Strangest fishing session I've ever had- 1st and maybe last time I use topwater lures!

[FishDewd]

So yeah this was a weird fishing day... started out well enough. I did some T-rigging with a craw around the bottom and found some areas where bass were holding, though I didn't manage to hook any. I happened to bring some nice live crawfish with me, and I tried a few times to toss them out, hoping maybe for a catfish or two. Got lot's of bumps, but I ended up losing a few on the cast, and lost the rest while trying to hookset. No doubt these were bass, not catfish. Too cautious for catfish. So they got a free crawfish meal. I was about to head out cause I was getting hungry, so I started to reel in my hook that lost the craw, when it snagged on something along the bank. I gave it a little pop and with it came a nice surprise- a whopper plopper! I think it's a 90 size. Anyway, this changed things for me a bit. I decided because I had seen some bass hitting the topwater to tie it on and see what happens with a few casts. I used a small snap swivel since I wasn't familiar with how it rode through the water and didn't want to twist up my line. "Let's see if this silly thing lives up to the hype I've heard about it, blah, blah" I was really skeptical it would do anything since I've never had anything hit a topwater lure, ever. 

 

So a few times I tossed it start out towards where I had seen a larger bass hit the topwater, varying the retrieve a little bit with each cast. The action reminded me a bit of a buzzbait. Nada. So I changed gears and focused on this grassline to my left where I had some bumps earlier from the T-rigged craw. I pitched it right along the edge and started reeling it in, stop and go. I reached the edge where I was about to bring it up to me so it didn't get stuck in the muck there, and BOOM! Big splash and I had a bass nail it. I did what I've heard to do with treble hooks, reel in, sweep it sideways about waist high. Got him! I brought him back over to my bench to grab my pliers, and took a quick picture of him, seen below. Then I noticed blood pouring out of one it's gills. "Oh ****!". Double-trebled right through two different gill rakers. I took him back down to the water and got the hooks out as quick as I could. I didn't mess around, I just flattened both barbs and pulled them out, sacrificed the hook. But I couldn't get the fish to stop bleeding and it was listing on it's side. After a few minutes I got the bleeding under control, but the fish was still listing on it's side. I tried for 5 more minutes to revive it- I splashed water in it's gills, pulled it back and forth, shook its tail- you name it, I tried it. Note that the bank was partially flooded and I was standing in snake infested waters in my flip flops during this attempted revival. I felt something bite my toe, so I jumped out of the water real quick, but one of my flip flops stayed put in the muck. I pulled it out to discover the front strap had popped clean out and it was busted. So now I had no shoes. What bit me was a little crawfish pinching me, but it surprised me none the less. Probably one of the ones I lost coming back to get me in revenge.

 

But I was more concerned about the fish. Finally figured out it was a goner, to my dismay. I had no choice but to sever the brainstem with a knife and claim it. It was about 2" under the legal limit for this pond, but this is one of those cases where I either claimed it, or it was fish food anyway cause it wasn't gonna live. It's about 12" and maybe right at 2 pounds. Little fatty. Took it home and fileted it out, not a bunch, but it will be some decent sized fried fish chunks. I feel really bad though. That's the last thing I wanted to have happen on my first topwater catch. It's rather deterred me from trying topwater again, especially the whopper plopper. Figures I find the cursed one tangled in the weeds! At least I ended my skunk funk I've been under lately?

 

So at the end of the fishing trip: first topwater catch on a possessed found whopper plopper with death trebles, no wearable shoes, and a bass I didn't intend to keep. I'm lucky I found a bag in my car big enough for the still somewhat-bleeding bass! I think I'm good on bass fishing for a while, this was a strange day!

 

 

Note, even though this side was bleeding a bit, the other side was an absolute horror show at this point when I turned it back around.

[Raul]

So when you gut hook a fish with a worm you are no longer going to fish with them ?

 

 

[keagbassr]

Don't get to worked up about it. It happens some times.just part of the game.

[FishDewd]

1 hour ago, Raul said:

So when you gut hook a fish with a worm you are no longer going to fish with them ?

 

 

Oh no, I've gut-hooked a few, but only on slip floats and carolina rigs. But I can usually deal with those unless they imbed into the jawbone or something crazy like that. I was mainly implying the ones with treble hooks. They tend to be a lot of trouble. More roundness and less gap means they are easier to get deeper and take a lot longer to remove since they can't just be rotated out normally. A regular hook that would've been hooked through the cheek. I wonder if I can switch the trebles to a straight hook without sacrificing hook-ups? The lure itself is pretty cool.

 

Kinda messed up the topic title btw, didn't phrase that quite right since it wasn't actually the first time I've done topwater. First catch is what I meant to say.

[NorthwestBasser]

Some fish won't survive, it happens, rarely does it bother me. I am slightly more bothers that you kept an Ilegal fish though. Why not just toss it back. Saves you from breaking the law and if by any chance the fish could have survived, it wasn't because you took a knife to it's spine. Yet you claim to feel horrible about it? Interesting... Anyway, don't give up on the topwater, it's an amazing rush and you had one fluke incident, I fish topwater as much as I can and I haven't lost one fish. Keep at it and you'll figure it out. If you don't wanna deal with trebles throw a frog or buzzbait.

[FishDewd]

Not really illegal, the pond just had a 14" minimum limit on bass. I basically did release it multiple times it never tried to swim, never stayed upright after 5-10 minutes of trying to revive it. Even when I jumped away from it cause a crawfish tried to eat my toe, it never moved from its side. I only knifed it primarily to cease the nerve signals, cause from a blood loss standpoint, I was done for. When several rakers are torn in half and blood pools faster than it coagulates, the fish is done for. If it loses enough blood in a short amount of time, it's done for. It's anatomy stuff and applies to all species on earth, even us humans. Anyway, only like one drop of blood came out when I fillet'd it so that rather proves it was done for. I could've released it to be fish food, sure, but legally here one can keep a mortally wounded fish so long as it isn't considered protected. I kinda felt obligated on this one. Anyway, I'm not the best at story telling so maybe I didn't emphasize enough in my OP.

 

But yeah... I hate trebles. I've only use them for perch fishing for a long time now cause they are just dangerous for the fisherman and the fish in several ways. I never have had good luck with them other than perch. I do use frogs sometimes, I've used buzzbaits and spinners a lot, but I've never had them get any reaction yet. I'm not sure my rods are heavy enough for those rigs anyway. Too much tip bend. Not sure I can actually set those thick hooks if I ever do get a strike, but guess I'll know for sure if/when that happens.

[OCdockskipper]

3 hours ago, FishDewd said:

...It's about 12" and maybe right at 2 pounds. Little fatty...

For a 12" bass to weigh 2 lbs, he usually needs to have just eaten another 12" bass. 

 

If you like the lure but just dislike the treble hooks, there are single hook models you can change them out with.  I believe Owner makes some specifically for this.

[NorthwestBasser]

1 hour ago, FishDewd said:

Not really illegal, the pond just had a 14" minimum limit on bass. I basically did release it multiple times it never tried to swim, never stayed upright after 5-10 minutes of trying to revive it. Even when I jumped away from it cause a crawfish tried to eat my toe, it never moved from its side. I only knifed it primarily to cease the nerve signals, cause from a blood loss standpoint, I was done for. When several rakers are torn in half and blood pools faster than it coagulates, the fish is done for. If it loses enough blood in a short amount of time, it's done for. It's anatomy stuff and applies to all species on earth, even us humans. Anyway, only like one drop of blood came out when I fillet'd it so that rather proves it was done for. I could've released it to be fish food, sure, but legally here one can keep a mortally wounded fish so long as it isn't considered protected. I kinda felt obligated on this one. Anyway, I'm not the best at story telling so maybe I didn't emphasize enough in my OP.

 

But yeah... I hate trebles. I've only use them for perch fishing for a long time now cause they are just dangerous for the fisherman and the fish in several ways. I never have had good luck with them other than perch. I do use frogs sometimes, I've used buzzbaits and spinners a lot, but I've never had them get any reaction yet. I'm not sure my rods are heavy enough for those rigs anyway. Too much tip bend. Not sure I can actually set those thick hooks if I ever do get a strike, but guess I'll know for sure if/when that happens.

So what stops people from mortally wounding every fish they want to "legally" harvest then? What state is this in? 

[SWVABass]

So I first want to say you show a ton of respect for your quarry and I respect you for that. I do not believe what you experienced today would be the normal when topwater fishing.  I would say keep with it, look at the alternatives for hooks and lures that may provide you a peace of mind that treble hooks don’t. 

 

That looks like a 110 or possibly 130, but my perception might be off as it’s hard to gauge the size of it in the photo.

[NorthwestBasser]

43 minutes ago, Swbass15 said:

 

 

That looks like a 110 or possibly 130, but my perception might be off as it’s hard to gauge the size of it in the photo.

It's a 90, they have a different shape than the 110 and 130's

[jtharris3]

[MIbassyaker]

There is no need to feel bad about legal harvest.

 

If keeping the bass was not legal, I probably would have just left it rather than kept it. The fish will be eaten (an eagle, osprey or otter, perhaps) or decompose naturally, and go back into to the food-chain. Cycle of life.

 

If you do feel bad about injuring or killing bass occasionally (it will happen), there is a simple remedy to make yourself feel better: Use the occasion to justify making a small donation to the conservation fund of your choice.  When you take, give something back. Simple as that.

[Cak920]

It can happen with any lure. I wouldn’t let it discourage you from trying topwater again.

[Bluebasser86]

I've killed far more fish with plastics than I have with hard baits. Pinch the barbs down on the hooks and they'll come out easier next time and increase the chance of fish survival. Removing some fish is generally good for a pond anyways, so you probably did the pond a favor by taking one out. 

[ClackerBuzz]

I felt bad about the handful of fish I've killed over the years but a few things happened:

 

--the better an angler you become the less fish you kill, to the point it becomes a rarity.

 

--you see other D bags doing far worse to the environment, from individuals to large corporations.

 

--season after season you come to appreciate the magnitude of nature and how it replenish itself.

 

Keep calm and fish on.

[NYWayfarer]

Don't give up on the Plopper. This was an unfortunate incident but it is not the norm.

 

I have caught quite a few fish on the WP and only 1 was a possible fatality. It was a small Pickerel that had managed to get both treble hooks in his mouth. They cut him up pretty badly but I got the hooks out and released him as fast as possible. If he didn't make it he would be food for the eagle that hangs out at my favorite fishing spot.

[CaptPete]

I've found the rear treble hook on whopper ploppers to be more trouble than it's worth. The way fish "hit" them, they almost always get the belly hook... the rear hook usually catches them in the eye or gills... specially on the 90 size.

 

I remove the rear treble on mine, and have not noticed any different action or a loss in hookups...

 

[EGbassing]

In general, never use a topwater with treble hooks. They tend to get swallowed, and with a single hook you can usually get it out, but two trebles in the throat can cause a lot of "treble" . For topwater I would use a buzzbait, they're pretty fast moving, so they're less likely to be swallowed, but when they are, you shouldn't have much trouble getting it out if you smash the barb down before using it. Good luck!

[LxVE Bassin]

Dewd......... get out your feelings. Just messin but it happens to everybody. Most of the bass I gut hooked were dinks bitting a t-rigged soft plastics becaue I can’t always detect their bites. Keep fishing.

[Mobasser]

Don't worry. A bleeder happens sometimes. Keep on respecting your quarry,  but don't give up topwaters!  Way too much fun

[FishDewd]

Plopper redeemed itself today. Caught two on the same stretch of bank, one of them was probably my PB smallie. I have good luck running exposed grass lines. Both were front hooked and very cleanly done on the lips. So yeah... just a bad one last time. I know it happens. Sorry for the trouble of this thread, I was rather just wanting it to die.