Devils Horse

[LrgmouthShad]

Hey ya’ll,

 

Well, my skunk has ended with the devils horse, but it is bittersweet. First one that took it for me was a biggun. I won’t guess how big, but it was enough to make me say “holy s**t” when it came out of the water. No blowup, really. It just lazily rolled over onto the horse and sucked it in. Waited for a split second till I was sure she had it, and then laid the hammer on her. Battle her for a good while, and she tangles herself in grass and she comes off. I only caught small ones the rest of the day. I can still see the fish; her rolling over on my bait is just a tape replaying in my mind. GOSH DANGIT!! ??.

 

Just here to vent

[DitchPanda]

Losing a big one but it can also be a great learning tool..think back on what you did and gain something from it. About a month back I had a solid fish on a spinning rod...4-5lb range. Fought her for a long time,  had her tired right next to the jetty and then she dove and cut my line on a piece of metal. Also today I had 3 solid fish in the span of 15 minutes pull off on a Ned rig. Same rod, bait, line and head I've caught fish on for several years. Checked my drag...set to my liking...checked my hook point..sticky. Came to the determination that sometimes it just happens.

[LrgmouthShad]

6 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

think back on what you did and gain something from it.

I may not have had enough control of the fish, admittedly. Enough for open water but perhaps not enough when grass is in the equation. I just didn’t wanna horse her. I’ve been fortunate to not have many stories like this… but this one…. This one hurts

[Darth-Baiter]

sympathy pains friend..sympathy pains.  gah!

[Bluebasser86]

Had a big one cut me off in my tournament Saturday. Really thumped a flutter spoon hard, had to be a big largemouth, I'd caught several off that spot already. At the end of the day I needed to cull a 17" fish with a 19" fish for the win and I'd bet that one would have done it. It's going to hurt for awhile. 

[LrgmouthShad]

6 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Had a big one cut me off in my tournament Saturday. Really thumped a flutter spoon hard, had to be a big largemouth, I'd caught several off that spot already. At the end of the day I needed to cull a 17" fish with a 19" fish for the win and I'd bet that one would have done it. It's going to hurt for awhile. 

Understand for sure… being in a tournament it’s gotta be doubly hard. But you’ve got the talent that if you miss one or two fish… no biggie ?

[Alex from GA]

Monday evening I had one break off on a run after the set, check your line stupid.  The next one came unbuttoned after about 10 seconds but I finally caught a 3.29 Alabama Bass about dark.  Sometimes you just lose fish no matter what.

[Zcoker]

Sometimes it has more to do with luck, just can't stick them all. The big ones, especially, have that extra edge with strength, weight, and a whole lotta smarts from living so long. 

[the reel ess]

Yeah, seems like the big ones just slurp a topwater unless it's moving fast.

[LrgmouthShad]

7 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

Yeah, seems like the big ones just slurp a topwater unless it's moving fast.

Well, yeah, I guess it wasn’t moving too fast in reality and there are some inherent pauses in working the bait, but for a devils horse, I was working it very fast, and around no visible cover. It was shallow structure. Around maybe the 6-8ft range, lot of contour changes and a nearby drop off. It’s the same general area I caught my PB in winter. I just set myself up there and decided to work on top. Total surprise, but I should know better. We’ve had a lot of rain recently and that lake typically fishes good on topwater or moving baits.

[Woody B]

The hooks on a devils horse aren't.....great.   I replace them with a quality hook the same size.  I also put a drop of wood glue on each screw when I screw them back in.  This seems to make them last longer.  Some people add split rings...something about the bass having less leverage to throw the lure.   I've never done that but would listen if someone explained what they do.  Like yours many times bigger bass just kinda slurp a horse.  This one sounded like you threw a concrete block in the water.  My Wife caught a 3 1/2 pounder on her next cast after I landed the one pictured.  Perhaps the big blow up was to get to it first.   

[LrgmouthShad]

10 minutes ago, Woody B said:

The hooks on a devils horse aren't.....great.   I replace them with a quality hook the same size.  I also put a drop of wood glue on each screw when I screw them back in.  This seems to make them last longer.  Some people add split rings...something about the bass having less leverage to throw the lure.   I've never done that but would listen if someone explained what they do.  Like yours many times bigger bass just kinda slurp a horse.  This one sounded like you threw a concrete block in the water.  My Wife caught a 3 1/2 pounder on her next cast after I landed the one pictured.  Perhaps the big blow up was to get to it first.   

Your PB was on a devils horse correct? Certainly appreciate very much the tips on rigging up the horse. I did replace the hooks on mine prior to this trip as other members have suggested. Just kinda threw together hooks that I had on hand. I think I put two #4 mustad triple grips in the front and a #2 gamakatsu ewg on the back. I have great faith in those hooks. I also removed the front propellor and reversed the direction of the back propellor for greater disturbance. I don't believe the way I was fishing them will work best all of the time, but it might work well some of the time. Obviously I fooled one. 

 

Thanks again

 

And I, of course, bought another devils horse, lol. I would have bought five, but alas, the store near me only had one. 

[Woody B]

I caught my PB on a Devils Horse 30+years ago. 

[MassBass]

At least you stuck the hookset thats the important part