Best rod angle when playing fish?

Here's a question for all the scientists who are members of this forum: When playing a fish, to get maximum advantage of the shock absorption effect of a rod, should you hold the rod at a right angle (90 degrees) to the tension on the fishing line?  Or somewhat higher than that?

I've never thought about it...but parallel to the line will give you nothing. More than 90* will induce a bit more abraision potential at the rod tip. But ideal may be more dictated by the hight you need while sitting in a kayak. But 45-90* is where I'm typically at. This is also dictated by how heavy the fish. Your rod butt may be more than 90* to the line when loaded heavy. I'd say that keeping the rod bent at all times is more important than the angle. This reduces chance for fish spitting the hook. So it's more about pressure than angle.IMHO. And if you're pumping the rod for retreval then the angle always changes. Proper pressure is the key.

But 45-90* is where I'm typically at.

By 45 degrees do you mean pointing up at 45 degrees, or down at 45 degrees?

I'm trying to figure out the best angle to hold the rod when steadily retrieving line, or when letting the fish pull out line against the drag.  For the sake of an example, suppose the fish is directly below you, pulling straight down.  If you point the rod straight down at the fish, which wouldn't be a good idea, I think of that as zero degrees.  If you raise the rod 45 degrees from straight down, I think of that as holding the rod at 45 degrees to the tension on the line.  The rod wouldn't provide much shock absorption or tension at that angle.  If you raise the rod so it's parallel with the surface of the water, i.e. at right angles to the tension on the line, I think of that as 90 degrees.  If you raise the rod 45 degrees higher, I think of that as 135 degrees from the tension on the line. If you point the rod straight up, i.e. directly away from the tension on the line, I think of that as 180 degrees from the tension on the line.

When playing a fish, to get maximum advantage of the shock absorption effect of a rod, should you hold the rod at a right angle (90 degrees) to the tension on the fishing line?

It's an interesting question.  As a follow up does rod action play a role in optimum rod angle?

In reality how often do we need maximum shock absorption?  Optimum rod angle to me has more to do with exerting control over the fish.  This can vary greatly at different phases of the fight.

It's an interesting question.  As a follow up does rod action play a role in optimum rod angle?

In reality how often do we need maximum shock absorption?  Optimum rod angle to me has more to do with exerting control over the fish.  This can vary greatly at different phases of the fight.

Perhaps "maximum shock absorption" isn't the best term, because you also want the rod to maintain relatively steady pressure on the line as the fish surges here and there.  I've also wondered what affect rod action would have on the optimum rod angle.  But I wouldn't be too surprised if the scientists, once they chime in, tell us that there is an optimum rod angle regardless of the speed of the action and the weight of the rod.

45° - 75° above horizontal depending on how hard you're pulling against the fish because perpendicular - 90° - is playing the fish off the tip section and you'd expect to lose almost all of your leverage and maneuverability at a rod angle that high.

If the fish turn towards you and you have the rod at 90° above horizontal, there's not a lot you can do except crank like crazy and lower the rod to get it back in play.

When the bass pro anglers I knew in my youth would hold the rod at an angle, to either side of a straight line pointing directly at the fish, I've seen them get to well over 90° off of the direction to the fish.

They'd hold the rod at a fairly low angle above the water, turn to the side, and pull back with a great deal of leverage and pressure against the fish and put a scary big bend in their rods.

But they rarely, if ever, held a rod at more than around 60° above horizontal after they'd set the hook.

For what that's worth.  It was decades ago.

45° - 75° above horizontal depending on how hard you're pulling against the fish because perpendicular - 90° - is playing the fish off the tip section and you'd expect to lose almost all of your leverage and maneuverability at a rod angle that high.

If the fish turn towards you and you have the rod at 90° above horizontal, there's not a lot you can do except crank like crazy and lower the rod to get it back in play.

When the bass pro anglers I knew in my youth would hold the rod at an angle, to either side of a straight line pointing directly at the fish, I've seen them get to well over 90° off of the direction to the fish.

They'd hold the rod at a fairly low angle above the water, turn to the side, and pull back with a great deal of leverage and pressure against the fish and put a scary big bend in their rods.

But they rarely, if ever, held a rod at more than around 60° above horizontal after they'd set the hook.

For what that's worth.  It was decades ago.

Argh.  I knew this degree stuff was going to be confusing.  When I talk about holding the rod at right angles (90 degrees) to the tension on the line, I'm talking about holding the rod horizontal if the fish was straight below you, pulling straight down.  Of course, fish are usually off to one side and running away from you at some angle, not straight below you, which is why I asked about the angle between the line and your rod, rather than the angle above horizontal.

My first question Pete is what brings you to this question?

Are you losing fish regularly due to spit hooks?
Are you breaking off fish due to too much tension for the weight of fish to drag settings?
Are you not feeling that you are bringing in the fish fast enough?
Do you want to look pro in front of others while fighting said fish?
What size fish are you referring too, and what rod/length/action are you using?

My personal results at landing big fish on small kayak with light line, is with patience.
I seem to catch most of my bigger fish on noodle rods, as this seems to always keep tension on the fish as long as the rod has a nice arc in it during the play.  The only fish I have ever had spit the hook were on stiffer rods that didn't offer much arc while in between rod pumps.  I feel it gives the fish a change to let go.

Things I have to consider regarding timing while fighting fish with my lighter action rods, are critters like fur bags in the area, the drift if I am around dangerous rocks, breaks, or packed in with other boats.  Otherwise, once the fish has tired enough, I can usually lip grip them without a net.  I still use a net for species with restrictions and require limited handling prior to release (like salmon). 

I agree.  Application is an important variable when searching for the answer of, "Best rod angle for playing fish".  I don't think there can be one set mathematical formula to answer the question because of the different senerios you encounter on the water.  Even if you use the same rod, the application can dictate best rod angle.

For example....I use a 10' 6wt at a lake with populations of big largemouth and rainbows

When I'm popper fishing bass with a 3/0 bug and 30lb leader I keep the rod pointed directly at the bass when it hits so I can drive the hook into its boney jaw with a hard strip.  The flexible fly rod wouldn't give me a solid hookup if I tried to hookset by moving the rod in a more traditional manner.  I continue to keep the rod pointed at the bass to prevent them from diving back into the reeds or loosing pressure on the barbless hook. Once they're in open water I'll change the rod angle a little but it's still aggressive compared to fighting a trout.

Same lake and rod. Fishing for rainbows in open water with 4lb tippet and size 16 callibaetis, my rod angle during the fight will be totally different.  I'll set the hook with the rod letting the line slip through my fingers to protect the tippet.  Keeping a much higher rod angle will let the flex of the rod tire the trout while preventing it from breaking off.

Steelhead with the same rod would be different as well.

If you fished one rod in a specific way you might be able to find a mathematical best angle.

I don't think it's important to maximize the shock absorption of the rod I'm fishing.  When I hook a fish, my goal is to land the fish!  I utilize all the variables including the rod flex to be successful.  Keeping some tension on the line is a good idea, so Im continuously adjusting the rod  angle to maintain some tension (in any vector direction).  I've  lost fish using "ideal" tension and I've successfully landed a large salmon with no tension (when my reel failed and the spool unfurled about 50ft of line). I don't think angle or directionality is a primary factor - lots of other effects will determine a successful catch before rod angle does.

My first question Pete is what brings you to this question?

Are you losing fish regularly due to spit hooks?
Are you breaking off fish due to too much tension for the weight of fish to drag settings?
Are you not feeling that you are bringing in the fish fast enough?
Do you want to look pro in front of others while fighting said fish?
What size fish are you referring too, and what rod/length/action are you using?

I'm not having any particular problems landing fish.  For example, in the last two weeks I've been doing quite well with large kokanee, lake whitefish, and lake trout (I landed a 30.5" and a 29.5" lake trout on August 20). I'm just trying to improve my fish landing technique, by working on things like rod angle,  feathering my drag, net handling, and maneuvering my kayak while playing fish.

My first question Pete is what brings you to this question?

Are you losing fish regularly due to spit hooks?
Are you breaking off fish due to too much tension for the weight of fish to drag settings?
Are you not feeling that you are bringing in the fish fast enough?
Do you want to look pro in front of others while fighting said fish?
What size fish are you referring too, and what rod/length/action are you using?

I'm not having any particular problems landing fish.  For example, in the last two weeks I've been doing quite well with large kokanee, lake whitefish, and lake trout (I landed a 30.5" and a 29.5" lake trout on August 20). I'm just trying to improve my fish landing technique, by working on things like rod angle,  feathering my drag, net handling, and maneuvering my kayak while playing fish.

Bottom line:
If it isn't broken, don't change it (much).

If you are confident in whatever approach you take, stick with it. Fine tune as needed.


A standard rule of trouble shooting a problem:
If something clearly isn't working, change one thing at a time until success is regular. Fine tune from there.


I almost feel like your original question was a quest to create a solution to a non existing problem.  I could be wrong, as it is totally your thinking, and not mine.

Okay, since I misunderstood and thought it was an abstract discussion...

You could put it to the test by attaching the line to a scale and see how much pressure you're applying at different rod angles, but in general, when the rod is up at around 90° to the direction of the fish, you're putting a lot less pressure on the fish than when the rod is at a lower angle.

But when they're almost directly beneath me, I'm paying a lot more attention to not breaking another rod.