Always check your line

[Joe]

Bummer.......
I don't know how many fish of this size or larger you have caught. You may be a very experienced angler with several trophies to your credit that had some bad luck. It happens. My comments are based on my own experiences.

Saltheart's comments (about how most big fish are lost at the end of the fight) are right on.

I have found with larger fish, there is usually a period of time at the end of the fight where they simply hold their ground; not taking drag and not giving line. Some call this behavior "bulldogging,” and the smart angler simply lets the fish hold her ground for as long as necessary. It takes discipline and a high degree of emotional control to do this.

Most modern surfcasters have had only marginal experience with a 40 inch fish or larger. Some have lost all their big fish to one problem or another. Since I started shore guiding this year, I've been reminded of all the mistakes I'd forgotten I made, years ago.

What I have seen is that when a novice angler (big fish novice) hooks up with a large, the adrenaline gets the better of them, and mistakes are made. When they see the big fish in close, their excitement grows, and more mistakes are made.

What is the most common mistake, you ask?
They tend to start muscling the fish during bulldog time. Big mistake. I have had to almost scream at clients to get them to stop reeling, and wait.

With a big fish on and only the leader, twenty-fifty feet of the business end of the main line out, and three knots - all being stressed simultaneously, any mistake = lost fish.

Early on, I lost my share of good fish. If it was not a bad knot, it was too much drag, or too little drag, or too much horsing during bulldog time, or a rusty hook, or letting the fish get around a rock, or grabbing the line above the barrel swivel when landing - the list went on and on.

Everyone has lost a big fish for one reason or another – they learn from their mistakes and move on. This is where surfcasting teaches us life lessons about preparation, self-control, and host of other more important things than fishing. We’re not battling fish. The struggle is actually internal.
Joe