A Monster In The Rain

[atlbassin]

Before work, My buddy and I went out to the lake for around two hours. 20% chance of rain = 45 min downpour. We get to the dock right as it begins to rain, and on his first cast he hooks a nice one but the bass shakes the jig. we then head out on the boat. ten minutes later I am swimming my jig and I get a nice hit from about a two pounder. the fish shakes the jig. we then go on a bit of a dry spell until I am swimming my jig again and i get a huge hit. I am not letting another fish spit the jig again, so I get a solid hook set in her. this bass ended up weighing 5 12, but she fought like she was 8-9. not jumping or anything just pulling me around while i held on with my 10lb test (too light?)[ill get a pic of this one up in a few minutes]. We fish around a bit more using senkos and spinnerbaits and some topwaters to no avail. we both catch one dink each and then start heading back to the dock. I cast my wacky rig near the brush adjacent to the boat ramp and WHAM. I get a sweet hookset in and the fight is on (or so I thought) she comes straight to the boat as my buddy is getting the net ready. I have no idea what this bass weighed but it was a possible 8-11lber. such a large weight possibility because all i saw was her big bucket mouth before she dove hard. my drag sticks. the line breaks (and 10lb is too light ive just decided). no one was on the lake so I yelled quite a bit . I guess the moral of the story is keep checking your drag even if you think it is perfect? im still bummed

[Grey Wolf]

The big ones always get away. Your line didn't let you down , it was your drag on the reel you were using.

[brushhoggin]

sorry to hear it, i know the feeling. believe me, we all do here. You using a baitcaster? whatever reel youre using, set the drag kinda tight for your hookset, then loosen it back for the fight, unless your fishing with treble hooks. i remember fishing a neighborhood lake for the last time ever because people were building houses on it finally, and wanted fisherman out. I cast to a big ole mat and set the hook on what felt like a dishwasher. it didn't start thrashing or anything, just slowly swam under that mat taking line on a very tight drag from a 7'6" H rod, and just popped right off. there are no carp in there either so i know it was Nadine. i lost my temper pretty good cause i'd caught a few 6 and 7's out of there, but i knew there was a 12-13 in there, and that was my last day to try and get her. she won the final battle. so at least you have a chance to get back out there and git after her again, sorry for the long read. espresso is a hell of a drug

[atlbassin]

i was using a spinning rig for my soft plastics, and yeah i actually did that the other day. had a biggun on (8+) and decided to loosen the drag due to my line being a bit frayed due to the rocky area and how big the fish was. she swam under the boat. took out the line. and got wrapped around a log that was underneath the boat. so i was annoyed with myself about the possibility that me loosening my drag mid fight was a bad idea due to the fact that the only reason she got wrapped around the submerged log was because she took some line out. these big girls are frustrating me haha

[atlbassin]

here is the 5 12 on a jig

[Bluebasser86]

Your line should be fine, it might have broke 15 or 20 pound test when your drag stuck as it ran. That is the reason I never use my drag. I set it tight to get a solid hookset and then either release the spool on a baitcaster if the fish runs or back reel with a spinning reel. I feel like I have so much more control on the pressure I'm putting on the fish and no chance of the drag sticking that way!

[Big-O]

Nice Fish WTG... I think you need to be back out there soon to get her photo

Big O

www.ragetail.com

[paul.]

just a few thoughts come to mind here. first and foremost, fish how you wanna. the great thing about this sport is that everyone can do it in the ways that make them happy. if you wanna target 8+ bass with spinning gear and 10 pound test, power to ya. but really big fish seem to come along so rarely. when they do, it's nice to be able to put 'em in the boat. sure spinning gear and light line will get the job done IF you do everything right, IF you don't have equipment problems, and IF the terrain will allow. those are 3 very big if's right there. a big fish will quickly expose the weakest link(s) in your tackle. so imo it's best not to have any weak links. not only that, but you have to totally wear down a big fish with light tackle. in the summer with hot water and thin oxygen, that can be a bad deal for the fish and it increases chances for mortality. the chances that the fish will die are further compounded if you break it off and leave a hook in it.

in the long run, it's probably better for you and the fish if you beef up your tackle a little.

either way, i wish you nothing but luck and hope you get her next time. wanna see a picture when you do.