Losing fish just when Im about to land them. Need Help

[Lunker-Hunter]

Hi everyone, Im new here and a fishing novice. I primarily fish for LM bass. In the past two weeks I have lost 4 or 5 fish just as I was about to pull them out of the water. It seems like they always shake the hook out at that moment. Should I play the fish longer to tire them out a bit? Any tips on how I should handle this situation or anything I should do differently would be greatly appreciated?

Thanks

Steve

[keithdog]

What landing technique are you using Steve? Also, when fighting a bass, are you playing him out till he is worn out or still very fiesty? Also, what kinds of lures, techniques and tackle are you using? Often new bass fisherman will use a rod and reel outfit meant for panfish, or for light weight presentations to fish a soft t rigged plastic. And in that case the rod simply does not have the back bone to push the hook through the worm and solidly into the basses jaw. Just one example of many possibilities. AND, welcome to the forums!

[Lunker-Hunter]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Im not familiar with landing techniques. I just try to reel him in as fast as can be and then lift him out of the water slightly, then try to lip him. I like to do a lot of worm fishing so wacky worm, drop shot, etc. My current rod is MH with a Fast tip. I was told a MH rod is a good all around rod. Is that true?

Thanks again!

[aikenyounggun]

Are you in a boat? Especially if in a tournament just use a net, or lip them out of the water, no reason to act like a pro and flip them into the boat.

[Lunker-Hunter]

No boat, just fishing from the shore.

[keithdog]

Your rod should be fine. Try lipping him while in the water, not lifting him slightly. Liftling him slightly can give the fish the leverage he needs for that last attempt to free himself. Or, use a net as aiken recommended. Less chance of getting a hook impaled in your hand with a net too!

[Lunker-Hunter]

Thanks Keith. I'll give that a try next time Im fishing.

[WTL]

Sometimes you run into a bad streak where you just lose a few fish in a row. I normally slow down and try and play the fish out a little more when this happens. Most fish shake off when you get their head up out of the water, so keep the pressure on and low. Lipping is a decent way to land fish, but not full proof in and of itself - a landing net has the highest percentage IMO.

Also, if you have a long slope onto land, the Brits often land trout by beaching them, just pulling them up on shore. I've done

[keithdog]

I often watch the pro land bass buy belly lifting them. I really have no idea why they would do this, but since their livlyhood depends on putting bass in the livewell, there must be something to it. I've seen them do this on tv and watched the bass flip out of their hand and by by bass. I just dont get it.

[bcklash]

I think he needs a bigger net.

[Bassboss]

Doing this really helped me land some more fish this year from shore... Rather then holding the rod up higher on the blank, hold it the reel seat. This will allow the entire rod to flex when the fish shakes it head, or goes for a last minuet run. If you're your holding the rod up higher on the blank, the rod doesn't flex to it's fullest, the fish can go for a run, or shake it's head right at the last minuet either breaking the line, and tearing the hooks out. The ladder is especially true with treble baits, like crankbaits, and topwater plugs. When you do down to lip the fish, try to keep as much of the fish in the water as you can. If his whole body is out, you're putting to much stress on your line which can break it... not a big deal with little guys, but with 2lb or bigger fish... lip em.

It's a simple solution, to a seemingly big problem... give a while, I'm sure you'll be impressed.

[Cavs1123]

You should either lip em while they are in the water or just pull them up on the bank and then lip them there.