How Many MONSTAHS Did It TAKE,,,,,,,,,,

[Goose]

too many

[piemma]

Been at this 40 years and still lost a couple of monsters this year. One comes to mind in particular. Wire line, Montauk bunker spoon in the lower bay. Had the big girl on for 20 minutes got her to the boat twice. The second time I had her right in back of the motor. I estimated her at better than 60#. She swam away, wrapped me on a lobster pot line and that's all she wrote.

You just never know.....

[NIB]

Sh!te happens...
All you can do is pay attention,make adjustments,Make sure your gear is up to the task and pray.For me it is easier to land good fish from a jetty than from the beach.You don't have that strong undertow to deal with on the jetty's. I see so many try to horse good fish through the waves instead of using the water to their advantage.I also have noticed folks don't let the fish do their thing.You have to know when to hold em and know when to let em run.I seem to get in a trance when I get a good one on.Reveling in the moment..I like to enjoy the ride..
Then there are times there are not too many options.Where the fish wins.I always tip my hat to em knowing they may have won this battle while my skills put in the position to have the opportunity.My friend was hunting the other day said to me he had the bow drawn back for ten minutes on a huge buck.He never got the chance for the shot.Was he disappointed well somewhat but he did his homework and He got to at least come this close to the trophy of a lifetime..Thats all you can really ask for,a chance.
You can't push the issue.It's senseless really.
Good Karma helps..
Go help a old lady across the road.

[numbskull]

I think a lot of the above advice is spot and technique specific. Letting a large (and that term is relative to the tackle you are using) fish take a lot of line may work well over sand or with a single hook, but with plugs in strong current or in a shallow boulder fields fighting a fish on a long line stacks the odds against you.

It may help to think of the fight as four stages. There is the take, roll, thrashing bit....where it is easy to get too rough and pull free. The run.......where how much pressure you can or need to risk depends on the strength of your attachment to the fish (i.e., hook/line strength) and what/where the obstructions you will need to deal with lie. The work back.........where keeping the fish coming with its head up while avoiding slack or prolonged pumping that opens hook holes is key. And the landing....... where the angle of pull and degree of tension on the fish changes quickly and some lightening of forces is usually necessary.

When I think about it, however, once you are past the ego stage of fishing where the size of what you catch and kill makes you feel good about yourself there are two main reasons to seek big fish,.......because they are a challenge to find and hook, and because once you hook them they can and often do beat you. So you smile, give them their due, and try again. Not a bad thing.

[NIB]

Originally Posted by numbskull

I think a lot of the above advice is spot and technique specific. Letting a large (and that term is relative to the tackle you are using) fish take a lot of line may work well over sand or with a single hook, but with plugs in strong current or in a shallow boulder fields fighting a fish on a long line stacks the odds against you.

It may help to think of the fight as four stages. There is the take, roll, thrashing bit....where it is easy to get too rough and pull free. The run.......where how much pressure you can or need to risk depends on the strength of your attachment to the fish (i.e., hook/line strength) and what/where the obstructions you will need to deal with lie. The work back.........where keeping the fish coming with its head up while avoiding slack or prolonged pumping that opens hook holes is key. And the landing....... where the angle of pull and degree of tension on the fish changes quickly and some lightening of forces is usually necessary.

When I think about it, however, once you are past the ego stage of fishing where the size of what you catch and kill makes you feel good about yourself there are two main reasons to seek big fish,.......because they are a challenge to find and hook, and because once you hook them they can and often do beat you. So you smile, give them their due, and try again. Not a bad thing.

Good points Geo,I might add to the landing stage there is th last ditch effort.I have seen many fish lost when the fish makes his last run.Usually as they near the waters edge they realize this is not good and will try with all they have left.On a short line this can be bad.I sometimes will loosen the drag a click at this point and cup the spool lightly to keep just enough pressure on em.
I still think about the one over fifty I lost at my feet..As time goes on I think that it is not that important anymore.I don't NEED a 50 lb fish to justify the sport..I have gotten so much from it already...
Releasing one would be the ultimate in Poetic Justice.IMO
When I think about the evolution of my fishing life.I am a long ways away from the kid who threw his rod down in the sand to tackle his first keeper..

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by NIB

I am a long ways away from the kid who threw his rod down in the sand to tackle his first keeper..

Don't kid yourself....

[NIB]

Originally Posted by Back Beach

Don't kid yourself....

Thanks I think..
My grey beard and creaky body might suggest otherwise.
I'll always be a child at heart..

[Crafty Angler]

BD, at this point I've finally realized that your most important piece of equipment in landing large fish is between your ears.

Tackle failure happens, even to the most diligent. I've always believed that luck is for the ill-prepared but while it doesn't hurt, eventually luck alone will desert you at the worst time. While I say I'd rather be lucky than good, the guys I've fished with who are the most successful - beyond what they've acquired over years of time in the surf - are fully focused and relaxed - in other words, they put themselves in the zone.

How you get there is up to you. Like Cool Hand Luke, you gotta get your mind right after you've got the mechanical nuances down.

Besides, if you were banging big fish without fail every time you went out I think some of the magic would go out of it for me. It's the uncertainty that makes it what it is - if it was a guarantee every time, it would just end up being like having another job for me, personally.

Nothing truly worth having comes easy.