Here's the typical scenario for the first timer. The bait landed just a foot or so from the edge of the mangroves. A moment passed. The line snatches tight. My angler sets the hook with a violent upward sweep of the rod and the drag sings that sweet fighting song.
Adrenaline takes over.
The angler furiously cranks on the reel to the ever more demanding sound of the drag. In this little scenario I set up, my hypothetical angler did just about everything wrong. It's not because he's dumb, or something. Rather, it's because he's never been exposed to fish with such big pulls using such little tools. Here's how it should have gone.