take heart eben,we've all had it happen.i lost two of my biggest surf hooked fish only minutes apart this past fall.to make a long story short,i had one right in the wash when a wave broke ontop of her,and she spit the hook.worse part was,i got a good look at her.the rod i was using was adaquate enough,but the reel i was using was grossly under gunned for fish like that.so after i stared at the ocean with that same expression brody had on his mug after an attack just happened in jaws,i finally gained enough composure to start fishing again.replaying everything in my head.so i'm basically on auto pilot.going through the motions but not really paying attention.about 15 minutes later,wham! i'm into another big fish.rod doubled,and it's taking line in a very steady,and somewhat brisk pace.i'm watching my backing coming up quick.so i figured i'd crank the drag down hard.line is still peeling off,and now my knot on the backing is in view.i tried a half hearted attempt to turn her,and i guess it was to much pressure,and the hooks pulled free.one thing i have done since then,is i have picked up a couple of reels with a respectable amount of line capacity.i'll probably lose the next big one as well,but it shouldn't be from having to crank the drag down trying to stop it from spooling me
guzz