Haris122 Posted April 25, 2017 Posted April 25, 2017 Call me sadistic, but some of the most fun parts of fishing is when a friend loses a good fish. That immediate unfiltered reaction afterwards can be the best. Also fun is the occasional moments of nervousness or panic, while fighting a good fish in general. Same applies to me when I'm on that end. Though then, it's me who fails to see it being quite as funny. trythisonemv 1
Daryk Campbell Sr Posted April 25, 2017 Posted April 25, 2017 While my most haunting "one that got away" story is nothing as detailed or large as some others. I believe the pit in the stomach feels very similar. Hardest strike I can ever remember, was the one that I never got to see. Fought for a few seconds, then it was gone.....no line snap, or straight hook. Just no fish. ozark trout fisher 1 Money is just ink and paper, worthless until it switches hands, and worthless again until the next transaction. (me) I am the master of my unspoken words, and the slave to those that should have remained unsaid. (unknown)
Flysmallie Posted April 25, 2017 Posted April 25, 2017 Seems the worst ones are the ones you never see. A few years ago while fly fishing from the beach in Alabama I was taken into my backing three different times by fish I never saw. Two of them within about 30 minutes. I thought at first it was big reds but now I think it was probably small sharks. Sure wish I would have got a glimpse of one of them. ozark trout fisher 1
fishinwrench Posted April 26, 2017 Posted April 26, 2017 I had something on while out on the flat one Fall chasing whites that I couldn't do anything with. The water was only 5-7ft and whatever it was fought in close, never taking any long runs, and never attempted to swim into any rootwads or under any logs, but I couldn't get it up to see what it was without breaking my 10# leader. After about 15-20 minutes I got tired of holding him and just held the reel handle until he broke off. Huge flathead? Spoonbill? Giant gar? Big snapper snagged in the tail?I I haven't a clue, but it was BIG and it was obvious that it wasn't going to give up. I don't think I have ever lost a big bass. Not a really big one anyway. The big girls are usually easier to land than the 3-4 pounders I think. They just don't seem to have that high-performance energy. They'll come up and shake their big ol'head around....But I don't think I've ever had a 6+ jump completely out of the water or make a blistering run into a snag. I've lost a good number of oversized trout. They'll get in a good current seam and take a bunch of line, then run upstream about 25' real quick, and while you are struggling to get that line collected they'll turn back downstream at 80mph and crack your whip (steelhead style). Nothing you can do but stand there and pout.
Old plug Posted April 26, 2017 Posted April 26, 2017 I believe it is all about panic.When my son was about 6 yrs old I used take him carp fishing with a light rod and 4 lb test line. Those carp taught him well. I am grateful to them. I wanted him to learn to keep his cool and not pressure them. All you can do is the best you can and except some are going to get off no matter matter what you do. It never bothers me anymore. I remembef a time a few years back I hooked this really big bass next to a swim dock. There was a older lady sitting out there about half asleep sunning herself in a lawn chair. The bass jumped right next to the dock where she was sitting making a big splash. Scared the devil out of the lady and she turned over her lawn chair. That woman made it very clear to me the whole thing was my smast a-- behavior and there was no bass.
ozark trout fisher Posted April 26, 2017 Posted April 26, 2017 The funny thing for me is my premier "big fish I actually caught" story is nowhere near as memorable as a number if fish I've lost. It basically amounts to, I threw a Mepps spinner out into a north woods lake and by the time I reeled in there was a very large smallmouth bass attached. What made it far worse is that these lakes were one of the last havens for a rare strain of brook trout and smallmouth were locally considered a nasty invasive on par with flying carp. They had been introduced only a decade and a half before by some jerk with an agenda. So I couldn't be all that happy about it, although that was the first (and last) time I ever ate a smallmouth bass.
Harps Posted April 26, 2017 Posted April 26, 2017 I got a string of em'...... Strip-pit bass with a mouth the size of a coffee can.... Another bass with a mouth the size of a coffee can that jumped and spit the hook at the boat.... A huge brown that threw a rapala..... TWO 40-in-class pike in 30 minutes that ate a fly but hook-sets found no meat.... A musky on the fly about a month ago..... Tangent: Giant Booner 10-point typical that trotted by (could not get him to stop) about 10 years ago....
Kayser Posted April 29, 2017 Posted April 29, 2017 I was out fishing by myself with a double nymph rig, and had been doing pretty well. Came to one of my favorite holes and hooked a 12" fish on the lead fly. As I'm pulling him into the eddy away from the boulder-filled run, a shadow darts out of the dark, broken water and slashes at my fish. Three times. The experience reminded me of a barracuda with the speed and agility it came after that trout, spinning on a dime and rushing after it. I can't even move, and forget about the fish on my line for a while- I just sit there, stunned. Heart hammering as fast as it ever has, stomach in my throat. An encounter measured a couple seconds long, but my legs go weak and I have to sit down in the gravel. Good God, he was big... Minutes go by, at least it feels like it. The shock wears off a bit and I stand to start reeling the smaller fish. In less than a heartbeat, the shadow is back, and he slashes again. I feel a jolt in my rod hand, and have no idea what's going on- did he hit the smaller trout? No, he completely missed it... But now I realize he's not slashing at the fish I've hooked- he ate the dropper fly. And the jolt I felt was him setting the hook on himself, pulling the lead fly out of the small fish. It finally hits me- he ate the dropper. Fish on. The hookset surprised him, and he rushed in random directions a few times, faster than either of us could react, spinning when he ran out of room so he could run again. Maybe a second into the fight now. He got oriented towards the main water. The rod bent, the drag screamed, and he porpoised his way across the creek like he was a flying fish in a previous life. Three jumps, and the final one cleared a boulder on the far side, where he landed in the water. The life left the line. It was tight, but no more head shakes or tail thumps. I hoped he was only resting, but I could clearly see my point fly in the air, and my dropper in the moss on the boulder. He was gone. Less than ten seconds to break my heart. Easily 27" long- would've beaten my 25" best on the fly, no doubt in my mind. Alternately: had a trout follow, but just wouldn't commit. I'd caught a 22" fish earlier that day, but I could've used that one for bait to tempt this follower. Wish I had musky gear for that fish... Estimate is somewhere between 12-15lbs (yes, I've landed a 15lb trout before). Looked like a crocodile with how it swam. Also hooked a trout in high water, that just held midcurrent against my 4x. Eventually bulldogged lazily upstream and wrapped me on a log. Big... 20" smallmouth splashing at a buzzbait as I pulled it out of the water. Missing the hookset on my first tarpon, because I lifted the rod instead of stripped... All of these times, I started fishing harder. But nothing has been as bad as losing that big trout. I'm feeling a bit sick just remembering it, and it's been years. WARNING!! Comments to be interpreted at own risk. Time spent fishing is never wasted.
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