There's a first time for everything, they say. This morning it was my turn to experience the pain. As my eel made its way into the "strike zone" I felt the unmistakable take of a fish followed by a couple head shakes and then it happened... My rod doubled over and I began paying out line.Big time. I typically fish a light drag, but began my attempt to snub the fish pretty soon after it became apparent it was no school bass, but perhaps a school bus. It was. Long story short my 250 yards of 65 power pro began to vanish from the spool. With plenty of room down tide I began a tepid walk in an attempt to catch up, several times standing pat trying to lock the fish down and I couldn't do it.:doh: Anyways, I start thinking I'm going to get spooled and flip on my head lamp only to see the backing knot buried under only a few turns of the spool. I know this is the weak link in the line system, but in six years of fishing braid and many good fish, I've never been taken even close to this deep. :doh:
Oh oh. Backing knot goes through the guides and now I'm effectively fishing with 25# mono as opposed to 65# braid. No more snubbing necessary as the line parted on the knot as expected after it came under great tension. I sat down on a large boulder and stared at the sky for a few minutes while my mind replayed the battle over and over. Looking back, I wouldn't have done anything different, but when I refill the reel tonight there may be a little less backing and a little more braid. Never had a fish take so much line without at least a temporary pause. What sucks is there is a nice fish out there with a long drail of line behind it and my fishing trip was cut short due to the fact I had no line to fish with, save for my mono backing.:crying:

Like I always say though.....catch them first and weight them after. It was a pretty good one though.....I think. Look at the pigtail on my mono. Yikes.

WOW Mikey!!
Doesn't sound like a Bass. Maybe a Tuna off course. If it was a Bass it was a 60+

Keep extra spool in truck for such emergencies! When I lose a nice one like that....I just think like you did.....as long as I did everything right then I do not beat myself up over it! Sorry you lost her!

Now that's something to remember. Do you think it was something other than a Bass? They usually turn once or twice and don't make a straight run.

What type of rod and reel where you using?

WOW Mikey!!
Doesn't sound like a Bass. Maybe a Tuna off course. If it was a Bass it was a 60+

The fish took off rather quickly, but I did feel a pickup and head shake. This leads me to believe it was a bass. In addition, I was taking bass prior to this one. Who knows what or how big, but it elevated my pulse up to that of a caged grey squirrel, which is what I live for....

Thats just plain awfull..Thats is why I fish spinning.U cannot stop the spool on a conventional reel.U will loose some major finger skin first. There are places like some elevated platforms where they have no room to run where I would fish em locked down..In most applications i don't fish locked...U can stop the spool of a spinner..
Of course u run the risk of other mishaps.Like ur rod busting or the hook pulling out.or getting yanked ofa yer perch an dragged into the abyss
At least Like Roger says..
U won't be spooled again..
Add windmill here..:humpty:

BackBeach:

great tale and sorry for your loss. Memories like that are tough to accept and they last in our minds forever.

Hang in there, there will be others !

That is a lot of line for a Bass to peel off, are there any Seals in the area.

I've had them grab a fish almost immediately after hook up and take off like a SBF. Still they never go that far, maybe 100 yards Max before they stop to eat the fish.

Maybe a monster Blue or ....... the Bass of a lifetime .:crying:

Its like I say It's all about the hook up! :btu:
sorry for your loss

probably foul-hooked a bluefish....

Mike I know you know how to fish and you will now understand why old men smile . I just hope it wasn't a fur fish.

My reel is full all the way with braid, no backing!! Been there done that! Least you had a good time for a while!

I sat down on a large boulder and stared at the sky for a few minutes while my mind replayed the battle over and over.
You'll replay it the rest of your life.. Truth is , your nailed to shore and you did everything humanly possible. great story .feel your pain .

Mike.
dropped one that still haunts me in June. 20seconds straight run (and was still going) against a tight drag (not in a current) eel had fouled on the hook. never got a good set...

Get em next time!

sorry for your loss....T & P's....

Doo doo occurs. Only been spooled once, 1978 at Monomoy. My fault, saw the fish take the 7 inch weind cheater blueback Rebel in the first wave at dusk, wish it had been dark, biggest bass I ever hooked that I saw. Sharpen hooks on a plug? Wha???????

Did that before Mike, still get the goosebumps on occasion thinking about it.

Real good Bass, tuna, seal, nucular bluefish, or even shark depending on the area

Total heartbreak. I know how you feel..

I lost a fish last friday. I had been fishing the ditch in the wind the day before and had a classic backlash. So bad it snapped the line at the leader. I had to dig that one out using a blunt needle. I never checked the line all the way back to the point it backlashed. When fishing on Friday, I used the same rig and had a solid hookup. A couple of shakes and the drag took off. I watched the line spinning off the reel - getting to the backing and decided to try and turn the fish by thumbing the reel lightly. All I ended up with was about half of the line back with a frayed end. It broke just about where the backlash was. Using 40 lb braid and a conventional reel.

Glad someone found them all I did was rinse eels in whinergansett.

Had that happen 5 or 6 times in one night while fishing with Canalman, we both had VS 200's and 50# braid...fish couldn't be stopped period...Definitely not Bass, they just do not run like that.. Fun dreamin' about it though..

makes you keep mgong back for more

you'll get her next time mike

musta been a reaal big dogfish

Like I said, there was a pickup and headshake, definitely not a fur fish. Its possible the thing was foul hooked though. I fought a 20# fish a few weeks ago that was snagged in the dorsal and it went like hell at slack tide. Swore it was real big until I saw it.

Thanks for the condolences guys. It was a funny day today. I got four phone messages from my fellow surfmen and they all sounded very somber, kind of like someone died.:laugha:

Fact is though its impossible to determine exactly how big it was. My four year old was funny though. He was a bit upset that my eel got stolen. He promised me we would go back out today and get that fish. Then we would take it home and throw it in the woods for the big, bad wolf to eat. :laugha:

Mike - I feel for ya. Had similar experiences twice & I still to this day play them over in my head...What could have been.:huh:

Nice story. Sometimes the fish wins.

Wow!
Mike, what can you say? I'm sure you did all you could.

Mike,sorry to say it buuuuut,that has happened to me last year same spot & drifting eels,I tried to slow her down but there was no stoppin I know the feeling:wall:

Sorry Brotha but that is what keeps us keeps us going back.




Bob

You will think about it forever,
that's why we do it,
my best were never seen.
:cheers:

Mike,
Awful way to end a night but at least you were in the game and got to play with a big girl. Many will fish their whole life for that experience only to have fate shut the door on them without ever experiencing that feeling. Rest assured your knowledge and skill level was not at fault. It is these trying times that we reflect on and learn from and become even more profienct and skilled so next time the outcome may be different.


BTW- I was down current from you and slayed a huge 65 pounder. It had an eel and 200 yards of braid trailing it. Imagine that! Thanks for tiring her out for me. (This is in jest for those that are slow).

I am sure you are bumming Mike, it sounds like you lost a beast. But as Matt said, you know your stuff and are as well prepared as anyone out there. You'll be rewarded with something bigger down the line.

And then you can throw that one in the woods for the big bad wolf.:laugha:

There's a first time for everything, they say. This morning it was my turn to experience the pain. As my eel made its way into the "strike zone" I felt the unmistakable take of a fish followed by a couple head shakes and then it happened... My rod doubled over and I began paying out line.Big time. I typically fish a light drag, but began my attempt to snub the fish pretty soon after it became apparent it was no school bass, but perhaps a school bus. It was. Long story short my 250 yards of 65 power pro began to vanish from the spool. With plenty of room down tide I began a tepid walk in an attempt to catch up, several times standing pat trying to lock the fish down and I couldn't do it.:doh: Anyways, I start thinking I'm going to get spooled and flip on my head lamp only to see the backing knot buried under only a few turns of the spool. I know this is the weak link in the line system, but in six years of fishing braid and many good fish, I've never been taken even close to this deep. :doh:
Oh oh. Backing knot goes through the guides and now I'm effectively fishing with 25# mono as opposed to 65# braid. No more snubbing necessary as the line parted on the knot as expected after it came under great tension. I sat down on a large boulder and stared at the sky for a few minutes while my mind replayed the battle over and over. Looking back, I wouldn't have done anything different, but when I refill the reel tonight there may be a little less backing and a little more braid. Never had a fish take so much line without at least a temporary pause. What sucks is there is a nice fish out there with a long drail of line behind it and my fishing trip was cut short due to the fact I had no line to fish with, save for my mono backing.:crying:

Like I always say though.....catch them first and weight them after. It was a pretty good one though.....I think. Look at the pigtail on my mono. Yikes.

Reeeeal big fish... swaller ya whollle...

Sorry to hear that, brother...

There's a first time for everything, they say. This morning it was my turn to experience the pain. As my eel made its way into the "strike zone" I felt the unmistakable take of a fish followed by a couple head shakes and then it happened... My rod doubled over and I began paying out line.Big time. I typically fish a light drag, but began my attempt to snub the fish pretty soon after it became apparent it was no school bass, but perhaps a school bus. It was. Long story short my 250 yards of 65 power pro began to vanish from the spool. With plenty of room down tide I began a tepid walk in an attempt to catch up, several times standing pat trying to lock the fish down and I couldn't do it.:doh: Anyways, I start thinking I'm going to get spooled and flip on my head lamp only to see the backing knot buried under only a few turns of the spool. I know this is the weak link in the line system, but in six years of fishing braid and many good fish, I've never been taken even close to this deep. :doh:
Oh oh. Backing knot goes through the guides and now I'm effectively fishing with 25# mono as opposed to 65# braid. No more snubbing necessary as the line parted on the knot as expected after it came under great tension. I sat down on a large boulder and stared at the sky for a few minutes while my mind replayed the battle over and over. Looking back, I wouldn't have done anything different, but when I refill the reel tonight there may be a little less backing and a little more braid. Never had a fish take so much line without at least a temporary pause. What sucks is there is a nice fish out there with a long drail of line behind it and my fishing trip was cut short due to the fact I had no line to fish with, save for my mono backing.:crying:

Like I always say though.....catch them first and weight them after. It was a pretty good one though.....I think. Look at the pigtail on my mono. Yikes.


you got sealed!!

Sorry to hear this tale. It sounds like it was a monster. Many of us have been there before.

Actually hearing this makes me want to tell my tale of misery. I had a bad experince last week. I was fishing kinda half assed and decided to try out my fly rod. I go to a tiny little spot i had never tried before, flick out my fly and as I'm fussing with my reel a large bass enhales the fly and my rod bends over very abruptly. Unfortunately it happened so fast i hadn't cleared my line and it got wrapped around the butt of the rod......snap.

I don't know how big the fish was it certainly hit with some umphh, regardless it most likely would have been the biggest bass I've gotten on the fly. I had grabbed my fly rod last second and didn't have anymore flies and my other tackle was not ideal for this situation so like you I sat on a rock and went over the whole damn thing in my head for about 10 minutes. In my case it was just stupidity yours sounds like just a man trying against a FORCE of nature. Thanks for sharing today, I truely feel your pain.

This is like group therapy.

The pain continues. Since the above mentioned incident occurred, I've fished four nights for nil. The last two not even a bump. Last night my cell phone went for a plop in the canal as I leaned over to grab an eel. Thought I had the waterproof pouch zipped, but I didn't.Was previously on a major hot streak that began in late May. Someone is sending me a message.:rtfm: Cut off from the fish, now cut off from mankind with the dunking of my beloved phone.Time for some time off and a little boat fishing to sooth the rash. :laugha: WTF.

:smokin::smokin::smokin::smokin::smokin::smokin:

I think you hooked that white shark. Now his mouth is sore and he's recovering around M.V.

That's at least two cellphones now that I know of. I'm sure there's been others, too. :^)

Since I can't call you now, I suppose I'll ask you here..

Can you join us in SoCo tonight? cmonnnn you knowww you want to... You can call me on my cellphone.. :^)

The pain continues. Since the above mentioned incident occurred, I've fished four nights for nil. The last two not even a bump. Last night my cell phone went for a plop in the canal as I leaned over to grab an eel......... Someone is sending me a message.:rtfm:

That someone would be Tonk-lee, the mighty god of serpents. Surely your wanton slaughter of his children has angered him greatly. Best that you make amends before he declares you an enemy of all the slimey creatures who slither through the world on their bellies and you are cursed by a plague of telemarketers selling legal advice to neglected spouses. Wash thyself, probably twice in your case, then put on pretty perfumes and delicate shirts (with little polo players on them is best). Make sacrifice, hire a babysitter (though a dog cage will do in a pinch), and pay pennance wasting money on food, drink, and laughter that would have bought a dammn nice reel. Thereafter, foreswear your ways, buy wooden idols, and toss them in the bright sunny water endlessly, until a small fish with forked tail and yellow eyes takes them from you......and you will be forgiven. Now go and repent, lest misery be yours. Amen

:laughs:

That someone would be Tonk-lee, the mighty god of serpents. Surely your wanton slaughter of his children has angered him greatly. Best that you make amends before he declares you an enemy of all the slimey creatures who slither through the world on their bellies and you are cursed by a plague of telemarketers selling legal advice to neglected spouses. Wash thyself, probably twice in your case, then put on pretty perfumes and delicate shirts (with little polo players on them is best). Make sacrifice, hire a babysitter (though a dog cage will do in a pinch), and pay pennance wasting money on food, drink, and laughter that would have bought a dammn nice reel. Thereafter, foreswear your ways, buy wooden idols, and toss them in the bright sunny water endlessly, until a small fish with forked tail and yellow eyes takes them from you......and you will be forgiven. Now go and repent, lest misery be yours. Amen

I'll be at your slip tomorrow morning @4:00. I want to spread the ashes of my leftover elvers before the wind comes up. Bring coffe and a camera. No sugar in mine.

spread the ashes of my leftover elvers before the wind comes up.

Back,
Best release those elvers to improve your karma. Sorry to hear your pain. I was fortunate to have lived through a fish into my backing with a blood knot between us. It wasn't a seal - released perhaps my largest bass ever - but it was one of the most tension filled hook-ups I ever experienced. Better luck next time it happens.

DZ

Back beach, Don't feel too bad. I landed a spring missle that almost emptied a 7000 abu . It was in a strong moon rip and I was using a plug. The bass was lip hooked and when I put on my neck light after a great battle I was shocked to see the size of the fish-- 28 pounds on a manley hand scale. Also, last year I hooked and eventually landed the best fighting striper I ever caught. It literally pulled me in the water at Frenchman's. It weghed 37 lbs. and boy was I disappointed! If I had lost this one or that 28 I would have thought they were much, much bigger. So, when I do drop a good one, I always think of the 28 and the one from last year. It helps me a little bit. Try it, it may help you.

So, when I do drop a good one, I always think of the 28 and the one from last year. It helps me a little bit. Try it, it may help you.

No doubt. I've had 25# fish almost pull me in the ditch when hooked during the peak tidal flow of 5+ knots.

I had a 17# fish at Frenchman's a couple years ago I thought was the world record. Same thing at Squibnocket one night last year. Some of them just pull real hard.:fishin:

I'll be at your slip tomorrow morning @4:00. I want to spread the ashes of my leftover elvers before the wind comes up. Bring coffe and a camera. No sugar in mine.

In a pink Chemise LaCoste, smelling of Brut ( or in your case Canoe would be better) Tartan print doubleknit bermuda shorts with double button waist band & White canvas Sperry topsiders and black mid calf socks. For pennance the outfit is essential.

Remember in doing penance it is the spinning reel is always held on top and held by the left hand on the foregrip and reeled with the right guides up.

Repeat " For duty and Humanity" 100 times.

Good luck

:huh:

i am sooo glad i have no idea whatever that is... and i'm also concerned.. that you do... whatever it is....

:eek:

Its a three button polo shirt with the little alligator logo on it. I said it in french is all.

Its a three button polo shirt with the little alligator logo on it. I said it in french is all.

For some reason Flap thinks I understand french. :conf:

I thought you were talking about cigars. :smokin:

Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire.

-Boileau.

Quiche armoire merlot
Los labios de la pescatore en la cuchina..

Quiche armoire merlot
Los labios de la pescatore en la cuchina..

Hey NIB - is that something racy :huh:

I'm part Italian but I don't capeesh too well...:smokin:...it sorta sounds like "The lips of the fish are in my kitchen"

Hey NIB - is that something racy :huh:

I'm part Italian but I don't capeesh too well...:smokin:...it sorta sounds like "The lips of the fish are in my kitchen"

No, its the lips of the fish are on...., oh forget it.
This thread is beginning a nose dive. I should have wrapped the line around my arm and just broke the thing off.:hee:

This thread is beginning a nose dive. I should have wrapped the line around my arm and just broke the thing off.:hee:

Flap usually uses his neck.

Like I always say though.....catch them first and weight them after. It was a pretty good one though.....I think. Look at the pigtail on my mono. Yikes.

Sorry, BB - it wasn't an attempted hijacking just trying to inject a little humor to ease the pain. I've been there myself.

Me and a friend were slo-o-o-ow trolling eels at a UDL on his boat - the water was relatively shallow and all of a sudden the clicker on my conventional started going off. I grabbed the rod out of the holder and set the hook and the line started to go out at the same pace. Lots of lobster pots in the area, figured I snagged one. My friend at the helm drops the boat into neutral and we come to a dead stop and line keeps peeling off - I'm onto a good fish.

The drag was set loose and I looked down to tighten the star drag at the same time the fish broached in the shallow water. I never saw it, but my friend did and starting yelling "What a fish! Holy #&$%#! Don't lose him!" I looked up and all I saw was the hole in the water it left and it looked for all the world like someone had just tossed a horse off the Newport Bridge.

I set up on the fish again and it began to pick up speed - then suddenly the line goes slack and I reel it in to watch a pigtail of 50# mono leader come over the stern. My knees were shaking like a twelve year old schoolgirl. And that was it - it was over. My snell knot that I did myself had failed. :wall:

Earlier that morning we saw what we figured was a sbft in the same spot absolutely nail a bluefish in mid-air. It happened so quick you almost couldn't believe your eyes. An old-timer who owned a trap fishing company tagged a 600# bft in nearly the same spot back in the 60's.

The fish I had on was definitely a bass, my friend saw it clearly fully out of the water. Hearing about it on the somber ride to the dock wasn't exactly any consolation. But it taught me two things.

- Never #&%# with your drag in the middle of a fight.

- Never trust a #%$## snell again. Especially my own.

Like Clinton used to say, I feel your pain :buds:

The Numbskull can tell you how he was spooled by a probably 18" bass that was immediately hit by a seal. Spooled his heavy conventional tackle; Numb never felt the transition from fish to seal; therefore, he just didn't believe me when I dissed off the incident. Next morning as we were leaving Monomy, I pointed to a big slob seal sunning himself on a low tide sandbar with Numbskull's plug draped around his neck like a necklace. You can stop a bass...

no worries, BB!
hang in there, you will get another Big Gurl!

same-same for me last 9/01/07...........
a day that will live in infamy, and a monstah
that is burned into my cerebral FOREVER, or

at least until i land her, her sister, or her MOMMA on
the same tide, same time, same moon, same PHATTT channel.

didn't get spooled, but i did get schooled when she came to me
and jumped into a trough at my feet as green as she could be
SMACKIN' the water with her tail and head, and that was after she
breeched upon finding a 7/0 stuck in her breakfast eeeel. first time to
set-up with an eeeeeeel, and it was a good hook set!!!

sssoooooooooo, there she is. within two feet of the rocks i'm fishing from, and pissed off that there is this googan (me) applying all this pressure to her maw. i am LOST at this point for the next move, since she is still SOOO GREEN. so, what i did do was to lay down my pole and attempt to grab the leader,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i touched it for a millisecond with two fingers, and when i did ~~she gave a full bodied SHAKE, from tail to snout, that snapped a 4 foot 40# unit-to-uni mono shock leader like it was a popped guitar string and caused about a 100yd backlash on my 25# PLine spool line.

i shook for the next 6 minutes, as i hurriedly tossed another eeel into the fray,,,,,,,,,,,i kept looking at the same SPOT of my ineptitude, breathless from the awe and shocked at the power of that Beast. SHE was AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL and onehelluvalot SMARTER than me that time. i kept looking back while i feverishly worked that eel with no particular presentation as i COULD NOT keep my eyes off of the place where i LOST the BIG ONE............

and i just keep murmuring,

"(deeeep breath) OHHH! that was a big fish!! (deeeeep breath)" this repeated itself about ten times in those six or seven shake-filled minutes, until it was ALL i could take. i had to leave to restore my sanity. the whole 3/4 mile walk back to my vehicle i kept shouting to the heavens (with my hands turned up and thumb pressed to my first two fingers),

"MOMMA MIA!! play the fish, Jess, PLAY tha FEEEEESH!!! MOMMA MIA!!"
i think there were a couple of, "SOLO MIO!!"'s in there as well.

she is indellibly etched upon my psyche, and she always will be.
that one wakes me in a cold sweat as our rendez-vous time approaches................

AND she WILL BE mine!! OHHHH, YES! SHE will be MINE!!

no worries, BB!
hang in there, you will get another Big Gurl!

same-same for me last 9/01/07...........
a day that will live in infamy, and a monstah
that is burned into my cerebral FOREVER, or

at least until i land her, her sister, or her MOMMA on
the same tide, same time, same moon, same PHATTT channel.

didn't get spooled, but i did get schooled when she came to me
and jumped into a trough at my feet as green as she could be
SMACKIN' the water with her tail and head, and that was after she
breeched upon finding a 7/0 stuck in her breakfast eeeel. first time to
set-up with an eeeeeeel, and it was a good hook set!!!

sssoooooooooo, there she is. within two feet of the rocks i'm fishing from, and pissed off that there is this googan (me) applying all this pressure to her maw. i am LOST at this point for the next move, since she is still SOOO GREEN. so, what i did do was to lay down my pole and attempt to grab the leader,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i touched it for a millisecond with two fingers, and when i did ~~she gave a full bodied SHAKE, from tail to snout, that snapped a 4 foot 40# unit-to-uni mono shock leader like it was a popped guitar string and caused about a 100yd backlash on my 25# PLine spool line.

i shook for the next 6 minutes, as i hurriedly tossed another eeel into the fray,,,,,,,,,,,i kept looking at the same SPOT of my ineptitude, breathless from the awe and shocked at the power of that Beast. SHE was AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL and onehelluvalot SMARTER than me that time. i kept looking back while i feverishly worked that eel with no particular presentation as i COULD NOT keep my eyes off of the place where i LOST the BIG ONE............

and i just keep murmuring,

"(deeeep breath) OHHH! that was a big fish!! (deeeeep breath)" this repeated itself about ten times in those six or seven shake-filled minutes, until it was ALL i could take. i had to leave to restore my sanity. the whole 3/4 mile walk back to my vehicle i kept shouting to the heavens (with my hands turned up and thumb pressed to my first two fingers),

"MOMMA MIA!! play the fish, Jess, PLAY tha FEEEEESH!!! MOMMA MIA!!"
i think there were a couple of, "SOLO MIO!!"'s in there as well.

she is indellibly etched upon my psyche, and she always will be.
that one wakes me in a cold sweat as our rendez-vous time approaches................

AND she WILL BE mine!! OHHHH, YES! SHE will be MINE!!


:laugha:

You are a trip Dawg.