How to NEVER Get Spooled By A Fish [Video]
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips, Inshore Fishing
Did you know it should be virtually impossible to get spooled by a fish?
Let me explain…
One of the best things about saltwater fishing is that you never know what type of fish will be on the end of your line next…
And since some species get incredibly big and are very strong, some simply will be too big to land if you’re using gear for smaller fish.
So it’s important to know what to do if you find yourself battling a fish that will simply not stop taking line out because it’ll most certainly be a death sentence for the fish if it’s dragging around 100+ yards of line…
And having all that line out will not be good for the environment since other animals could get tangled up in it, too.
Fortunately, there is a very easy way to ensure that you never get spooled… no matter how big the fish is or how small the reel.
Never Get Spooled Case Study [VIDEO]
Click here to join the Insider Club
Here are some tips to follow to make sure that you never get spooled by a fish no matter how powerful it is or how light of line you’re using:
1. Tighten the Drag
As soon as you start running low on line and believe that the fish cannot be stopped, you should first tighten the drag to put as much pressure as possible on the fish.
Note: If your reel’s max drag is less than the line’s breaking strength, then be sure to be ready to quickly move to the next step (manually add pressure) to ensure your reel’s drag doesn’t get compromised.
2. Manually Stop The Spool
When a fish cannot be stopped by maxing out drag, then you’ll have to manually apply pressure to the spool so it stops allowing line to leave the spool.
Below you’ll see how to do that with both a spinning reel and a bait casting reel.
Spinning Reel
For spinning reels, this is very easy because you simply grab a hold of the spool to stop it from spinning…
Watch the video below to see this step in action where I hooked a bull shark that was just too big for my small snook setup!
Bait Casting Reel
And for bait casting reels, it’s not quite as easy but still isn’t difficult. You’ll simply need to apply pressure on the spool with your fingers (I use both thumbs as shown in the video below).
Note: If using line that has a breaking strength above 20 lbs with a big fish on the end of the line, the friction from the line on the fingers could hurt… so having gloves or something else to take the brunt of the friction would be needed.
When forcing the spool to stop spinning, one of two things will happen…
Either the added pressure will turn the fish back so you can start gaining line back.
Or, the tension on the line will cause the weakest point to give out… and that typically will be the knot that connects your line to your leader.
So even if you do break off, you’ll at least get your main line back and you’ll have saved the fish from having to drag 100+ yards of line around.
How To Never Get Spooled [Lesson]
Watch the video below to see how it is done with both a spinning reel and a bait caster:
Conclusion
So if you ever find yourself in a one-sided battle with a beast of the sea, make sure to never let it take all of your line.
Given that it only requires two simple steps (tighten the drag, and manually apply more pressure), the “getting spooled” phrase will never be part of your fishing stories.
And if anyone of your friends or family has ever told you a story about getting spooled, please be sure to send this article to them because it can save them from it ever happening again.
P.S. – If you think any of your angler friends would like this post, please Tag them or Share this with them. It would mean a lot to me.
Fish On!
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 ever 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).
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).
Great stuff! Thanks guys!
Great tip…thank you
“and your dignity” Joe with the jokes! lol
Good point we frequently have to do that when fly fishing
Good advise, that I always took for granted as common sense. Experienced the ” attempted” spooling lots of times on the Del Bay- Cow Nose Rays and Sand Tigers while Weak and Flounder fishing , and Flathead Cats in the Schuykill and Juniata Rivers Smallmouth fishing. Nice job as always gettin it out there. Thnx
You can also chase the fish to get back line and extend the fight. If you are spot locked simply turn it off and move in the direction the fish is going. With help you can also chase it with your outboard.
Thanks Luke for the tip.. after you demonstrated it in the video it seems logical, save your spool and keep the unwanted line out of the water.
If you have the drag set properly for the strength of the line, then you should not need to mess with it. The best way to break the line is to tighten it while the fish is running, because you do not know where to set it. I am fishing 60 years, and have never had an issue setting the drag for the line strength. I agree don’t want a hook and line in and trailing the fish. Of course if you always fish with heavier line than the drag of the reel, then the above advice will always hold true. It will break at a knot usually if it’s going to break.
Sometimes the line still won’t break when the drag is getting tightened while the line is screaming out. Grabbing tte spool to prevent any more line from going out is the quickest solution. And bonus is that the drag doesn’t have to be reset afterwards.
Not saying im better at anything but in all my 57 years of fishing in both fresh and saltwater I only experienced this twice once in freshwater when I lived in mich growing up fishing out of a 12ft John boat with a 4hp evinrude outboard I once hooked something huge in the lake I lived on that had a channel that connected to lake mich the fish litterally started towing me and my boat out the channel before finally breaking the light 6lb test mono I was using my dad taught me how to set the drag just right so the fish could run but not to tight to snap the line I believe this huge fish was possibly a sturgeon because they are prevalent in all of the great lakes the other time around 2012 in mill cove in jax fl while night fishing and hooking a very large tarpon towing my yak at the time but only for about a min before jumping throwing the lure a live target subsurface pilchard imitating plug that fish was so big when it landed after it jumped it made a wake from the splash that litterally rocked my yak estimated at well over 150lbs and over the years I have caught numerous large fish but only those 2 mentioned did I ever worry about getting spooled but thanks for the info and all you do
I bet the big tarpon splash at night was thrilling! I completely agree that the use of this purposeful line break should be very rare. I’ve had to do it roughly 10 times over the years due to big sharks that stole my fish, snagging big rays, and twice from dolphin that stole my fish.
Sadly, I see stories about once a month in Facebook about someone getting spooled after hooking something big. There should be zero instances of anyone getting spooled given how easy it is to grab the spool as shown in the above video.
Thanks Luke will never forget