I would 100% agree with David’s note. That for me is rule #1.
Stay calm and stay focused.
The guy in the first video was not calm and inexperienced. That was a nice fish but not humongous. I goes without saying that video illustrates the worst way to handle and release a fish. Death squeeze then plop in the water. I think most decent tenkara rods can handle fish much larger. Even though he made some mistakes he still landed the fish with the help of his friend. The go-pro folk are distracted by capturing it all to document and probably have that racing through their heads. He also was obviously overwhelmed and complaining a lot. Don’t do that. Get zen on that critter.
above all else…
1.Be patient and focused.
2. immediately pick a spot for landing -soft water
3. consider soft pressure.
3. Dont pull out the net until the fish finishes its fight
As soon as the fish can be guided try moving to the shore. Be careful big fish do not like shallow water and if you try too soon, they will bolt. Try to find an eddy or soft calm water to land. If not try to find a deeper pocket near shore, the fish will feel more comfortable moving to it, than to a riffle.
Soft pressure. What is great about tenkara rod’s is its ability to throttle pressure. They are so soft that we can often throttle the pressure to enough where the hook will not disengage but slowly wear on the fish. If you lighten pressure, most of the time the big fish does not know its hooked, yet we can wear down their battery. The more pressure you give the more you may get back. Once I establish my hookset and find it is a bigger fish, I might slowly increase pressure to make sure the hookset is firm. I may even give another light hookset or two with the pressure applied, then I usually ease off pressure to see the behavior of the fish. Put them on the leash and just enjoy taking the big fish for a walk. My fish pet. Enjoy the feeling of its strength, yet slowly wearing it down.
Nets might be near useless with a big fish and if you try netting the fish too early the probability of losing the fish goes up especially if the net is undersized. The net that guy had is way too small and he should not have even unsheathed it…just make you way to the bank once the fish can be directed.
@T-stillwater
this thread has some great stuff.
this is my favorite.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160817005542/http://tenkaraguides.com/ten-colors-lab/big-fish/fig-8-rod-drops-right/
I hear this horizontal thing a lot. Fight horizontal…like it is a rule. Like anything it is conditional and is a technique to consider. Depends on the fish behavior, the environment you are in, and where the hookset is. The hookset, is more of an intuition. I can often tell the hookset by feel, but not always. It is mostly something does not feel right when it is not in the corner of the mouth. Like the fish somehow has more control or I feel something different.
Vertical fighting is often a strategy uses to lift the fish’s head carefully out of the water. I forget the source but the notion is…a fish gulps air then it is not breathing properly and you can shorten the fight, but you have to be careful because this can agitate a fish. I only employ this carefully later in a fight with a big fish when I start gaining some control. Vertical is also less taxing on the angler and often is the only option because of obstructions. Like I note, if you throttle pressure and are patient you can land monster fish this way.
Horizontal fighting is great if you have a jumping fish and a good mouth corner hookset. Low angle will almost always keep the fish in the water, and not jumping to shake the hook. Which is probably the #1 reason to use it, but I rare see that noted. An top jaw hookset might not be so good in horizontal fighting. Bigger fish have bonier mouths and side pressure can pull hooks if you do not have a good hookset. Like I noted about, I have a feel for when I think it is hooked well. Even catching smaller fish, try to keep mental notes on the feeling of the fight and where the hook is. Also, If you are fighting side and the hook comes flying out you can slap your rod on obstructions around you. Be conscious of your surroundings. Horizontal pressure is really helpful in guiding a fish. You are basically sliding them in their own medium. It is less provoking than vertical. When I bank land a large fish, I almost always try for side pressure. The tippet is not strong enough to lift the fish and the fish’s head and one shake can produce enough force to break 5x. Gentle landing.
I hope the barf of info is helpful.