One of those nights

[buzzbaitfool12]

needing a stress relief I decided to fish for an hour..put my boat in and on the third cast I catch a 4lber on a frog..About 30 minutes later catch one on a tiki stick that went around 3lb..Two cast later I catch another one on tiki stick..Unfortunately this is were the nite went south..She was a six pounder and as soon as the bait hit the water she swallowed i set the hook and the battle was on..Once I got her in she had hooked herself in the gut and it was just torn a little with no blood..while i was deciding on what to do I put her back in to get some oxygen and she wiggled and swallowed the hook a little ways..I snapped the hook pulled it out and all of a sudden it was like the air was let out of her.. :'( . i tried to get her back going but she kept going belly up..I put her in the livewell and put some release me in with no avail..I know they are just fish but man I sure do hate killing a fish like this..Fortunately we do have some people that will eat bass this big in my hood and I gave it to them..It sure broke my heart...I have fished my lake for over 3 years and this is the first one I have killed and it really sux..Sorry for the ramble..just wondering if anyone feels this way after this..thanks

[Grey Wolf]

Yes for a true bass fisherman that is a sad time but it does happen once in a while.

[paul.]

that's just part of fishin' man.  you did everything you could and you didn't waste the fish.  cheer up man.  that kinda stuff just happens every once in a while and there's nothin' you can do about it.  you still had a good trip in my book.

[roadwarrior]

..just wondering if anyone feels this way after this..thanks

Nope.

We (I) do the best we can and save 99% of the fish we catch, big or small. As much as we sometimes hate to admit it, fishing is still a "blood sport". I'm glad you kept the fish and gave it to someone who will appreciate the gesture.

[-HAWK-]

I know how you feel. I fished live shiners once last year, ended up gut hooking a nice sized bass. Released it and it went belly up right away. I was feeling horrible watching this fish float away, when out of no where a hawk swoops down, grabs the bass and flys away. I felt a little better knowing the fish wasnt wasted. I decided i would never fish live bait again after that. Anyway you did what you could and made an attempt.

[Tin]

Yup, I killed a beauty last year. :'(

Had a solid 2 and half pound smallie (there are few left in RI) in a lake where they are suppose to not exist. She swallowed the entire tube and there was nothing else I could do. Made me feel like a  :-X.