Which bass that got away hurt the most?

[fishermantony]

When I first started jig fishing I hooked into a bass that was probably 6-7lbs fishing a brush pile.  I was so exited that like a genius I tried to lift the fish into the boat with my G Loomis Mossy Back rod.  Watched my $240 rod snap in half along with 50lb braid.  That beautiful bass along with half my rod fell back into the water.  Would like to hear others painful stories of lost fish and how it happened.   

[roadwarrior]

Topic: HUGE Disappointment 

posted November 14, 2008                      

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David Hayes caught the World Record smallmouth bass in 1955 on Dale Hollow Lake.

Some believe the next World Record will be found on the Tennessee River:

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/smallmouth_record.html

Almost exactly four years ago, November 2004, my fishing partner and best friend,

Speedy Madewell, boated a 10 lb beauty. I netted the fish and weighed it, he released

the monster! Since that time we have had some luck with other big bass, including the

bronzebacks in my avatar (January, 2005).

Last Saturday Speedy and I fished the river with limited success: an assortment of species

including largemouth, smallmouth, Kentucky bass, striper, cats and drum. We may have

caught forty fish or so, but no size and most importantly, no browns of note. Around 11:00

things changed.

With poor results off either bank and limited water release by the TVA, we moved to the

"middle of the river". Actually, we decided to fish along the river channel, defined by

navigational buoys. The drop is well defined, but relatively small, only 3-5' in 15-25' water.

Still,this represents significant structure for fish in open water.

After landing a few nondescript fish, I got a nice strike drifting along the ridge.

I set the hook hard and didn't budge the fish. However, there was very little fight

and I saw another drum in my future. After 10-15 yards of retrieve, the drum dove

and turned into a big catfish, just digging to the bottom, but no run. As I brought the

fish closer to the boat, Speedy asked, "Gonna need the net?" Without any emotion

I replied, "Yeah, it's big and ugly."

Speedy runs the trolling motor on the forward platform of a BayRanger 2180,

center console. So, with the net on the floor opposite me, it takes

a minute to get set up. With little current, we let the boat drift.

This time of year the water clarity on the Tennessee is about 3, maybe 4 feet.

As my partner came over to my side he asked, "What's ya got?" I replied, in a

steady voice and without inflection, "The biggest f***ing smallmouth I have ever seen."

The fish appeared to be a Trident submarine as it rose toward the surface so both of

us could get a good look at her, but then she bolted. She initially ran about 15 yards

forward, then after a 90 degree turn, another 20 yards toward the middle of the river.

My situation was precarious. I'm in the middle of the boat and have to hustle to get to

the front, around and over the trolling motor while at the same time maintaining rod

position with a sizzling drag. I was starting to have some fun!

The pig came up, but did not jump. I got her turned around, but she had already decided

she didn't like the Ranger. When she was halfway back, she bolted again, but this time

dove deep. It took a few minutes to get her a little closer.

Most smallmouth, especially biggun's, tend to fight the best on the first run after a close

encounter with the boat, but even later, they never give up. This fine lady staged at rod

length, tugged mightily and would not come up. I asked my buddy what he thought

I should do? He responded, "Doesn't matter. That fish ain't ready and she's going

to do anything she wants!"

Well, I've caught a few big fish and I was in no hurry. My rod appeared parabolic with the line

straight down into the river. I said to my friend, "This is when you have to believe in your equipment."

And then.......the line snapped.

stupid, Stupid, STUPID!

We weren't catching anything interesting, so although I noticed a burr on my line before

the last cast, I didn't do what I always preach: "If it ain't perfect, it ain't good enough."

When there is any doubt, retie your line, leader or hook.

So, could that smallmouth have been the New World Record? I don't know, but it wasn't boated,

so it doesn't count. You might ask, "Really now, how much do you think she weighed?"

I don't know the answer to that either, but what I can tell you is, she was...

HUGE!

-

[grimlin]

Had a hook bent out once on what looked like a big Largemouth bass considering the size for up here.Would have easily been a PB for me.For some reason i was skimping on my hook that day using a cheap eagle claw tube jig. Lesson well learned.....

I've been after that fish for the past 2-3 seasons now...I know that big girl is still in there....

[Simp]

I'd say for me it was the summer of 08. I was fishing a frog in heavy grass and pads. I did this all sumer long and caught a ton of lunkers doing it. This day was strange though. A cold front had JUST came though and it was very early and the sun was just starting to come over head. I was walking my frog threw a open spot in the pads on a point. One side led to deep water and the other a shallow flat. While I was walking it all of a sudden a bass surfaced like it was Jaws it probably was in this pond. From close to 10 yards away the thing took off from shallow watter with the top fin and the top of it's tail showing. I was about to have a heart attack this thing was huge! I was certain it was a state record bass. It nailed the frog and I did everything I could to count to two before I set the hook. Then I let loose and I set it HARD , but my rod didn't move! We both stood there fighting each other. I kept thinking to myself "how can I get this fish up on top of the grass and get him in". I tried everything I could but to no avail.

I finally decidided I'd wade out the 15 yards and get him. I'd did this before with fish and I knew it was shallow enough that I wouldn't be swimming. The only think that scared me was  a ton of nasty snakes we had seen in the area. So I finally mustered up enough courage and took a few steps toward the fish but I made a mistake. I didn't reel in the slack fast enough and the hook became loose and fell out. I console myself still today trying to convince myself it was a catfish but it wasn't. It was the biggest bas I'd ever seen and it dwarfed the 7 pounder I caught later that year.

[steezy]

RW,  I would have laid down on the deck and cried like a baby.

[bowfish12]

The one I never saw and never could turn on Lake Guerrero, Mexico.

Slow rolling a spinnerbait in about 15 ft of water through treetops. The I thought I had her out of the trees until she made a big run and wrapped herself up.

Very disappointing.

[christopherjake]

Your stories are going to make me cry!!!  OUCH, OUCH, AND MORE OUCH!!  This is the kind of stuff I'd like to repress becauase thinking about them brings back the pain.    :'(

[-nick-]

A few months ago I was fishing with the small shakey head that I use mainly just if I want to catch a fish. Always catches small ones but it'll definitely catch them. So before I started fishing I noticed my knot wasn't all it could be but I figure I usually don't catch anything over a lb and a half on this anyways so it's no big deal.

Well I make a longer cast than usual and see the line start picking up. I set the hook and reeled in a bit but then it felt like I just was stuck on something so I stopped reeling, and that's when I felt the head shake. Man I got so excited so I play it a bit trying to not have that knot break. About a min later the line snapped at the knot. I know this was a good sized fish and it's upsetting me just thinking about it!

[fishermantony]

roadwarrior, i hope you go back out there and get her and she is a world record!  Great story!  Caught my PB smallmouth from shore this past June and thought it was a pike before I got it close.  Once I did I said "Oh my God, it's a smallmouth" and went almost chest high in the water to get her from behind a log.  Ruined my cellphone and soaked my wallet and a good amount of money without thinking twice about it!  What bass do to us!  No scale, think she was 5lbs.  Great stories guys, keep them coming!

[ww2farmer]

I don't have any heartbreaking stories of huge lunkers that got away, for sure I have had some big ones get off, but I also have put some big ones in the boat. It stings for sure, but it's all part of the game and it seems like the next good one I do put in the boat I quickly forget the last one I lost...............but I know my day is coming.

The one fish (or in this case fish's) that still stick with me and stink are apir of 4+ lb LMB, and one 3lb SM that I lost during a tournament.  It was just a small sunday open tourn. on my home lake, only about 20 boats and I was on the fish 2 win. I had a stretch of docks that was holding and coughing up good fish for 2 weeks, and no one else was in there. Wind was blowing like a mad man and dock fishing was a chore. I had all three fish to the boat before they got off, and the SM was even heading towards the net. My first mistake that I realized was using braid. I usually fish docks with braid and it works great, but in this wind it blew a HUGE bow in my line and by the time I felt the bites and set the hook I was getting poor hooksets, I should have used fluorocarbon that sinks and had a more direct conection to my jig. Second mistake, after losing those fish I lost my cool, and left that area, not to find good fish again, ended up with a whopping 7lbs for 5 fish from another spot. The winners moved in after I left in a huff and pulled 15lbs out of there. That will stick with me for a while.

[Korea_Bassin]

The one that sticks in my mind probably wasn't really all that big. But when I was maybe 6 years old, we went on a family picnic fishing trip to Bledsoe Creek in middle TN. My sister and I were catching bluegill with our cane poles and my dad was making a few casts here and there during the time he wasn't helping us out. I went down the bank a few yards and noticed a rock a little bit under the water with a large crack in it. I dropped my worm and bobber in front of that crack and my bobber immediately went under. I tried to pull it up and pulled up a bass that fell off as it reached the top of the water. My knees were shaking but I didn't tell anyone about it because I wanted to catch that fish on my own. Instead, I re-baited my hook and went back, dropped my worm in the same place and he bit again with the same results. I went back for a third try to no avail. Now that fish was probably well under two pounds, maybe even less than one, but to my young eyes, I was sure it weighed between 5-10 pounds depending on how much I thought about it. And that my friends, will probably be the smallest "big one that got away" story you'll ever hear.

[fishermantony]

Korea_Bassin, man I miss that childhood enthusiasm sometimes, and endless patience too!  That's a memory you'll never forget and probably always be proud to tell.  ww2farmer, man loosing them in a tourney and then leaving the spot, I can feel your pain on that one!

[etommy28]

Mine was last weekend; I was fishing a tournament on Lake Sampson and Rowell here in North Florida. It was rainy, windy and cold. I did not pre fish or anything, I just went fishing, I was the only boat to go into Lake Rowell, and it paid off! I had a 3 pounder in the boat and my co angler had one over 6, we were tossing jerk baits in a creek mouth with school of bait. I stopped my jerk bait, and had a fish just hammer it, it rolled twice and was at least 8 pounds. I felt 3 huge head shakes and my line went slack. I got my lure back and it had the front and rear treble bent out straight. I was very upset t myself for letting it happen, but I still went on to weigh in almost 13 pounds and come in 3rd. but that fish would have given me the win. It's not the biggest fish I have lost but it is the one that hurt the most.

Oh wait I remembered another that is tied. I was fish the FLW college fishing southern qualifier at Lake Okeechobee. I pitch a 12 inch worm up next to a grass patch, popped it free once and felt a thud. I set the hook and felt weight, a lot of weight. I was able to get the fish next to the boat with no problem and it was a 7 or 8 pounder. My partner was waiting about the net the fish. It shook it head one more time and the hook just popped right out. It was a killer blow, because to qualify for regional's it only took 9 and 1/2 pound and we already had a 3 pounder in the well. we ended up boating 3 of 6 bites and the other 2 we lost were both over 4, and to make it just a great day we were late to weigh in.

So there are 2 stories I'm sure I'll never forget.

[SkilletSizeBass.]

The "one that  got away" that sticks in my mind the most probaly happened 25 years ago. My brother and my best friend and I were fishing our favorite watershed. Its a trolling motor only small lake, about 200 acreas. We wasn't doing too good, so my brother decides to do some squirrel hunting in the surrounding hills. After a short time, it was like mother nature all of a sudden turn the switch on !

My buddy and I started catching bass one after another, including several 14" keepers, at the same time we could hear my brothers gun going off like Fort Knox . Then, I get a hit on a black/chart. tail worm and he isn't messing around, he hits hard and its off to the races. I lean back and set the hook and it just felt like a good hook set. All of a sudden this nice bass, we est. to be 7-8lb. busted the top of the water, shaking his head , thrashing water, and spit the worm out so fast it come flying back towards us and over the boat. Thats the highest I've seen a real nice bass clear the water. And, in a instant, he was gone .

And, then all of a sudden, mother nature turned the switch back off, all of this maybe lasted 30-45 mins, but we had a heck of a mess of keepers and my brother had a mess of squirrels, and I'll never forget "the one that got away". ;)

[fishfordollars]

Several years ago on Sam Rayburn. I had a limit in the boat at 1:00pm that weighed a little over 22 lbs, but needed to cull out a 2 1/2 that I had. Stuck a fish on a jig that weighed about 4 lbs. Instead of using the net I tried to lift it into the boat and it twisted off in the air. 23.89 won the new boat. I never did cull that small fish.

[The Bassinator]

I was lifeguarding at my local lake and it was a slow day so i broke out the ol' fishing pole and caught a few nice bass.  We were cleaning up at the end of the day and did my share so i took a few more casts.  I hooked into one and figured oh another 3 pounder.  Then i got a good look at it and it was a 5-6 pounder! I got it to where i could lift it up but saw it wasnt hooked well so i told my buddy to get the skimmer net we use to remove seaweed and such.  As i said this the hook popped free and the fish slowly swam off as i looked on in disbelief.  He'll be the one that got away until next summer  :'(

[Needemp]

A double digit at LOZ. She was a big prego female. She made a mad dash under a dock and with my boat position, I could not avoid her running my line into a dock cable. 20# fluoro sliced as if it were thread. But redemption is mine. From living on a lake till I was 17, I know bass often return to the same place to spawn... and I will be waiting!!!

[Helluva_Engineer]

I'd been fishing all day on my family's farm pond, and my mom wanted to go out in the canoe with me so I dropped off my dad and paddled her back to where we were catching all our fish. It started getting dark so we start to fish our way out of the part of the lake with lots of lay-downs and floating logs. I was fishing with a buzzbait(it's my favorite), but wasn't getting anything. I got a little brazen and threw over a few logs way back into this just absolute pile of sticks. Well I drag it over the top of a few logs and the second it hits open water the surface just explodes. The biggest fish I've ever seen (I've caught several around 10 lbs and this was significantly bigger) comes completely out of the water two times in a row before it dives. I still have to pull it over a log so I work it back to the surface and try to get it to jump. It does, but doesn't clear the log and slides alongside it and ends up falling into the thickest part of the limbs at the end of this the fallen tree. At this point I'm standing up trying to get my rod over it since it's about ten feet away. I yell to my mom to paddle backwards...she paddled the other way and I had to make the choice of stay in the boat and lose the fish or go in the water...Well I end up swimming and the fish managed to break off anyways.

[roadwarrior]

Great story and a heck of a fish in your avatar!

Merry Christmas!

[Bass Junkie]

   Well....Mine is a tie.

  #1. A hot day on the lake, clear skies, warm waters. I'm throwin' a Watermelon/Pearl Laminate Yum! Dinger wacky style. I make a cast just like any other cast and see my line twitch. WHAM! I set the steel hard, and that rod dosen't move. I was pullin' hard and nuthin' doin'. Weel all of a sudden that line just goes slack. Man, I know I've never had a fish like that on. So I mope for a while, but I can't stay upset for long, so I get back into the norm of things and after a while, I  got another bite. WHAM!!! Same story. Huge fish, rod won't move, feel every sweep of this things tail, then BAM, line slack. That hurts. I figure both at 8+.

#2. Sunny day, already caught a couple bass. Throwin' a white spinnerbait. Got a good bite, knew it was nice.(WOW, KNEW post the spell checker?!?!?!)

Fought it in a bit, it made a good run, but I finally get it to the bank. Now this pond is public, heavily fished, and I have never seen anything over 3lbs...up to this point. I'm sayin' right around four pounds. I'm already thinkin' OH YEAH< LOOK AT THIS< JUST CAUGHT A HAWG!!!! Well, its not over 'till  its over, and this thing had just enough to get his head out of the water. POP goes the hook, and BYE BYE. I've never coveted a fish since.

[fishermantony]

I was watching the Bassmaster's this morning, the AOY trophy chase and KVD lost a good fish at the boat and didn't even flinch before he cast again!  Most other guys would have had some kind of breakdown but not KVD, 100% focus.  I think that is a big part of the reason he is the best!

[90x]

this one time in July, i went to my secret fishing spot with my cousins and dad. This was our first time there. I had just come off weeks without catching a bass. When we got there there was this tree that overshadowed this small area outlined by rocks and its small roots.

I immediately grabbed my worm rod as it was the first thing i had on. I attempted to cast the into that spot and missed it many times. I tried again and again but continually got caught up in the tree. I tried to pull and eventually it fell out a little from my targeted spot. Immediately my line began to move and I set the hook.

I fought this thing for some time and eventually got it close to the shore. I did my best to keep it out of the brush. Then everything went still.

This "bass" literally went airborne and took off like a jet, I stood there in amazement as this rather large bass took to like 10 ft in the air! Literally. For what seemed like an hour was more like 5 seconds. She landed back in the water. I was so pumped and yanked my rod to pull that fish back. My adrenaline was pumping but my intelligence dwindled: i pulled her right into a wood piling. Then it happened; snap!

This bass must have been around 7 - 9 pounds. For Illinois, that was one heck of a trophy. I remember slamming my rod against the ground  and letting out a wolf like howl. Man i wish i had caught that bass.

[bassnleo]

I can only recall one this year..........

Our state federation championship, I was basically out of it after day 1. Day 2 I decided to burn some fuel and see some more of the lake we were on.

I pull into a small pocket that had a small area of decent looking weeds. I was burning a frog over the area and on about my 20th cast, what I thought was a decent fish smokes my frog about 15 feet from the boat. I hammer the hook home and say "NET" for my rider to come up and net the fish. I turn the reel handle 2 times and the fish is beside the boat. I look back and he's still fishing away ;D. Never heard me .

Well, I'm using a heavy rod and braided line, no problem, I'll swing it aboard. I lift the fish and as I do I'm thinking "Boy, that was REALLY dumb". The fish was much larger than I thought, I'd say at least 4 pounds. The fish bounced off the top of the gunnel and came off. I was a little jerked but as I said, I really wasn't in the running anyway.

Then came weigh in........

Day 2 lunker was only a hair over 3 pounds. Bouncing that fish off the gunnel cost me $550 :'(

Can't cure stupid :-?

[brushhoggin]

the very first bass that ever bit a lure i threw

[Jepu]

In upstate NY we have an annual tournament put on by the Red Cross. It is a fund raising tournament that raises a considerable amount of money, and also has generous prize payouts as well. The tournament starts on a Friday night at midnight, and continues through sunday at 4 pm. It consists of 7 bodies of water in the finger lakes region and has 3 weigh stations placed aroung the ares. While ***** last week I was also scouting for some big bass for the red cross tournament which was this weekend. I boated a 20.125" smallmouth last week which only happened to take 8th place on bounty, but around the finger lakes, probobaly would have taken somewhere between 1st and 4th place in the red cross. My estimates put the fish somewhere between 4.3 and 4.8 pounds although I didnt weigh it, I only measured it for bounty, then released it. I also caught numerous other bass that were respectable sized fish. I had a good pattern going, and was on some nice fish. Friday night I laid down at 6pm to get a couple hours of sleep, I wanted to be on the water by 3am at the latest, in order to fish the last couple hours of dark and every bit of dawn. I had an hour drive ahead of me so I set the alarm clock for 1:45am. I never did fall asleep until 9:00pm(I was like a kid on christmas) so I had a minimal amount of sleep going in to the morning. When I arrived at the north end of Keuka lake at 3:00 am, the wind was horrendous, I fish from a 12'6" malibu pro explorer fishing kayak so I felt like I was on the bering sea in the deadliest catch. I will say the malibu is a seaworthy and stable kayak. It will take 3' whitecaps no problem (although you may get a little wet). After sloshing my way across the end of the lake in the dark, I reached my shoreline where I had done so well the week before. This was it, time to put some fish on the board. The week before, you couldent put anything in the water without getting bit by largemouths or smallmouths. Live Crawfish or Shiners were only lasting 2 minutes in the water tops. Skipping flukes under the docks was bangin, And spinnerbaits down the dockposts was producing as well. My pattern was this: the north end of keuka lake is a substantial millfoil bed lined with docks around the perimeter. During the night the bass are moving in on the docks to feed and staying there until activity picks up around 9 or 10 in the morning. As lake activity picks up, the fish move back out to the weed bed and hold until late evening again. The docks first thing in the morning have been awsome. When I arrived for the tournament, my pattern had changed, the wind had thrown a curve ball at me, it had been blowing all night directly in to the end of the lake and the water went from crystal clear to stained. My honey hole went from big largemouths and smallmouths to Rock Bass. A shiner or Crawfish wouldent buy a bite, and artificials only produced Rock Bass. I diligently fished this pattern from 3am through daylight and till about 9:00am until the wind kicked up even more and forced me off the lake. There wasn't a boat left on the north end of the lake by 9:30 am. As I sat there staring at the lake wondering what to do, I realized that of all the bodies of water in the finger lakes region that were sanctioned for this tournament that I fish, the best bass fishing was at the north ends. This is due to the geography in NY, when the glaciers carved the lakes, it left the south ends deep and cold (good for trout) and the north ends shallow and weedy. I wasn't going to get on the north end of any of the lakes today, so my only option was south. I packed up the boat and headed for hammondsport (the south end of Keuka). The lake at the south end was extremely fishable, but I had never fished it before. I didnt know the water at all, and it is not at all known for bass, it is known for lake trout. I fished the south end diligently for about 6 hours. I ended up catching one small largemouth (about 16"), a pickeral (about 24"), a perch on a large spinnerbait(I'll post a pic), and one little smallouth(about 8"). I did manage to hook a nice smallie, about 3 pounds, but it rolled off. I also got stuck on the lake in a hell of a thunderstorm. I had to take reffuge under some overhanging trees for shelter and ride it out. At about 4:00 pm, and no big fish to speak of, I decided to go north again and see if the lake was any more navigable. When I returned, it was still a little rough but it was fishable. I tried my pattern again to no avail, so I retreated into the weed beds for largemouths and got nothing. I went offshore onto points and shoals for deep smallmouths to no avail. The weather had changed something. I fished into the night (dark is at about 9:15pm) with the same success as earlier in the day, rock bass and little small and largemouths and a perch and a pickeral. At dark I went back to the docks to give my pattern one more try. I hit my shoreline with plans to fish until 11:00pm tops. I only had 2 shiners left and a couple of crawfish. At about 10:30 I put away the spinnerbait and fluke and rigged up a 4" shiner. I flipped the shiner up under the front edge of a dock and opened the bail. When my line jumped I gave the fish a second to eat it, then reared back. It was on! The fish immediately came out of the water with a vengeance and I knew it was a money fish. It was a 4.5-5 pound smallmouth. I dont know how many of you have caught large smallmouths from a kayak, but it will actually pull the boat around. After the first jump it lunged around the front end of the kayak, turning me to the right, then came out of the water again. I then went under the boat and straight back for the dock. It stripped drag and got back under the dock about 3 feet. I managed to get it back out of the dock again and it stripped line around the back of the kayak, just when I thought my arm could stretch no further behind me, it came out of the water again. It then lunged straight out next to me broadside and jumped again showing its wide girth. As the fished showed submission it came up to the surface and floated on its side. I brought the fish towards me and reached out with the net and pop, the hook popped out of his mouth, and with a splash of the tail, he was gone. I wanted to cry! I had been through 2 thunderstorms, and the roughest lake of my life in a kayak, and was going on 19.5 hours of straight fishing, with little more than small breaks in the casting to devour a sandwich and chug a bottle of water. I couldent believe what just happened. I lazily paddled my kayak back across the end of keuka lake in dismay and discouragement. I packed up my boat and headed home. When i awoke this morning, I was still in a state of awe, I had never fished for such a long stretch in my life with such a dramatic ending. I have been fishing extremely heavily for the last 20 years, and have never had a more dissapointing occurence of the big one that got away.