put it neutral or keep trolling?

[Thunder21]

I fish alone, moocher, fish 3 rods. I hit a fish, slip it into neutral quickly reel other 2 rods in with free hand, off i go chasing the fish staying on top of it and not going in the opposite direction at 3-4 mph with a **** pot full of line out as you keep steering farther and farther from the fish. Personally i don't see the fun in playing a fish that way, is it a fun fight with the motor in gear, is it the fish you are playing or just line going out as you keep going.

Lately I've been fishing with plugs and I enjoy the fight I get with the fish. I see your point about the fish peeling line away from me but quite honestly fish dont only swim in one direction. Plenty of times the fish will even swim at the boat believe it or not . If your method works for you and you enjoy it then that's what it's all about. But it's not the only method.

 

[Mike_R]

When conditions allow I like to kill the motor and enjoy the action.

 

[Reeltime]

I play with the gear in/out like reeling the fish in nice and easy , soon as i have good angle on the fish neutral it goes for the heart throbbing fight and 90% of the time
it's the starboard side that i land the fish on , found it to be way easier starb .

 

[Pineapple Express]

Neutral for me since I'm usually fishing alone. I tend to avoid being in the pack of boats so that I have more freedom for course changes and hopefully playing a fish!

 

[Prairie Locked]

For me, if I'm in a crowd I will break away from the pack if I can, otherwise keep the fish out the back if possible. I often fish solo and find it's best to get away from everyone else, especially when there is no grace given from anyone else when they see you're fighting a fish.

I prefer to put the boat in neutral and fight the fish instead of dragging it up with the boat in gear. A lot more action and more personal satisfaction of doing the work and keeping the fish on. Typically will do that more when not running an inline flasher. I found I lost less fish this way this summer than when staying in gear, not that it's always the case or absolute but sure did this year for me.

 

[Sentinel]

I used to take it out of gear. After guiding several years I always keep it in gear now, which really helps keep inexperienced rod hands giving the fish slack. I only turn back on big fish if needed. I rarely troll in big crowds and have had very few problems with other anglers. I always turn away to avoid running over other peoples fish while they are playing them. I am hoping they may return the favor. Tight lines