3 Tips To Land Big Fish On Light Tackle
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
What a fun snook!
I was testing out one of our new Slam Shady lures the other day when I hooked into a +40″ snook on a 2000 size spinning reel with 10 lb braid.
Sounds awesome, right?
It was, except for the fact that I was near oyster bars and mangrove islands, and had Otis on board, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to land her!
When I finally did land her, she was 4-5″ longer than my 36″ measuring stick, and is my biggest snook on artificials so far.
Do you know what to do if you hook into the fish of a lifetime on light tackle?
To save you the potential heartbreak of getting broken off by a trophy fish, I put together these three tips for fighting big fish on light line.
Check out the video below to see them, plus a bonus tip.
Enjoy!
3 Tips To Land Big Fish On Light Tackle [VIDEO]
Get the Slam Shady Paddletail here
Pa-POW!
This snook one of the many big snook and redfish I caught that weekend.
I did a full breakdown of what was working that weekend in the Insider Club, plus an overview of the exact spot on the map, so click here to join if you want to see it.
Conclusion
If you hook into a big fish on light tackle, remember these four things:
- Try to get yourself away from structure so you won’t get broken off. If you’re in a kayak, at least try to anchor down so you don’t get pulled into structure.
- Set the drag to 20-30% of the weakest line strength
- Have faith in your drag and don’t tighten it when fighting the fish
Bonus tip: if you have a dog that has sharp nails and a history of jumping in the water and breaking off big fish, secure him on the boat so he can’t jump in.
Have any questions about fighting big fish on light tackle?
Let me know in the comments below!
And be sure to TAG or SHARE this with someone who needs to see this!
P.S. Want to see exactly where I was fishing and why? Join the Insider Club where I’ll break down this whole fishing trip and show where I was on the map.
Do You Want To Quickly Find New Fishing Spots In Your Area?
Then you’ve got to see this private fishing club!
Here’s what you’ll receive today:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing where the inshore fish are feeding all year long
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in certain areas
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Click here to join today.
Related articles:
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
i”v gotten a 16in trout two of them on prech head on a 7/0 circle hook
Thanks for sharing. Otis needs his own GoPro, never seen a dog so interested and focused on what you catch.
Luke, have you ever fished a Savage Gear TPE 3D Crab, if so, how would you fish it? I would like to see a video tutorial. Thanks.
I have never fished the Savage Gear crab… and I’ve never had any luck using crab lures, so I am definitely not a good candidate for making a tutorial on them other than to recommend against using them:)
Note: I personally don’t like using crab lures because they don’t cast far and they have to be worked very slowly so they are not good for exploring new areas (which is what I’m doing most of the time when fishing).
Omg, what a great fish on that light line. You did a great job getting it in.
I’ll be out there this winter and hope I can get one half that size.
I learned this lesson over the weekend. Hooked a big snook in my kayak when I was about 30 feet off the mangrove line (unanchored). He made a beeline for the trees and I was powerless to stop him. By the time I got my anchor pin unhooked and ready to stick, the nose of my kayak was up in the mangroves. Needless to say, it broke me off a few seconds later.
Sorry to hear about the big one that got away Bill. When fishing from my paddleboard or kayak, I like to keep the anchor pin sitting right near the edge without any tie-downs to be able to set it as fast as possible when needed… it is so tough to land a snook near mangroves in a paddle craft when not anchored down.
Great tips man! I know what to look for as far as performance goes, and I like light tackle fishing. Do you think modern light tackle rods are capable of fighting a big fish like that? In Pensacola we don’t get snook but we get black drum and bull reds all year! What is the lightest you will go or do you just pick the rod a rod that has the best action for throwing artificial?
I generally stick with 7’6” Medium-Heavy power rods with fast action flex because they are great with artificials and can get the job done with live bait. Every brand has different power ratings though, so there unfortunately is not an across the board rating to go with. Here’s a link to see the product reviews for the various rods we’ve tested so far: https://www.saltstrong.com/article_categories/fishing-rods/