Stinkiest Skunk of the Year

[CastingClinic]

What could have been my best day ever turned into my worst loss.

 

Went out with high expectations, overcast day with calm to light winds, a light rain while launching and a bit of a heavier rain for a few minutes later in the day.  Coolest air and water temps in a while.

 

First bite came like a freight train while running a spinnerbait along a deep weed line.  Set the hook and bent the rod almost in half then felt a good shake.  He was off and I was dogging an incoming spinnerbait.  Ok lesson learned and on went the trailer hook.

 

Second bite came while pitching a different spinnerbait under cover on a steep but weedy shoreline and burning it over the top.  Another freight train bite, this time it stuck and I was able to fight him boat side.  Easily a top five fish for me but I could see the entire spinnerbait out of his mouth and the trailer barely hooking the lip.  As I went to net him he caught a pinch of air and unbuttoned. On top of it all I lost the blade on that spinnerbait as well.

 

Third bite came not long after number two.  I was fan casting the third spinnerbait of the day over a weedy flat and again burning over the top.  Another freight train came screaming by and the fight was on.  This was no doubt the biggest fish and as I got him boat side some terrible deja vu set in.  Once again the spinnerbait was out of the mouth and the trailer was barely hooked on the lip.  The spinnerbait was worse for wear at this point and clearly bent out adding the my mounting fears.  This fish was easily a potential personal best and my adrenaline shot through the roof.  I got him boat side, went to net, and just like the time before he gave a final solid shake and was gone.  My frustration could be heard for miles.

 

Fished for a bit after that with no luck.  I’ve lost fish before and skunked plenty but I’ve never left the water feeling the way I did yesterday.  
 

I definitely need to work on my landing skills but I’m not sure if there was anything else I could’ve been doing to get them pinned better.  Using all the same gear I’ve always used,  rod is medium heavy with a bit of a softer tip and line is 12lb hybrid.  Caught my personal best and a handful of really quality fish earlier this year with no issues.

 

Yesterday is a day that I’ll remember for a long time.  I took no photos yesterday but included a couple from a previous outting where I also skunked.  However that day I got no bites at all and left with much fonder memories.

[gim]

Bummer.  Quite often a significant weather change like that (from hot/high pressure to cool/low pressure) triggers an aggressive feeding window, and you found it.

 

As for losing fish, I can't offer much help there.  Sometimes you catch them and sometimes you don't.  Its tough to keep them pinned when they jump.  It doesn't sound like you need to change any of your gear.

[Zcoker]

Probably not your landing skills. Spinnerbaits can be like that for the bigger fish, even with trailers. Catch come, loose some, just the way it is. Sometimes a little bit of slack can be introduced; the attention can be taken away from the fish for a few seconds while trying to get the net, enough time for the fish to get the upper hand. Lotta things to consider and to consider well, at least for the next go-around. 

[PhishLI]

4 hours ago, CastingClinic said:

I definitely need to work on my landing skills but I’m not sure if there was anything else I could’ve been doing to get them pinned better.

Sometimes that's just how it goes.

4 hours ago, CastingClinic said:

Yesterday is a day that I’ll remember for a long time.

Those moments stick in one's head for sure, and not to diminish your suffering, I'd take near misses over a totally bite-less blanking any day. That sucks even more, IMO.

[Swamp Girl]

20 hours ago, Zcoker said:

Sometimes a little bit of slack can be introduced; the attention can be taken away from the fish for a few seconds while trying to get the net, enough time for the fish to get the upper hand.

 

Been there, done that.

 

@CastingClinic: Based upon a thread I started about landing percentage, where many BR members stated that they land 90% of their fish, I'm the worst angler to offer advice, as I land about 50% of the bass that hit, but you might have noticed in my photos that I use a longer net than nearly everyone and more than once, its long handle has let me reach bass that were too big for me to bring boatside right away. Some of those fish came unbuttoned just as my net captured them. When I landed my PB this spring, she was deep beside my canoe and I saw her white belly flash in the dark water, telling me where she was. So, I went for her with my long handle and landed her because of that big net.

 

Anyway, CC, I'm sorry you lost three big ones.

 

Here's a pic of my big net:

 

 

[JackstrawIII]

22 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Those moments stick in one's head for sure, and not to diminish your suffering, I'd take near misses over a totally bite-less blanking any day.

 

I was thinking the same thing. At least you got to feel the tug! Nothing feels worse than to be totally ghosted.

[IcatchDinks]

That sucks, bro. I'm sorry. 

I had a day like that last year. I'm sure my fish weren't near as big as yours were, but they all skunked me in a similar way, including one that at the time would have been a PB. I feel your pain. You'll get em next time. 

 

@ol'crickety, you definitely loose more fish, but you also land more fish. And you do it in very difficult waters to fish. My hook-up to landing ratio is so good because I don't fish major obstructions and difficult cover like you do. I remember not that long ago you mentioned you had an "average" day, and boated 40 fish. For most of us, that's a day we can only dream about. 

[Swamp Girl]

@IcatchDinks: Yeah, I catch a lot, but failure runs side-by-side with my success. What I wish my photos could convey is how many weeds are in the water I fish. There are places that appear to be open water in my photos, but if you were in my canoe and looked over the side, you'd see weeds in most places, often only a foot down and four feet thick. 

[The Baron]

Gah, losing three good ones is rough!  It’s too easy to arm chair analyze, but maybe the softer rod and hybrid line add up to just a little too soft to get a good hookset on a big fish?  Maybe try swapping the reel to a MH/fast rod?  Could be no different, but I throw spinner baits on a fast rod with fluorocarbon and haven’t had any issues landing fish… but I can’t recall catching any spinnerbait fish over 3# either. 

[CastingClinic]

@ol'crickety I was already thinking about a larger/longer net and I think your post sold me. Won’t solve all my problems but I don’t see how it wouldn’t help.

 

Got out yesterday for only an hour and a half on a rare evening trip.  Headed out with a spinnerbait to redeem myself and caught these two with no issues (still wanting a longer net).  They aren’t the fish I missed out two days ago but they sure put me back into good spirits.

 

On 7/24/2024 at 2:28 PM, PhishLI said:

I'd take near misses over a totally bite-less blanking any day. That sucks even more, IMO.

In retrospect I’d have to agree.  Sure sucks in the moment but the biteless days all get forgotten in time.

[Swamp Girl]

Just now, CastingClinic said:

@ol'crickety I was already thinking about a larger/longer net and I think your post sold me. Won’t solve all my problems but I don’t see how it wouldn’t help.

 

Cool. My big net Is like giving a shortstop a glove that's three feet wide. Three beautiful pics!