TECHNICAL: CONTROLLING FISH
Unlike fishing from the shore, a boat can
allow you to control your position relative to the
fish at the end of the line and also control and
manage the fish as it fights. This only really
becomes important when targeting big fish.
Understanding how to control the space
between your boat and the fish can be crucial,
especially when the fish gets closer to the boat.
Let’s have a look at a few common predicaments
and look at what you can do about it.Fighting & drifting
When you’re drift fishing you’re at the mercy of
the wind or current. However, drifting allows you
to cover the water and find the fish. The trouble
comes once you’ve hooked a solid fish. First up,
you need to avoid getting the fish on the down
wind or current side of the boat. This is the
direction the boat is drifting towards. What can
happen in this scenario is the boat drifts over the
fish. This creates a world of trouble ...
To prevent this, act quickly before the fish is
near the boat. Use rod pressure to steer the fish
out to either side of the boat so the boat can no
longer drift over it or apply some power to the
boat to drive away from the fish and change the
drift path. See Illo 1 for details.Fish under the boat
Despite your best efforts, fish do end up under
the boat from time to time and you need to dowhat you can to sort this out. “Under the boat”
doesn’t always mean straight up and down, it
can also involve the fish being on the opposite
side of the boat to where you’re fighting it.
When a fish in this position, it reduces the
pressure and angle you can apply. This
effectively puts the fish in control, which is not
what you want to happen.
The greatest problem is that it places the
hull of the boat between you and the fish.
If the line touches the boat under tension of
a strong fish, it will likely break. All that
has to happen is that your line rubs a nick
or scratch in your hull and the fish of your
dreams will be gone.
The first thing you need to do in this
situation is change the angle of the line so thatit won’t touch the boat. This is done by sticking
the rod (or as much of it as you can) into the
water, which allows the line to clear the bottom
of the boat. Avoid getting your reel wet,
though. Also back off the drag as the more
tension on the line, the greater the chance of it
breaking if it touches something. Then you
need to do something to get you and the fish
on the same side of the boat.
You can do this by applying pressure and
trying to force the fish to your side, which
can be very difficult to do with your rod
plunged into the water (and especially if the
boat continues to drift over the fish – hence
point one). On a small boat you can try and
move yourself (with your rod still in the
water) around the boat to the other side.74 | fishingworld.com.au | March 2015
nlike fishing from the shore,
a boat can allow you to control
your position relative to the fish
at the end of the line and also
control and manage the fish as
it fights, especially big fish.”
U
This angler has
positioned himself
well at the bow so he
can easily respond to
directional changes
from the fish.
BELOW: This angler
has reduced the
pressure on the fish
in order to coax it out
from under the boat.