Since Buddy Gross won last year at Lake Eufaula, I have been curious about his technique of fighting fish. With the fish hooked, he points the rod tip directly at the fish and winds it in, not using the leverage of the rod to aid the fight.
“I don’t want the fish jumping with any slack line, because they can throw the bait, ” he said. “And it’s also good when fish try to jump sideways.”