Earlier this summer I lost my net while attempting to land my personal best bass ever. Since that time I don’t think I’ve used the net once to land a fish. Now, I give myself 2 options…
- Flip them into the boat – This is the easiest method but can be very dangerous. You run the risk of losing the fish if you don’t have a solid hook set and you don’t reel down just before attempting to launch the fish out of the water and into the boat. If you have to reel down so when you pick up the fish and your rod rip bends you have plenty of distance to give in order to clear the side of the boat.
- Lip’em – This also can be dangerous. You must be patient, tire out the fish and get a good grip on his lower jaw. I’ve lost a fish before trying to lip’em.
Depending on the size of the fish will determine if I flip him or grab him by the lower lip. You can’t flip 5lbers on 10lb line when she’s just stuck on the outside of her lip with 1 treble hook. If something like that happens you have to slow down, be patient and work fast all at the same time. You can’t give that fish many chances to shake his head at the boat. If you do, she’ll shake lose that hook and leave you looking at your reflection in the water and she swims away. It’s a bad feeling… trust me.
Here’s a video of me flipping a 4lber into the boat. This was using 20lb Segaur Abrazx line on a Medium Heavy Jig Rod. She was solidly hooked in the top of her mouth with a Owner 4/0 Extra Wide Gap Hook.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaRrjVdf6yM
