The One That Got Away.

[calibassin]

So, I'm fishing a man made reservoir in northern Cali. I get to my favorite spot just as the sun is coming up. And I see 3 HUGE bass creeping around the dock. So me and my brother start fishing immediately. And wouldn't you know it, I got a bite. We fought for 30 seconds, and then all I hear is *SNAP*

Anyways, Moral of the story is: Don't get so excited about fishing that you mess up a double cinch knot.

[jiggerpole]

I have one from last summer that still haunts me. When she saw the boat she went for a deep water tree top, pulling so hard I thought my rod would break and like a dummy I thumbed the spool to try and turn her. It didn't work as planned. For sure, a double digit bass. I would have loved to at least touch her.

[scaleface]

I was fishing from bank. Cast  a jig and pig over a log. Got a hit on the other side of the log.I was using 14 lb Stren. I set the hook on a large bass. I reared back hard , I had  to get the bass over the log and  hope the line holds. This huge bass sky rockets in the air as i pulled him over the log and then  the lure comes out.   

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

Oh my very interesting story.  I was about 15 years old fishing with live worms (alive until the hook goes through them anyway) on a railroad bridge on the Potomac river.  I get this little light bite and I set the hook and the rod stays loaded up. I was like great I snagged the bridge.  I lift up on the rod and it feels like a piece of a log that I may be able to bring to the surface so I set the "log" back on the bottom.  I shout out to my buddy to come over so that when this log surfaces he can unhook it.  About 30 seconds later my buddy makes it over to me and this "log" takes off like a bullet, burning drag ( 20lbs test  with spinning gear). I screamed out OMG and snap!!  I didn't even want to fish anymore. The weight of this thing when I was lifting it off the bottom felt like nothing I have ever caught to this day( I have caught catfish up to 35lbs.  I shed a tear every time I think about it!!

 

J-

[lecisnith]

Last spring I was fishing a sexy frog in a shallow marsh. Was bringing in a 6 pound largemouth, had it next to the boat, put my thumb in her mouth, she shook her head, scraped the hell out of my thumb, broke the knot and took my frog with her. I know it was about a 6 pounder because 10 minutes before I had caught a 4 pounder and, being a rookie, didn't know about such things as re-tying after a nice fish and just kept swinging for the fences. Also learned that 8 pound braid is not nearly as strong as 45 pound braid. Go figure...

[Catch and Grease]

I was fishing a bomber square A through cypress trees when I thought I got clogged up on a big clump of grass, I popped it a few times to try and free it with no success then I reeled it in and there was a big ole' bass on the line! Before I could react she was gone, probably would have been my PB at the time too...

[fishinphilly]

i have one time that gets me every time i think about it, i was fishing during the spawn a couple years ago using a spinning setup with a fluke jr on a 1/16oz jig head and there was a male and female right in the middle of the bed i was dragging it to the bed and the female came out and slammed it and it would have been a PB for me, maybe 8-9lbs she ran to a lay down and got wrapped around a log i was about to go in and get her but all i heard was pop and my heart dropped lol

[RSM789]

As kids, my sister, her friend & I were fishing for catfish one night from my parents dock.  My sisters friend had never fished before and was kind of whining about stuff all night.  "These chicken livers stink", "I don't want to bait the hook", those kinds of girly things that my sister never said.  Next she complained "My line is snagged on something over there".  I contemplated pushing her into the water, when she further complained "Great, now the snag is moving over there".  I looked up at her rod in the dim dock light & realized she had hooked something larger than we had ever seen before.  I coached her into getting the fish in closer and as it neared the dock, all we saw was an enormous dark outline.  The fish then surged under the dock, my sisters friend didn't know how to try and steer it around the edge of the dock, so the line rubbed on the edge of the wooden dock, frayed & then snapped.  I still wanted to push her into the water.

[Bankbeater]

Two or three years ago I was fishing in some trees that were in a deep creek bed. I got a real good hit on a stik-o and could tell this fish was a nice one by the way it was pulling.

Then I noticed the line was going down but it wasn't moving around in the water. I spent a couple of minutes looking for the snag and then a couple more trying to figure out how to get the line loose.

Ended up breaking the line and losing the fish.

[matuka]

In my biz it's called TMTC, "too many to count".......

[yugrac]

I was fishing with my son in French Creek near Meadville Pa a few years ago, slow day, he had not touched a fish, I had picked up a few 2 pound bass, but the bite was very slow.  I cast a 1/4 oz Joes fly along a tree trunk laying along the bank when WHAM! I thought I hooked a freight train, line starts ripping off my reel. I tightened my drag up and tried to get control of whatever it was, It had my pole bent in almost a complete circle. I managed to get it close to the surface and my son starts yelling "its a musky, dont let it turn its head!"  Well I was fishing with a 4foot6  Stcroix ultralight with a small Pfluger reel with 4 lb test stren mono. Needless to say the battle was one sided, but until he went under the boat and took my lure with him it was a awesome feeling having that much power on the end of my line. The fish looked about a 4 footer, the few seconds I saw it.