The One That Broke Your Heart

[Zcoker]

On 9/15/2022 at 7:55 PM, gimruis said:

My Father and I went to the Keys in April 2018 and we each caught a tarpon one day. They weren’t enormous, but the power those fish had were incredible. I also caught a 28 pound Jack one day that took me 20 minutes to land. Saltwater fish are in a whole different class compared to freshwater fish.

 

Yes they are, very powerful fish. Glad you got to experience it. We get tarpon in droves during our annual mullet run. Not uncommon to see 100 pounders few yards from the shore break. And hooking one that close is beyond description…all I can say is HOLD ON! 

[Kongming]

The very first bass I hooked into was with a light rod and 6lb test line using a ned hook.  I felt something so I set the hook but assumed I snagged as it wasn't budging.  Then out of nowhere my drag was peeling.  After about 5-10 minutes I finally got him close to the bank and got a good look at the bass.  Must've been about 20-22 in long and fat.  I did not have a net, and didn't know about lipping, so I tried flipping him in and immediately broke off.  I landed one about 15 minutes later but he was half the size and no where near satisfying.  I'm still salty about losing my biggun to this day.  

[Zcoker]

On 9/15/2022 at 7:46 PM, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Watching a fishing show right now where they are fishing the Mullet run, catching mainly snook.

 

I really dig your style of fishing.  That's mad man stuff, I love it.  

 

 Mullet run keeping me busy! 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

4 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

 Mullet run keeping me busy! 

 

Holy Mackeral you're a mad man!   That's freaking awesome dude! 

 

Is that a tag sticking out of it's fin?

[Zcoker]

34 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Holy Mackeral you're a mad man!   That's freaking awesome dude! 

 

Is that a tag sticking out of it's fin?

 

Yes, I tag all my sharks for NOAA. 

[bowhunter63]

Smallmouth , i was wading in the river and hooked it on a Rage craw. I know it was my PB . She swam at me jumped went around a rock and cut my line. The water was clear and watched the whole thing unfold.  Can’t win em all i guess . Made me check my line alot more 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

19 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

 

Yes, I tag all my sharks for NOAA. 

That's fantastic, and thanks for doing that.   Making a difference and catching fish

 

[1984isNOW]

Yeah I can see a huge fight with a fish over a hundred pounds and then losing it being physically,mentally, and emotionally devastating. 

 

@bowhunter63 That bites bro, one time I let a fish swim a bit because I was using light gear... so it swam around a dock pole and broke me off - now I try to get them in unless its open water.

 

Thanks for sharing y'all!

[Bass Rutten]

Last week I hooked what I think would have been my new northern pike pb working an evergreen justine (spook type lure) from the bank over shallow submerged weeds. I almost had her, after 4 or 5 strong runs she started doing that coasting sideways stinkeye thing right out in front of me when the lure just slipped out of her mouth, I examined it and one of the middle treble shanks had straightened out. I estimate her at approximately 38-40 inches and pushing 20 pounds, I got a couple of great clear looks at her and what out stood out most to me was how abnormally round and thick bodied she was, not quite the longest but likely the heaviest northern I've ever hooked. Even though I didn't land her I'm grateful for the experience, one of those that keeps you juiced up and raring to keep at it.

 

Lesson: don't trust stock hooks.

[1984isNOW]

@Bass Rutten I'm not sure I'm convinced it was the stock hooks that did you in. Sure you coulda put beefier hooks on there, but a bent hook is often due to a number of factors including rod, line, drag, and Fisherman's play. Sounds more like you overpowered your hook by some combination of factors above.

 

But I certainly feel for ya bro, that's a big hit.

[Bass Rutten]

19 hours ago, PUTitinYOURmouthFISH said:

@Bass Rutten I'm not sure I'm convinced it was the stock hooks that did you in. Sure you coulda put beefier hooks on there, but a bent hook is often due to a number of factors including rod, line, drag, and Fisherman's play. Sounds more like you overpowered your hook by some combination of factors above.

 

But I certainly feel for ya bro, that's a big hit.

 

I agree it's almost always user error. A heavy rod combined + an untested by me hook + powerful fish = heartbreak. I leaned on that fish pretty hard so I had it coming. That said I recently ran across a bassfishinghq video in which he mentions the exact same lure as one of his favorite topwaters and recommended replacing the hook due to having them bend out, sucks learning the hard way!

[Dwight Hottle]

1 hour ago, Bass Rutten said:

 

I agree it's almost always user error. A heavy rod combined + an untested by me hook + powerful fish = heartbreak. I leaned on that fish pretty hard so I had it coming. That said I recently ran across a bassfishinghq video in which he mentions the exact same lure as one of his favorite topwaters and recommended replacing the hook due to having them bend out, sucks learning the hard way!

Evergreen utilizes a light wire hook on all of there baits. But they are the sharpest hooks I have ever run across.  The tacky hooks almost guarantee a hook up but they are light weight. You just have to adjust by introducing some give in the system by using mono or a moderate action rod or a looser drag or all three.

[PressuredFishing]

Classic glidebait story, jumped shook and spat the hook, then broke the thing by flinging it 10 feet into the air and on a riprap bank......... 

[Captain Phil]

On 9/15/2022 at 3:15 PM, Zcoker said:

Only one fish sticks out with bass. And it was many, many years ago. I was out in the Everglades with a girlfriend. We had rented a small Jon boat. It was about time to go home and we were next to a bank, arguing over something, arguing and arguing while I was reeling and reeling, reeling in a Snagless Sally spinnerbait. The water was very clear. Next thing I know, I look down and see this giant white platter-size mouth come up from behind the spinnerbait and inhaul it. The thump was so pronounced that I can still feel it to this day! I can even see that gigantic wide open white mouth! It all played out in slow motion. I reacted more out of shock than anything else. I tried my best to get this fish under control. I had 30lb Ande mono on the reel and thought that I had the upper hand...yeah, right lol. That fish made short work out of everything. I had no chance. That was over 30 years ago and it is a scene that has never left me. The only thing that I learned from it, if anything, is to leave the ticked off GF's at home! lol 

 

Your post reminded me of something that happened back in the seventies.  A group of us were regulars at Everglades Holiday Park off highway 27.   Back then, it didn't have the big crowds like it does now.  In the summer we did a lot of night fishing.   Guys starting spreading stories about a giant bass that would tear up tackle.  I never hooked the fish myself, but people I knew did and they were obviously telling the truth.  Reels were stripped, rods were broken and nothing could handle that fish.  A guy named Tom came out there and started fishing the spillway in front of the park.  He fished giant live shiners at night on salt water tackle.  He caught some tarpon in the current and more than one huge bass.  One night he caught the "devil bass".  It was a 35 pound landlocked snook.  Snook and Tarpon commonly swim miles from the ocean.  I have hooked tarpon and Jack Crevalle in Lake Okeechobee while bass fishing and seen 40 pound snook in South Florida drainage canals. 

[Zcoker]

On 10/15/2022 at 7:32 AM, Captain Phil said:

 

Your post reminded me of something that happened back in the seventies.  A group of us were regulars at Everglades Holiday Park off highway 27.   Back then, it didn't have the big crowds like it does now.  In the summer we did a lot of night fishing.   Guys starting spreading stories about a giant bass that would tear up tackle.  I never hooked the fish myself, but people I knew did and they were obviously telling the truth.  Reels were stripped, rods were broken and nothing could handle that fish.  A guy named Tom came out there and started fishing the spillway in front of the park.  He fished giant live shiners at night on salt water tackle.  He caught some tarpon in the current and more than one huge bass.  One night he caught the "devil bass".  It was a 35 pound landlocked snook.  Snook and Tarpon commonly swim miles from the ocean.  I have hooked tarpon and Jack Crevalle in Lake Okeechobee while bass fishing and seen 40 pound snook in South Florida drainage canals. 

 

Aww Holiday Park, I remember it back in the day, same with Sawgrass park. Never heard much about snook or poons being caught at either places but I sure do know how they can get up into those waterways. Sneaky suckers lol Years ago they had a neat jon boat rental setup at the Loxahatchee refuge. Could rent a motor boat for a full day fishing for cheap. They also had a bait shop on the site. That's the place where my story got started. All gone now. 

[Captain Phil]

15 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

 

Aww Holiday Park, I remember it back in the day, same with Sawgrass park. Never heard much about snook or poons being caught at either places but I sure do know how they can get up into those waterways. Sneaky suckers lol Years ago they had a neat jon boat rental setup at the Loxahatchee refuge. Could rent a motor boat for a full day fishing for cheap. They also had a bait shop on the site. That's the place where my story got started. All gone now. 

 

I go way back with those places.  When I was a kid there was a Fish Camp where Holiday Park is now called Tom's.  Between Tom's and Macks camp, it was the only place you could launch a boat.  At the end of the canal from Macks, there was a trailer winch where you could winch your Jon boat up and over the levy to fish L67.  The Sawgrass area was an old bombing range during WWII.   We often fished the range holes at night in the summer.   The only thing out there was a bait shop and a bar.  Everything changed when they put in Alligator Alley.   Now the whole thing is highway overpasses and shopping centers.  The bass are still there.  Loxahatchee is much farther north.   My son and I saw the largest alligator we have ever seen there.  They said it was 17' feet long and 100 years old.  I didn't get close enough to measure it.  Scared the heck out of us. 

[the reel ess]

On 9/13/2022 at 6:18 PM, Woody B said:

I was a kid, I don't remember exactly how old.   I was fishing with my Dad.  I was fishing a Texas rig.  I had felt a rough place on my line up 6 inches or so and knew I needed to re tie.  I didn't.   I hooked something big under a dock.  (It might have been a big Cat)  After I set the hook is slowly went under the boat and headed toward deep water.   I kept pressure on it but was scared to pull much due to the nick in my line.   It never came near the surface, and it never moved "fast".    After 5 minutes or so my line went limp.  It was broke, probably at the nick.   It may have been a big cat instead of a Bass but I'll always think it was a DD bass.   

That's the cool part about the big ones that get away. They're always bass and they were always a potential PB.

[mamdlwk]

Fiancé and I went out with the kayaks this Saturday to fish and mark one year 'til the big day. Coincidentally, this was probably the last day we'll be able to fish due to travel and impending snow. We got to the lake--whitecaps, too windy. Drove past two more nearby lakes--whitecaps again, whitecaps again. Drove thirty minutes back towards home to hit a smaller, local pond. Nothing too big there, I thought, but it'll be a fun chance to try out my fish finder for the first time. 

 

We paddle into the wind to get to one end of the pond and drift back. I'm drifting, drop shotting, enjoying the day. Pull up a few sunfish, get some nibbles, feeling like I'm getting closer to the right zone. 

 

I toss it out a few yards into a shade line maybe ten feet from shore. Almost immediately, THUMP. She takes off--I'm using my lightest tackle--twirls around, drives towards the bottom, then seems to fight less as I bring her up. As I start to see the fish, I think, is that actually a bass? It looks too long, loo large, clearly bigger than anything I've ever brought to the boat. As she gets to the top of the water, there I see the largest bass of my life. Oddly, the last few feet of her journey were very calm. Unreal to see such a beast come out of this small pond. 

 

Well, the calm was in fact before the storm. Right as she hits the surface, BOOM! She twists, pulls down, and snaps me off. Had I pulled too hard on my light tackle while trying to land her? Should I have gotten the net? Yes and yes. I've never landed a fish that big. I learned something. 

 

Still, it was worth it to see the opalescent gill plate flare and open, the bright red flash, the deep green and the speed of her retreat. I hope I can land my PB some day, I hope next season is a good one, and I hope the fish survives to meet me again. Broke my heart. Thank God the Bills won.

 

[Swamp Girl]

Upon reflection, I'm going to not go with a particular fish, but every fish that was deep and heavy and unzipped before I got a glance. When I never see them, I always wonder if that one was the Great White Whale, whether it was a pike or smallie or musky or walleye or bigmouth. 

[1984isNOW]

On 10/17/2022 at 8:34 AM, mamdlwk said:

Fiancé and I went out with the kayaks this Saturday to fish and mark one year 'til the big day. Coincidentally, this was probably the last day we'll be able to fish due to travel and impending snow. We got to the lake--whitecaps, too windy. Drove past two more nearby lakes--whitecaps again, whitecaps again. Drove thirty minutes back towards home to hit a smaller, local pond. Nothing too big there, I thought, but it'll be a fun chance to try out my fish finder for the first time. 

 

We paddle into the wind to get to one end of the pond and drift back. I'm drifting, drop shotting, enjoying the day. Pull up a few sunfish, get some nibbles, feeling like I'm getting closer to the right zone. 

 

I toss it out a few yards into a shade line maybe ten feet from shore. Almost immediately, THUMP. She takes off--I'm using my lightest tackle--twirls around, drives towards the bottom, then seems to fight less as I bring her up. As I start to see the fish, I think, is that actually a bass? It looks too long, loo large, clearly bigger than anything I've ever brought to the boat. As she gets to the top of the water, there I see the largest bass of my life. Oddly, the last few feet of her journey were very calm. Unreal to see such a beast come out of this small pond. 

 

Well, the calm was in fact before the storm. Right as she hits the surface, BOOM! She twists, pulls down, and snaps me off. Had I pulled too hard on my light tackle while trying to land her? Should I have gotten the net? Yes and yes. I've never landed a fish that big. I learned something. 

 

Still, it was worth it to see the opalescent gill plate flare and open, the bright red flash, the deep green and the speed of her retreat. I hope I can land my PB some day, I hope next season is a good one, and I hope the fish survives to meet me again. Broke my heart. Thank God the Bills won.

 

The good thing is it was just a pond and you will likely bump into her again, you should be pumped for early spring fishing there, gonna be blast chasing her.

On 10/17/2022 at 8:54 AM, ol'crickety said:

Upon reflection, I'm going to not go with a particular fish, but every fish that was deep and heavy and unzipped before I got a glance. When I never see them, I always wonder if that one was the Great White Whale, whether it was a pike or smallie or musky or walleye or bigmouth. 

That's one way to look at it, but I prefer to think they were all sunfish, too small to stay pinned - even the feisty ones.

[mamdlwk]

2 hours ago, PUTitinYOURmouthFISH said:

The good thing is it was just a pond and you will likely bump into her again, you should be pumped for early spring fishing there, gonna be blast chasing her.

I hope she survives with my hook in her mouth! Totally agreed though, and she shouldn't be the only one of her size in the pond.