The agony of losing "the big one."
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 8:11 pm
Hey there,
I know it's been a while since I've posted on here, but life is crazy between work, work at home and family. I'm posting this for two reasons. One, I think it will be therapeutic. Two, Maybe you guys have similar stories to the one I will share.
I've been extremely lucky to have landed some of the bass I have. My personal best is 7.46lb, and I landed her in waders, knee deep in water without a net. I don't really believe in nets, at least not the ones that can cause injury, since I am a catch and release guy. I've caught multiple 5 - 7 pounders as well. In fact, I've never lost anything I would consider a trophy bass in the last several years. So, I guess losing a monster was a long time coming.
I was fishing my "go to" place this time of year. I had already five 1.5 - 2.5 lb. Nothing noteworthy, but it was a lot of fun, especially the 2.62 lb Smallmouth. The weather went from hazy, to cloudy, to fairly nasty. I was contemplating giving up and calling it a day, but I decided a few more casts wouldn't hurt.
I was fishing from shore, and unfortunately the water level was rather high, leaving little bank exposed, and thus, harder to land a big one. Just when I thought the bite was done, it happened! I thought I was hung up on a rock, but out of instinct I set the hook hard. Then my line started moving. I had to loosen the drag a bit, so that I could tire the fish and also, not snap my line. My first mistake (which I recovered from) was trying to tighten the line back up. Out of sheer stupidity, I loosened it more and gave the bass cruise control. I managed to fix this though!
I finally took control of the bass and had it nearing the shore (which was going to make a difficult landing). It was zigging and zagging all over, and keep in mind, there was really only one decent spot to land her. But I was doing well. She broke water twice, and I could see how big she was. It was a beauty, very comparable to my personal best. Two leaps in the air later, followed by a random sprint of energy trying to get away, and she was. Gone.
I didn't know what to do at first. It has been three years since I had a bass on of this proportion and I have been trying so hard the last two years to catch another one like this. The lake I speak of is getting too much fishing pressure and the lunkers aren't quite in there like they used to be. So this was my first chance in three years to fight such a Goliath, and I missed.
A multitude of emotions followed in the next thirty seconds. I had the urge to throw my rod and reel into the water, I wanted to lay down and cry, but in the end, all I did was yell. And not just yell either. It must have sounded like someone being tortured -- as a local who lives near by actually came over to check on me, LOL.
I fought the urge to just leave. I didn't. I continued fishing and caught two more tiny bass afterwards, which was just insult to injury.
Now, here I am, three days later. Every day since Wednesday, my mind has been replaying this incident asking questions. Did I over tighten the drag and horse the fish? Did it come loose when it broke water? Did it start to come loose when it jumped out of the water? It was headed toward a reed bed in the shallows when I lost it, should I have veered it in a different direction? Did I set the hook hard enough? Or, was it completely out of my control?
This is the first time losing a trophy bass, and my mind has been on replay since the incident. I'm saddened, frustrated, and really bummed out because this fishery will no longer be fishable in a few weeks until next year. I've even had a few dreams about losing this huge fish.
So the question is, can you guys relate, and if so, what is your story. Thanks in advance for the support.
Joe
I know it's been a while since I've posted on here, but life is crazy between work, work at home and family. I'm posting this for two reasons. One, I think it will be therapeutic. Two, Maybe you guys have similar stories to the one I will share.
I've been extremely lucky to have landed some of the bass I have. My personal best is 7.46lb, and I landed her in waders, knee deep in water without a net. I don't really believe in nets, at least not the ones that can cause injury, since I am a catch and release guy. I've caught multiple 5 - 7 pounders as well. In fact, I've never lost anything I would consider a trophy bass in the last several years. So, I guess losing a monster was a long time coming.
I was fishing my "go to" place this time of year. I had already five 1.5 - 2.5 lb. Nothing noteworthy, but it was a lot of fun, especially the 2.62 lb Smallmouth. The weather went from hazy, to cloudy, to fairly nasty. I was contemplating giving up and calling it a day, but I decided a few more casts wouldn't hurt.
I was fishing from shore, and unfortunately the water level was rather high, leaving little bank exposed, and thus, harder to land a big one. Just when I thought the bite was done, it happened! I thought I was hung up on a rock, but out of instinct I set the hook hard. Then my line started moving. I had to loosen the drag a bit, so that I could tire the fish and also, not snap my line. My first mistake (which I recovered from) was trying to tighten the line back up. Out of sheer stupidity, I loosened it more and gave the bass cruise control. I managed to fix this though!
I finally took control of the bass and had it nearing the shore (which was going to make a difficult landing). It was zigging and zagging all over, and keep in mind, there was really only one decent spot to land her. But I was doing well. She broke water twice, and I could see how big she was. It was a beauty, very comparable to my personal best. Two leaps in the air later, followed by a random sprint of energy trying to get away, and she was. Gone.
I didn't know what to do at first. It has been three years since I had a bass on of this proportion and I have been trying so hard the last two years to catch another one like this. The lake I speak of is getting too much fishing pressure and the lunkers aren't quite in there like they used to be. So this was my first chance in three years to fight such a Goliath, and I missed.
A multitude of emotions followed in the next thirty seconds. I had the urge to throw my rod and reel into the water, I wanted to lay down and cry, but in the end, all I did was yell. And not just yell either. It must have sounded like someone being tortured -- as a local who lives near by actually came over to check on me, LOL.
I fought the urge to just leave. I didn't. I continued fishing and caught two more tiny bass afterwards, which was just insult to injury.
Now, here I am, three days later. Every day since Wednesday, my mind has been replaying this incident asking questions. Did I over tighten the drag and horse the fish? Did it come loose when it broke water? Did it start to come loose when it jumped out of the water? It was headed toward a reed bed in the shallows when I lost it, should I have veered it in a different direction? Did I set the hook hard enough? Or, was it completely out of my control?
This is the first time losing a trophy bass, and my mind has been on replay since the incident. I'm saddened, frustrated, and really bummed out because this fishery will no longer be fishable in a few weeks until next year. I've even had a few dreams about losing this huge fish.
So the question is, can you guys relate, and if so, what is your story. Thanks in advance for the support.
Joe