
“I used these same kingfish tactics when I started fishing for billfish throughout Florida and the Caribbean,” Carter said. “One thing that king fishing instilled in my angling needs was the joy of long, powerful runs. So when I began bill fishing, we loaded all of our big game fishing reels with 15- to 20-pound test fishing line. Once a billfish was hooked, we simply played the billfish with a light drag, allowing the billfish to make long runs and hopefully jump. The more the hooked billfish jumped, the sooner the fish would wear down. Then we simply backed up our “Silver-Rod-0” sport fishing boat and released the fish!”
“Sure we did loose our share of fish when the hooked billfish landed on the light fishing line, or when the billfish sounded and the line was parted, but in most cases, the hooked billfish would take off on frantic runs and leaps, soon becoming completely exhausted.”
Interestingly, Gary Carter and his fishing team landed a billfish slam in less than six months, which is actually the fastest billfish slam ever recorded by a sport fishing boat. Included were Atlantic sailfish, Pacific sailfish blue marlin and white marlin. All were caught and released while fishing with 20-pound trolling tackle!
Jacksonville’s Don Combs also knows the importance of putting the proper rod pressure on quality size game fish when they are first hooked.
“I normally use 30 pounds of reel drag when bluewater fishing,” Don Combs said. “The drags are set with a fish scale long before we set out for bluewater fishing. When a large billfish, or wahoo takes a trolled bait, the 30 pounds of drag actually helps set the large saltwater hook and also allows the fish in making long and strong runs as well. Once the large fish begins to tire, we may increase the drag setting, but the drag is always set to where the fish can make a run without tearing the hook lose, or breaking the fishing line.”
Don Comb’s “Shark Bait” fishing team once landed a 125-pound wahoo within 15 minutes after the big “Hoo” struck a C&H plastic lure, trolled at 11 knots. The big wahoo actually won first place honors during the Northeast Florida Marlin Association’s “Wahoo” tournament. Don Comb’s massive 125-pound wahoo is still a Northeast Florida Marlin Association record catch.
Allowing a hooked fish to somewhat have their way is very tricky business. After all, the hooked fish is actually trying to escape! First of all the fish more than likely saw your fishing boat before taking the bait or lure and knew first hand that they were swimming in dangerous waters. After a lot of eye balling the boat and baits, they made that fatal mistake in striking the lure. Once hooked, they really want to get out of town!
Feeling the sting of the hook and the pressure of the fishing rod and reel, hooked fish often become hysterical and swim as fast as their tails will go. Obviously if you tighten down the drag and try to reel them in right at boat-side, you are going to have a mighty mad fish on your hands.
I once had the opportunity to fish with Orlando, Florida’s Mark Hatter. Mark is a writer for the Saltwater Fly-Fishing Magazine and is an excellent fly fisherman as well. We were actually fishing in Mosquito Lagoon where shallow water redfish had a good case of lockjaw.
After trying a variety of lures, we decided to push pole our shallow water skiff with the sun on our backs and cast flies to these spooky lagoon redfish. As I poled Mark at the bow of the skiff, Mark spotted a nice redfish holding in a sand hole. Casting the small shrimp pattern fly, the fly landed right in front of the nose of the redfish that was completely unaware of our presence. Mark immediately set the hook with short jerks of the fly line, then raised the eight-weight fly rod to the fighting position.
Instantly Mark’s redfish took off on a long, submarine type run. Mark calmly raised his fly rod so that the line would clear any obstacles and allowed the red to run anywhere it wished in the large lagoon!
“Do you want me to pole you after your fish?” I asked Mark.
“No, it will only make that redfish mad,” Mark said. “I will just let him run some more and he will soon come back to the boat.”
Sure enough, Mark’s eight-pound redfish soon began to lie on its side a good distance from our boat. Then and only then did Mark begin to put pressure on his redfish and soon had the fish secured with the boat’s boga grips.
Obviously Mark had the drag setting on his eight weight fly reel set just tight enough to keep enough pressure to keep the hook set solidly in the fish’s mouth during that first long redfish run. Once the redfish began to wear down, Mark increased the reel’s drag setting slowly.
 King mackerel fishermen often set their reel drags with hardly any drag at all. In many cases the drag is just light enough so that the line does not backlash during the speedy run of a hooked kingfish. Once the king begins to wear down, the drag setting is increased only so slightly.
Actually, whether I am fishing for king mackerel or silver tarpon, the first matter of business is setting and testing each drag on my fishing reels. If the drags do not work smoothly, they are stored away until they can be fixed. Fishing rod guides are also checked each day for cracks and any damage that would restrict the fishing line from passing through the guides safely. Finally I always tell my clients that the reel drags have already been set. So please don’t adjust them!
Allowing a hooked fish to have its way by making long runs actually aids fishermen in landing their catch successfully.