In addition to always wearing a properly rated PFD when on the water, regardless of the size of the boat, space is often limited in small boats. Reeling your catch in to the tip of the rod may prove far more difficult to handle in a boat than on dry land. To make landing your catch easier, leave at least a rod’s worth of line out when reeling in your catch and lift the line itself out of the water. The extra length of line will keep your rod from reacting to the movement of the flopping fish as you remove the hook, which is especially helpful when lacking the space to set the rod down.
