No, I don’t mean going to the gym and getting all pumped up! Very few anglers realize how much actual force can be applied to even a light tippet. It is important to know so that we can land a fish quickly and efficiently. Long fights can exhaust and even kill the fish, and the odds of landing a trophy decrease with every second they are being played.

A fly rod is a lever, and we are on the inefficient end when it comes to fighting a fish. Assuming a maximum rod position of 90 degrees, it requires over 25 pounds of force (torque) at the rod butt to apply just 4 pounds of force at the end of the line! Remember, dependent on the load on the rod (and hence the bend), the mechanical advantage enjoyed by the fish over the fly-rodder is between 3:1 and 12:1. So, you may have thought you were really putting the heat to the fish; in fact, you were only annoying him.

Another important fact to bear in mind is that the fly rod is designed in two parts. The tip (thin and flexible) is intended to cast the line: the butt of the rod is designed to fight the fish. Too often we hear of rods being broken while fighting fish. This is almost always the result of playing the fish off the tip of the rod – a task for which it is not intended. Remember that the angle between the rod and the target (in fighting a fish or in the experiment that follows) should never exceed 90 degrees . While it may be fun to hold the rod way up and back and see that rod bent into a "U", it’s a recipe for disaster on a bigger fish. Fight the fish with the butt of the rod.

Try this – it may sound silly but is guaranteed to open your eyes. Take a gallon milk jug and fill ¼ of water full (2 pints). It will weigh approximately 2 pounds. Tie a 4x tippet on your leader and attach it to the milk jug, run your line over a low stable object (like your car bumper – padded with a cloth perhaps) and move back about 30 feet. You should be able to see the milk jug sitting on the ground. Now begin to apply pressure and attempt to raise the jug. Experiment with the angle of your rod, first holding it toward the vertical. Even though your rod tip will bend almost to a "U", the jug does not move. With the rod tip you are applying less than 2 pounds of force to the target. Now back away from the target or reel in some line, lowering your rod tip so that the bend of the rod is now in the mid-portion to the butt. Continue to pull, making sure that the bend stays in the mid-to-butt section of the rod until you lift the jug off the ground. I bet you’ll be amazed at how much force is required to lift the little 2-pound weight.

Now fill the jug half full. It will weigh approximately 4 pounds. Once you’ve tried to lift 4 pounds, you may decide that, indeed, you need to be pumping iron before your next "big-fish" trip!!