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Everybody; share your heartbreak story of the one that got away, lets learn from each other's mistakes. I casted a small red crankbait out behind my kayak on a very clear water (30ft+) good size lake in Maine, let a bunch of line out, and started paddling. It was on a spinning reel and I got snagged on something while I was paddling - at top speed to catch up to me then girlfriend now wife - and so I had to yell to her to stop cuz I got stuck. I think it was on a dock rope or an old buoy line or something, but as I'm pulling nothing is happening at all, it won't budge and I'm still drifting forward coming to a stop. Then all of a sudden my reel starts screaming at me and my line goes darting away from me almost as fast as I was kayaking. Immediately my heart starts pounding, and as I'm reeling it in from about 40 yards, because I let line out for the cast to troll, I see it jump out of the water. She was far, but I could see the girth well enough to know she was a fatty. Now my heart isn't pounding anymore, because it's in my stomach, and I am reeling as fast as I could and yelling for my girlfriend to come back and see this thing because I'm pulling in a monster. She comes up about 10 feet away from me and I feel the fish starting to head in between us. I can tell by the way that the line is moving that it is going to jump again and only be a few feet in front of her kayak, so I think it would be really cool to let her see it jump right in front of her eyes. As the fish leaps towards the clouds my heart absolutely stops - has to be double digits, an absolutely majestic beauty - the fish flips me the bird ,spits water in my eye, and my line goes limp, and then my crankbait ends up floating gently all by its lonesome on the water. I once heard an old timer in NH who ran a tackle shop out of his house say it took him almost 60 years to catch a fish over 8 pounds, and when I lost that fish that came to mind and I thought - I don't think I have another 60 years in me to get a second chance at the fish of a lifetime. Completely heartbreaking, it still hurts like 5 years later, and it genuinely causes me to struggle with the thought of even bothering to continue fishing or not. Around here (MA) a 3 pound fish makes your day, a 4 pound fish gets you worked up for weeks, and a 5+ pound fish will be your PB for a long time (I’ve only caught 4 fish over 5 pounds in 20 years) - that’s the icing on this heartbreak cake. It can be a battle for me to do this thing I love now, because I know my potential for worthwhile fish is so low. But most of the time, if I have time, I’ll still try to get out there and appreciate what God gives me, from tiny feisty sunfish to big ol’ logs I pull in - I’m just trying to be more grateful, and I'll never let another fish jump again! That was for you @ol'crickety Much love

one of my preferred baits in summer is the shakyhead with a trick worm. this year I switched designs. prior to this year I always used the strike king tour grade shakyhead. it worked well, but the worm did not last long, with just the barb to hold it. I switched to the Owner screwlock shakyhead this summer to hold the bait better. it has also worked well, but I have had 4 large fish on and then spit the bait without the hook ever penetrating through the worm. (A large fish in my books is over 4 pounds) this never happened with the non screwlock design. I use the same rod and line and always use a long sweeping hookset. I don't see a difference in design that would cause this. Thinking about switching back to the strike king design. Has anyone else had this problem?

So like many of my northern anglers, this year has been extremely difficult for me. Numbers and quality of fish are down. I do not know if it is due to the harsh winter or the very dry summer, but the fish are simply not cooperating. Yesterday, got on the water early with my father. Hit up our favorite lake and on our second spot after bombing out a 6" BPS senko wacky rigged bait, I got bit as soon as the lure hit the water. Had a Medium Heavy 6'6 st croix spinning reel with 6 lb nanofil and it felt like a freight train hit my line. I use octopus hooks so really no need to set the hook but i reel set it anyhow. I tell my Father to grab the net. One minute later and I have barely moved the fish. It fought like no fish I have ever hooked. Have a 6lber and probably 40 5 lbers under my belt. This felt like a bucket of dead weight and every then so often, two twitches. He just hunkered down- I had never experienced this before. I had by then got him 5 feet away from the boat and then I make a crank of the reel thinking he is close enough to net- he fights back and runs under the boat- my line snaps and I get a fleeting glimpse of a whitish/yellowish belly on a monster fish. My buddy landed a 7lb 2 oz bass from this lake earlier this year and this thing fought harder/longer than his and looked bigger from the fleeting glance I got. Fished 1 hour more but heart wasn't in it. Sitting here at work today and still beating myself up about losing a toad. I think I am going to need to make a big TW order to get my head on back straight.