I need closure on something
 

Something has been haunting me since last fall. I was fishing one of my favorite spots when a monster bass took me for a ride. When it was over I was left feeling violated and tresspassed upon.... to make the long story short, the bass straightened out all 3 1/0 VMC trebels on my plug.. I dont have much big bass experience so what do you guys think could have done this?? a 30 lber? 40 lber? or even the ever so elusive 50??
please make the nightmares stop :smash:

My largest is just under 30lbs and I've never had a problem with treble or single hooks straightening out. Must have been a lot bigger, at least 40+ to do that type of damage.... My two cents....

No way to tell, Eben. A lot depends on the way the bass is hooked and the angle of leverage it gets on the hooks. I've had teen fish bend a 4x strong Eagle Claw treble if they get it just right. Fortunately the second set of hooks held, so I was able to see just what size fish did the dirty deed. ;) 1/0 hooks, braided line, stiff rod, wouldn't take much to bend them out if they had the hooks in a bad place.

I'd put more stock in the fact that it took ya for a ride. Teen fish don't do that :eek:

I've had teen sized fish straighten similar hooks (might have been a size bigger) but the were VMC's... It's all physics and leverage.. Didnt help that plug had taken 7 other decent fish that night...
Oh well... in your case it was definetly a 50... what are ya gonna do... cry about it :D :D :D :p

You won't get closure until you get revenge.

I too am haunted by a similar incident years ago on my favorite bassy Island.

That is what keeps me going back there!

hmmm well I'm glad that it could have been a smaller fish. It would just drive me crazy knowing that i might have lost the fish of a lifetime.
You know what though... theres always this year to settle the score :D
And from now on I'm switching up a hook size on all storebought plugs.

Eben,
Hate to be the one to tell you but you has a 70+ on! :D :smash:

:af: :smash:

charley soares was saying that the 3 pronged hooks werent any good because they gave to much leverage to the fish. In your case straightning the hooks out. He said that the single hooks were best.

the wprol record BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOfish

Clammah thats you bud, We only catch Bass in 'gansett...
Yeah right... and the waitresses at crazy burger arent hot :smash: :smash:

F' the Bluefish

Eben....move on and don't lose any more sleep over it. We all have lost nice, huge, monster fish......if you have not suffered at least a little heartbreak......you ain't been fishing too much! Loss like that gives you better perspective and makes you enjoy the great fish that you "do" catch! Someday when you land that trophy striper, all the heartbreak and pain will all be worth it in the end! :uhuh: Now go out there this season and catch one for the gipper!!!:laugha: :btu:

I too lost a big one last summer off Narror r. To make things worse, she followed my eel close to the boat so I got a REAL good look at her. That is the worst feeling when you feel the line go slack.

All the hot waitresses work at Caseys;)

Eben, how fast were the runs? truly large fish usually won't make lightning runs, but more of a steady sickening run.

there is also the foul hooked scenario. i fought the next world record bass one night at c'town b'way for a good 20 minutes, only to find out it was about a 10 # blue hooked in the pooper! :smash:

When you start putting serious pressure on the fish you would be amazing the leverage that can occur esp if the fish is hooked on the outside of face on a single hook off the treble. In the old days while fishing gibbs bottle plugs the stock treble hooks did not stand a chance...Back then I had switched to hand braized stainless trebles from eagle claw. These were much stronger but it was possible to break them. But they worked well for me. Nowadays vmc makes a better all around treble. But it is still possible to bend them. My solution is don't try and stop the fish in his tracks on the first run. Let her exhaust herself...apply steady pressure. Guys that fish "locked drags" and heavy line are asking for breakoffs at the weakest link....something has got to give.

My bro droped a moster off the #^&#^&#^&#^&shoot one night on a gibbs needle fish, (pre-habs days) when he reeled it in the single tail hook was nearly straight. I mounted and framed the hook and gave it to him as a Xmas gift that year so he would not forget the trip.:laughs:

I was at the Canal a few years ago and I got a hit and set the hook!!Felt a fish fight for 1 second then it was off!! I never saw it never gained on it, it just spooled my reel and kept going like a I hooked on to a Freight Train!!
You never no what you are going to get there! Could have been anything from a Bass to a Tuna??
Cheer up there will be other days!!

Eben - take comfort in the fact that you are that one experience better because of it. Use it as a tool, a learning experience, and you'll have a bit more edge when the time comes again.

I think I've been to the dance at least once and maybe twice. I've landed fish into the high 30# range but I've also had a fish on that made those 30#ers feel small. That feeling was both exhilirating and scared me a bit into trying to approach it with more "training". Working thru the hypotheticals so you may be more prepared next time around....


All that said, if you can' talk about the one that got away, you can't be fishing :hihi:

All that said, if you can' talk about the one that got away, you can't be fishing :hihi: [/B][/QUOTE]

4 sure
I've felt the pain... and witnessed big losses...hauntings 4 life:)

i know what youre talking about eben, i've been thinking about THE fish that got away last year also. wish i could say my hooks went on me, but i hooked into a monster, you know where, that left me sleepless for a few nights after. i was throwing a gibbs casting swimmer when i felt a huge hit, set the hook and all i felt was tension. thought i snagged the bottom, but theres nothing on the bottom over there. the thing started shaking its head and before i had time to adjust the drag it was over. pure stupidity on my part not checking the drag before hand, been beating myself up over it ever since.

This is what happened.. There was peanut bunker all over the place beaching themselves up in the rocks... bass and blues had them in tight and I was casting out over the schools and retrieving through the maylay.. I picked up a few nice keepers, let them go and after about a half hour...... WHAM and an instant zing of line paying out of my reeel.. I tightned down the drag a little bit and it still kept taking line. Not a lightning fast Albie take, but a steady peel of line.... I knew I was in trouble when I got into my mono backing and tightned the drag a bit more to slow her down.....I managed to stop her, turn her and began pulling her back twards me. I got about 3/4 of my line back when she ran agian..... and almost pulled me off of the rock I was standing on. she almost got me into the backing agian, and I stopped her and began winching her in through the blitzing fish.... I got her up into the wash and actually had a big glimpse of her and then 'pop' the plug flew straight at me, and she slowly swam out to sea..... It was hard for me to exactly tell how big she was, but she was big... This year will be the year..... then when My girl has her baby, who knows??? anyone want some plugs/..???:confused:

In my experience two good runs is 30+.. under that I can usualy stop after one run... oh well...

And yes I'll take your plugs...

"from my cold dead hands":mad:

eben... you can send you plugs here... and i will fix the problem of big fish getting off of YOUR line.


Thank you

- Billybob

:topic: :mad: I gotta leave something for my child when I go:(

:af: I hear ya Eben. Happen to me this year also, straight to the backing, 240 yds or braid, to 240 yds of backing. brought me into the backing and I turned it and got into my braid they *pop* gone.

But I've had gator blues, crush, straighten and snap trebles also.;)

I have never been spooled like that...would like to though:D

One year in the mid 80's on BI a guy at fishing sandy point with an eel hooked a big fish that he fought for quite some time, it brought him to the knot and he ran down the beach with it. Eventually it broke off. It was a long battle.
The next day a 220# Bluefin Tuna washed up on the beach with an eel and 250 yards of mono wrapped around it....you never know ...

I'm another victom of straightened hooks. I had what I think was a large bass hit my yella polaris. It was a violent hit and on the end of the cast using 25#mono. I only had'em on 6 or 7 seconds... it was all drag, after inspecting it, the first treble had one of the hooks semi straight and one on the rear was straight back. I'll never be certain but I think it was a combination of the drag being a bit to tight and one or both hooks being foul hooked. When it first happen I remember thinking the bass could have straightened the hooks against a rock but the more I thought the circumstances,, I doubt it now. Funny I can still remember my knee's shakin when that happen.

Eben,
I was going to tell you that you had hooked a 20' center console but seeing as you got a glimpse of the fish I guess I cant pass that one by you!!

I had a big fish straighten a 75# split ring this past season so I know the feeling!

For what its worth it hurts more when your fighting a big fish and have a boat come out of the fog and run right over your line and cut you off!!!

I too
 

am Haunted ...........and its what makes me return every year.

to face my demons...... My fish hit a fist sized mackeral chunk,
my last piece. IT came up out of the water with its dorsal fin only sticking out of the water and made a slow and steady V -line
straight out into the cove spooling all my line and i couldnt turn it period. When the all line ran out and snapped ....i stood there amazed and totally silent staring out to sea. SINCE then (learning) i have upgraded my gear for the next time.

I have one fish that still haunts me every night. I have lost a lot of good fish over the years (all 50 lbers, of course), mostly to user error and learning inexperience (too tight drag, bad line, bad knots, trying to horse fish in.) The ONLY one that haunts me happened last year, but it truly wasn't my fault, which makes it all that bitter. We had been absolutely pounding 30LB + fish for 2 nights on both tides at this particular beach. The 2nd night, some how someone found out and the word got out. I had already landed several high 30 lb. fish this night and 1 40. My buddy had 3 +40 lbers. I hooked into a fish that I fought for over 30 minutes. I was more than half way through my spool (about 200 yds 30# Fireline) when some knuckle head runs down to the waters edge and casted right over my line while I was fighting this fish. Well, 15 minutes of Fireline Abraiding Fireline and that was the end of the story. I SWEAR that fish had to have been around 50, because I just couldn't gain much on it. I sat down and wanted to cry, of course that was following my unleashing the entire truck driver dictionary on the kid.