if you get bit say 25 yards in front of you and you get a good hook set. is there any way that the fish gets under the boat and you lose the fish? and if the fish goes under the boat should you put your tip of the pole in the water to give you a better angle to fight the fish?

If they have any gas left when they get to the boat, there's a good bet they're going under it. If they make it under the boat I never try and horse them -- a lot of bad can happen. I just keep the line tight and a little give on the drag until they get beat.

+1

Excellent advice above. If it is a big fish, I will put the tip in the water and try to walk the line forward or backward to get it under the big motor (if pulled up) or the trolling motor. This MUST be done with a looser drag, however, because if they run again, there is too much bad that can happen. When you put your tip in the water, you mitigate the rods action, because water is so much more dense than air. Your reaction time is delayed and you often cannot keep pace with the fish when it changes directions. Just something to be aware of. If trying to get to the OTHER side of the boat, a PARTNER really helps. Pulling the TM or big motor up, still has problems, but on big fish, you do whatever you can.

Hope this helps.

Tight linse, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

I work the line around the boat and fight them on the other side of the boat if needed.

Walk them around to the other side of the boat never let the go under, you loose control of the fish.

i lke it when they start digging when they see the boat!

My advise goes against the grain. I keep my rod tip high. This accomplishes two things. First it lets the rod do a lot of the work when the fish goes on a run. Two, by putting upward pressure on the fish it reduces the leverage of the fish. Only drawback is that you have to have confidence in your hook and it doesn't work well for swim baits.

Lots of things going on when battling the beast. As soon as she goes under the boat, just remember you just entered another level of concern, but focus on the fight! In deep water, drag in your friend. If there are sticks and grass under there, try to keep the fish on one side by using the total length of the boat. Once you get the rod tip high, get ready to get your hands low. Screw the net if you don't have a partner.

The keel of the boat can rub your line, so shove that rod up to the reel into the water so you have a straight line to the fish. Then when she backs off a bit, you can decide which way to take her (I say her because a fish like that is likely female anyhow).

Obviously there are a lot of different conditions that can change how you handle the fish, but for a deeper water big fish that decides to head under the boat at the last second, often you can be laying on your side trying to lip it anyhow, so just shove that rod into the water and let her throw a fit for a while.