Rod handling with most fresh water species is pretty straight forward. You can usually lift the tip to put 2 to 4 pounds pressure on a fish and get it to hand. Blue water species, on the other hand, take a whole different approach. If all you do is lift the rod to set the hook, you are pretty much guaranteed to miss the hook set. If you are hooked up and you lift the rod to a 45 degree angle or greater, as you might do when fighing a trout, you stand a very good chance of making your 4 piece rod into a five piece. What you need to learn is how to use the rod in a way that is most effective for putting pressure on the fish.
Most salt water game fish are built in a way that they need to keep moving and can not turn quickly. When they slow to a certain speed they begin to loose stability. This is due to the shape, aspect ratio and stiffness of their tail. Species like the Jack Crevalle, Tuna and Roosterfish have tails like this. It is the tail that gives them the ability to make reel smoking runs once hooked. Trout, Bass and some salt water species have tails made for turning and fast acceleration, but cannot maintain speed beyond short bursts. That is why it is unusal to have a Trout or Bass take you into the backing unless a strong current is involved.
It is not uncommon for people to break their rods when fighting salt water game fish. In most cases the breakage coud have been avoided if the angler had been given some basic fish fighting instruction.