Some brief thoughts: 1. Keeping the rod-tip up was meant to stop people pointing the tip at the fish---bad move. 2. It would have been much better to say, "keep the rod-butt perpendicular to the fish and the rod angled at 45 deg to the side" but that's a lot of words. 3. A vertical rod wastes "pressure" because you are trying to lift the fish out of the water---bad move. Side pressure continually pulls the fish off-balance, causing them to fight harder and thus tire more quickly (the goal!). 4. Only experience will let you be aware of the "right time" to land a fish destined for release. 5. Drowning the line when a fish is running is not recommended unless you have a very strong tippet; in fact, when a large fish is running hard is the one time (except right at the finish) when I put the rod-tip as high in the air as possible to minimize drag on the line. 6. Whenever possible on rivers, move to keep the fish across or upstream.
There are some additional moves to be made to handle specific situations, but this is a start. Cheers, Paul http://www.galesendpress.com -- Paul Marriner Outdoor Writing & Photography. Member OWAA & OWC. Author of Stillwater Fly Fishing: Tools & Tactics (Print [NEW] & CD), Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies, Miramichi River Journal, Ausable River Journal, and Atlantic Salmon.
