# Biggest disappointment of my fishing career...



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Got back from Easter brunch in Mansfield this afternoon and hit a local quarry, thought I'd try to add to my weekend take of LMB. After trying a few spinnerbaits I switched to a 5" watermellon senko on a weighted hook. I was working it pretty slow, about 50 feet from the bank, when the fish hit. Right away I could tell it was massive, and it just pulled and pulled, taking out a lot of line. Once it slowed down, I started working it back toward me. I thought for sure I had it, until it ran on me, and then the line went slack. I felt horrible, and wished I had stayed home instead and watched a movie or something. It would have been the LMB of a lifetime. I stuck around another hour, even though I felt completely dejected, and eventually caught 3 nice bass, which lightened my mood. Still....

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## jiggerman (Nov 2, 2009)

Probably a big carp or catfish. I forgot to ask are you a pro or something? And was today your last day fishing?


----------



## StumpHawg (May 17, 2011)

Could've been a very large snapping turtle( Chelydra Serpentina) coming out of hibernation and waiting to kick someones a$$


----------



## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

something pretty darn big ripped my rod from the shore last summer. I got my rod back and the rig was completely gone.
that really sucks. I had a fish of a lifetime on one time and I lost it. that carp had to. be at least 40 inches.


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

jiggerman said:


> Probably a big carp or catfish. I forgot to ask are you a pro or something? And was today your last day fishing?


Not a pro, just a perfectionist. I was thinking that it could have been a cat, except the three subsequent bass I did catch fought the same way, kind of a dead weight pull. 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## jiggerman (Nov 2, 2009)

Well we all have the story of how the big one got away dont sweat it there is always another day to hook the big one.From your pictures you dont even look 25 years old so you will have the story to tell again how the big one got away Good Luck


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

jiggerman said:


> Well we all have the story of how the big one got away dont sweat it there is always another day to hook the big one.From your pictures you dont even look 25 years old so you will have the story to tell again how the big one got away Good Luck


I'm 42! Thanks for the compliment! In high school I lost a big northern in MI when a bat hit me in the face and I dropped my rod. This was worse. Lol.

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

StumpHawg said:


> Could've been a very large snapping turtle( Chelydra Serpentina) coming out of hibernation and waiting to kick someones a$$


a white snapping turtle

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## cfioritto (Mar 25, 2012)

Just remember, it can always be worse. Makes you want to get back out I bet.


----------



## Boostedawdfun (Sep 15, 2012)

Had the same thing happen to me last year. Still can't get over it to this day. Grrrr


----------



## StumpHawg (May 17, 2011)

Deazl666 said:


> a white snapping turtle
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


No a very mean one waiting on a one-man wolf pack.


----------



## quackpot (May 17, 2009)

Just put it in your memory and use it for motivation for following years. I lost a huge saugeye that was like a log last year that didn't fight till by the bank. After trying to net it to soon and it came off. You will get that monster. 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

cfioritto said:


> Just remember, it can always be worse. Makes you want to get back out I bet.


Oh yeah. Just need to avoid the Captain Ahab effect. Problem is this hole will be overrun in a couple weeks once the crappie bite picks up. I intend to wear out this spot completely, or at least until the smallies start biting...

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

StumpHawg said:


> No a very mean one waiting on a one-man wolf pack.


I wade that quarry all the time - it's shallow on the back side and u have to get wet if u want to catch fish - I should probably start wearing a cup. 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

where is mark fish anyway?


----------



## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

jonnythfisherteen2 said:


> where is mark fish anyway?


I believe embarrassment may have pushed him away from the site....

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Johio786 (Apr 1, 2013)

I feel this has happend to everyone... Worst feeling ever.


----------



## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

embarrassment?


----------



## Capital outdoorsman (Mar 27, 2006)

I was in Kentucky last year bankfishing a rat l trap catching LMB. I got a bite right next to shore, set the hook and realized I had a monster. It took off into open water and my spool was running thin. I was running along the shoreline trying to get some line back and loosening drag so the line wouldn't snap. I was making no progress. I was too slow and the line snapped. I'm thinking NO WAY was this a bass. Impossible. about 5 seconds after my line snapped what would've been 10 lb largemouth jumped clear out of the water about 25 ft from me with a rat l trap hanging out the side of its mouth. Fish of a lifetime gone. If he hadn't jumped out of the water I was fine assuming it was a flathead.


----------



## OnTheFly (Jul 30, 2010)

I know that feeling, it is what keeps you out there trying for the next big one. I lost an absolute hog of a river smallmouth last summer that tail danced just feet from me and threw my swimbait. Had to sit down after I lost it almost felt like I was going to pass out (im sure some of you know the shaky/ lighthead feeling you get from a big fish) might have been a fish of a lifetime but I think I get in about 100x more fishing in a lifetime than a normal person so I feel im due for some more, hopefully!!!!!!!


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Capital outdoorsman said:


> I was in Kentucky last year bankfishing a rat l trap catching LMB. I got a bite right next to shore, set the hook and realized I had a monster. It took off into open water and my spool was running thin. I was running along the shoreline trying to get some line back and loosening drag so the line wouldn't snap. I was making no progress. I was too slow and the line snapped. I'm thinking NO WAY was this a bass. Impossible. about 5 seconds after my line snapped what would've been 10 lb largemouth jumped clear out of the water about 25 ft from me with a rat l trap hanging out the side of its mouth. Fish of a lifetime gone. If he hadn't jumped out of the water I was fine assuming it was a flathead.


Ugh. The image of you running reminds me of Jeremy Wade jumping into the Khali River in pursuit of that Goonch catfish. In the heat of the moment we'll do about anything to land a fish. I chased a foul-hooked channel cat down a bank last spring that got into the current; how I didn't trip and bust my arse (or my head) is beyond me...


----------



## glasseyes (Jan 28, 2012)

Got to tell a story here. Probably 20 years ago after fishing most of the night at Paint Creek spill way for eyes my buddy and I started back across tube to head to parking lot when a fellow on other side we seen was fighting a large fish of some kind and he had several guys standing around him cheering him on. Well we stopped on our side of stream and waited to see what the fish would be when the fish made a run on him straight across the stream to our side, now the water is very shallow maybe 1'-2' deep on our side close to bank and the fish made a swirl close by and we could clearly see that it was a huge saugeye like 7 maybe 8 lbs. I mean it looked big ! . The fish wrapped him around a rock or something and broke off. He hollered over to us asking if we got to see it and I yelled back, don't worry about it , it was just a carp. Well the excitement was over quick and everybody settled back down and we headed out. My buddy looked at me like I was crazy and whispered why did you tell him it was a carp man , that was one of the biggest saugeye I've ever seen. I smiled and said ya I know , how do bad do you think he would have felt if I told him that, way it is now he just broke off a big carp and won't feel to bad about it. we had a good laugh and left. Now I know there are some that think I should have told him what he had and lost but I really think he would have felt worse had I told him the truth.


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Something I left out of my original post, because I didn't recall it at the time - I remembered it when I was texting Skycruiser back-and-forth - was that my fish _did_ get momentarily tangled in some undergrowth when it was closer to the shore, before it made it's second run. The quarry is really high right now and a portion of the bushes that line the bank are currently under water. It could have been that, thick weeds, or a branch. Anyway, this does make me feel a little better...


----------



## BassBoss (Mar 5, 2011)

Well I guess it's my turn, I was at a private pond with a big O I see the biggest bass I've ever seen in ohio Easy 10+ I had just put some cheap hooks on because my ones previous to them rusted. I twitch it right into its face and he inhales it... Well he didn't eve put up a real fight, just the weight of me pulling him bent out the hook... I WAS MAD...


----------



## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Been there done that too many times. You remember the big fish you lose more so than the big fish you catch.


----------



## dstiner86 (Jun 5, 2012)

Its a terrible feeling to see the fish that broke your line.. Last summer i was cat fishing on a pontoon on Knox lake .. About 15 minutes of no action on one of my poles i think to myself that im gonna reel it in and cast it back out somewhere else.. Well decided to give it a few seconds longer so i left it where it was propped up against the side of the pontoon and went to tying a hook on a different pole a few feet away.. I barely start my knot when i see the tip of my pole jiggle i stand out and barely get a half a stride in when my rod doubles over yanking itself out of the holder i haphazardly set it and begins to launch out of the boat.. I literally caught the pole with one hand mid air 2 feet or so out of the boat. I then manage to get a second hand on and right myself as i begin to reel.. 5 minutes into the fight the fish hits top water..and that's when it happens time slows as my heart stop... this was it... the elusive flats of Knox lake.. This was going to be the biggest catch of year... The biggest catch of my life...
Then with dream busting snap.. Yards of wet braided line snap back at me.. .. I had three others in the pontoon with me and we all caught perfect sight of the cat and all agreed it had to be between 3.5-4'.. ..running on a freshly spoiled spool of 30lb braid.. That sound.. That high pitched *ssswwwaaapp* of it snapping .. Still haunts me. 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## CrappieTacos (Jun 22, 2010)

Happened to me all too often but as I get older, people arent nearly as excited to hear stories of the fish that you catch. The ones that get away become legendary. That'll be the story your grandchildren want to hear, not "I caught a 6lb bass."


----------



## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

I lost a 7-8lb class largemouth at my feet at rockyfork last may. Close to the biggest bass I have hooked in Ohio I think. Oh well, Nice to know they are out there still!


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Lost one as I was lifting it out of the water at the bank last night. Nice size, maybe a couple pounds. Two things: 1) This has happened to me before with a Joe's Fly - I'm wondering if the trailer treble hook is too small for big species; 2) I absolutely need to get into the habit of lipping bass while they're still in the water instead of lifting them out with my rod - I'm about 50/50...


----------



## dstiner86 (Jun 5, 2012)

I've lost a lot of nice smallies that same way with the Joe flies .. Still tho one of my go to in the river!! rockbass love em!!

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

Think about it, if everybody caught the big one that got away we would have nothing to talk about. Ha ha. Tom


----------



## Scum_Frog (Apr 3, 2009)

Anyone watch Major League Fishing last night? See Hackney hook into that Gator?? Maybe thats what you caught!!! haha Thing was a beast!


----------



## foton (Nov 25, 2012)

When I was about 15 my family was vacationing on a lake. We arrived in the rain and the first thing I did was get out my gear and I went down to the dock. About 5 casts later in the pouring rain I hooked something that just sort of lay there. I pulled it in and once within sight I could see it was by far the largest fish I had ever hooked (and that is still true). I called my sister to come quick with the net (she was 13). I managed to get a very large northern pike into the net but about half still stuck out of the net. I was holding up the head with my rod trying to work with her to get in onto the dock. My sister got one look at the teeth in that monster and she dropped the net and ran back to the shore. My trophy just dropped into the water and swam away. I never let her forget that ha ha.


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

dstiner86 said:


> I've lost a lot of nice smallies that same way with the Joe flies .. Still tho one of my go to in the river!! rockbass love em!!
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


That's a good point. I'm wondering if clipping off the trailer hook, or replacing it with something more substantial might solve the problem. The smallies hit them a lot (I mostly use the 1/4 ounce and the next size down) and a lot of the hook settings are right on the margin (i.e. barely hooked). Might be a good project for a rainy day. (By the way, the Joe's Fly performed awesomely for me in Northern Michigan last year...)


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

foton said:


> When I was about 15 my family was vacationing on a lake. We arrived in the rain and the first thing I did was get out my gear and I went down to the dock. About 5 casts later in the pouring rain I hooked something that just sort of lay there. I pulled it in and once within sight I could see it was by far the largest fish I had ever hooked (and that is still true). I called my sister to come quick with the net (she was 13). I managed to get a very large northern pike into the net but about half still stuck out of the net. I was holding up the head with my rod trying to work with her to get in onto the dock. My sister got one look at the teeth in that monster and she dropped the net and ran back to the shore. My trophy just dropped into the water and swam away. I never let her forget that ha ha.


That's a HORRIBLE story. I mentioned this elsewhere recently (hope it wasn't on this thread), but I hooked a massive northern (I was probably around that same age) up in N. Michigan - we were fishing at night from a dock - on a jointed hard bait (Beno?). Just as the beast came out of the water, a freaking bat HIT ME RIGHT IN THE FACE. I threw my rod up and the air and ran away like a little girl. Obviously the pike threw the lure as I didn't lose my rod...


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Following up on my last post - This is the state record musky that was caught in Torch Lake, a few miles down the road from where we stay in MI. The record may have been beaten recently in a different lake (Bellaire), literally a few miles up the road in the opposite direction of where we stay.


----------



## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

Deazl666 said:


> Following up on my last post - This is the state record musky that was caught in Torch Lake, a few miles down the road from where we stay in MI. The record may have been beaten recently in a different lake (Bellaire), literally a few miles up the road in the opposite direction of where we stay.


Lord........ I used to swim in Torch, Spider Arbutis long and Crystal lakes in that part of MI


----------



## foton (Nov 25, 2012)

My story took place in Wisconsin but I've forgotten where. I used to live in lower Mich and fished a lot around there, especially ice fishing.

A bat! wow! Great story though.


----------



## crazypoultry (May 18, 2009)

Fishing the Tusc in Massillon two years ago hooked into a monster. Saw him clear the water and was the shape of a Pike but more of a tan color. I know there are muskie in there but o keep telling myself it was just a big Pike. It helps me sleep at night 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Saugeye Tom said:


> Lord........ I used to swim in Torch, Spider Arbutis long and Crystal lakes in that part of MI


He caught that near Alden, which is on the east shore, a few miles down the road from Clam, which is a lot warmer. He was alone that day, too; I think his fishing partner stated that it was the only day he didn't go out with him, or something like that. My encounter with the pike was in Clam. 

I grew up swimming in Torch; if I had seen _that_ below me, I'd have never gotten back in the water. At the time, I would have been about the same size of the fish. When I open water swim as full grown adult, I get startled if I pass over a bass. Lol.

I've heard that there are a handful of reports documenting folks that have been bit in the leg by musky.


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

foton said:


> My story took place in Wisconsin but I've forgotten where. I used to live in lower Mich and fished a lot around there, especially ice fishing.
> 
> A bat! wow! Great story though.


Did you ever see the Monster Quest episode on musky? I think that was in Wisconsin...


----------



## foton (Nov 25, 2012)

Deazl666 said:


> Did you ever see the Monster Quest episode on musky? I think that was in Wisconsin...


Haven't seen that. That was the only time I've been to Wisconsin. When I tell the story I always say pike but it could have been a musky. Especially because it was so large. But I've never caught either and I was only 15 and alone when I hooked it so I don't really know.

Little did I know then that little vignette would perfectly represent my relationship with my sister ... but I won't get into that lol.


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

foton said:


> Haven't seen that. That was the only time I've been to Wisconsin. When I tell the story I always say pike but it could have been a musky. Especially because it was so large. But I've never caught either and I was only 15 and alone when I hooked it so I don't really know.
> 
> Little did I know then that little vignette would perfectly represent my relationship with my sister ... but I won't get into that lol.


I caught my first "not small" pike last year; man was that blast reeling in. He shot out from underneath the bank I was standing on just as I was about to pull my lure from the water to make another cast. They're ferocious and worth the trip up north, IMO.


----------



## foton (Nov 25, 2012)

Do muskie fight like that? The fish I hooked in Wisc just sort of lay there while I pulled him in.


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

foton said:


> Do muskie fight like that? The fish I hooked in Wisc just sort of lay there while I pulled him in.


Don't know, never caught one. I would think that they put up a great fight. 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## OnTheFly (Jul 30, 2010)

They do on tackle you use for crappie hahaha, we end up hooking a couple every year at alum in the coves. I have caught a few purposefully fishing for them when I was young and my dad and I went out with a guide, they fought pretty hard. Pretty much like the pike Dealz666 is talking about, ferocious long fish that can take powerful quick runs. Had more heart breakers with big nasty pike than any other fish. Annoying when the little 20 inchers keep cutting you line when you are going for bass though!!!


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

They are designed for speed and they will lay wait in ambush, perfectly still. Their thrust out of the gate is amazing, and once they hit your bait they take off like a bat-out-of-hell. And they don't stop fighting even after you bank them. The smallmouth is not pound-for-pound the gamest fish that swims, it's the pike. The one I caught last year nearly ripped the rod out of my hand, and it was a guppy by most standards. If I lived in an area in which they were common, that's all I'd fish for. Also, a northern is a lot easier to catch than a musky; they'll attack almost anything.


----------



## Boostedawdfun (Sep 15, 2012)

Deazl666 said:


> I caught my first "not small" pike last year; man was that blast reeling in. He shot out from underneath the bank I was standing on just as I was about to pull my lure from the water to make another cast. They're ferocious and worth the trip up north, IMO.


My buddy caught his first musky last year at Alum. It hit a bass rooster tail 3 feet from the bank. Went to pull the lure out of the water when it hit it. What a pleasant surprise.


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Boostedawdfun said:


> My buddy caught his first musky last year at Alum. It hit a bass rooster tail 3 feet from the bank. Went to pull the lure out of the water when it hit it. What a pleasant surprise.


Did it take off like a rocket or stick around and go toe to toe with him?


----------



## Boostedawdfun (Sep 15, 2012)

It was only 24" or so but he was a fighter for sure.


----------



## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

Deazl666 - Man sorry about the fish getting away would have loved to hear how big it was. I guess its moments like these as to why we fish. Now you know that monster is lurking in the depth. I hope you get another chance at her in the next few weeks.


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Snyd said:


> Deazl666 - Man sorry about the fish getting away would have loved to hear how big it was. I guess its moments like these as to why we fish. Now you know that monster is lurking in the depth. I hope you get another chance at her in the next few weeks.


Thanks man. Check my thread "I got her"... 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

Awesome - Congrats!


----------



## rayscott425 (Oct 11, 2008)

I have lost a few big fish over the yrs. #1 was a walleye at Brookville 7-8 lbs easy. #2 was a smallie at Meldahl guessing 5-7 lbs the fish jumped and a couple sec later the line snapped. #3 a couple yrs ago at Cave Run, I lost a 50 inch Musky, but I didn't get a good hook set and lost it within 30 seconds. If you fish its part of the game!!!


----------



## BG Slayer (Feb 17, 2013)

jonnythfisherteen2 said:


> something pretty darn big ripped my rod from the shore last summer. I got my rod back and the rig was completely gone.
> that really sucks. I had a fish of a lifetime on one time and I lost it. that carp had to. be at least 40 inches.


Fish of a lifetime carp arnt 40 inches.......


----------



## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Haha... Since everyone is telling fish stories.. One time on Pymy, the first time I ever handled my uncles boat by myself I think.. I threw a tight line out and wedged the pole in a picnic table while I was docking/loading the thing. Night crawler on a jig. We get the boat loaded and parked and we are back to a doubled over pole.. Horsed the beast in, whatever it was I was definitely huge. Well I get it up to the break wall and WHOOM! A white flash turns out and away and was gone and all I had was a little perch with some bite marks.. I'm guessing 40" Muskie by the size of the flash.. Kinda crapped my pants..


----------



## BG Slayer (Feb 17, 2013)

hey that sucks deazl but not a real hearbreaker you didnt even see it could of been anything, my brother lost a pound 8+ bass a few years ago he got it up to the surface and his line snapped he almost puked lol


----------



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

BG Slayer said:


> hey that sucks deazl but not a real hearbreaker you didnt even see it could of been anything, my brother lost a pound 8+ bass a few years ago he got it up to the surface and his line snapped he almost puked lol


I know man. I was fuming. Experiences like these humble us.


----------

