Losing Big Fish

[gobig]

As catt mentioned each fish is different. I am curious what hook you are using? When you do land a fish are they skin hooked or are you getting into the meat. In many cases with some slight modifications to the rig or the hook you can get good solid hook ups.

How deep are you fishing? I know out west here, with our extremely clear water using light line can increase the number of strikes. The more line you have out though the more stretch you have when you set the hook. You may want to consider 20lb braid with your 6lb floro as a top shot.

Are you using a snap hook set or are you reel setting? I have found that reel setting has increased the amount of fish I land when it can be applied. Here is a quote from an article written by Bill Siemantle and Mike jones called Reel Force, The Right Stuff.

"For example, with a 4.7:1 gear ratio, the Calcutta 400 takes up approximately 20 1/4 of inches line with each revolution. At a distance of 80 feet, this delivers 11 to 13 pounds-per-square-inch (psi) of force on a combination rod/reel-set (with five full revolutions). A normal hookset (sweeping the rod only) creates between 5 and 5 1/2 psi. It doesn't take a math major to see that a reel-set is a better deal."

[00 mod]

I lost a big one Sunday (7lber) on a quality jig with a good hookset, fishing in 10 ft of water and it only jumped once, and it got off within 4 ft of my boat! Sucks, but I seemed to do everything right and it just happens! Gonna go back and try and get her again this weekend!

Jeff

[J Francho]

When the break the surface, you actually have a chance at getting the upper hand, with no water resistence. Just take up as much slack as you can, and keep heavy pressure on them.

[secretagnt]

I like some of the suggestions posted .... My favorite ... lighten up that drag .... I am using 50 and 60 pound braid and at times with a DD fish will just click my thumbar and play the drag with my thumb if I have to ..

Also the figure 8's work well and be ready to slam that rod in the water if needed .....

Most importantly .... DON'T RUSH IT !!!!! ... Take your time and let the fish do the work

Mike

[NorcalBassin]

Thanks again for all the help guys. I was using a fresh out of the package Damiki Wacky Head jig.

http://www.***.com/Damiki_Kaiser_Wacky_Head_6pk/descpage-DKWH.html

I usually throw the Gamakatsu wacky heads but decided to try something different (the jig head tends to start rotating after a few fish). The water I fish is gin clear with up to 20 ft of visibility, so I generally stick with 6-8# test with finesse techniques (I do go up to 12# with my baitcasters).

gobig- interesting points with the amount of pressure from a reel set. When I drop shot that's the way I go and with the wacky jigs I'd describe it as some sort of hybrid between the two depending on how the strike feels. Thanks again!

[WRB]

Never fished the tiny Damiki flick Shaky jig, they look like a size 2 drop shot hook.

The problem with big bass is they have wide tough lips and the small hook doesn't penetrate anything unless it is inside the mouth in the soft tissue. Very difficult to get a big bass in the boat with ultra light tackle on tiny hooks, it can be done and is done on occasion, everything must go right.

I fish custom hair jigs tied on Gamakatsu #114, 5/0 with 10 to 14 lb Sunline FC and consider that light tackle for big bass in gin clear water.

Big bass on light spinning tackle happens and you can land some of them.

At DVL in SoCal 5 & 6 lb FC leaders with 10 to 15 lb braid is the standard set up...it's ultra light tackle for big bass IMO.

Good luck.

Tom

[Bass Junkie]

I'd use a braid main line with a leader of FC or Mono.... The hooksets you get will triple over normal mono. The extra no-stretch qualities of the braid really help. The best knot I've found for connecting the line - leader is the double uni. I learned the hard way blood knots don't work on braid/mono....

[RoLo]

Never be insulted if someone reminds you to “maintain constant line tension“,

because even seasoned pros continue to make greenhorn mistakes.

It only takes a microsecond of slack line to lose your trophy, for example,

swapping rod sides that momentarily points the rod-tip at the bass.

Normally I want my bass to jump, and will often use the Bill Dance high-stick to encourage a jump.

But for now, let's assume that we're in a tournament or battling a personal best.

Smallmouth bass usually jump early-on, and usually leave the lake entirely.

Largemouth bass are a little bit different. First off, they usually need a moment

before they decide to jump. When a fat sow decides to jump, she’ll usually roll on her side

then use her broad tail to pry her heavy head above the water. Although the head

seems to emerge in slow motion, the next thing you know she’s standing on her tail

while shaking her head violently. This is the moment when we sometimes find ourselves

ducking the treble hooks that are speeding toward our head.

Oddly enough, I’ve found this to be a vulnerable moment for the bass. Admittedly,

I’ve never found a way to stop the jump but I’ve often prevented the gill-rattling,

which IMO is even more important. When it’s clear to me that the bass is about to jump,

I’ll actually ease up on the rod pressure but maintain ample preload, which allows the jump

to take place as planned. Then precisely as the head emerges above the surface,

I yank fiercely back on the spinning rod, parallel to and just inches above the waterline.

When it works, this will knock the bigmouth off her tail and in some cases, skate her across the surface.

As insane as that may sound, I've aborted more head-shaking with that maneuver than with any other.

Try it…it works and it’s a blast too

Roger

[J Francho]

I’ll actually ease up on the rod pressure but maintain ample preload, which allows the jump

to take place as planned. Then precisely as the head emerges above the surface,

I yank fiercely back on the spinning rod, parallel to and just inches above the waterline.

When it works, this will knock the bigmouth off her tail and in some cases, skate her across the surface.

You PERFECTLY described that small window of opportunity I described above. BTW, this works with other species of "head shakers."

[WRB]

You PERFECTLY described that small window of opportunity I described above. BTW, this works with other species of "head shakers."

There isn't a lot of time to get ready when a big bass decides to jump. It's my experience they jump soon after being hooked. There is a good vedio of a gaint bass jumping on U-tube; Butch Brown's 19.3. Butch puts this bass in the boat very fast,but it still makes a typical giant bass heart stopping jump! Anyone who thinks you can control a big bass jumping hasn't been frieght trained by one of these explosive fish, it doesn't happen in slow motion.

Tom

[J Francho]

That video shows a MASTER at work. Most of us are catching fish less than 10 lbs.

I think if you are having a consistent problem of landing fish in the teens, then you don't have any problem at all.

[Locked]

I would cut my small toe off to catch one of Butch Browns smaller bass.

A few Butch Brown Videos:

[Bass Junkie]

J Francho nailed it....

[WRB]

The purpose of posting Butch's link was to point out how fast some DD bass jump, not his fishing skills, they are well documented.

The smallie that Franco is holding can get more air under it than any largemouth. The point is; not all big bass make lethargic last effort jumps...they sometimes explode out of the water and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

I have been fortunate to catch a lot of giant bass, some make explosive jumps, some never jump, it's the heart stopping jumps you remember most!

My point is' don't put yourself at an disadvantage using ultra tackle when big bass are a possibility to catch.

Tom

[J Francho]

Thanks Tom, I said it before, but you're welcome to a steel head trip any time. I can show you jumps and shakes like no other! Only thing, they aren't bass.

[SirSnookalot]

J Francho nailed it....

There is a good reason why Francho is a moderator, he knows what he's talking about.

Getting back to " losing fish", by no stretch of the imagination am I a world class fisherman. That said I routinely catch that fish that jump more often than bass, jump higher and twist more than bass, fight longer than bass and dwarf in size the largest of bass, and I land my fair share of them. The technique is like built in muscle memory, the more you do it the more your body just reacts without even thinking about it. No question in my mind that catching larger fish have made bass fishing easier for me. As I stated before staying calm and not getting excited puts the moment into reality, a 5 or 10# fish is still only a 5 or 10# fish.

[Fish Chris]

SirSnook

Experienced anglers lose less fish for 1 simple reason..........they don't get excited, they stay cool, calm and handle the fish instead of the fish handling them.

Try targeting larger species, get used to a more dramatic fight, landing bass should become easier for you. NO ONE LANDS THEM ALL !

I could not have said it better myself. Just this morning, I was flashing back to a situation many years ago, where I had watched a young guy hook into, fight, and finally lose an 11 lb 4 oz bass > all because him and his buddy just came unglued with excitement, jumping around, stumbling, falling, drag not set properly, net hung up... they just basically made every mistake you could make in a 30 second period.

Oh, how do I know that fish was 11-4 ? Because I hooked and landed it a few days later Only difference was, I waited until "after I had landed it" to get all excited and goofy

And BTW, about keeping the line tight..... Yea, that's a good idea, but I think it's more important that you get a good hookset to begin with. A well set hook will probably stay hooked up, "even if" you give the fish 1/2 a second of slack. While a hook which is just riding by the point, can come out simply by the fish turning to a different angler from you.

So you want to have better, more consistent hooksets ? Use braided line. Somebody said > heavier line.... Why heavier ? How about just "stronger" ?

Peace,

Fish

[fishinflip415]

I would say that your probably not getting through the hard part of the mouth. Big fish have a really thick mouth and it takes some pressure to actually get it through the bone and tissue. I would say with six pound line it would be pretty hard to get it through that tissue. You probably had that fish skin hooked in the mouth and when it jumped and shook it's head it popped out. Nothing you can really do in that situation other than keep constant pressure and pray that it don't come off.