The one that got away.

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Peron
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The one that got away.

Post by Peron »

Okay. I lost my largest smallmouth by far today. About 6 feet away from net range and my tackle broke.

I wrote this post about five times and none seemed right.

I was solo today so I only have this. ---- I think I will buy a go-pro to share my misery next time.
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Walleye'm Fishing
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Re: The one that got away.

Post by Walleye'm Fishing »

Last fall I lost 2 monster walleyes at my feet while shore fishing at night. One of them was in the 7 pound range and the other beast was probably 10 pounds. :shock: I still think about those fish every time I go night shore fishing. I hate to tell you but you'll never forget that one you lost... But hey, that's fishing dude, when you miss big fish you always want to head right back out for your shot at another one!
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Peron
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Re: The one that got away.

Post by Peron »

Yup I know. I will be back out today...

But in 50 years I have had two that will always be with me and now I have a third.

I will stop swearing when I think about it in 3 to 6 weeks.... I am at the "if I had only replaced the leader/loosened the drag/had the net in my hand etc. Etc. Etc" phase....

Rod
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kliven
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Re: The one that got away.

Post by kliven »

I totally know that feeling! I lost a pretty big smallmouth this year because I didn't replace my leader and I had my drag set too tight. =(

Been consoling myself that there will be many more bigguns to come though!
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ShawnD
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Re: The one that got away.

Post by ShawnD »

I've had this happen to me as well, best thing you can do is to think back on it and try to understand why?

Like someone already said, reel Drag can be an issue, which leads to knots breaking or frayed line breaking..
Hooks folding out is another issue to comes up when your drag is set too tight, treble hooks and single hooks..

Frayed line, when did you last retie? Got to check that line often.
Especially when you're cranking along a rocky shoreline.

I lost a big one about a month ago, I found that while fighting the fish I tried to force it to turn around ( it was peeling drag away from the boat )
While attempting to pull the fish I popped the hook out of it's mouth and lost it.

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Walleye'm Fishing
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Re: The one that got away.

Post by Walleye'm Fishing »

I think the key is your drag. If you have nicks in your line or a weak knot, you may get away with it if your drag isn't set too tight. I often have my drag set relatively tight for a proper hook set. If I feel that I have a big fish on, I will loosen my drag a bit to allow the fish to take a couple of runs as opposed to having it make violent head shakes that can either break or shake me off.
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Peron
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Re: The one that got away.

Post by Peron »

It was two issues (both my fault), although the drag was key.

I was wader fishing (waist deep) on the Ottawa river with fairly heavy braid (30lb) and a wire lead. I had the drag screwed tight from an earlier weedy location where I was pulling free relatively frequently. I had just changed to a spinnerbait (was using a bucktail spinner). Major mistake here! I switched to a new "open V" spinner bait (didn't have the closed wire loop at the V). Normally I do two things: Wrap and tie off a few loops of heavy fluoro around the "V" so that the leader cannot slide up to the hook or spinner side. Helps with casting and keeps it in place once you hook a fish. I sometimes use plastic tubing to do the same if I setup in advance. Secondly, if I am using a wire leader, I switch to one with a smaller snap, usually one of the ultra small and strong titaniums. The small snap stays in place better on the V.
Because I didn't feel like doing either without wading back to shore, I used the existing wire lead (big snap) and didn't bother to rig my spinner bait.

The smallmouth behemoth bites and in my excitement, I bring him in close while he is WAY too fresh courtesy of an overly tight drag. He See's me, head-shakes and I see the spinner half (or bits) drop to the bottom. On the bright side for the fish, I am pretty sure I saw the hook get thrown as he went down. I hope anyways... I hate broken tackle.

Anyways, in summary if I had not taken short cuts with my tackle setup and especially if I had loosened my drag which would have let the fish playout as well as reducing the likelihood that the wire would break due to the stress it was placed under, I think I "might" have had my trophy photo.

Instead I have a flat spot on my forehead from banging my head against a rock....
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Re: The one that got away.

Post by BobbyJordan »

It's all part of the game! I have a handful of fish that still haunt me (some are fresher than others!). I think that's what keeps us coming back. It's the allure of that truly giant fish. To come that close and lose it makes you want to get back at it. Sometimes you can do everything right and they still come off, but if you can learn from any mistakes you made (drag, or in one of my cases - a line that should have been retied after catching a pike, but I was too lazy), then next time you have a better chance of landing it. Hopefully you get that GoPro - but it gets you some footage of you landing your next big one.
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