To be honest, I have hardly ever had a case where thehook has caused me trouble like straightening out. To each is own in the hook department, but I use TMC (Tiemco) hooks only, and have never had that problem. The playing of a fish is really what comes in to play, not the hook. The fly line stretches, the leader stretches, and the tippet stretches. The key is understanding breaking points (which I think is a “feel” situation), or use fluorcarbon .
When that 18″ heads for cover, you either have to guide him out before he gets there, or pray that your mono doesn’t have a nick in it .
It’s actually easier to play a large fish and confine it to a relatively small area once you get the hang of it. I know this sounds weird, but through rod angle and tension, you can prevent a fish from moving too much.
Take care,
D.A.
PS Unless Santa is goint to pony up $560 for that Sage SLT 8’9″ 3 weight, four piece rod I’m drooling over, I don’t think a new fly rod is going to appear on Christmas Eve night .