the latest changes make you pay more attention. The fish try to swim (a wiggle animation) which shoots their stamina drain sky high. You have to stop pulling and wait this out, then pull in some, repeat until caught.
higher tier fish cost more stamina, so target the smaller ones when you cast.
try getting above 200 stamina.
you can walk a short way to pull a fish with your body instead of reeling for a little free stamina. Too much and it will lose the catch.
if you can get it to shore/very shallow, you can pick it up even if you drop it.

you are going to have to grind the skill out so you use less stamina if you want to catch anything outside meadows. Even trollfish are tough with 0 skill.