Been working the beach the last few weeks and it's been spotty.  Nothing big has really shown up yet so I go out yesterday morning with a small spinning reel and medium rod 7'.  West wind , smooth sea, with exposed reefs, low water on an outgoing tide so a topwater lure is my best bet.  30 minutes or so I only manage a small jack and one nice size runner.  Then I make a parallel cast into the swash and BAMMMMMM, get nailed by tarpon no more than 20' feet away.  Spools out what seems like about 20yds, then jumps, this guy looked to be in the 80# range, runs another 20 or so,and jumps again.  Well you know the rest if ever you have ever tarpon fished, as they say" 1 on and 1 off" haha, but that's tarpon fishing.  My bet is I would not have landed it anyway on that light tackle, but ya just never know.

My thrill of the week..........be at the same spot again today.

If you want to increase your chances of hooking a large fish, use lightweight gear.

Landing them is a whole 'nother matter.

It works the same as getting a fish to bite on a day you aren't getting a look.

Allow your bait to dangle in the water, leave your rod unattended and not in a holder, and reach for a snack or drink.

At that precise moment, the odds a fish will strike at that bait rise exponentially.

You may lose a rod and reel in the process.

Somehow, it all relates to Murphy's laws.

you know just as well as i do....

the thrill is where its at!!!

keep the lighter tackle, and have a blast with the fight....

you win some... you lose some....

but on light tackle, the wins are far more rewarding!!!

If you want to increase your chances of hooking a large fish, use lightweight gear.

My style

Allow your bait to dangle in the water, leave your rod unattended and not in a holder, and reach for a snack or drink.

Works great if you are a bait fisherman, I throw artis.

You may lose a rod and reel in the process.

Only if you tie, I tape. Worse case is loss of line and lure.

I like the way Mrlitetackle fishes.

Back in the day, 1960s, I fished with two pound test on my spinning rod so I could cast the small Mepps lures.

It would take up to a half hour to land a five pound smallmouth.  It was indeed a thrill, for me.

I thought I was being a sportsman, until my uncle from Alabama, who fished with telephone poles and winches by comparison, pointed out that fish fought to exhaustion are much more likely to die from lactic acid poisoning.

I recently did a search on the internet because I had a discussion with a friend, regarding my uncle's statement.

He said he'd like to see some info on it. So I searched. Lo and behold, my uncle was correct. Here's two of many blurbs about lactic acid buildup.

Practice "Catch & Release".

It's a catch phrase, and a self expanatory one at that, but one with far reaching implications. To many of us angling is a sport, but we must treat our opponents with the respect they deserve. Always crush the barbs on your hooks to reduce the potential effects of a deeply lodged hook. It is also a good idea not to keep em' hanging on too long. When a fish is fighting, lactic acid will build up in it's muscle mass. Too much lactic acid can be lethal to a fish. By keeping the fight as short as possible, the potential damage to a fish from lactic acid build up is reduced. By releasing them to swim again, we go a long way in ensuring the preservation of the fish stocks we need. And who knows maybe you'll meet that fish again someday.

http://www.fishtheisland.com/Fish_responsibly.htm

From, "The Minnesota Steelheader"

Landing your fish properly is a key element to its survival.   In most situations a quick landing will be less stressful on a fish. The exception is where a fish is caught in 30+ feet of water. Due to the depth, fish will need to be reeled in slowly to allow the fish to decompress. This is similar to what scuba divers go through coming up from a deep dive. However, this can be a lose, lose situation. Fish brought up too fast from deep water are almost sure to die after their release. On the other hand, fish played long to allow decompression may build up a fatal amount of lactic acid, reducing the chance of survival. If you are planning to release fish it is best to target shallower fish. With that said, always use the heaviest line possible for the fish you are pursuing. This will decrease the amount of time needed to land your catch. Like people, fish build up lactic acid in their muscle tissue when under stress. This build up of acid is a result of the oxygen that is lost in muscle tissue while under physical exertion. Due to the lower oxygen content, fish caught in warmer water will build up this acid at an increased rate over fish caught in oxygen rich cooler water. Your quick release will increase the likelihood of a full recovery from the acid build up, allowing your fish to fight another day.

I believe that statement to be true, that being said I've never seen it happen but have seen gut hooked fish die not too mention predator kill after an exhausted fish is released, which I have seen with my own eyes.  I've been fishing Florida coastal waters since our first home in 1977(part time, now full time here)and have seen the catch greatly reduced.  Probably more from overfishing, population growth and increased pollution than a build up of lactic acid.  

I may get some darts thrown at me, but I won't do anything but light tackle until I'm physically unable.  Not my intent to kill any fish, but in the rare event of death due to lactic build up, that fish won't go to waste, it becomes part of food chain and if it's legal I may be part of that chain.

There are some fish which are not as susceptible to lactic acid buildup.  Cannot recall which.  But I either read about it, or saw it on a fishing show.

I caught a largemouth bass this year that by all things I've seen and read should not have been alive.  In fact, I caught it twice within a week.

One of its gills had been severed at its head, and a half inch protruded from its gills.  The gill was a pale color, obviously because of a lack of blood flow.  Apart from that the fish was healthy and lively.

Another thing I learned by observation this year is that fish blood congeals instantly when it hits the water.  I caught one that had a gill damaged.  Blood was pouring out, and I was sick.  

Then I noticed the blood congealed instantly when it hit the water.  I dipped the fish into the water, then lifted it out to remove the hook.

The bleeding had just about stopped.  Removed the hook, placed it in the water for a few seconds, lifted it, examined it, and even the slight bleeding stopped.

It swam away as though nothing had happened.

I cannot say with certainty that it survived, but everything I saw would lead to that conclusion.

I don't have a problem with those who fish with light gear.  My prior post was not intended as a critcism, just a different perspective.

My observations tell me that there are very few fishermen who fish with very light gear.  Most freshwater fishermen I know consider 6 pound test to be too light.  Not for the sake of the fish's well being, but because it's not strong enough to control a fish.

If the lactic acid buildup is a problem, there are not enough who fish light gear to make a dent in the fish population.

Another observation of mine is that it is possible to lead a fish to the boat, much like a dog on the leash.  It seems fish do not realize they are hooked until a certain pressure is applied.

I've noticed this when fishing worms and lizards slowly along the bottom.  A fish picks it up.  Not being sure whether it is a fish, or a piece of grass, I retrieve it slowly waiting for a sign that a fish is on the line, and that I'm not merely dragging a piece of vegetation.

I've brought them to the boat from twenty or thirty feet away.  Once they see the boat, they wake up and put up a fight.  But they get landed more quickly than those who struggle as soon as they pick up the bait.

At what point is the line "too small" or how long is "long enough" to fight a fish. I fish light tackle also but not lite enough to go after records.

SirSnook might use 20 mono for his Snook as I might use 15.  

Some use 15-17 mooo with jigs and T-rigs where I use 12.

I use #4 and #6 mono on my U/L exclusively for bass but I'm not "targeting" the "hawgs."  

I think I fish heavy for bass, spinning only 4# mono on ul, ponds 10# braid ml rod,canals medium rod with 15# braid.  The line is heavy enough but I use a heavier rod to hoist them out of high banked canals, any thing over about 6 or 7 # I got to go down and get them by hand.  My bass season does not start until about late November,humidity and bugs keep me inside, I will get out to the pond for about 45 minutes everyday.

For my snook,tarpon and jacks, it's spinning 15 or 20# braid, 7'or 7'6 rods 8/17 or 10/20 line class, not real lite, but certainly not what you call heavy.  For the most part my decision is not based on what I'm fishing for but what outfit I'm in the mood to use that day, I have 6 inshore outfits and I use each of them in a weeks times.  Putting a 7 th into service soon, getting bored I'm buying a 9 or 10' surf rod.

For drop shotting, I use six pound test mono with twenty pound fluoro for a leader.  It does two things.  It helps prevent cutoffs from the occasional pickerel, and allows me to lift the fish into my canoe when lipping it is not practical.

Most of the time I use spinning gear with ten pound braid with the twenty pound fluoro leader.  I do have a couple of spinning rods with fifteen pound test and the twenty pound leader used mostly for jigging and bottom fishing.

I lose less to hangs because it has the beans to pull some jigs free that ten pound would not.  It's also better for fishing the lily pad beds when a good size bass is hooked and runs around through the stalks/stems.

Also use the fifteen pound in the shallow waters around the shore.  In places there is a lot of thick vegetation such as water hyacinth.  Lost several nice bass when they've tangled in the plants and pulled free.  

The leader is necessary with the braid because most of the bottom I fish is rocky, and the braid pops like sewing thread when a fish takes it into the rocks.  The leader prevents that.

It does necessitate cutting back frequently to get rid of nicks and scuffs.

I do have a couple of muscle combos (BPS Nitros) which I rarely use.  Don't often fish water with a lot of blow downs, stumps or debris which calls for the ability to keep a fish from turning into it.  One is also for casting wake baits and can handle six ounce lures.  Rarely use it.  Very rarely.  Only a couple of times this year.