Have you ever been fishing for hours on end without even the hint of fish and then out of the blue your rod is doubled over and line is flying off the reel.After 10mins of hard give and take you get the fish in close and start to slowly back up towards shore to grab your fish never thinking of the possibility that the fish could come off and just and just as your about to claim your prize it gives one good turn of its giant head and your left with nothing but your plug,a big swirl and a big NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! echoing through your head?

I have. :wall:

my condolences for your loss. i dropped a real nice one last week when it jammed my plug in the rocks and weeds, sux.

that bass whiped you out.....

oooooooo i hate when that happens

well, better luck next time....

and sorry to hear of your big disapointment.

I'm a little down about it.

My biggest is 26lbs and this fish was that and a little more.

Next time.

That which is huge and does not come to hand.....only makes you stronger! :eek: And very....very....sad! :bc: Sorry for your loss BW...happened to me about this time last year......biggest fish I ever had on, almost had it landed until it stripped me clean on a rock! Fish was high 30's easy! I saw it as it lunged out of the water to take my pencil popper in the middle of the day.......it still stings but I will get mine....and so will you! :kewl:

this spring i started backing my drag off when i was ready to bring the fish close to shore...bass freak when they get into the shallows and will explode trying to get away. with a loose drag, i havent lost one yet to that- lat season i kept a tight drag and lost quite a few decent fish at my feet.

Keep on casting BW. You'll get another bunch that are even bigger.

Probably the hardest thing to remember is not to horse the bigger fish too much. Move them in but tire them out. I know we all know that but I never stop reminding myself when I have a big one on. I have lost a few slobs right at my feet. Eben is right. There ain't much stretch on the line when they are in close. Ten years ago I had a 30#er in May that broke off in the wash when I mistakenly pointed the rod at it while the wash was pulling it out. Fortunately the next wave kept it on the beach and I slam tackled it (with a bomber hanging out of it's mouth !).

HAD to get that fish :eek: :eek: :eek:

they'll be other's..when you least expect it..you be shaking after it's high and dry....I've fought fish for better than 40 min's....down to the last 6 turn's of line on a 650 penn..walked half a mile down an back...only to have the hook pull......but there's been those that haven't gotten away :hee: this is what you'll remember for a long time and how fish stories come about..15 years later you'll be dreaming about the one's that got away, not the one's you landed.

:bc: :bc:

a couple of nights ago i hooked into a monster who peeled off more drag and I have ever seen on my VS200........ i was sure that I had a 40 pounder on.. after about a decent battle I got it in to the wash, and there it was... a tail hooked bass weighing around 20 pounds... :hihi:
epic fight though, and good training for the big one :D

I've done that before.Feels like a big'un but ends up not being quite so.

Fish that big are good at the survival game. That's how they get that big. It's no reflection on you or your skill. It is a reflection on theirs. That is one of the things that keep us coming back for more. :eek5:

Condolences BW, tough now:( but future tale :)

That is one of the things that keep us coming back for more. :eek5:

Tomorrow night I shall have my revenge......I hope.

I've noticed that when I have what I consider (not often,mind you) to be a large fish on, I talk to myself out loud. Things like "Oh geeze, this ain't a schoolie" " Don't mess this up, Fred" " Move ya feet, follow this one down the beach" "Let it run again, she's still too green" Thank God the surf drowns me out, folks would think I'm nuts.

Better to have fought and lost, then to have never fought at all.

Nice fish Basswipe...

I've noticed that when I have what I consider (not often,mind you) to be a large fish on, I talk to myself out loud. Things like "Oh geeze, this ain't a schoolie" " Don't mess this up, Fred" " Move ya feet, follow this one down the beach" "Let it run again, she's still too green" Thank God the surf drowns me out, folks would think I'm nuts.
I talk to myself all the time too BJ :scream: not just when I'm on a big fish either :spin:
Ive dropped a few large BW....still haunts me....but I know what not to do next time :eek:

I need just a little more patience next time.

Chalk this one up to "bass fever".

I've noticed that when I have what I consider (not often,mind you) to be a large fish on, I talk to myself out loud. Things like "Oh geeze, this ain't a schoolie" " Don't mess this up, Fred" " Move ya feet, follow this one down the beach" "Let it run again, she's still too green" Thank God the surf drowns me out, folks would think I'm nuts.
Great to know I am not the only one.....I also talk to the fish...coaxing him closer and closer to my boat....convincing him that I will not hurt him, and I will release him once caught... :bl:

That is what it is all about. Fish won this time. Next time you might come out on top. At least you got to enjoy the best part, the fight. A know someone who lost 2 40 lbers on consecutive mornings this week at the canal on top. Both fish were busted off 10 ft. from shore. Two lost plugs too. He did get a 30 lber though. Paul

i hooked a nice one the middle of last week on a bucktail. came pretty close to the mono backing on abu 6500, swimming UP some nasty current. dropped him a few seconds after i fianlly had him turned.

also had one on like 2 days ago, fish just ran a few feet after i hooked him and wouldnt be moved for a good 10 seconds in real strong current, then popped the hook. i bet the thing didnt even bother him.

it would be nice to catch a fish above 35" for a change.

That bums dude Im sorry for your loss. I got a hand gaf for just such an occasion :devil:

Was totally deceived last october when I got the mother of all hits in an inlet.. This thing took off for block island like a bat outta hell.. I swore it was large current was ripping, Im fighting this thing like 15-20 mins pumping it in, avoiding a rock that is infamous for catching plugs I climd down without turing my light on, Im down next to it I flip the light on yup...... 12 lb bluefish, hook dead center... thing came in like a freaking propeller :jump:

Don't know about about you guys but I can destinctly remember better of the big ones I loose compared to the ones that hit the box. Try to replay what went wrong and if I only could have seen it just to see how big before I lost it, oh the pain.

I'd rather not see it. Lost a 50 plus lber at boatside at the gaff last year during comm. season. I was by myself which didn't help. Thought about that thing for a good 2 weeks. Makes me sick just thinking about it now. Oh well that's fishing. Paul

Vic...
P and I were reef crawling last year and I set on a nice swirl... the kind you see, then twitch twitch, and bang... well in this instance, the fish must've swirled on the teaser, cause I set, HARD, and ZZZZZZZZZZZ line is pouring off the reel... about 5 min in somthing didnt feel right.... not enough weight... get it in to my rock, look down and 13-14lb bluefish.. hooked solid behind the dorsal w/ a 7" rebel... curses were said, and I practically kicked it back in, then after it swam away realized it probably woulda taken the clubs yearlong... oh well...

Did the same thing at a breachway a couple years back on semi-lighter tackle, sucked cause there was a 10man rotation on and they all saw :-(

Curses were said is putting it mildly. i was on the other side of the reef with white water everywhere and I could hear the Oakman :uhuh:

this spring i started backing my drag off when i was ready to bring the fish close to shore...bass freak when they get into the shallows and will explode trying to get away. with a loose drag, i havent lost one yet to that- lat season i kept a tight drag and lost quite a few decent fish at my feet.

Yup great piece of advice, I learned this the hard way too, the tension that close to shore can be broken with a sudden movement. Also be patient because if the fish is really tired this is less likely to happen :kewl:

Well we'll see how things go tonight.I got a feeling the spot I'm fishing will give up large with the right plug.I think its one of those "match the hatch" deals.

go for it dude :kewl: show them beasties who's boss!!!

I ended up quitting early.Was having line issues.See "704 line roller" thread.

Better than having finished the night without a bite....my condolences however.

ill tell ya though 60% of the thrill of it is that first hit when your pole almost snaps in half after hours of not even a splash. my heart skips a beat, then i can enjoy the fight, and getting it to shore is just a bonus.