Lifting Bass With The Rod 2024

tomustang reply :

Yeah like you see the pros do it on tv, but really do you horse up the bass?

First trip to Erie I was stuck on a bank and figured why the hell not, well I didn't have a problem and the rod sure held up. Premier MH with 2-4lb bass. Usually I find good spots by the banks where I don't have a choice but to pull them up. I would figure some of you guys do this too but to an extent with rods and bass weight being factors.

Hamby reply :

Little guys that are hooked well i do. If they get over 3 lbs, or look like they could fall off the hook into the boat, then i'll lip them. I don't usually fish with very heavy tackle though. MH at the very most.

SirSnookalot reply :

This subject was brought up not long ago. Just about every time I go to my jettie Im catching fish larger than your average bass and we all lift them up from maybe 5' to as high as 10 or 11", depending on how high the tide is and different sections of the jettie, 6-8# fish are no problem at all. My buddy Bassn Blvd has been to the jettie and seen it done, probably has done it himself. We do it by " springing" the fish up using m or mh rods, just got to learn how to it, many times it's isn't possible the fish are just too big. I posted a pic yesterday of a fish about 12# that I lifted with no effort at all from about a 2' seawall using mh rod. That said, I'm using spinning gear and maybe a spinning rod has more spring effect, I don't really know.

When I'm doing my bass fishing in my canals which are probably 6' high, still using med spinning gear, a 4-5# bass pose no lifting problem at all, at about 6 or 7# I have to drag them up, I fish leaders and use 20#, I'd have no chance to lift them with a light leader. If I were bank fishing in a confined area, I'd have a net. I walk and cast too much, nets are not practical for canal fishing for me.

Sam reply :

Broke two rods this year lifting 5+ pound bass with the rod.

Usully lift them if by myself.

Will use a net if with another guy.

Both rods were replaced by the manufacturers: Berkley and Shimano.

Fishing Rhino reply :

Only the little guys, and if they wriggle off the hook, all the better.

Fishing seated from my canoe, there is no need to lift even the tiny ones out of the water. Just reach over the side and grab 'em. From the platform of a bass boat, I'll lift the little ones. Anything over a pound to a pound and a half, I'll step down into the cockpit, sit in the port seat (which I refer to as my "landing chair") and land them just as I do in my canoe.

I fish light line, and while the rods might withstand the strain, the line might not. Most of the time I'm using 4 or 6 pound test line.

If it got knicked or scuffed during the fight, it would be considerably less.

This past year, I had a nice bass alongside my canoe and it made a last ditch effort for freedom and it broke my rod. In spite of that, it did not get away, thanks in no small measure that I had a light setting on the drag. Even then, it snapped the rod like a twig.

scbassin reply :

I don't do it it's an easy way to break a rod.

bman310 reply :

I do most of my fishing on the shores and I lip every bass I catch. To me it just seems like the way to go. I did lose a very nice bass earlier this year while getting ready to lip it, but it was before the sun came up and would have been too dark to get a good photo anyway.. At least that's my story.

JigMe reply :

i do it if the bass is < 3lb, or I just lip them. I have broken a good rod trying to lift up a big bass, so I am trying to becareful now.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

Swinging fish is one of the practices I discourage to my rod customers but in circumstances like Snooks jetties or the tight bank spots you may not have a choice. If you must, deadlift capacity of the rod cam be maximized by keeping the rod horizontal so the tip is not flexed past 90*. Don't grab the rod in the middle, let it flex into the backbone. The only way to find deadlift capacity is to stress to the failure point so you'll have to use some judgement. The only difference between a spinning or casting blank is its reccomended application. Many blanks serve dual application. The blank doesn't know what you put on it.

SirSnookalot reply :

Quote
Swinging fish is one of the practices I discourage to my rod customers but in circumstances like Snooks jetties or the tight bank spots you may not have a choice. If you must, deadlift

I don't deadlift, that could break a rod. I spring them up like a trampolene effect, the mometum plus a healthy pull up at the apex hoists them up, key is to let the rod do the work, it does take practice and there is a size limit of course. The closer you are to the water the harder it is to spring them up, be hard to spring them from a boat and there is a max height of about 10', I could never do it from a pier, they are very high. Our average snook is about 6-7#, we get them up pretty easy.

Fat-G reply :

It depends, really.

When I'm fishing jigs/plastics, I'm using braid with the drag locked down all the way, and set the hook hard. With a high-modulous rod, a hookset like mine could potentially break the rod. This spring I was catching a lot of 3-5 pound fish on a 1/2 oz. swimjig using a Cumara CUC-72MH, 50# braid, and a Curado 200e7. Admittedly, the rod is a little underpowered for that technique for me, so I was really nailing them on the hookset. My Cumara was also my first rod over $200, so I was only getting my feet wet with a "nice" rod. I did a lot of "no-no's" this spring with the Cumara, and it held strong. A couple of times I was suprised the rod didn't explode in my hands.

If a fish is under 2 pounds, I lift it straight out of the water into my hands and grab the line. Basically, high-sticking. Anything in the 3-4 pound range is usually dragged onto shore, then grabbed. When I hook a 6+ pounder, I'm usually trying so hard to just land the fish that I pull it straight up on shore then get behind it incase it pops off and flops back into the pond. If I'm fishing a treble-hook lure, I play the fish out until it's tired, then grab it. Several times, though, I've pulled 6+ pounders on a lipless crank straight onto shore if they're only barely hooked. That's definitely risky though, and I've lost several really big fish doing this, LOL.

I guess it just depends what rod I'm using, lure, line, and how well she's hooked.

Good topic!

Bluebasser86 reply :

I swing in smaller fish when I'm fishing with heavier tackle but rarely swing in treble hooked bass and never on light spinning gear. With small fish on trebles or light line I'll sometimes lift them by the line, if I loose a bait or straighten a hook it's not as big of deal as busting a rod.

flippin and pitchin reply :

I am not an advocate of " bouncing " fish. It's hard on the slime film that coates the exterior of the fish and leaves them more prone to infection. A rod designer I know shared that bouncing attributed to more blank failure than any other cause. To place the stress of lifting a heavier fish on a small portion

of the blank where the diameter is smaller is asking for trouble.

endless reply :

I don't for the little guy's I grab the line and lift, Bigger bass I lip or use net if have too. Always out and ready for the Bowfins and pickerels.

Fish Chris reply :

Well, keeping in mind that I use pretty heavy gear for my swimbaits + 50# braid....

I've swung in bass, in the 6 to 7 lb range.... but a double digit ? Not. A teener ? Absolutely not !

Even if all your gear holds, there's always the chance of the fish coming unbuttoned, and crashing into the floor of your boat ! Gotta' keep that in mind too...

Lip it, or net it..... or just forget it LOL

Fish

grimlin reply :

Very rarely,Since I'm on the bank I get them to the shallowest part of the water and lip them from there.

1lb or under i do sometimes,I usally drag em' in though.

Bassn Blvd reply :

Like Snook said, it's all about the "spring/swing." DON"T dead lift them or your chances of breaking your rod or line is very likely. You have to master the swing technique or you will fail a majority of time.

Fish Chris reply :

Of course Bassn, I think you would agree that the weight of the gear makes a big difference, right ? .....which is why I probably could swing, even bigger fish in on my swimbait gear.... but as I said earlier, even if your gear doesn't fail > fish do come unbuttoned at the stupidest possible times !

Peace,

Fish

On 11/27/2011 at 11:09 AM, Bassn Blvd said:

Like Snook said, it's all about the "spring/swing." DON"T dead lift them or your chances of breaking your rod or line is very likely. You have to master the swing technique or you will fail a majority of time.

SirSnookalot reply :

The fish don't get buttoned as much as I would like them too, getting a fish very close and and having it unbutton is what we call " a Palm Beach Release ", we find that desirable, we don't keep them anyway and we had the pleasure of catching and fighting them and they swim off in much better shape. The fish that I can swing up are not slot, can't keep them and a 7 or 8# fish isn't photo worthy. I take the occasional photo but pics and weights are a very minor priority to me. Bassn was with me when I caught about a15# snook and was going to walk back to his truck for a camera, I told him wasn't worth the effort. We get tarpon out there quite a bit, not going to lift them up, can't even do it with a net.

I match my rod to the bait not the fish, so I don't use anything near as heavy as swimbait gear and I can still spring most of them up. It's about technique, we all do it here.

It would be very difficult to spring a fish from a boat, too low to the water, why not just use a net.

Saw an interesting way to bring them up last week, I had never seen this done before. A guy catches a 25 " redfish off the jettie on a gotcha, a second guy lowers his lure down to the fish and hooks in the lip, then they lift the fish up using 2 rods.

Fishing Rhino reply :

Surely, for fishing off high piers, there must be a rig like a lure retriever with a stout cord that you can slip over the line, let it slide down the line and snag the fish. Then lift it with the stout cord.

Please, no jokes about "but don't call me Shirley".

SirSnookalot reply :

From piers and bridges a round net called appropriately a bridge or pier net is lowered down. Now you have to slip the net under the fish then lift up. Guys use these same nets from jetties which are maybe a 1/3 as high at most. Very often in the case of some fish like a barracuda we drop a weighted 12/0 treble hook and gaff them, only from jetties, piers are way too high.

Bassn Blvd reply :

On 11/27/2011 at 2:32 PM, Fish Chris said:

Of course Bassn, I think you would agree that the weight of the gear makes a big difference, right ? .....which is why I probably could swing, even bigger fish in on my swimbait gear.... but as I said earlier, even if your gear doesn't fail > fish do come unbuttoned at the stupidest possible times !

Peace,

Fish

I agree 100% . I have flipped bass up to 4-5 pounds with m/h baitcast gear and 10 pound mono, BUT no way in heck would I do it on tournament day. I have had several fish fall off midway from the boat and water I use a net on almost every fish on tourny day. Any other day I use my hands or flip'em.

I couldn't imagine flipping a 15-20 pound bass though. Especially if it were my first time catching a HAWG like you have. I would probably break my rod over my leg if a 15 pounder came unbuttoned because I tried flipp'n her

Hamby reply :

My issue with it is more about them falling off the hook and whacking the side of the boat or bouncing around the bottom. I haven't caught anything over the 5lb range, so the weight of the fish is probably a lot less than the type of weight i put on it in hooksets on a fish... or very large snag

Now if i'm fishing for dinner, i don't care where they land as long as it's in the boat. But for catch and release, i like to take those easy precautions to ensure a healthy release. No reason to take the chance if i can easily lip or net them.

Mattlures reply :

I agree with Sir snook. Its a technique. You cant just go swinging or lifting the fish. If your breaking rods, your doing it wrong. Its called highsticking. If you high stick the rod you are putting most of the pressure in one small area of the rod and when the weight comes down it, the rod breaks. Saltwater guys know how to bounce a fish over the rails because they fish from high railed boats or jetties etc. I fish a good amount of salt and I have a salt boat so I learned how to do it. Its a timing swinging transfer of weight thing and the fish does not have to land hard. I have swung 8lb bass up but thats about my limit and thats not realy the norm. A 6lber, no problem, if the situation calls for a swing then I will. If not then I lip or net.

1234567 reply :

Great video of Paul Bailey fishing an Irod with a hudd on youtube swinging an 8is pound fish onto the boat. check it out! If it's bad technique I apologize.

deep reply :

On 11/29/2011 at 12:32 AM, 1234567 said:

Great video of Paul Bailey fishing an Irod with a hudd on youtube swinging an 8is pound fish onto the boat. check it out! If it's bad technique I apologize.

This is the video I guess. Happens at 3 mins 40 secs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnRXW762YOc

1234567 reply :

That's it, blackdog baits lunker punker video is full of them swinging good fish in the boat too.

WRB reply :

This is one topic that really ticks me off; bouncing bass into carpeted bass boats. If you have abosultley no regard for basses life after you catch it, then bounce on the carpet.

This all became popular when B.A.S.S. outlawed nets in some ill thoughtout practice that somehow bass being bounced would be less stressed than being netted or lipped.

Yes a heavy 8 power swimbait or flipping rod can easily bounce big bass with the proper technique, the qestion is why do it?

The Basses slime coat is it's protection agianst desease and boat carpets remove this protective coating, not to mention the fish flipping around on the carpet after being banged onto it.

Tom

BigEbass reply :

"the question is why do it?"

For me, if its anything bigger than just dead lifting say a little 1 lbers and holding the line then lipping the fish (not hitting the carpet in this scenario) I use a net or lip the bass...the question above is a good question though I would think.

I suppose some will argue that launching the fish out of the water will not allow them to flap around like crazy at the surface and toss your lure? I however lip it or net it, and dinks I just lift them and hold the line and unhook the fish.....I probably from time to time end up with a fish on the carpet, but I suppose that I should avoid such as it would likely cause more disruption of their protective coating for sure...something for people to think about with the health of the fish, and thus the fishery?

1234567 reply :

I don't tournament fish, but I do agree with WRB, these fish provide us with alot of pleasure and should be cared for with the utmost respect. A buddy of mine would fling bass back into the water seeing how many "flips" he could make it do. I respectfully expressed my displeasure?? with this.

BigEbass reply :

Is there data out there that would clearly show for all of us that a bass hitting the carpet would certainly increase its chances for death after release...the answer to this question for me seems intuitive, but it can be helpful to answer these questions with research to move some people off the fence or on the other side of the fence

Plus I am a science geek, and I just like to have data period

Bassn Blvd reply :

I don't buy into the notion that bass landing on the deck of my boat is all that harmful to them. I'm someone who needs some type of factual data too. I'm not saying that I intentionaly throw my fish on the deck nor do I let them flop around while I scratch mr ars either.

SirSnookalot reply :

I watched that video quite a few times.......impressed, honestly not in the least bit. A heavy rod was used was used to land a fish that was only 7 or8#, the fish was spent in a matter of seconds making the lift pretty easy. It's a great looking bass, however if that had been a fish of another species a 7 pounder wouldn't be so easy because there is still a lot of fight left. I'm more impressed with the anglers own personal strength than the technique employed. That fish was power lifted, not sprung up, and I probably would have moved my hand up on the shaft a bit to give it more support, his technique is a recipe for a broken rod...........a net should have been used, springing or lifting fish should be a last resort measure. On the positive side the bass landed very softly in the boat, I'm sure there was no internal damage.

I'm with Bassn on the slime issue and if I were overly concerned about the welfare of a fish, I wouldn't be fishing in the first place.

tomustang reply :

On 11/29/2011 at 2:58 AM, 1234567 said:
these fish provide us with alot of pleasure and should be cared for with the utmost respect.

Lip piercings and dragging them through 'whatnot' isn't upmost respect

BigEbass reply :

On 11/29/2011 at 6:05 AM, Bassn Blvd said:

I don't buy into the notion that bass landing on the deck of my boat is all that harmful to them. I'm someone who needs some type of factual data too. I'm not saying that I intentionaly throw my fish on the deck nor do I let them flop around while I scratch mr ars either.

I did a bit of google searching...alot of the publications require some form of university access or journal access that I do not have....but after some bits of research into the whole "slime layer" discussion...it is seemingly clear that the importance of this protective layer is critical to fish health, morbidity, and mortality...there are a good number of studies that appear to support this, I read some of the abstracts, and the premise of things like "time out of the water", "handling", "dry surfaces in contact with the fish" all have been shown to in various manners in studies to have deleterious effects on fish health...the one study I found out of university of ontario (couldnt access it) suggested that the bass mortality could increase by a factor of 68% related to handling and time out of water....

My point is, I do not think it is much a stretch of the imagination to assume that a bass flapping on a dry carpet, then picking it up, then unhooking it, could be more deleterious to fish mortality than wetting our hands, lipping the bass, and quickly releasing it...and if you use a net, you can leave the fish in the water until you have your camera prepped...and an additional thought, I probably shouldnt net the fish, then lay it on the carpet in the net...sorta defeats the purpose in part, hadnt actually thought of that really.

Food for thought.....

And a final thought...if you are claiming that a bass flapping on the carpet or the deck is not significantly more harmful to fish health, then at this point (given the apparent consensus about the importance of the protective layer, which is based on a body of evidence), you would have the burden of proof to show that it is in fact NOT harmful, or not significantly harmful anyway...

Ok, geek time over.

PS - yes, catching a fish with a hook and dragging it through the water is harmful to the fish, or at least stressful...no one can argue that I think, but that doesnt mean that doing x, y, or z in addition to that baseline stress will not be significantly more stressful and evetually more harmful to the fish...

1234567 reply :

Haha. Good post bigebass, i like when people take time to research things. In my opinion the above as far as slimecoat it could present a potential health risk but IMO not of high risk. I think if it were that dangerous to the bass we would see more floating fish or unhealthy fish. These fish seem pretty resiliant to me.

BigEbass reply :

On 11/29/2011 at 10:49 PM, 1234567 said:

Haha. Good post bigebass, i like when people take time to research things. In my opinion the above as far as slimecoat it could present a potential health risk but IMO not of high risk. I think if it were that dangerous to the bass we would see more floating fish or unhealthy fish. These fish seem pretty resiliant to me.

Yeah, that is my suspicion, but how much is "high risk"...I think you can agree that perhaps doing this practice could for some "X" number of bass incrementally cause fish deaths that otherwise would not have happened...but the question is, to what magnitude? Since I have not been able to read journal articles that state how they do this research and what the results of that research shows, I am unable to tell you at this point to what magnitude such a practice has an effect, and if in fact that effect is "significant" to a fishery.

Your point is that you do not see masses of fish killed floating to the surface...thus whatever effect there likely may be, it must not be significant. While that is seemingly logical and intuitive, its hardly scientifically rigorous...it leaves alot of guessing and assumptions...but it does show perhaps that such a practice to the extent that it is happening on your body of water is not causing mass severe fish kills...

If its one thing in science that we know will lead you to the wrong conclusions, it is un-tested anecdotes

But for a second, lets assume the practice does contribute to some very marginal fish kill, or fish illness...back to WRB's point, why even do it then if the fish could be adversly affected, which as we have discussed, is almost certain at some level? I am not saying that the fish kill is "insignificant" mind you, again, I am not sure of the details...just raising this minimal common denominator hypothetical (if that makes any sense whatsoever )

J Francho reply :

I've handled my share of fish in a commercial setting. If the surface the fish touches is smooth, wet, and roughly the same temperature as the fish, then no big deal. A dry, hot, carpet increases the chances of infection from a parasite, bacteria, or virus. The slime coat is like a fish's skin.

One tip I learned: leave your rubber landing net on the front deck as a landing area for dinks, instead of launching them into your hands, like so many do. That way there is a smooth surface available all the time:

senile1 reply :

The only time a fish touches the carpet in my boat is when I accidentally drop them. Otherwise, it doesn't happen. I occasionally swing small fish up to my hand to lip them when the situation warrants it. Then I remove the hook, or hooks, and place them back in the water. As some have stated, it is a technique where you use the momentum of the fish moving towards you to swing it up to your hand to avoid stress on the rod as much as possible. With larger fish I avoid swinging them in with the rod and always lip them because I think the chances are greater that I will accidentally brush them against the carpet while trying to protect my rod. Usually though, I lip most of my bass while they are still in the water. I think there is enough evidence to justify protecting the slime coat of a bass, if possible, so that's what I do. As long as one is protecting the slime coat I see no problem with swinging a bass into your hand with the rod.

1234567 reply :

BigeBass,

I agree with the points you make. It's just like us, there are thousands of things that we deal with that make us more susceptible to illness, but does not kill us or even for the most part, is life threatening. I really don't know how important the slime coat is, but I do agree, it's probably the barrier of protection from illness. I never had a hot carpet for a bass to lay on, so I really don't know what that does to a fish.

Colton Neal reply :

Yeah, i pretty much just swing every fish that's under 2 pounds up and into my hands with no problem as long as the line is a little on the heavier side. If i'm using light line (4-6 lb) i'll just lip most bass. But i'm careful not to let the fish flop all over the boat to ensure their slime doesn't rub off.

bass or bass ? reply :

Nope. Never.

Wade Babbitt reply :

First off, sorry to resurrect a dead thread but my son and I have recently been watching a lot of fishing shows. He is 9 years old now and really taking a liking to fishing. We really like "Fish My City" with Mike Icanella and I see him whizzing fish out of the water from bridges, boats and various other areas. I thought it was really cool how quickly and swiftly he does it but went to google to see if this was a normal thing people or Bass anglers did. He even did it with a decent size redfish(I think) and the guy on the boat made a comment that they don't normally do that with that type of fish.

My son and I found a really nice fishing spot off a bridge that is anywhere from 6-8ft above the water depending on water level. We catch tons of large mouth, pike, perch, white bass, carp and catfish here. There is a little grass area with some reeds/cat tails at the end of it, when i get a fish on i set the hook and keep tension on the rod but i lift the rod over the bridge posts and run to the end of the bridge and real them in from there. If its a perch or smaller fish(under 2# or so) we real them in and then lift them up by the line far enough to get a net under them.

Is there something different we should be doing as far as lifting them up? Outside of getting an 8foot net or something crazy. We obviously don't want to do something traumatizing or detrimental to the fish but I have definitely lost a couple nice ones taking the time to run 20 yards to the end of the bridge LOL!

Thanks for the advice, very interesting thread to read through. My real fishing experience is limited to this month, outside of a handful of pond fishing for bluegill with worms.

2900

Lifting Bass With The Rod 2024

related Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic

previous topic

next topic

most viewed Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic