Absorbing Shock and It's Place In Catfishing by Brittan Battles

In a perfect world, we would land every fish we hook...right? But that doesn't happen, no matter what. We lose fish. Due to a hook being shaken, bad hook placement, line breakage, whatever the cause..it happens. However there are plenty of things we can do to keep this to a minimum. For one, don't allow the line to slacken whatsoever. Any slack in the line after a fish is hooked can cause the hook to pop free. If the right components are used in a tackle system, an angler can have confidence that every fish he/she hooks, will soon be laying on the bank or in the bottom of a boat.
A recent conversation with our own Charles Luck brought something to mind that I have never thoroughly thought about. Adding resistance to a fish through setting the hook, reeling or pumping (an up and down rod motion that some people use to fight catfish) can put a massive amount of strain on the reel, rod, line, any terminal tackle components and the point of where the fish is hooked. If none of these components absorbed a great deal of shock, we couldn't possibly keep consistent pressure on a fish from hook set to landing of the fish. The fish's movements are too sporadic and unpredictable. Our tackle HAS to be able to apply steady pressure, while absorbing the shock of the sporadic and sometimes overwhelming movements that fish make while fighting them. I won't speak too much for Chuck. He is a big advocate for using stouter rods, but he also uses monofilament line along with a mono leader. The mono being the major shock absorbing component in his set-up beacause mono has some strech, some brands more than others but never the less. On the other hand, I would rather spool my reel with braided line and use a rod with a slower action or refered to as having a softer tip. The rod being my main component in absorbing shock. Click here for more information on the rods that I like to use. Although Chuck and myself may agree to disagree on the topic of gear selection, both tackle systems essentially do the same thing, right? Both have extreme shock absorbing components and both allow us to control fish from the hook being buried, to the successful netting of a fish!
Any thoughts? What are some of your opinions? Am I wrong? You be the judge. Thanks for reading!
-Brittan