Northwest Fishing Magazine July 2025 Volume 4 Issue 10 - Flipbook - Page 16
DUDE: Once I get hooked
up and eliminate the line
slack, I turn sideways to the
fish, forming a 90-degree
angle between the fish and
my rod. I then lower my rod
tip to the water and work
the fish by applying and
keeping sideways pressure
on the fish at all times.
When I bend the rod away
from the fish, I know what
the fish is doing as I can
feel it. As the fish gives way,
I continue taking in line but
keeping that rod bent a bit,
keeping that line pressure
on.
KOKANEE: Do you adjust the
drag during the fight?
DUDE: Not ever.
KOKANEE: How much drag is
correct?
DUDE: Just enough drag
to keep the rod properly
loaded in the downrigger
without the line going out
of the reel.
KOKANEE: What about if the
koke is really taking line?
DUDE: Excellent. Big fish.
That's why I have the
ultralight rod. It allows me
to exert proper pressure on
the fish with my sideways
approach, regardless of the
size of the fish. The trick
with the big fish is to know
when the fish is heading
back to you. Make sure you
take in that line to keep
that tension in the line.
Keep bending the rod away
from the fish, then reel in
the slack. Learning just how
much pressure to exert is
the trick. Only experience
can perfect the technique.
However, once you get it, it
becomes second nature.
KOKANEE: Sounds like you
have really learned a lot.
DUDE: Learning how to
properly fight the fish
made fishing way more
enjoyable. And it resulted in
way more fish in the boat.
Making the rod and reel
work together works on all
species of fish -- not just
kokanee. So if I’m out on
the ocean after big salmon,
I use the same methods.
