You’ve likely already learned that fighting big fish can be challenging. Fighting fish from float tubes and pontoon boats on lakes and ponds can be especially frustrating because fish can go anywhere they like. They can run away from you, toward you, sound deep, leap into the air, go to your right, left, or behind you. I’ve seen it all.
A couple of years ago an angler I was guiding at Lake Almanor hooked a huge trout. It took off away from him, then jumped three times, then came right at him — fast. The fish dove underneath his float tube, then jumped again twice behind him. That fish came loose. This doesn’t happen all the time, but no fish, especially big fish, comes to the net easily.
Be Prepared
Controlling the items you can control is essential to landing big fish. Use new monofilament or fluorocarbon, not old, for your tippet and leaders. I like fluorocarbon for my leaders. Fluorocarbon helps prevent the fish from breaking off because it resists abrasion better than mono. Big fish will rub against rocks, the sides of boats, and anything else readily available to break you off. Big brown trout at Lake Almanor will roll up on the tippet to try to break it.
Tie solid knots and test your knots before you make a cast. (This will surprise readers, but I prefer to use a Nail Knot, also known as a Grip Knot, for tying my tippet to the fly. I find it is a bit stronger than the Improved Clinch Knot.) Check your leader and tippet for wind knots and nicks. Make sure the flies that you are fishing have sharp hooks. If the hook doesn’t stick in your fingernail when dragged on it, either sharpen the hook or tie on another fly.
The drag on your reel protects your tippet and knots. Set the drag so it will not free spool, then leave it alone. Don’t touch your drag while fighting a big fish, because you can easily over tighten it and cause the fish to pop off. Fight big fish on the reel, not by stripping in line. Jerking motions or line slipping can result in a lost fish from knots failing or giving the fish slack.
You need to feel stable and safe in your watercraft — dealing with a big fish is both exciting and unsettling. Make sure your pontoon boat or float tube fits you. The seat should be adjusted and comfortable before you head out. Your waders, booties, fins, and personal floatation device must be in good shape and fit, your headlamp and extra shirt or rain jacket stowed away.
Many fly fishers angling from float tubes or pontoon boats a small net or no net at all. I recommend you carry a large, open net with a basket of soft rubber material. My net of choice also floats, so I don’t have to worry about letting go of it. Big fish need big nets.
For landing big fish — fish that are over five pounds — I like a rod that is medium fast. This rod will give you the power to cast into the wind and has strength in the butt section to lift big fish, but its softer tip will help protect your tippet from breaking or your hook from straightening out.
Landing Big Fish
Landing big fish isn’t easy anywhere, and it’s especially difficult while sitting in a float tube or pontoon boat, close to the water and without much range of motion. The fish will throw everything at you, and you must adapt quickly, changing tactics multiple times during the fight. Move your rod back and forth frequently, turning the fish’s head. You need to keep the fish off balance. It probably will be doing the same to you.
Always try to keep the fish in front of you as much as possible. The fish may try to go to the right or to the left. You must counter. Simply move your legs and turn so you are again squared up on the fish, with the fish in front of you. You may have to do this several times. If the fish runs away from you, this is one of the best scenarios you can hope for, because the fish is going to tire itself while swimming away and while you work to bring it back to the net.
A fish that comes straight at you is one of the worst: a slack line is bad news. Strip line in quickly and kick your boat backward as fast as you can until you have a tight line and you have control over your equipment. Then turn your boat to face the fish and get the fish on the reel. Many people lose the fish at this point because they try to reel in line and they don’t kick, or they strip in line and lean way back in the boat, also without kicking. Either way, they allow slack to remain in the line, which in turn allows the fly to come loose. By the way, leaning back in a float tube is very dangerous and not recommended. They’ve been known to flip.
Fish that go deep are just as easy as fish that run away from you. Let them go. Keep the rod as vertical as you can. If you let the fish take your rod down into the water, it gives them a better angle to go underneath you. Again, you need to keep the fish in front of you. Get the fish on the reel and just play it, keeping a tight line, and bring it up when it is played out. And again, move your rod from side to side, changing the angle of the tension on the fish. This confuses the fish, and it has to reset its resistance, letting you land the fish more quickly.
Fish that jump during the fight need to be dealt with carefully. When a fish jumps, it is trying to shake the hook free from its mouth. The first reaction by many fly fishers is to pull back on the rod. This is a fatal error. You must bow the rod to the fish. Simply reach the rod out to give them slack to use for the jump. Then quickly get the rod back up and the line tight on the reel to remove the slack.
While fighting the fish, try to stage your net for the endgame. I lay mine on my left, because that is the hand I use to net fish. Wait to the last moment to net the fish. If you try to net the fish before the fish is ready, you greatly increase the chance of breaking that fish off.
Once the fish is netted, you must work rapidly to release the fish. You must make sure these fish are able to swim away. I like to make sure they get a good rest and that they have enough energy to swim away forcefully. These methods for landing big fish work anywhere you fish from a float tube or pontoon boat. But practice makes perfect, so you need to go fishing — a lot!
