09-21-2003, 12:07 PM
[cool]Hey, JR, here ya go gettin' sports mixed up again. Handlin' big fish from the tube ain't like bull ridin'. You don't get style points, and there ain't no buzzer at the end of eight seconds.
On those halibut, I tried to include them in the list of large fish that can be successfully pursued by floatin' fools. They satisfy the basic requirements: 1. They can be taken in shallow water. 2. They usually do not dive into rocks 3. They can be taken on "normal" tackle.
As you pointed out, if you hook a large specimen, it is often just a matter of who gives out first...you are the fish. Their fight is more vertical than horizontal. They are not going to spool you like a big yellowtail.
One of the tactics I picked up a long time ago, that works well for any bottom hugging fish that you hook from your tube, is to AVOID fighting them straight up and down. Instead, if I have a "dogger" that just wants to maintain a close personal relationship with the bottom, I kick a few yards to one side and apply side pressure to keep the fish swimming laterally. This tires them out faster and allows you to use your fins for pull, rather than the limited lift you have trying to pull the fish back up vertically.
That is a technique I observed on a fishing show many years ago for big game guys on offshore boats. Whenever they hooked marlin, swordfish or tuna...all of which are known for diving and sulking...they used the boat to move out and put an angle on the line. It worked for them and I have used it on some big fish from my tube since. I have landed some big flathead catfish, on light line, that I could have never forced up from the bottom. But, by forcing them to swim, I gradually wore them out. In truth, I also wore myself out, with all the extra kicking, but I won the battle.
But...I do like your idea of PVC stirrups. Heck, I like the idea of anything that can be made with PVC. OOH-OOH-OOH.
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On those halibut, I tried to include them in the list of large fish that can be successfully pursued by floatin' fools. They satisfy the basic requirements: 1. They can be taken in shallow water. 2. They usually do not dive into rocks 3. They can be taken on "normal" tackle.
As you pointed out, if you hook a large specimen, it is often just a matter of who gives out first...you are the fish. Their fight is more vertical than horizontal. They are not going to spool you like a big yellowtail.
One of the tactics I picked up a long time ago, that works well for any bottom hugging fish that you hook from your tube, is to AVOID fighting them straight up and down. Instead, if I have a "dogger" that just wants to maintain a close personal relationship with the bottom, I kick a few yards to one side and apply side pressure to keep the fish swimming laterally. This tires them out faster and allows you to use your fins for pull, rather than the limited lift you have trying to pull the fish back up vertically.
That is a technique I observed on a fishing show many years ago for big game guys on offshore boats. Whenever they hooked marlin, swordfish or tuna...all of which are known for diving and sulking...they used the boat to move out and put an angle on the line. It worked for them and I have used it on some big fish from my tube since. I have landed some big flathead catfish, on light line, that I could have never forced up from the bottom. But, by forcing them to swim, I gradually wore them out. In truth, I also wore myself out, with all the extra kicking, but I won the battle.
But...I do like your idea of PVC stirrups. Heck, I like the idea of anything that can be made with PVC. OOH-OOH-OOH.
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