Ever "caught the one that got away" ?

[FittyPoundah]

One time out on a backside beach me and my dad had a couple rods out with Sand eels on them. My rod doubled over, and I was fighting it in when I got nailed by a seal that snapped the line off almost immediatly. But we had good fishing for most of the tide after that.

Well, we stayed and fished through the night expecting the school to be back by on the next tide at sunrise. Well, just after the grey period my rod doubled over again and I land the fish. Small maybe a ten-fifteen pounder, at best, which was odd because it felt heavier on the fight. I look closer and theres a strand of mono on the hook going into the sea. I released the fish I just took off my hook and then we try to pull the line in to get it out of the water to throw away so it's not out there to hurt the animals.

Well, we pull in the mono and there's something at the end fighting back. wWe eventually get it in with another schoolie bass attached...which had a few light seal scrathes on one side, but otherwise healthy! And in its mouth was our sand eel setup.

So the lucky and talented fish out foxed the seal and got away. So I did "Catch the one that got away" and I was glad I was able to get it back to get the line off of it and release it. Hopefully, it will grow into a cow!

[Backbeach Jake]

My next door neighbor caught a fish that I'd lost the day before. Still had my rig in it's mouth. Weird thing is he'd been talking to me when I snapped it off, went back the next day to the same spot.