The One That Got Away

[CrazyFluker]

So I'm fishing my local lake that I have been fishing for two solid years and hook a huge bass. At first I didn't think it was more than 5-6lbs, which is big for me. The drag started to go but I tend to loosen them up from time to time so screwed up and tightened it. I reeled the fish in fairly easily, thinking maybe its a cat or a pickerel since it didn't bust thru the top. I get her to the boat and OMG its huge, I can see her and she's maybe 2.5' and she sees me and darts under the boat, doubling my rod over and snapping the line.

 

Awhile back I had a big drop shot on and put a Rage Tail frog on it and something hit it hard, shot under the boat and when I pressed the release it felt like it just let go. Again my drag was too tight.

 

So I've at least had one huge bass on the hook but blew it. I never felt a bass with this kind of power and have caught just under 5lbs. I've learned my lesson and will be setting the drag to go on anything bigger than 4lbs.

 

I told my buddy about it and he gave me a lashing for being a goofball. He says if the bass isn't under a dock or in cover to let the bass go and keep tension but let her run. I've only been fishing really hard for two years so am still very new to fishing.

 

The nice thing is I have hooked two big fish, one bass for sure, and I saw a huge bass a few weeks ago that I couldn't believe. I think I am close to landing one and am so stoked.

 

Anyone with similar heart breaking stories? Any advice?

 

 

 

[i posted this in the fishing reports - Mods, please delete that one. Sorry.]

[scaleface]

One year I think I lost every big bass I hooked . I had to rethink my rod actions and not horse them in . Unless I'm texas rigging or fishing jigs I have switched to softer action rods but not to soft . 

[fishballer06]

I'm sorry, I can't focus after reading about drop shotting a frog... 

[scaleface]

I'm sorry, I can't focus after reading about drop shotting a frog... 

Back in my early years I caught a bass Carolina rigging a Bill Plummers Super Frog . I wanted the frog to look like it was trying to flee a predator and that was the best idea I could think of . I didnt even know what a carolina rig was .

[the reel ess]

Seems like I lost my best bass for a long time when I was a kid thru early adulthood. It was a combination of cheap tackle, bad habits and a lack of concentration and attention to details. There are several links in the chain to catching a large fish that can easily break if we're not careful.

 

This is why I use rod and reel combos that can whip a 15# striper to catch mostly 1-2# largemouth. For that once-in-a-while monster bass that's a fair match for that combo.

[roadwarrior]

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/68635-huge-disappointment/

[badhatharry]

In over 60 years of fishing I think I can honestly say that  I've never lost a fish that would have been my PB.  I have seen many, but never hooked.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

 

Anyone with similar heart breaking stories? Any advice?

 

My advice would be to set the drag at 1/3 the breaking strength of the line, at most, when fishing in open water. If you're fishing 60lb braid in the slop, that's another story. 

[bigbassin']

I'm sorry, I can't focus after reading about drop shotting a frog... 

 

I actually went fishing with a couple of friends once and one guy had a Strike King toad T-rigged with a 1/2 ounce weight.  We all joked with him for a while until he got 5 over 2 pounds in an hour with it.  

[clh121787]

I get her to the boat and OMG its huge, I can see her and she's maybe 2.5' does that mean 2.5 feet? 30 inches? Man I'm sick for you. I've caught a handful of ten Pounders and not one over 25 inches. What line do you use?

[CrazyFluker]

I get her to the boat and OMG its huge, I can see her and she's maybe 2.5' does that mean 2.5 feet? 30 inches? Man I'm sick for you. I've caught a handful of ten Pounders and not one over 25 inches. What line do you use?

 

15lb SeaGuar InvisX FC 

[clh121787]

15lb SeaGuar InvisX FC

what knot do you use. I had alot of problems with f/c until I learned to tie a good double s.d. jam. For me f/c is a love hate relationship.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

what knot do you use. I had alot of problems with f/c until I learned to tie a good double s.d. jam. For me f/c is a love hate relationship.

For some reason I insist on using a San Diego jam knot for all of my fluorocarbon too, but truth be told I have one exception. I fish a drop shot, usually on 6lb fluoro, and I always use a palomar knot to tie it. The palomar has never been an issue for that. 

 

Fluorocarbon can also be pretty brittle, and little nicks in the line can become very weak. I lost 1 good fish before I started checking the line frequently for nicks/abrasion.

[CrazyFluker]

what knot do you use. I had alot of problems with f/c until I learned to tie a good double s.d. jam. For me f/c is a love hate relationship.

 

I use the palomar religiously but will look into the knots you all have posted. I have used the knot Shaw Grigsby shows as the best for FC but with my buddy telling me the palomar is all I needed I went back to the palomar. Shaws is a knot where you cut the two ends of the  loop off, are you all aware of it?

 

I know I screwed up by reeling her in too fast. If I would have let the drag stay where it was and let her run for 30 seconds or so I have to think it would have tired out but dragging her to the boat quickly left her with too much energy and after seeing me shot under the boat doubling my rod over and snapped quick.

 

[Edit] Shaw calls it the  "Double Pitzen" Last time I looked into it he didn't know the name.

 

Here is a video of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxX3--DHQYE

[Snakehead Whisperer]

I use the palomar religiously but will look into the knots you all have posted. I have used the knot Shaw Grigsby shows as the best for FC but with my buddy telling me the palomar is all I needed I went back to the palomar. Shaws is a knot where you cut the two ends of the  loop off, are you all aware of it?

 

I know I screwed up by reeling her in too fast. If I would have let the drag stay where it was and let her run for 30 seconds or so I have to think it would have tired out but dragging her to the boat quickly left her with too much energy and after seeing me shot under the boat doubling my rod over and snapped quick.

 

[Edit] Shaw calls it the  "Double Pitzen" Last time I looked into it he didn't know the name.

 

Here is a video of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxX3--DHQYE

That knot is a modified San Diego jam knot where it's doubled over and leaves you with 3 tag ends. It's a good knot. I use it too for heavier fc, like anything over 12-15lb test. Just need to be careful when cinching down the last few millimeters. Make sure to really wet the line (like Shaw points out) and cinch it slowly until it's snug. If I don't watch it carefully, that knot is prone to wrap around beneath the eyelet on the hook. 

 

A pitzen knot and a San Diego jam knot are essentially the same knot. The only difference is that you run the tag end through the bottom opening on a SD jam knot, in addition to the top loop. 

 

Adjusting the drag (tightening) while fighting a fish can be risky business. I still have to fight the urge to do it. 

[BucketMouth15]

Losing those big fish sucks but it does act as extra motivation to get out on the water every chance possible.

[lo n slo]

Fishing with a friend of mine nearly 30 years ago. I had a small john boat then. We were fishing a small cove that featured a row of large stmps along the ridge of a drop off. He was throwing some kinda crank bait and hooked a good bass. A d**n good bass. After a short run the beast came to the surface, right beside the boat, and pitched his crank bait into the boat with us. It tore him up, so much that the next day he launched his bow rider, without a trolloing motor, and tried in vain to hook that bass again. It was a sad sight to behold.

[FinCulture]

I hooked what was possibly my PB a couple weeks ago on a jig. I had a great fight with the fish, and then he jumped. He was a biggin and I wasn't expecting the jump. I remember seeing the jig in his mouth before it popped out and almost nailed my brother in the head. I stared at the ceiling in bed that night for a while thinking about that fish.

[cottny27]

I use 12# & 15# Seaguar brand FC's and have no issues with the regular improved cinch knot.  I found out the hard way and learned that the knot needed wet and perfectly tied.