Has anyone ever been spooled?

[LostAnotherOne]

It's every fisherman's worst nightmare. They hook that big one and it takes off. You keep your eyes on the rod with amazement and then you look down and see that your line is almost all gone. You start panicking and try tightening your drag and then all of a sudden it's gone forever. Happened to me at Nipissing when I was young, but I probably had the drag set to loose. I'm sure you guys have got some stories.

[BillM]

Spooled this year fishing off Bowmanville. It was over quick!

[Salmonidstalker]

Yup, chucking spoons for nooks.......I'm sure I'm not the only one.

[Big Cliff]

4 lb test line, Flack Lake up North of Elliott Lake and a huge lake trout.

 

My buddy and I would go out in the boat in the evening and drop anchor on this little shoal, a bucket of chicken (or whatever) and a six pack of beer (that was back in the day when you could do that sort of thing) A minnow with a small hook no leader, no swivel, no weight, we would just lob the minnow out, open the bail and sit back and solve the problems of the world. When the line started to take off, you knew you had a fish, and believe me we got plenty.

 

Well, this one evening the line took off, I closed the bail and set the hook which usually stopped the fish and the fight started. This night though the fish didn't stop! At some point I looked down and said something like OH CRAP I'm almost out of line. Dave my buddy figured out that with the run this fish was making it was bound to happen so he had pulled the anchor, and started the motor. We chased that fish for a full 45 minutes before I finally got it tired out enough so we could get close enough to net it. 19 lbs 7 3/4 oz according to the scale at the restraunt!

[fishindevil]

Been spooled by big kings & once by a massive carp on 6lb test !!!!!! Lake Ontario for both the kings & that carp !!!!!!

[davey buoy]

For me,it was a local river,caught many before that using spinning gear and lures.We were salmon fishing.This one hit hard a usual for a late August salmon.Usually they come forward,or pull to get under a tree etc.This one went straight south from the beginning,no fight and wouldn't stop.No real estate to try and make up ground,the harder you hit the drag,you thought your rod would snap.This was a one and only time and a couple buddies of mine bring that up once and while.What a helpless feeling..

[bigugli]

Big carp in Jordan. Was float fishing for perch. Set the hook and listened to the line peel. Reeled him in for a few yards and he took off a second time and never stopped.

[jimmer]

Almost. Throwing lures off the Port Hope pier for Chinooks. The thing headed for the south side, but I put the pressure on when the line was almost gone and luckily got it to change direction. It was over 30lbs.

Sometimes something worse than getting spooled is having a fish that you just can't get a look at, then losing it.

Edited December 3, 2014 by jimmer

[JoshS]

I threw a bass sized baitcaster on a flipping stick and took it out to the pier to cast for kings. The Revo didn't stand a chance! Drag was 100% tight and I couldn't stop it, spooled my 30lb braid. I always wondered how big she was.

Edited December 3, 2014 by JoshS

[Beans]

Carp will spool you if you have your drag set too loose...I now use a lighter fluorocarbon (12 lb test) when I tie my hair rigs vs my 17 lb mono main line...now if it looks like I'm about to get spooled, I stop the spool with my hand and if sumpin' breaks, it's usually just the hair rig and I don't lose my spring or method feeder or my main line...

[captpierre]

A big carp at the Pickering nuke plant outflow

[Garnet]

Several times off rocks in Bowmanville. The only crazy thing that worked was open the bail taking all pressure off the fish then slowly gain a little back.

 

And twice on pier in Newcastle by geese. Now that was quick.

[Rodbender]

Years ago at Creigleith a a guy out for a rip knew better than go in front of us trolling even when we waved him on so I let the whole spool get in his prop

[Bondar]

I got spooled trying to fight a sturgeon in the niagara on my float reel, he just swam away slowly

[chris.brock]

Years ago at Creigleith a a guy out for a rip knew better than go in front of us trolling even when we waved him on so I let the whole spool get in his prop

 

Hahaha, good story

[dave524]

Yep, had a King drain a 7000 Ambassadeur of 20 pound XT years ago, fishing by myself, by the time I realized I needed to turn the boat around It was too late. Like Bill said it happened quick, seemed like once it got some speed up the last 1/2 of the spool was gone in seconds.

[BillM]

Several times off rocks in Bowmanville. The only crazy thing that worked was open the bail taking all pressure off the fish then slowly gain a little back.

 

 

I should have tried this! Mine went from reeling in nice and slow to absolute insanity... I couldn't turn it, stop it or do anything. Even putting pressure on the spool didn't help. I just shook my head while the reel screamed like mad. Then I had to go buy more line, lol! I love chinnies!

[dave524]

FWIW, I hear than in a river if you are going to get spooled, give the fish lots of slack so the line bellies downstream of the fish so that the current is pulling from the opposite direction, the fish will turn and run upstream away from the tension. Never had the chance to tell if it works but makes sense.

[davey buoy]

FWIW, I hear than in a river if you are going to get spooled, give the fish lots of slack so the line bellies downstream of the fish so that the current is pulling from the opposite direction, the fish will turn and run upstream away from the tension. Never had the chance to tell if it works but makes sense.

May work Dave,but this happened to me in less than 1 min,hard to think when it happens that fast lol.

[Acountdeleted]

My buddy came close. (This is one of my favourite stories).

 

Fishing off his dock on Quinte, just tossing out worms for bass and sheepshead I had been outfishing him all day. He's at the other end of his dock and I see his rod start to waggle. 'Jer! I've got a good one' (sure you do). The fish takes off like a rocket. Peeling line like crazy as it heads further and further out.

 

After what felt like 5 minutes (it was probably 2). I turn to my buddy and say 'you got lots of line on that reel?'

'Yup'

'Good. Because he's not stopping. TIGHTEN YOUR DANG DRAG!!!'

'Oh yeah!'

 

Finally the fish stops this epic run. Now my buddy, he's a personal trainer and is 250 pounds of pure muscle. But at this time, he had no cardio. So after about 10 minutes of pumping the rod and reeling in, he's starting to get gassed. So I start raggin' on him.

 

'Big tough personal trainer. Gonna let a fish beat him. What's that about?'

 

Finally he gets it in and lands a 15 pound Sheephead. Biggest I had ever seen.

Edited December 3, 2014 by jeremy84

[outllaw]

10lb test closed face zebco. in the 1960,s. watched a musky take 100 yards standing on shore. 50 years later still trying to get even..lol.

[mike rousseau]

Almost a few times...

 

A carp... I ended up jumping in the river to avoid a full spooling...

 

Pier salmon...

 

And what I believe was a musky one time ... Almost spooled me and we had to chase it with the boat... Hook ended up pulling

[Joey]

I remember one time, ice fishing up near Oxtongue Lake, near Algonquin park, we used to just have the spool, no rod and a piece of tree (a gaf I think they call it) and one of our friends' spool started going and he ran like the dickens to get it but it spooled out and the whole spool when into the water, gaf and all. Felt bad because I'm sure the fish did not survive long after that, unless he got the hook out of his mouth miraculously, but that is doubtful. My friend tried his best though, even putting his whole arm down the hole and soaking his jacket up to the the shoulder!!

Edited December 3, 2014 by Joey

[Canuck2fan]

FWIW, I hear than in a river if you are going to get spooled, give the fish lots of slack so the line bellies downstream of the fish so that the current is pulling from the opposite direction, the fish will turn and run upstream away from the tension. Never had the chance to tell if it works but makes sense.

 

I have had it work out dropping the line slack in a river once, the fish turned back and I got the drag set right and landed it. BIG male chinnie.

 

Most times though with a big salmonid it just postpones the inevitable LOL.

 

The time I tried dropping the line into the water on a pier though, the fish turned alright. It swam towards me so fast that I couldn't catch up to it.... The line was so slack it got caught up on another anglers line 3 people over, when the current took the slack line over his.

 

This clown wouldn't reel in when he was asked by the other anglers. When he saw his rod tip move he snapped his rod back to set the hook and cut through my line. I thought it was funny actually that the fish turned...

 

The other guy was mad though and claimed I knocked a fish off of his line LOL I said I don't think my 6lb raven could do much damage to that 20lb CTC clear mono crap you are using. He said it was actually 30lb test... Whatever LOL.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Canuck2fan

[bigcreekdad]

Only been spooled once. In the BVI by a permit I'd guess at around 10-12 pounds. I was using a spinning rod with 12 pound test. Ironically, I had caught, and landed, a tarpon of around 25-30 pounds on the same rod and reel the night before. I freakin could not turn the permit...I was actually laughing at how helpless I was.

 

I've never been spooled by a freshwater fish, although a silver salmon of about 15 pounds took me WAY, WAY into my backing on an 8 wgt fly rod in Alaska a few years ago. The hook pulled out on this bad boy after about 10 minutes. Who knows if I would have EVER landed him.

Edited December 4, 2014 by bigcreekdad