The pump and wind technique is how you land big fish on light tackle: set a light drag, palm the spool to add a little tension, pump the rod up without reeling, then reel fast only as you drop the rod back down. As a guide, teaching this is what I do more than almost anything else, because the instinct to crank the reel like a winch breaks line and drives guides crazy. On this How 2 Tuesday I coach you through it using a real fish I hooked at Bahia Honda. Watch the video above or listen along.
Watch or listen now: press play above and follow along.
Pump and wind is the way you fight a big fish on light tackle. You set the drag light, drop the rod and palm the spool to add a little extra tension with your hand, pump the rod up without reeling, then reel quickly as you lower the rod back down. You repeat that cadence, pump up and reel down, to gain line. The key is that you never reel against the drag, you only gain line on the downstroke.
Because the reel is not a winch. If you set the drag tight enough to crank a big fish straight in, the first time it surges it will break your line. On light tackle the drag has to be light enough that the fish can pull line when it runs. Reeling against that drag just spins the handle while the fish takes line, accomplishing nothing. Set it light, add hand tension when you pump, and reel only as you drop the rod.
You do not jerk the rod the way you might in freshwater. With a circle hook, when the fish picks up the bait and takes off, you simply close the bail and reel down tight. The circle hook design rotates into the corner of the fish's mouth as tension builds, so reeling down tight sets it for you. From there you go straight into the pump and wind.
Take your hand off the spool and let it finish the run. The biggest mistake anglers make is clamping down on the spool or fighting a hard run with too much pressure, which breaks the line. When you feel the fish take off, release that hand pressure, let it run itself out, and then go right back to pumping up and reeling down once it slows.
Yes. Whether it turns out to be a nurse shark like the one I caught at Bahia Honda, a tarpon, or an offshore fish, the technique is exactly the same. The mechanics of pumping the rod up and reeling down, with a light drag and controlled hand pressure, are what let light tackle handle a fish that far outweighs the breaking strength of your line.
This time of year people head to the Keys, Louisiana, and Texas chasing the biggest fish of their life, and the thing I teach more than anything as a guide is how to catch a big fish on light tackle. You have to use a light drag, because if you crank the drag down tight enough to winch the fish in, the first hard surge snaps the line. Hook a big fish, start grinding the handle against the drag, and you will drive your guide completely insane. There is a better way. Press play in the player above.
I was at Bahia Honda fishing for tarpon when I hooked a big fish, and I knew right away it was not a tarpon. It turned out to be a nurse shark, which is not exactly a prize, but it pulled hard and made for a perfect teaching fish. I narrate every move, the circle-hook set, the palm and pump, the moment to release pressure on a surge, so you can hear how I coach a customer through it in real time. Press play in the player above.
If you are a seasoned angler you already know this rhythm, but you might pick up a tip on how I communicate it to customers. If you are newer, this is one of the most important things you can learn as you start chasing bigger fish on light tackle.
Before your next trip to the Keys, Louisiana, or anywhere you might hook something that outweighs your tackle, get the pump-up, reel-down cadence in your hands. Your guide will thank you, and you will land more fish. Press play in the player above.
pump and wind · light tackle fishing · circle hook · drag setting · Bahia Honda · nurse shark · tarpon · fishing guide technique · How 2 Tuesday · Tom Rowland Podcast
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. My specialty is teaching anglers how to catch big fish on light tackle, from circle-hook sets to the pump and wind technique. On the How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill at a time in short, focused episodes you can use right away.
Tom Rowland Podcast — Episode 948: Mastering Light Tackle Fishing with the "Pump and Wind" Technique (How To Tuesday, solo Tom Rowland)
In this episode: teaching people "how to catch a larger fish on light tackle," why "the reel's not a winch," setting a circle hook and palming the spool, the pump-up-reel-down cadence, and a surprise nurse shark at Bahia Honda — in the exact words spoken.
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Tom Rowland: Hey, everybody. Welcome to How To Tuesday brought to you by Danco. This time of the year, tons of people are headed down to the Florida Keys or to Louisiana or Texas to try to catch the biggest fish of their life.
Tom Rowland: And as a fishing guide, what I do more than anything else is teach people how to catch a larger fish on light tackle. And what you have to do is you have to use a light drag because if you try to use the reel like a winch, you have to set the drag so tightly that if the fish surges and and tries to go away, it'll break the line.
Tom Rowland: So in order to catch a really big fish on really light tackle, you have to learn how to pump and wind is the technique. That's what it's called. You pump the rod up with your hand on the spool of the reel and then you wind as you go down.
Tom Rowland: And if you go out with your fishing guide for the first time, you hook a big fish and you're just winding against the drag, it drives them completely insane. So this video and this podcast is designed to try to help you to learn how to do this technique.
Tom Rowland: I was at Bahia Honda, and I caught a a a large fish. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I was sure it wasn't a tarpon. So I thought this is a great opportunity to kinda coach you through pumping the rod up and reeling as you going you go down to catch a very large fish on very light tackle.
Tom Rowland: Turns out it was a nurse shark. I do know that a nurse shark is not a great fish. We were out there fishing for tarpon, and this was a good opportunity to illustrate the pump up, reel down technique. That's what we're trying to do today, to try to teach you how to do that.
Tom Rowland: If you are a seasoned angler, you already know how to do this. But maybe you'll pick up a couple of tips on how I've learned to communicate that to my customers who do not know that. If you are a beginning angler, this is one of the most important things that you can learn, as you start to explore saltwater fishing and catching larger fish on light tackle. So I hope you learned something, and here we go.
Tom Rowland: Alright. We're getting a bite here. What we're gonna go over is how to set the hook on a fish, on a big fish like this in saltwater. A lot of people come to saltwater, and, I've never fought a really big fish. So tends to be one of the things as a fishing guide, one of the things that we're always going over. This is getting bit right now. Things we're always going over is how to fight this fish. So what we've got the bale open and I'm seeing that that he's picked it up and he's taken off. I'm gonna close the bale. We're using a circle hook. So I'm gonna just reel down tight.
Tom Rowland: And I don't know what this fish is, but now I know I've got that circle hook in his mouth. Now if I just keep reeling hard like this, this is what a lot of anglers wanna do is they just wanna try to keep reeling, like like the reel's a winch. The reel's not a winch. In fact, if you got it set properly, the fish is easily gonna be able to pull pull out drag like that.
Tom Rowland: So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna drop the rod and I'm gonna palm the spool just a little bit. I'm gonna pump up and I'm gonna reel down. And I'm not gonna reel against the drag like this. You don't wanna reel against the drag. What you wanna do is have the drag set to where you can add a little extra tension with your hand, pump up and then reel as you go down. Pump up and reel as you go down.
Tom Rowland: Now whatever kind of fish this is, this is how I'm gonna be able to get it against the current back to the boat. Pump up and then reel as you go down real fast. Pump that rod up Reel as you go down. And you continue to do that all all while paying attention.
Tom Rowland: You don't ever wanna hold the spool when the fish is taken off. So if you feel that fish take it off, take your hand off the reel. Let him finish, pump up and reel down.
Tom Rowland: We got ourselves a nurse shark right here. Whether it's a nurse shark or a tarpon or a offshore fish, techniques all the same, pump up and reel down.
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