Big One Got Away

[Flysmallie]

2 minutes ago, Mitch f said:

 

I get into habits of watching my phone for hours at a time when I should do something productive. I have had the stomach virus this past week and I got a notification yesterday on my IPhone that I averaged 6 hours per day.....scared the BGeez out of me!

Geez you are like a 15 year old girl!  

its very easy to do though. I like those notifications. Helps remind me there are better things to be doing. 

[fishinwrench]

6 minutes ago, Mitch f said:

 

I get into habits of watching my phone for hours at a time when I should do something productive. I have had the stomach virus this past week and I got a notification yesterday on my IPhone that I averaged 6 hours per day.....scared the BGeez out of me!

Hard to be more productive when you're sitting on the throne, so don't feel guilty about it.   

My phone is by my side (just dinging away) no matter what I'm doing.   I catch up in spurts.  Lots of stuff going on in all directions..... it's grossly entertaining.  Beats the hell out of sitting in front of a TV for hours at a time.

[Flysmallie]

There have been times when I would go Iaconelli when I lost a good fish. Then something happened and now I find it hysterical for some reason. 

Me and my dad were fishing Fork and it was late in the day. We had caught a bunch of good fish and decided to hit my favorite bank one last time before heading in. The wind was blowing harder that the trolling motor could handle so dad fires up the big motor and basically pushes me up the bank while I stood in the front and casted. I wound up that rattletrap and made a big long cast. Maybe retrieved it 20 feet when a huge bass tried to take my rod away. After a crazy fight I was able to get it up next to the boat. Wind still blowing like crazy. No way to move the boat. Dad grabs the net and tries to get it up under this monster. He of course misses and as he goes in after it again the rattletrap gets caught up in the net and pops it free. I just rolled over on my back and had a laughing fit. Because it was seriously the most idiotic thing I had ever witnessed. We both laughed like crazy. And then we went and ate the biggest steaks we could find. That fish was well into the double digits. And while I would have loved to have held it, or even turn it over to their share a lunker program, I cherish that memory even more. And listening to my dad tell the story over and over again back at the lodge was something I will never forget. Seemed the more people he told the funnier it was to me. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

I've lost lots of big trout.  Getting spooled with a 6X tippet and it's gonna happen a lot.  I've watched many big trout just keep going knowing they can't be turned.  

[laker67]

13 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I've lost lots of big trout.  Getting spooled with a 6X tippet and it's gonna happen a lot.  I've watched many big trout just keep going knowing they can't be turned.  

That's why the average that Mitch questioned is low. You have to survive that initial run before you can use your fighting skills. It seems to happen alot more on tailwaters than parks. At taney they can head out towards Hollister with little to get in their way. At the parks they have a guantlet of people side straddle across the whole creek. You jump up to heavier tippet and you rip flesh or break your favorite rod trying to stop him. I spent the best part of one summer trying to land a lunker on .75 tippet. Probably lost 30 before landing one. Loved every minute of it.

[Foghorn]

Had a guy at Bennett watching me as i fought a double digit rainbow . I lost the fish and he politely stated" you don't seem to upset after losing that fish". He was evidently bothered more about losing the fish as I was. I told him"when you lose as many big one' s as I have, you can't let it get to you".

[Old plug]

IfTaney como has any bi big blue cats in that. IO had that happen last year. Insnagged one I think. And it just slowly swam away. Turned the front of 90 degrees are better before he pulled loose

[laker67]

4 hours ago, Old plug said:

IfTaney como has any bi big blue cats in that. IO had that happen last year. Insnagged one I think. And it just slowly swam away. Turned the front of 90 degrees are better before he pulled loose

Don't know about the blue cats, probably so, but "Bman" from the website caught and released an 18lb flathead on the flyrod a few seasons back near the big hole at taney.

[Seth]

My fiance landed a 45# blue out of a local park lake on a medium fast bass rig spooled up with 12 or 14# mono. This was also from the bank so no chasing the fish down either. It almost spooled her on the initial run. She eventually wore it down and I waded in waist deep, grabbed hold of the head and wrestled it up the bank. That is still one of the coolest moments we have had together.

I’m not sure if I was even 20 in this picture....

[Johnsfolly]

When I lived in Florida we had a clear water pond at the fieldsite where I worked. We had several 5 to 6 lb bass swimming around the pond. At that time they would have been the biggest bass if I landed one. I had just moved there and still only had 4# line on my reels. I saw a big one swimming along the bank and threw a 3 inch sluggo in front of it. The bass inhaled the bait. The line snapped when I set the hook. The fish didn't even move when that happened. A couple months later my buddy was fishing that pond and had one of the big bass take his bait. My buddy had old line on his reel. The bass dug down into the weeds at the bottom of the pond. Not wanting him to lose the fish I stripped down to my shorts and dove into the pond. I swam out and down the line. I could feel that the bass was still on the line. I reached into the weeds and grabbed its mouth. I got it to the surface. It was just over 5 and a half pounds.  It also had about 12 to 18 inches of 4 lb line coming out of its mouth. Couldn't see the bait, but I did cut as much line as possible before we released her back into the pond.

I did end up catching a 5.25 lb bass that fall. Still one of my largest to date.