
I was curious how far that fish would go....We always let em run with a light drag till they slow down Mike in the last few seasons. Yes, this was a bit longer than normal in this video just for the fun of it. I began recording 30 seconds after the strike and pulling the phone out of my pocket with one hand and hitting the record button after seeing the line peeling out on this good fish.
Our friends in Lake Huron actually use this method they call "spin the drag" They will loosen the drag all the way (lighter than this video actually) on a bite on a dipsy immediately before removing the rod out of the rod holder. The theory is that the fish doesn't feel the resistance as much with a looser drag than normal and they tend to stop there initial run quicker rather than a tight drag and more resistance causing the fish to go further. They have less dropsies or unbuttoning of Kings with this method (especially when the rod is hammering in the rod holder) than the old method of a tighter drag with no stretch of the braid + wire increases the chances for a lost fish. I believe it has increased our boated fish ratio with this method.
Amazing the fish was missing 1/3 of it's gill plate on one side. Since it was released maybe someone will catch this fish in late August when he is 28 lbs. with it's unique birthmark.
I tried editing the video link to show the video instead of the link and for some reason the code after a string isn't working. I will ask Ludo if something has changed with the code.
One more short video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU3ah6Xfiz8