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Striking too hard! - Striking too hard!

rodgerbramham
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Striking too hard! - Striking too hard!

Post by rodgerbramham »

Hi
I frequently loose fish by inadvertently striking too hard:(
Breaks occur at knot joins or hook tie in points - usually whilst dry fly fishing
I know the answer is to not strike too vigorously but would a line with more 'give' in it help the situation( I currently use Orvis Copolymer)
If so, could anyone suggest an alternative leader material?
Many thanks
Rodger
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Zoran
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Post by Zoran »

Instead to strike hard , just pick up your line (rod tip up ) above the water , slightly making a tension .
On that way ,fish and rod (flexibile lever) will done the strike , not you , but you can keep the same , proper leader .
Save the thick leaders for SWFF :cool:
Cheers,
Zoran
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andy_with_a_rod
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Post by andy_with_a_rod »

i had real issues with this. my over-exuberance, mixed with a sage tcr 5'# rod meant i could crack tippet on the strike regularly. i learned to avoid flourocarbon like the plague, and have eventually settled on stroft GTM mono for my leaders, which I find very very good indeed. being mono it could have up to 40% stretch, and will knot better than flouro.
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Nick
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Post by Nick »

Get better at tying knots. That's probably your problem (that is unless you strike like those bass guys on the TV) ;).
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Chris Dore
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Post by Chris Dore »

Stifff rods arent designed to strike effectivly with light leaders.

No problems with florucarbon, or leader material on the whole. What rod are you using, Rodger?

I break off very few fish with the SCOTT G2. The softer tip provides great shock absorbtion and tippet protection. Its designed for soft presentations and lighter leaders. Try setting a hook with 6x and a #5 TCR - you would have to be careful indeed.

Remember also we are merely removing the slack line and setting the hook but a couple of centermetres. A simple lift, such as moveing into a backcast is enough to do this on trout and similar species.
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rodgerbramham
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Post by rodgerbramham »

Chris Dore wrote:Stifff rods arent designed to strike effectivly with light leaders.

No problems with florucarbon, or leader material on the whole. What rod are you using, Rodger?

I break off very few fish with the SCOTT G2. The softer tip provides great shock absorbtion and tippet protection. Its designed for soft presentations and lighter leaders. Try setting a hook with 6x and a #5 TCR - you would have to be careful indeed.

Remember also we are merely removing the slack line and setting the hook but a couple of centermetres. A simple lift, such as moveing into a backcast is enough to do this on trout and similar species.
Hi All
Thanks for replies
Re Chris- I've an Orvis Trout Bum#4 rod and usually have 6x or 5x copolymer tippet material. Rod is very light and whippy so should absorb a lot of the strike but still loose too many on strike. I'm sure my knots are good( I've spent a lot of time experimenting with these) It's just striking too hard i'll have to cure
rodgerbramham
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Post by rodgerbramham »

One more thing - might have abearing. Instead of lifting - I strike sideways - could this be a factor in the breaks?
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Eric
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Post by Eric »

Pinch the line betwee your fingers instead of under your thumb?

Run a loop of cord from the reel to your crotch so setting too hard has a stronger negative feedback mechanism? :D
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Post by ennio »

Nick wrote:Get better at tying knots. That's probably your problem (that is unless you strike like those bass guys on the TV) ;).

Like Nick, if that happened to me I would suspect my knots. I was lucky to attend a great knot tying workshop by Morsie at Middlemarch in January. Friction is what causes nylon to fail - wet (with saliva) and *really* bed down each knot to remove any slack. I've had only one breakage since and can cope with that ratio of failure; I still lose fish but now either by straightening the hook or by the hook pulling out.

Not discounting with what the other guys have said.

PS Chris my one breakage was earlier this week when using my newly acquired Scott G2 #4; I put too much faith in how much the rod would bend and held on just too tight :blush:
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mattklara
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Post by mattklara »

I'd say Zoran has some good advice. You definitely want to work on your finesse.

To protect very light tippets you can try a couple of things. Add something like Rio Shock Gum to your leader, to reduce the shock of the strike, and learn a technique called the "slip strike" where you let line slip through your fingers as you lift the rod.

Remember, for trout, with normal trout fly hooks that have nice sharp points, you need very little force to actually set the hook.
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Born Again
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Post by Born Again »

With "modern" tippets of 6x or 7x I find 1 of 3 knots will break, that's why I always test them before plonking them in the water. Better to have to tie 3 knots in a row with cold fingers than breaking off the only fish of the day.

Sometimes happens away from the knot aswell as a new section gets stretched.

Also, with Rio Powerflex in particular, I find it has a great strength when under tension but if it has a sharp shock it often snaps. Bit like Silly Putty.

Never happened in the old days with 4lb Maxima....
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jacktrout
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Post by jacktrout »

+1 on just picking your line above the water, think of it as a tighten rather than a strike
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kenmorrow
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Post by kenmorrow »

I agree with just lifting the rod tip. Except for hard-mouthed fish like most saltwater species and largemouth bass, etc. it takes no more pressure than driving a hook into your fingertip...not your fingernail! It's nothing more than removing slack. Let the rod, current, and fish do the hook-setting as much as possible.

Secondly, you will find that dry fly and midge fishing where you are using light tippets and leaders is far more enjoyable with a softer rod. It's not a function of a fly line or leader with more stretch, but a rod with more flex...especially in the upper 1/2. I really like progressive tapers for light tippet fishing except for deep in stillwater. Sage made an old one that is quite expensive to find resale because it is so popular among those who know. TFO's Finesse is pretty darned close to that same design for far less money. But my favorite round carbon fiber design by far is the Elkhorn Traveler, which is less than the TFO Finesse and comes with a very nice tube and better finish. It is also a better casting rod in my opinion...but we all know how subjective that is.

By far my overall favorite though is a medium action Hexagraph! You don't need these rods to be as long as hollow round rods to get the same performance and they're a bit heavier due to the solid construction and nickel-silver ferrules. So a 7' to 8' rod is ideal. I use a 7'3" 3/4 for most of my small to medium size stream fishing, loading lines from 3-5wt in DT and WF. But these are not inexpensive rods. They are each custom made to order and finished like fine bamboo rods. They run $500-1000 each. I'm really pointing this out to drive home the point about tool selection. After 31 years of fly fishing, I am convinced that most of the problem with folks losing fish in light-tippet fishing can be alleviated by choosing the right rod. And there are inexpensive and expensive choices that will do the job just fine.
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Post by kdh »

Hi Rodger,
Another possibility and a quick fix would be to leave more slack on the water when stripping back the line- thus the strike would be cushioned a bit. Especially while dryfly-fishing you have a small margin for error with a rather taut line and a Clint Eastwood strike :)

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Paul Arden
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Post by Paul Arden »

Hi Rodger, it's also worth checking your tippet material - if it's old, gotten wet or had too much sunlight it could have started to rot. I don't know the brand in question, however it could be worth trying another brand to see if it works better for you.

I was fishing 7X on a TCR6 lined with a Barrio 5 in Bosnia last week, and I had one break-off, but not on the 7X, but only when I stepped up to 8lbs and a streamer! Typical.

Cheers, Paul
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