The one that got away

[kickingfrog]

Background:

 

Had a chance to do some fishing this weekend while away with the family near Picton. Mostly me and my friend and our sons in a small boat with an electric motor (no outboards allowed on lake). Much of the time on the water was spent dodging mis-cast lures, waving rod tips, debating the various ways little boys take bathroom breaks while in a boat and of course answering the usual never ending questions from kids. The fishing was very good. Lots of fish for kids and adults alike, bass (both SM and LM), pike and panfish.

My Catharsis:

We make our way over to a classic looking smallmouth spot. A steepish shoreline and lots of fallen trees. I fired a cast right next the best looking ambush spot and before I could turn my reel handle a bass smashed my jig. The smallmouth immediately headed for the sky and all of the boat's occupants were treated to a series of spectacular leaps by what might be the biggest bass I have ever caught, the kids might have been almost excited as the adults. After finding no escape going high the monster headed to the depths and, as most would suspect, the fish sinisterly wrap my line around some deep timber. The franken fish was still on, but wrapped solid. All the usual methods were unsucsesful and in the end I used a leather glove to pull on the line as a last ditch effort. (I even considered diving down to the branch but with the small kids in a small boat I didn't want to chance the getting back in part) The line broke and we silently moved on and caught lots more fish, including some really nice ones at dusk on topwaters. A few cold, stiff, drinks back at the cottage, a great steak, Nona's zucchini parmesan and the best tasting corn on the cob ever could not get the image of that bass out of my head. Knowing the way an angler's mind works I will never know how big that bass truly was. It seemed like it was eight pounds while seven feet in the air (neither are close to reality) but it was a solid fish that was likely as big as any I have ever caught that I will always remember: midair, glistening, broad-side and right next to the branches. I guess that's why we go fishing.

What about you? What fish got away that you think about when your mind is quiet?

 

[Joeytier]

Haha, nicely illustrated. If you dont have at least one of those stories you need to fish more. Find peace knowing it was just a bass

 

For me it would be the infamous brookie that ripped my tip up straight down the hole in early december last winter.

[Moosebunk]

Bummer Rob. The could have been bass... but I enjoyed the story about it.

 

 

Too many fish at this end to pick... but the first truly big Attawapiskat pike I twice hooked and lost was a sad one. Same as the first Moose River sturgeon I ever hooked, and Bren's possible enormous Great Bear lake trout... and... and... and...

[BillM]

50+ in spring pike... Making attempt #2 in May

[landry]

I lost a st Clair muskie yesterday that was easily over 52" and grossly fat. It was the buggest fiah i have ever Seen on that lake in person. She wallowed on the surface at the boat after nipping my bucktail in the figure eight. We tried to net her twice and she was lightly hooked and got off. I have played it over in my head a hundred times. She wounded me badly.

I got a 43"er but I think the fish I lost craps that big.

[Paudash]

3 or 4 years ago on Sturgeon Lake my son got a muskie on that was easily on 45 inches, I blew it on him as I could not get it netted for him. Every time I catch a nice fish he reminds me it not as big as the one I lost on him

[steelhead75]

well written, and true we all have the story of the one!

 

cuba 2 years ago while fly casting off the bow into a deep channel my buddy was casting a flourescent red rapala for what ever lurked and a six foot shark hammered it rolled on the surface 10 feet from the boat. snapped his 12 pound test like dental floss. we screamed a few obsenities back and forth holy %#$@ did you see that and replied damm my drag was to tight or i would have landed that. i burst out laffing so hard i almost fell off the casting deck. not a hope in hell of landing it but sure was an exciting few seconds

[mike rousseau]

Dropped a giant walleye last fall....

 

I was targeting walleye and hooked up with 2 musky in 20 minutes.... When I felt the weight again I thought I had my 3rd musky in 30-40 minutes....

 

As I was targeting large fall walleye... Believe it or not I was getting frustrated with these musky... So I tried shaking it off.... No go... So I turned the boat around and horsed the fish up under the boat....

 

Then I saw it.... The white tip.... It was a GIANT walleye.... My knees started to wobble as I reached for the net... As I leaned over I felt my rod go slack... I leaned over the side of the boat and watched what would probably be the biggest walleye I'll ever see swim down to the depths...

 

I almost puked... It was one of the worst feelings I ever had in my life....

 

My PB is 12lbs... This fish would have SHATTERED that....

 

But now I know where she will (hopefully) be this year... And im gunna grind those stones so hard it'll be 2 feet deeper by Christmas.... Lol

[Dontcryformejanhrdina]

Lost the biggest musky I had ever seen in person last year. The head was massive. It seemed to happen in slow motion, I tried hard to get the fish down and swimming but she kept coming up, that massive head broke the surface about 15-20' away and after a few big head shakes threw my lure. Still haunts me to this day.

[gordy28]

Actually not my fish

On a Kawartha Lake - fishing all day for musky, not a thing - then my Dad hooks up with a 30 incher, we move into our hotspot - bam my brother says hit - and sure enough the biggest musky head I have ever seen comes out of the water and shakes - all of a sudden line is slack

Brother reels in - the leader he was using had sheared right at the snap. $500 musky combo, $25 bait and he was using a cheap a#@ leader! He will never make that mistake

 

At the time I was playing with my rod - decided to get in on the action and sure enough on my second cast I hooked up with what is still a PB for me at 42 inches - and my the size of the head on my bros fish absolutely dwarfed this one

What a day - nothing for 6 hours and then all of that action - within 25 minutes on a spot the size of a fottball field

[Rod Caster]

Can't believe you missed that Triploid Bass!

 

Since I've been trying hard this last year, my 'big' lake trout comes to mind. Get on the ice, drill a couple holes, drop the line, line stops at 10 foot mark...huh????... reel up slack line, huge weight, rolls a few times, fish gone. Fish for 10hrs catch nothing, come back four times, catch nothing. I lose. haha.

Edited September 3, 2013 by Rod Caster

[adolson]

Never had a big fish worth talking about get away on me, but I have lost a few speckled trout and a rainbow either at shore or at boat-side, and each one is as heart-breaking as the last. They weren't huge, but they were trout.

[kickingfrog]

Just looked at the October/November issue of In-fisherman. They had some fishing quotes listed and one was:

 

My best fishing memory is about some fish I never caught. George Orwell

Edited September 7, 2013 by kickingfrog

[nexstar]

Love your story... I always tell myself that the one that got away doesn't count and keep fishing ... =]