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Sometimes a metaphor doesn’t make sense so you might abandon it for another rather than trying to stretch it.

Sometimes when fishing you catch something your rod or skill level is not capable of reeling in. So you are better to cut the line/bait rather than lose your whole rod.

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I was enlightened to read your interpretation, which Wikipedia indeed lists as a "more modern, alternative interpretation".

The prevailing interpretation is a directive to make a decision rather than dally:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_or_cut_bait

That's funny, I'd always interpreted it as you can either:

- fish, or

- cut bait (slice baitfish into bait-sized pieces)

Of course, the latter activity is not fishing, merely fishing-adjacent.

Two distinct expressions that happen to share words. Is how I thought of it. Certainly in the context of the OP it seems he is not presenting an either or but a change course.

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