I had a fish break my line right at the bank yesterday.

[Bazoo]

I was fishing Freeman Lake, the local city lake, and I had an interesting thing happen. I was throwing a weedless/weightless lizard (vintage rattlesnake brand), anyways, I was slow pulling it along the bottom and letting it rest intermittently, and when I got about 3' from shore I saw the water bulge and a fish grabbed it and broke it off with such power that it snapped my 10 pound trilene without moving my rod hardly at all. I had my rod tip down, unfortunately if I'd had it up a bit, I may have had a chance. My drag wasn't set too high, so I guess I had an abraided spot in the line is all I can figure. I hate it though, I hope the fish spit it back out. The shore drops off to about 2'-3' here, and I'm not sure what type of fish it was, maybe a large bass or a catfish. I fished that area a while with lizards and senkos in hopes to catching that monster to remove the hook.

[Darth-Baiter]

"i had a fish break my heart right at the bank last night" also works as a thread title for this application.  bummer dude. 

 

[gim]

Do you have toothy predators like pike or muskies there?  I've had them snatch a lure unexpected boat side and snip the line clean off.  Scare the crap out of ya, and then a loud 4 letter swear word follows.

[Skunkmaster-k]

That’s the drizzles. Happens to everyone at one point or another. Are you going to go back and see if you can catch her again?

[thediscochef]

That happened to me back in December at a pond in Houston, TX. Probably was a massive bass. I had my drag cranked and that was that. Every once in a while the fishing gods like to give us a reminder to check and re-check our stuff - drag, knots, abrasion, hooks, etc. It's been like nine months and I still haven't forgotten the sensation, the entire 10 seconds still replays in my head like a bad movie if I haven't caught anything in a while

[you]

That's what the pickerel and bowfin do around here. Always a bummer when you lose a lure and leave a fish with some new jewelry.

 

Hope you can hook it again and get the lure back. It happens. I've removed other people's rigs from bowfin before.

[Bazoo]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

Do you have toothy predators like pike or muskies there?  I've had them snatch a lure unexpected boat side and snip the line clean off.  Scare the crap out of ya, and then a loud 4 letter swear word follows.

Nothing toothy in there.

1 hour ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

That’s the drizzles. Happens to everyone at one point or another. Are you going to go back and see if you can catch her again?

Yes I am.

[Big Hands]

I was pre-fishing for one of the rare tournaments I have entered in my life (well over 30 years ago), but I remember it like it was last week. This was during one of my experimental phases when I was dabbling with 4 lb Maxima monofilament. I threw into a pocket (maybe 3' x 3', right on the bank and got hammered almost instantly. We had a battle. After making me look like all three stooges, I think it sawed me off on my lower unit.

 

I went to that spot with the same bait first thing in the morning on tournament day and hooked into what I imagine was the same angry toad, and it hurt my feelings in much the same fashion again. Being that it was in a tournament made my lower lip quiver even more. That was the last time I have used 4 lb line to fish for bass. I just don't have that kind of talent.

[Bazoo]

Thanks for sharing @Big Hands, and all. I'm planning on going tomorrow. Thinking my game plan out. Think I'll sneak to the spot, and ease a lizard in there from father up the bank so that if he's watching it don't spook him.

 

I'm thinking, first a lizard, and then a senko.

[Big Hands]

1 hour ago, Bazoo said:

Thanks for sharing @Big Hands, and all. I'm planning on going tomorrow. Thinking my game plan out. Think I'll sneak to the spot, and ease a lizard in there from father up the bank so that if he's watching it don't spook him.

 

I'm thinking, first a lizard, and then a senko.

 

I would even consider throwing the lizard onto the bank and crawling it into the water (if that's not what you're already saying).

[Bazoo]

That's good thinking. I wasn't considering that, because I'll be fishing from the same bank, and there is some light bushes there in front of that spot. I was saying, I'd back off up the bank a ways instead of getting right on the spot, like I had been when I was broke off. That's one reason it surprised me, because I was sitting on the bank at the time, right in front of the spot.

[Pat Brown]

I caught an 11.5 lb bass in July off a main lake point during a may fly hatch that seemed to last for a week or more on my home lake.  I obviously spent as much time fishing this area during this unique opportunity as I could during that window.

 

I went back to the quieter side of the point a couple days after I caught her and started flipping the heavier brush that sat in 1 ft at the base, near the bank and also in 10 ft of water where the limbs extended out near the boat.

 

My first pitch, I feel a tremendous thump and see the line moving with fervor INTO the wood.

 

I reel down and set the hook.  Immidiately snap my line.  15 lb fluorocarbon.

 

I think, hey it happens.  

 

Get my rigging stuff out and redo my Florida Rig/Punch Rig with all the tungsten and bobber stops and this and that and move 10 feet further down the bank and start pitching into the next juicy spot.

 

My first pitch, I feel a tremendous thump.

 

I reel down and set the hook.  Immidiately snap off.

 

Well.  I went home and put 20 lb big game on and came back the next day and caught an 8 lber that did what?  Dang near snapped me off on the hookset but didn't.  Thanks 20 lb big game.  ??

[Bazoo]

I went back today, no sign of the line breaker in the area. Fished a couple hours and found a few lures too.

[Drawdown]

How hard are y’all setting the hook to break 15lb fluoro? Goodness!

Wouldn’t happen to be using a clinch knot or something?

[Pat Brown]

I don't set the hook hard but I do throw my baits into some serious cover.  I generally use a San Diego Jam which I have never broken at the knot in my life on a hookset.  These were clean cuts up the line from BIG fish pulling into thick brush.  Fluorocarbon is great stuff but I generally don't flip with 15 lb unless it's what I have tied on and that's what I had.  Not because of strength but because the line diameter doesn't lend itself to coming through super heavy cover as much as I'd like.

 

I went home and put 20 lb big game on and when I hooked that 8 lber the next day that nearly broke me off, my line looked like she drug me through an underwater thorn bush or something.  Not all heavy cover is created equal on any given lake in my experience and this girl was in something dense and sharp.

 

There are some folks who believe I may have found some gar or pike on my lake that afternoon also and I wouldn't completely rule that out.

[Bazoo]

I talked to a guy that knows the lake better than me and he said that there is a few scarce gar in there. I’ve never tangled with one of them before. Do they break line off?

[thediscochef]

46 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

I talked to a guy that knows the lake better than me and he said that there is a few scarce gar in there. I’ve never tangled with one of them before. Do they break line off?

They sure can, I've had some snap me off. They get big enough and pull hard enough that any jolt or thrash they make can snap a line if your drag isn't set perfectly 

[Big Hands]

A hot hawg on a short leash is flirting with heartbreak to begin with. I hope you are able to give her a few more chances to become friends and pose for photos.

[Bazoo]

I appreciate the replies. I’ll defiantly try for the fish when I go back. Be pretty cool to catch whatever it was and have my lizard and hook still there.