The Finer Points of Fighting Fish Offshore

Of all the great things my career with Florida Sportsman has brought me, doing the Florida Sportsman Action Spotter Podcast may well be my favorite. I get to talk with the best fishermen in Florida every week, and every week I learn something new. I mean, you would think as many years as I’ve fished with the best rods in the industry, I would have paid more attention to the flat spot most good rods have near the front of the foregrip.

Captain Ray Rosher, of Miami, is one of my favorite people, and a world-class fisherman. The subject of a recent podcast was, “Give me a tip you wish your charters knew, before you left the dock.” As he so often does, Ray started expounding on ideas way over my head: “I wish my customers all knew what the flat spot was for.”

“Huh?” was my response.

Ray continued: “The flat spot on the front end of the foregrip on a quality rod. Most people wear themselves out, accomplishing nothing, while the drag is screaming, then they don’t know to add thumb pressure to the flat spot on the foregrip. Doing so adds a little pressure to the drag once the fish quits making violent, sudden moves as he tires. So many people make fighting a fish so much harder than it has to be.”

Captain Brandon Storin from Islamorada pitched in on the subject. “Don’t be reeling, while the drag is squealing.” Now, Capt. Brandon fishes a lot of spinning tackle, and most anglers already know that turning that reel handle while the line isn’t coming in can ruin your day. Every time you turn the handle without retrieving line, you’ve twisted the line again. Do that long enough, and the reel will be unusable for the rest of the day.

My brilliant advice was, “Don’t show up to work too early.” I tend to target big fish, and one of the things I love most about bluewater fishing, is the one thing all crews have in common. A bluewater crew is almost always the same. It is comprised of one guy taking the bent rod out of the holder as a fish starts to scream the drag, surrounded by four guys yelling, “Reel, reel, reel!” The truth is, the very rod that bends over when the fish is hooked needs to stay bent. It’s just that simple, reel when the rod starts to straighten out. Reeling when you can’t gain line doesn’t help a bit.

Now, once we’ve managed to settle the “when to reel” question, let’s go back to the flat spot on the rod. The flat spot actually is designed as a secondary drag. If you’ve hooked a big grouper, clamping down hard on the foregrip may be the only chance you have to keep him out of the rocks. Much more common is the need to bring that big kingfish, or mahi, the last 20 feet. Now we’re talking about adding subtle pressure, more than trying to stop a “freight train” of a grouper.

I think I can confidently say that far more lines are broken in the first few seconds of a fight, by a sudden shock (such as a line wrapped around a tip, or drag accidentally set much too tight). Once the fish has tired, then it’s time to up the pressure. I am constantly amazed by how much pressure my 30-pound-test line can take. When the fish is hot, putting your thumb on the line can prematurely release your fish. When a fish is tired, you almost can’t put enough pressure on the line to break it, by squeezing the line against the grip.

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Quick Tips to Fight Offshore Fish

1. Never drop the rod, throwing slack in the line.
2. Reel your way down slowly to NEVER let the rod straighten out.
3. Lift slowly so you never pull the line off the reel by your actions.
4. Use the flat spot to increase the pressure once your fish is tired. It’s what it’s there for.

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Let’s face it, sharks are screwing up everything. If you hook a nice grouper off the east coast of Florida, there’s an excellent chance of a shark getting it. In fact it’s the same for a hooked kingfish, tuna or sailfish. That makes the “flat spot” more important than ever.

I’m a sailfish fanatic, and we’ve switched from trying to target a second and third fish once we hook up, to trying to release our fish as fast as possible. In fact, we’ve actually suspended trying to tag our fish, as it takes too much out of the fish to hold them boatside. We try to teach our newcomers to the sport that when a fish gets tired, you can press on the flat spot to help bring him closer. You have to be careful, however, as once he is close, you’ve got less forgiveness fishing with mono. We also try to impress upon them that lifting the rod slowly while pumping will keep you from pulling line off the reel, wasting all the effort you’re using while pumping. So set your drag light enough to keep today’s smaller, sharper hooks squarely in place when a speedster kicks it into overdrive. Once his mad dashes are used up, let the pumping and reeling begin.

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• This article was featured in the August-September 2024 issue of Florida Sportsman. Click to subscribe

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