Surface iron

[THE DARKHORSE]

Originally Posted by dorado50

You can make a 30# fish feel like a 10# fish and you can make a 200# fish feel like a 60# fish, it all depends on ones stlye and ones applications. Fishing from a kayak and fishing from a boat are two different ball games. Similarities,yes, differences,many. If I'm fishing a kayak catch and release tournament I'm fishing 40# line with near full drag and I'll have that fish boatside in minutes; if I'm fishing catch and release from boat I've got 100# line(ex.) near full drag , and a good boat captain and I've got that fish boatside in no time. Otherwise I'm using a 25 to 30# line with a nice 80% drag at hookset and finesse that fish to the kayak...

This is the beauty of a public forumn...Dave is an amazing fisherman himself that I have a great deal of respect for, he knows what he's talking about. There is no one way to fish, how boring would that be?

On a side note, Dave brought up a great point that I didn't touch on. The aspect of making a huge fish feel smaller or vice versa in most people's case, who choose to use light drag. With light drag you can't get an accurate reed on the size of the fish like you can with heavy drag. Any Yellowtail 10 lb's+ will rip drag off the reel, with heavier drag you can get a much better read on the weight of the fish during the initial run, and after that turn on the wench.

Another great point would be to "choose your battles". When I'm near kelp or structure below, lobster floats, Sealions etc., I fish very heavy drag. When I'm in 300' of water without a dog in sight fighting schooling 15 lb Yellowtail, I back down a little and enjoy the fight.

My last reason to fish the heavy drag "in schooling situations" is you will catch more fish, less time to the boat will result in more shots at the school, and more shots at getting a trophy...choose your battles.