Bit of advice needed if anyone has the time.

I have just bought myself a lovely shiny new reel (Hardy Demon) and tried on my last session to play the fish on the reel.

The first time it worked a dream everytime the fish ran it took the line off and then I was able to reel it back in.

I then proceed to lose 2 nice fish by trying to wind in the line on the floor while trying to keep some tension on the fish with the other hand.

Any tips greatly appreciated.

Blot 28

Its a bit of a balancing act. Sometimes I get the line back on the reel and play a fish off it, other times (e.g. if the fish swims directly towards you or the fight is particularly erratic) you have to strip in to keep up and play the fish with line in hand.

I'm happy to do either depending on the circumstances and would advise you learn to do the same. Frantically trying to get line back on the reel without concentrating on playing the fish is bound to end up with lost fish.

Get the fish under control with line in hand and then decide if you want to/need to get the line on the reel to continue the fight.

Good luck

I play fish on off the reel depending on the size of them.If a biggy try trapping the line between your index finger and the rod handle,this will keep a tight line to the fish while reeling line onto the reel

Neil

if its not putting up a struggle or not making sharp runs i'l play it on the line, if its big and theres a chance of the line getting rapped round anything and the fish snapping off i'l hold the line with my fingers keeping tension and wind the line back on with my other hand.

Hello Blot

Its a fiddle mate and you will need to find your way with it.I wish I could give you a cast in stone tip but I do not have one at this point.I play most trout by hand with few exceptions unless the fish puts me onto the reel.For many years I fished with a pair of Garcia Mitchell Automatics on reservoirs and you could pick up the loose line easy and play the fish with the lever held up.Like anything becomes second nature with practice.Same deal with this but just winding on loose coils can be problematic if you are not laying the line evenly and it piles up.I pinch the line to the fish with my rod hand index finger against the butt once fish has settled down a little and so I can keep a bend in the rod and release line if needs must.I then use my little finger on the same rod hand to control the loose line as I wind it onto the reel.Just set your rod up and practice it.You can do this indoors with just a couple of sections set up and put your foot on the line through the rings to simulate pressure.In all honesty you maybe will find it better overall to use your hands but try it and see how you go.In my day the reel was just a line holder trout fishing.I expect if I watched a video I would be horrified how I retrieve line sometimes but I get there in the end.Hopefully you will get into a few fish one day which will eliminate this dilema

Best JP

To some extent I let the fish determine whether played on the reel or by hand, how much line has been retrieved prior to hooking the fish is also a factor. 9 times out of 10 I play a fish by hand, and the occasional one when the initial run takes line, then I try and get that line back onto the reel and then finish of playing the fish by hand.

Can’t ever remember playing a fish to the net on the real, and trying to get line back on the real just to get in contact with the fish just prolongs the fight and increases the chance of loosing the fish.

Plumpy

I think you need to find what works best for you -the above posts give you a lot of the pros and cons.I find more things to tangle my line around in a boat than on the bank or wading.A reel with a poor drag system can give problems especially when a running fish takes up all your slack line and the reel has to start rotating-bang ;learnt that one the hard way years ago


all the best Nick

As the guys above have said this is a difficult balancing act with no 100% right answer.

In general I like to play fish off the reel whenever I can. But sometimes you can obsess about reeling in, and then allow slack line and lose the fish. Last week the 2 fish I caught when reservoir bank fishing were both hooked late in the retrieves of long casts, and I happily played them both out by hand rather than faffing around reeling up well over 20 yards of line.

Two tips that I often find useful are;

Sometimes the fish just pulls back hard immediately it's hooked and before running, leaping, head shaking or whatever. You can use that brief time to quickly get the loose line back on the reel. Trap the line against the rod butt with the index finger of your rod arm when doing so. And if you have the space behind you and remember to, walk backwards at the same time ! You must keep a tight line to the fish;

If your reel has an exposed rim and you set the clutch quite loose, you can retrieve fast by batting the rim, Mr Crabtree-style.

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JH based near Southampton

I find that i have a lot more control when working the line by hand. I think that one needs a heavy tippett to confidently play the fish on the reel. Even with large fish, I am more comfortable off the real, but it's amatter of personal preference.

Almost always by hand for trout. I find it so much easier than p****** about trying to get the line on the reel. Guaranteed way to lose the odd fishIf I am targeting Carp on the fly, that's a different matter, almost always on the reel due to their increased size / weight.

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Eddie
"We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation."
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